Jeanne T Arrigo said...> "As a Chicago indie singer-songwriter who was slated to have my CD release on 3/29, I'm obviously personally very saddened and disappointed, as I just got the news from Andy that the Morse will definitely be closed before then.
I'm not only bummed for myself because - jeez, what a beautiful venue! -(I saw one singer/songwriter show there and the sound is just, literally, to die for. So pristine.)- But also, what a loss for the music community of Chicago! If you didn't have a chance to see a show there in its short tenure, you missed out BIG time; The sound, the acoustics, the sightlines - WOW. What a tremendous loss. I can only hope that they will be back, because I WANT to sing on that stage!
And Andy (manager/booker) was truly so personal and gracious when I contacted him about the booking, spending a full hour with me talking about my music, and finding a date on the calendar that would work. That's RARE. This is really sad for Chicago, for Roger's Park, for the north side, and for musicians - both local and touring."
Blognotes: Yes indeed. This is sad. As the Morse Theatre closes and the neighbors grumble, we're left to wonder what's going to happen with the beautiful space?
* NO ONE is talking about what acts (a) new "manager" or management team, whoever the hell they hire, will bring in.
This is a classic place. That's what all the reviewers have said. The musicians, who normally don't get all gushy over venues, are dying to play on the stage.
If it's simply making butt-loads of money for the Pritzkers' that's important,(?) and not the well-being of the neighborhood,(?) I could forsee hip hop or "Metro" type rock shows coming in. And that would be a tragedy.
First, because we've got more than enough of those types of venues in and around the city. Heck, we've got one down the street called the Morseland.
Second, it would be a disgrace to the $6 million dollar theatre, using its incredible acoustics to bring in a sound that would vibrate the fancy light fixtures off the walls, with the sounds of the first 14 minute 'Neil Peart wannabe' drum solo.
And finally, the different crowds would have a MUCH greater negative impact on the neighborhood. I've lived near the Exit on Wells when I was younger. That music and crowd was fine for me back then. But now that I'm older. Forget that noise.
Andy promised nice, law-abiding crowds - crowds that wouldn't disrupt the neighborhood. He promised his concert-goers wouldn't pee in the alley. He promised the delivery trucks wouldn't clog the alley. He promised the music wouldn't be heard outside the venue walls. He's delivered on those promises.
Say what you will about Andy, (and I have) but Andy cares about this Theatre and what it brings to the community. For that, I'd like to say, thank you, Andy. You were a man of your word. That's more than we can say about Joe Moore.
12 comments:
This report comes from our only fair-and-balanced weekly newspaper, the Chicago Journal.
===News of a dispute between the managing partners and investors that could close the Morse Theatre and Century Public House at 1328 W. Morse went through the heart of Rogers Park like a dagger. For more than a year, neighborhood residents watched the brick-by-brick transformation of the former 1912 Nickelodeon theater into a work of art and one of the premiere jazz venues in the country.
The theater and restaurant opened to critical acclaim last October after bouncing back from a summer arson that delayed its opening by a month. Many residents banked on the club revitalizing economic development along Morse Avenue.===
Read more: Trouble at the Morse.
There have been some folks who have inappropriately called out Andy for their personal differences, even taking some sort of pathetic pleasure from arsonists who threatend to derail the project.
Those people, of course, never stuck their necks out to bring anything of such a grand, important scale to Rogers Park. They're just angry little boys and girls.
I applaud Andy and his partners and can think of few businesses that made such important commitments to Rogers Park.
I don't know the circumstances under which The Morse is closing so very soon after opening, but it's a damn shame.
If it's simply making butt-loads of money for the Pritzkers' that's important,(?) and not the well-being of the neighborhood,(?) I could forsee hip hop or "Metro" type rock shows coming in. And that would be a tragedy.
I disagree with this simply because there is a middle ground between the "hip hop or Metro type rock shows", ones that don't rely on loud music and slam dancing. I mentioned this in another post, acts like Ani Difranco or even an acoustic Ted Leo whom I saw at the AV-erie where everyone was content to stand and listen and enjoy the show. You don't need huge tourbus acts to get steady comfortable crowds at the Metro. But the music lineup HAD to be shaken up a bit in my opinion to include something closer to rock. There's a reason my most regular jazz venues in the city are small, intimate settings with a few seats and tables and chairs. The music plays better than way and unless we're talking Sonny Rollins, the crowds will be just enough to fill it. The Morse seating, in my opinion, was a bit too much for other than the top-name jazz acts. I mean, I've heard good things about the Siegal Schwall band but did they really think they were going to pack the place? Just sayin'... there's a middle ground between loud rock shows and small jazz combos. YOu think an acoustic Jeff Tweedy show or, say, a Yo La Tenga show wouldn't sell out with a mature crowd?
