it's an empirical question, people. and, if empiricism bothers you then walk away - it's all i have for you.

here's the link to the events at the club. go ahead and sort through it and see what sells out and what's mostly empty.

https://www.facebook.com/elclubdetroit/events/

the article suggested white 20-somethings, but the bar was actually geared more towards white 30 and 40 somethings. they were bringing in grunge bands & alternative rock acts - some of them influenced by the music of the 90s, and some of it literally the music from the 90s. the melvins show was famously so ridiculously packed that it got canceled as a fire risk; this was the 80s seattle band that kurt cobain cited as his biggest influence.

but, i'll draw attention to two specific shows. one is an east coast no wave band called a place to bury strangers, and the other is a popular young rapper called chief keef. the place to bury strangers show is at the end of july and is sold out; the chief keef show is in mid june and there are still tickets available.

does that mean that a place to bury strangers is more popular than chief keef? well, that would be an absurd proposal. chief keef is a mainstream act, that has cracked the billboard 200. a place to bury strangers is an underground rock band, and their last two records don't even have wikipedia pages.

the venue is all ages - and makes a point about it.

given that detroit is 80% black, and chief keef is a big star, why can't he sell out a 300 person bar in southwest detroit? and, why can this underground rock band from new york do so with ease?

and, you can point to the systemic racism - and i'll agree with you - but you're just exacerbating the point, because you're articulating a real problem, and then rejecting the only possible solution.

none of this excuses the alleged behaviour, and that's not what i'm trying to do - if the allegations are even 20% true, he should never be allowed to set foot in the bar ever again. but, there's this undercurrent that the community doesn't want a white bar with people coming in to spend money - it wants a black bar that reflects the tastes of the community. and, the problem is that it doesn't make any economic sense, at least not until you can get the people that live there more disposable income.