Night Out in Dewey
August 4th, 2007 by Maria Evans
LauraLea and Tripp Fabulous at the Rusty Rudder last Friday night.
OK, so I don’t get out much at night anymore, but I did go out in Dewey last Friday night with a friend of mine to see a band and have a drink. The band was good and worth seeing, LauraLea and Tripp Fabulous, and this is where I want to call them a “cover band,” but that wouldn’t be fair (or even correct), since they’re just playing to the summer beach crowd at the Rudder. (They have a CD of original acoustic music that’s pretty good).
Not that there’s anything wrong with bands that do cover tunes. They’re pretty entertaining. I can remember going to see the Beat Clinic around the State a decade (and almost another decade) ago, and without a doubt the best night was always that rare night when they would crank out “Like a Virgin” to an appreciative crowd. Anyway, it was a good time at the Rudder, but it was a little different.
What? The Rudder has a dress code? When did that happen?
I have to say that I was surprised the Rudder has a dress code. Now, it may have been in effect since the late 90’s for all I know, but still, it was surprising to me. And, for the record, I’ve jumped off the stage at a Dead Kennedys concert in the mid 80s, but I was a little shocked at what I saw on the dance floor. I was going to continue, but let’s just leave it here because I’m starting to feel old and like I need to go yell at some kid to get off my grass….
August 4th, 2007 at 11:49 pm
The dress code is the first step in the two part method for keeping minorities, socioeconomically disadvantaged, and otherwise undesirable people out of your bar; ensuring that the rich white crowd will feel comfortable enough in your establishment to spend money freely. Step two is to make your drinks really expensive. Up at UD, it’s mostly the dress code method, down here its the drink prices. Try to remember how many young black people you saw at the Rudder that night, now go to Northbeach on dollar nite (tuesday night, don’t even bother showing up until after 10) and look at how more diverse the crowd is. Northbeach on dollar nite is also the only time you’ll see people being wanded to search for weapons before they can enter the bar. Coincidence? For the record, I think northbeach should adopt a more strict dress code.
August 8th, 2007 at 11:20 am
Wow!
It’s rare to see that much useless, liberal, them against the po’ folk mentality in one paragraph.
How anti-business can one person get? The Rudder has bills to pay, BIG bills. They probably spend more on electricity in one night than you do in 6 months. In their business plan, they must sell X amount of product at X profit margin to stay in the black, P&L-wise, that is.
If they charged less, they couldn’t pay for the higher quality entertainment, use the nicer sound and lighting gear, or even hire the better employees. If they didn’t have a dress code, the likelihood that the people who CAN afford to pay for those drinks may be discouraged or frightened enough to not return, thus destroying their base.
Why do you see discrimination (the bad version meaning of that word) which is designed to hurt people when I see discrimination (the proper use of that word) which is designed to work with a business plan?
No race, religion or sexual orientation is prohibited by the dress code or drink prices. Anyone can enter if he/she/it wishes, as long as they are willing to pay the price. If you’re not willing to pay, play elsewhere. Simple.
Sheeeeeesh.
August 8th, 2007 at 5:35 pm
You realize you said the EXACT SAME THING I said, except I injected into the equation the reality that most people who would be put off by the dress code and high drink prices are minorities/thugs/w*****s/other undesirables.
I didn’t say there was anything wrong with it. If one of the clubs in Dewey or bars in Rehoboth became all thugged out, I’d stop going there. Do the experiment yourself, John Mixon. Go to the Rudder on Saturday night. Count the young black people enjoying themselves there. Then go to northbeach on Tuesday night, enjoy being searched before you can go in, then take note of how many more young people of color are on the dance floor. The reason? northbeach on Tuesday nite is dollar nite, and they dont seem to enforce any kind of dress code.