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Somerville music venue to shut for 'reboot' after series of problems
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Noooo! Where will I go for
Noooo! Where will I go for Simpsons trivia now?
... to ONCE, on July 31st,
... to ONCE, on July 31st, when we do it one more time!
Don't Worry!
Simpsons will go on....and on....and on.....it's a part of us all. A part of us all. A part of us all.
ONCE is great
Great sound, great atmosphere, however, they do take forever to get people in the door for a sold out show and yes, the bar is a wee slow too.
Brighton Music Hall is already picking up shows of groups that have played there in the past.
Yet, Brighton Music Hall does not have wrought iron and frosted glass. Good luck to them. They seem like really nice people.
They do seem great, and there
They do seem great, and there aren't that many good mid-size venues around- this side of the river at least. Plus they have the upstairs lounge for smaller shows and events. It'd be a real loss if they can't reopen.
The entire appeal of this place to me
is the fact that its a time capsule of a cheesy 80s-90s function hall. I can see if they are re-organizing some of the layout (much of it doesn't make sense logistically for what they are doing) but an "entire facelift" sounds expensive and unnecessary.
My only two bits of advice for the place:
-Figure out a way to speed up bar service- its really slow every time I go.
-Get another couple of pinball machines- Boston Proper I think has ZERO pinball machines in its borders. Not even Boston Bowl has one. You're probably considered a brothel or opium den if you have one according to some old puritan law. ONCE has the space and I'd me more than happy to pump quarters into their revenue stream WHILE I drink their overpriced beer. The Adams Family machine is a classic but 1-2 more options would keep me dropping quarters in longer. I can say for sure I am not alone on this!
Boston proper has some pinball, though
not as much as I'd like. A few locations: A4cade, State Park, The Sinclair, Flat Top Johnnie's, the Clover in Central Square that used to be Hi-Fi Pizza, Lucky Strike at Assembly Row and on Lansdowne, Hopewell, Punter's Pub, Mo-Dell's, The Frogmore, The Pour House, Vanderbilt, Beacon Hill Pub.
Do you mean greater boston?
Do you mean greater boston? or has central square picked up and relocated south of the river?
"the Clover in Central Square that used to be Hi-Fi Pizza"
Is MC Slim JB one of the Four Horsemen?
UM
I guess read my post again then look at your list and ask yourself what cities/town those places are in? I guess you got me there are 2, maybe 3 whole places with pinball IN BOSTON. Lucky Strike's must be pretty new because they had nothing there as of last summer.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Cambridge and Somerville aren't "Boston proper", though
Well, I included a few places within Boston city
limits, but I consider Boston Proper a little more broadly. Fair or not, my brief as a restaurant critic calls anything within a five-mile radius of the State House to be the urban core. That covers a lot of the restaurants, bars and entertainment venues that make up the bulk of our scene. No aspersions on our more far-flung neighborhoods -- anyone who has read my reviews for the past decade-plus knows I routinely find joy there, and The Improper occasionally lets me cover places beyond the shiny spots downtown -- but they and I include Somerville, Cambridge, Watertown and Brookline in our default definition of the Boston scene.
accident of history
It's only a historical quirk that Somerville isn't part of Charlestown and therefore "Boston Proper". Maybe something like https://www.mapnificent.net/boston/#12/42.3473/-71.0778/1200/42.3565/-71... is more useful than "five miles"? (
Best of luck to them.
I've enjoyed every show I've seen there. The patrons are cool, the staff is friendly and the scene is fun and chill. It's been a great addition to the music scene, even if it is a bit difficult to easily get to via public transportation. I hope they can pull it all back together.
LOL!!!
So, lets talk about ONCE.
The plan was to be a venue supporting local, rock and metal acts among other things and only serve local food/alcohol.
The road to hell is also paved with good intentions.
They've been crying poor mouth since the doors opened.
The food was sporadic in quality and availability and the booze selection was small and expensive. If you go to a metal show you want a cheap beer or a jack & coke, not a cinnamom infused local IPA or small batch whiskey and artisan sparkling water.
They cried about bills so crowdfunded their kitchen equipment.
Its been common knowledge the place has been floundering.
Suddenly (and not suspiciously at all) they claim they were "robbed" for an undisclosed amount of money and again run to GoFundMe, raise a quick $20k then close up shop completely a month later.
Anyone who still feels bad for them is a fool and anyone who gave them sympathy money should demand their cash back.
/end rant
Not excactly
I have no dog in this fight, but from the Scout article:
'A local radio host started a GoFundMe page for the venue after learning about the May robbery. The fundraiser has brought in over $20,000 for ONCE, but Gonson explains that they haven’t taken in the money yet.
“The GoFundMe that was set up in an emergency situation will remain untouched until such time as we have designated a clear and specific use for the donations,” a statement from ONCE reads. “Broadly, the money will be exclusively used to keep ONCE open. But we want our donors to have the specifics about for what exact purpose the money will be used, and we want to emphasize that donors always have the option of a refund if in any way they feel the cause they thought they donated to is different from the decision made.”'
GoFundMe
Read the statement.
"“The GoFundMe that was set up in an emergency situation will remain untouched until such time as we have designated a clear and specific use for the donations,”
Part of what is behind all independent business struggles in this area is very high rent and running costs. It's an immense chanllenge to make a business work in that climate. I doubt anyone is in it for the money. Having investors and funding the start up is incredibly common, and not a failing or weakness, more of a standard.