Worst Club Exerience Ever!
Once in a while, an incident is so striking, you have to tell the world (or at least your little corner of it).
I traveled to Toronto this weekend, in part to visit Savage Garden, THE goth club in Toronto. As many in the goth community, I'm not all that comfortable in the normal dance clubs. On Saturday, when my friends went to "The Docks," I convinced one of them to come with me to check out Savage Garden. I had printed out passes and directions from the website prior to traveling, so I thought I was all prepared. My friend and I were turned away at the door. No real reason was given. The bouncer tried to tell us that he had been told by other bars to not let us in. When I asked what that statement was supposed to be referring to, he just said "I am not allowing you in." There was no way for him to know who we were: and even if he did, my friend and I are not people who cause trouble. It was a rather surreal experience, like something out of a Kurt Vonnegut novel. I thought he was joking around at first because it was so absurd. It smacked of either gother-than-thou bullshit, or anti-American prejudice. I am not an easy person to offend, but this incident has left a very sour taste in my mouth. I have been to goth clubs all around the United States and have never had such treatment. All I wanted was a night to drink and dance in a goth club I had never been to before. Savage Garden has lost my business; I will never be going back.
I went over to the Toronto Goth page and read through the reviews of the club. Apparently this is a problem many others have experienced as well. If there is a "dress code," its enforcement seems to be completely arbitrary. This is defiantly not the way to run a club. It just proves how much impact an a$$hole at the door can make. Anyone remember the debacle at The Nectarine? In that incident, the club immediately fired said bouncer and put apologies in the Michigan Daily and the Ann Arbor News; but the court of public opinion had already made its decision and they lost a bunch of business that didn't come back until new management took over.
I traveled to Toronto this weekend, in part to visit Savage Garden, THE goth club in Toronto. As many in the goth community, I'm not all that comfortable in the normal dance clubs. On Saturday, when my friends went to "The Docks," I convinced one of them to come with me to check out Savage Garden. I had printed out passes and directions from the website prior to traveling, so I thought I was all prepared. My friend and I were turned away at the door. No real reason was given. The bouncer tried to tell us that he had been told by other bars to not let us in. When I asked what that statement was supposed to be referring to, he just said "I am not allowing you in." There was no way for him to know who we were: and even if he did, my friend and I are not people who cause trouble. It was a rather surreal experience, like something out of a Kurt Vonnegut novel. I thought he was joking around at first because it was so absurd. It smacked of either gother-than-thou bullshit, or anti-American prejudice. I am not an easy person to offend, but this incident has left a very sour taste in my mouth. I have been to goth clubs all around the United States and have never had such treatment. All I wanted was a night to drink and dance in a goth club I had never been to before. Savage Garden has lost my business; I will never be going back.
I went over to the Toronto Goth page and read through the reviews of the club. Apparently this is a problem many others have experienced as well. If there is a "dress code," its enforcement seems to be completely arbitrary. This is defiantly not the way to run a club. It just proves how much impact an a$$hole at the door can make. Anyone remember the debacle at The Nectarine? In that incident, the club immediately fired said bouncer and put apologies in the Michigan Daily and the Ann Arbor News; but the court of public opinion had already made its decision and they lost a bunch of business that didn't come back until new management took over.