After hearing one band they were unhappy with, Cadillac Ranch pulled the plug on visiting Midpoint Music Festival bands scheduled to play Saturday night at his venue. After Cleveland's The Lighthouse and The Whaler finished their low-key 8pm set, Cadillac Ranch had enough and cancelled performances from bands that came to Cincinnati from New York, Louisville, and Nashville, citing lack of profit.
Luckily, the four bands scheduled to play at Cadillac Ranch were able to find other venues, however those who showed up to Cadillac Ranch to see them play were greeted with a DJ. The decision to cancel on bands that had traveled up to 13 hours to play in Cincinnati is not only terribly unethical, and not only shows the city that has supported bar's profits in a bad light, it may have been a bad business decision.
You see, the four bands scheduled to play Saturday night were higher tempo rock bands, not the mellow Folk/Indie that the 8pm band was playing. Here is how the Citybeat Midpoint Guide explained some the bands that were cancelled at Cadillac Ranch
In Cadeo: A more Technicolor version of The National, a more minor-key black-and-white version of The Jam.
Finding Fiction: The Strokes with blue-collor roots and influences
Mean Tambourines: Supergrass and Spacehog and David Bowie and The Cars in the Rock version of Survivor
After the Cadillac Ranch reported better than average sales from Midpoint Thursday and Friday night, General Manager Gordy Fitzwater blamed Midpoint for a decrease in sales for the first band Saturday night. He told the Enquirer, "We had pretty much a full house when we started, and we lost at least 75 percent of our crowd," Fitzwater said. "We did (MidPoint) last year, and it was a good thing for us. I think whoever put (this year) together didn't do the research."
Well, apparently the research was good enough to increase profits during the first two night of Midpoint 2009. In that same Enquirer article, Fitzwater stated business was up Thursday and Friday during Midpoint, and their participation in last year's Midpoint schedule brought in money as well. When the money from Midpoint dried up for one hour, instead of approaching Midpoint after the festival or simply deciding not to host bands next year, the bar took the profit they already received and ran.
I would be willing to bet that had they followed through with their promise to host the scheduled out of town bands, business would have returned. Instead, Cadillac Ranch acted as bad host for the city, showing without a doubt that even though a city can support a corporate chain, a corporate chain will never support a city.
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You tell them, Sean. I didn't witness this but have read several accounts, including the Enquirer's, and it seems really rude and unprofessional on their part. I will happily boycott that place, having never set foot in it in the first place.
I think Cadillac Ranch acted unprofessionally, but saying "a city can support a corporate chain, but a corporate chain will never support a city" belittles the contributions of a wide range of Cincinnati-based companies.
I wrote to the Cadillac Ranch corporate offices. I know a few others who did. The manager acted in an unethical and unprofessional manner. I agree with Sean that corporate chains do not invest as much in the cities as the small business owners. The small business owners have more at stake!
I was in a group of at least 7 that were there for MPMF2009. We were all there Saturday night for the Lighthouse and the Whaler, we all had at least 1 drink - after we were ignored by the waitstaff and went up to the bar. Weirdest thing about it wall was this: As we walked up, the doorman was clicking off on his crowd counter clicking device. Clicking it for all he was worth, even though nobody was walking in or out of the place. I can say that I had walked by 30-40 minutes earlier and there was pretty much the same number of people in the place when Lighthouse and the Whaler played. My belief, they fudged the numbers and bold-faced lied about it.
I am all for a boycott of the Cadillac Ranch. I live across the street and deal with the noice ordinance violations that seem to go unchecked. It is clearly written LAW that any music, conversation or any other noises produced by an establishment such as Cadillac Ranch after 11PM are a violation of the noise ordinance.
The patrons start fights, urinate, and litter in Ruth Lyons Lane/Alley, which is realistically the driveway of the residents of Graydon Lofts. It might surprise you to know that we are leveed two separate taxes to maintain that alley, yet we are ticketed for parking there to unload groceries.
We live here. Many of us have lived here longer than Cadillac Ranch has been here. The Righteous Room is being fined on a regular basis and are in the process of constructing a wall to act as a noise barrier. Why, when we have complained for over a year, are our cries for help falling on deaf ears. Maybe it's the volume of the music.
Borrowing from another irate downtowner, the city has duped us all. They lured residents downtown with promises and tax abatements to get us down there. We are responsible for the growth and revitalization efforts in their inception. Without us, it doesn't happen. We moved in, one by one the businesses came in. Fountain Square is now a real landmark and a source of pride.
There has to be some balance. The residents of downtown, specifically the Back Stage area, have a right to some peace and quiet past a certain hour of the day.
Lori - What is the address for the Cadillac Ranch corporate office? Do you have a contact name for them? I'd like to write them, myself. Thanks!