I applaud Andy and his partners and can think of few businesses that made such important commitments to Rogers Park.
I don't know the circumstances under which The Morse is closing so very soon after opening, but it's a damn shame.
I whole-heartedly second this. This was the most ambitious thing I've seen come to RP in all of the years of the current alderman. Well, the most ambitious thing that WASN'T condos that would only benefit a few people.
Has anyone thought about the Century Public House? That's the place that never drew a crowd.
* Although the upcoming show do look good, particualarly the Brazilian carnival this weekend. I may have to scrape my penny jar out...
It's just all too bad. But big investors tend to be awfully trigger-happy in cutting their losses, and will quickly pull the plug on anything that doesn't quickly get on track, which is the bad thing about having to depend upon investors like the Pritzkers.
They don't care about our neighborhood, just like big-name publishers don't care about your book that you worked on for 10 years, and big retail outfits don't care about the neighborhoods and suburbs they trash when they shutter a shopping center or major retail outlet.
It's the next-quarter-bottom-line mentality, and it's death not only to our culture and neighborhoods, but might be turning out to be bad business sense for businesses that take a few years to build their clientele. A place like the Morse Theatre isn't like the latest cell phone or computer chip-it's not going to obsolesce in 8 months, so you have to have take your investment out longer.
What is really sad is that not only are wonderful budding neighborhood institutions of great cultural value killed by this mentality, but so are major industries that are very capital intensive and very innovative. On something like a railroad, say, or some of the budding nuclear technologies that could render the expensive,dangerous cold-water reactors we now use obsolete, the time-frame to realize a return is about a century. Back in the days when we were the first and mightiest industrial power, our business leaders thought in those terms and signed 99-year leases on properties. But because investors these days have such short time horizons, they are not interested in investing in anything that doesn't bring them a return next month, except for maybe Warren Buffet and a handful of other very savvy and visionary large investors.
Unfortunately, Andy McGee does not have the time to go hunting for more elephants. I feel very bad for him and for what he was trying to accomplish.
Has anyone thought about the Century Public House? That's the place that never drew a crowd.
Yeah, that place should have been a mecca. I went there about three or four times with friend (actually saw Joe Moore there one time wearing a leather Cubs jacket thingy) and, yeah, the bar was a little pricey. Good selection of beers, probaby could have used a few more in the four buck or less ranger (did they ever offer drink specials during the week?). I'm not a big fan of Point, Schlitz or PBR, whatever the hipster quotient. I ate ther once too, the food was OK.
Looking back in time. February 24, 2009. From the Chicago Tribune.
====All of this would be mere speculation if not for the funds that the partners say they have secured for this for-profit venture. The financing comes from a silent partner.
This investor is “looking at a longer period of getting to profitability” than usual in such ventures, says Andy McGhee, who speaks of the Morse’s future not in years but in decades.===
Who knew it wouldn't be years or decades, but months.
Yes, Andy and Devin are nice and nice is good. That doesn't mean they are good at running a profitable business.
Instead of being DOWN on Andy and Devin (neither of which I know), they should each reveal the 'investor' situation to, in the least, the immediate neighbors.
If a 'Pritzker' has suddenly pulled out, then he/she/them/ apparently has no need for Rogers Park any longer. WHY would that be?
$6,000,000,000 is a large amount to invest, but one must assume this 'Pritzker' checked out the McGhees beforehand.
The venue is the envy of many in the United States. I understand the acoustics are TOP-RATE. The place is gorgeous, more beautiful than another 'Pritzker' place, the Park Hyatt (and NoMi).
What did this particular 'Pritzker' want and expect? That is the question which should be posed to the McGhees, and if they have even a 'dram' of truth in them, let's hear it (before we all fly off at the handle!).
If the McGhees somehow, by filling the venue, night after night, 'botched' their part of the bargain with 'the Pritzker', then 'the Pritzker' ONLY INTENDED A TAX-WRITE-OFF from the onset, to dispose of some $$$, and NEVER HAD ANY INTEREST IN REBUILDING ROGERS PARK!
Try and get a comment from 'the Pritzker' involved! Betcha can't!
And if any of you 'wunderkinds' out there think Joe Moore had nothing to do with this...don't even bother to think again, JUST THINK THE FIRST TIME!
damn if it took 6 trillion to invest in the morse theatre
then i should take a hammer
and chisel and grab
one of those diamond encrusted bricks as a keepsake
Post a Comment