The Turf Club in Minneapolis won't be the same after tonight

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The Clown Lounge is already dismantled. This sucks.

http://babelogue.citypages.com:8080/ctg/2005/03/29#a58

― Pete Scholtes, Tuesday, 29 March 2005 17:05 (twenty-one years ago)

jesus christ!!

(oh and pete i'll get that cd to you or simon asap)

― f--gg (gcannon), Tuesday, 29 March 2005 17:15 (twenty-one years ago)

they moved the turf to minneapolis?

sorry. not a time to joke, really; this sucks.

but good to see you blogging again, pete ...

― asl, Tuesday, 29 March 2005 17:23 (twenty-one years ago)

Yeah, I was down there last night, and there was a palpable air of depression. The bare walls of the Clown Lounge were more than a bit disturbing in a bombed-out husk sort of way.

If Big V's ever takes a dive, I'm moving somewhere else.

― John Justen (johnjusten), Tuesday, 29 March 2005 17:26 (twenty-one years ago)

This sucks...Rob Rule has always been a great guy and hugely supportive of the bands I've been in. A fucking amazing place...it will not be the same without him and Dave.

It's ridiculous....the owners must not remember that before Rob and co. that place was a horrid dive filled with like 8 senior citizen alcoholics.

RIP Turf....I've had many of my favorite nights at that place....

― M@tt He1geson (Matt Helgeson), Tuesday, 29 March 2005 17:42 (twenty-one years ago)

If I may play anti-devil's advocate, this might not be the end of the world, or the Turf. The new owner, Tom Scanlon, said in a Star Tribune interview that he would make "few changes, if any, at the Turf."

"I think what they have going on now is great," Scanlon said. "If it works good, don't fix it."

No it won't be exactly the same without Rob and Dave, but the optimist in me figures the Ace Box Bar was a "horrid dive filled with like 8 senior citizen alcoholics" before Scanlon took that over.

I choose to remain hopeful...

― Daniel Peterson (polkaholic), Tuesday, 29 March 2005 18:37 (twenty-one years ago)

Yeah, but they dismantled the Clown Lounge!

― Pete Scholtes, Tuesday, 29 March 2005 19:51 (twenty-one years ago)

It bums me out, too. I don't know any of the circumstances surrounding Rob or Dave's departure, but since Dave oversaw the Clown Lounge, my assumption is that those clown artifacts belong to him; since he no longer works there he took them with him. I'm not gonna speculate further.

― Daniel Peterson (polkaholic), Tuesday, 29 March 2005 20:02 (twenty-one years ago)

No it won't be exactly the same without Rob and Dave, but the optimist in me figures the Ace Box Bar was a "horrid dive filled with like 8 senior citizen alcoholics" before Scanlon took that over.

No way, it was cool! they had good punk bands! It was a good dive. AFTER IT BECAME THE "DUBLINER": FRAT BOYS PRETENDING TO BE IRISH AND LISTENING TO SHIT IRISH FOLK MUSIC>>>.

THE ENTIRE COUNTRY OF IRELAND CAN BLOW ME!!! I'M BURNING MY POGUES CDS (OR MELTING THEM)....I BLAME ALL OF THIS ON IRISH FOLK MUSIC!!!!

PS THIN LIZZY YOU WERE COOL, YOU GET TO LIVE!!! (EXCEPT FOR YOU PHIL, BUT YOU LIVE IN OUR HEARTS)

CLOWN LOUNGE 4 LIFE!

TONIGHT: THE MAMMY NUNS PERFORM "MY GUITAR WANTS TO KILL YOUR MAMA" FOR THE 1,000th and FINAL TIME!!!! I'LL BE THERE.

― M@tt He1geson (Matt Helgeson), Tuesday, 29 March 2005 20:05 (twenty-one years ago)

My second-hand understanding of the Clown Lounge situation is that it would not meet code with a new owner (fire exits, perhaps?), and had been grandfathered into it's current existence. So it would seem that regardless of the future Turf status, the Clown Lounge is not a likely part of it. Which sucks.

Again, please don't take this as gospel truth...

And yeah, the Ace Box was cool, actually.

― John Justen (johnjusten), Tuesday, 29 March 2005 20:12 (twenty-one years ago)

The latest I hear is that Dave is staying (couldn't get an answer at the club), which is why that online item got edited slightly. Jim Walsh might write something for next week in City Pages.

I just posted an interview with Rob Rule:
http://babelogue.citypages.com:8080/ctg/2005/03/29

Oh, and Tulip Sweet has broken up...

― Pete Scholtes, Tuesday, 29 March 2005 23:58 (twenty-one years ago)

Fucking Irish. They won't leave us alone.

I went last nite...it was fun...Impromtu Kruddler performance.

I'm kinda hungover now. Rob Rule is a cood dude.

― M@tt He1geson (Matt Helgeson), Wednesday, 30 March 2005 15:34 (twenty-one years ago)

Correction to earlier post on that blog:

Dave Wiegardt oversaw the goings-on in the Clown Lounge in the basement of the Turf, not Dave Ricker. It gets noisy down there, you know...

― Pete Scholtes, Thursday, 31 March 2005 02:33 (twenty-one years ago)

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