Quote: (03-21-2013 01:14 AM)Emmanuel Goldstein Wrote:
Why do you guys think Baltimore declined so much? After all, the colleges are still kicking.
I'm curious as to how a city's talent can rise and fall.
I live here and I'm not entirely sure myself. Anyone else can feel free to disagree with me, but I lived here since 2006 and I just feel like the talent pool has taken a turn for the worse in the past 2 years. As stated, I'm of the opinion that the decline of the under 21 scene/college nights has a chilling effect on an entire city, not just the specific bars. Lots of place have been closed down due to violations, and everyone else is tougher on IDs than in the past. I never went to Mist, but I think that has been changed to Baltimore Soundstage and is more of a live music place now, could be wrong. Iguana Cantina - yeah they closed after a lot of violations and tried to re-open as an "upscale rum bar" which failed. Bourbon Street had a ton of violations, but I think one of the final nails in the coffin was supposedly 17 year olds showing their tits to Girls Gone Wild. They were cleared on it but the stigma remained in the media and after that the liquor board was just circling them like a vulture).
Even if bars just get tougher on IDs it can have a chilling effect. I know this from experience with bouncing - we had to get tough on IDs at one point at the bar I worked at because we were feeling the heat. We used to be known as the place that wasn't hard to get in (I was the one carding, and half the time I'd be drunk as shit). Word spreads fast, lo and behold, not as many hot girls.
The economy probably deserves mention too. In 06-07 when I bounced in Towson, we would charge $5 bucks a head and pack the place no problem. A few of the other bars charged covers too. Economy started to tank in 08, by 09, nobody was even thinking about charging covers anymore. I'm guessing allowance money probably declined, especially at a 2nd tier state school like Towson. College kids stay in more, don't shell out for cabs as much = not as many youngins in the scene = the 22-26+ hot girls feel a lot more secure and start slacking in their game and stuffing their faces, etc.
Even Loyola had a designated "freshman bar" in Fells Point on Friday nights that is now closed. I heard about it from some Loyola grads, I didn't believe them. They took me there one night, sure enough every girl in there was young as shit, I couldn't believe it, and the line was around the block. It was owned by a retired cop so the BPD didn't mess with them. Even that is place is closed now, it got sold.