Conventional Wisdom

Seriously, who builds an entire novelty themed night club, then just stashes chairs in it for years? I guarantee, everyone at this convention would have paid good money just to BE in there.

Yeah, okay, I get that after sitting unused for years, there’s probably safety concerns, what with the cracked ceiling and wires and all. But still, I’ve been to shows at clubs TEN TIMES as crappy as this place was. STOP HIDING THIS LIGHT UNDER A BUSHEL!

(Historical Notes: On the one hand, I’ve attended concerts in clubs that were even more rundown than even the most ramshackle corner of these rooms.  On the other hand, those clubs have either drastically remodeled or closed down, and one even caught on fire.  So I can see the liability nightmare that would result from allowing an event to officially use a space in this condition.  And honestly, I’m not even sure why a hotel that size, out in the suburban sprawl of Bethesda, would even HAVE a complex of novelty bars in the first place.  I can’t imagine they’d EVER have pulled in enough business to justify devoting that much convention center space to them.  But whatever, I still got one of my favorite con stories out of it.)