Norfolk Nightlife

[VAGATOR]

This sucks a big one. I was planning an event & Granby was our number one locale. The problem is we ARE going to have hip hop. It's a charity dance sponsored by the graduate/alumni chapters of my fraternity in the area. The crowd is to include doctors, lawyers, congressmen, professors and other professionals but now we can't use the venue we wanted. This is hilarious to me. I wonder if the stipulation is as open as no hip hop events?

[brikkman]

Phi Beta Sigma

www.vabeachsigmas.org

[vdogg]

Honestly, I know he isn't popular with the white folks, but you shoud give Councilman Riddick a call. Personally, I think this sttipulation is bogus, and reeks of the Jim Crow days. There is a big difference from an event you trying to hold with educated Black professionals and the type of events that attract hoodrats and criminals. We all shouldn't be lumped together even though our skin tone is the same.

[VAGATOR]

I really don't think it's that simplistic. The owner and the city came to an agreement that those types of events would not be held at Granby anymore. This is a mutual agreement that was pushed for the most part by a black councilman. Remember that Anthony Burfoot was the one that pushed for Granby to be closed to begin with. It was Anthony Burfoot who threw the gauntlet down by saying any business hosting "those types of events" would be shut down. This club owner in particular and club owners in general are responding to this threat. No one is going to risk their business like that. I agree that the terms are a bit too general, but I don't fault them for reacting in this manner given the history of violence at hip-hop clubs/events in Hampton Roads. If you wish to address anyone about this it should be to Mr. Burfoot, not Riddick.

[occasio]

Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc.

Spring 2000 (I know, young buck)

[rusthebuss]

They do the same thing with hardcore rock music so its not always racial issue. It just doesn't become a issue because its usually white people shutting down white music.

[burt]

Club Sevens looks like one stylish, hot club! Congratulations, Norfolk.

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You guys rarely mention NorVa -- guess it's not your kind of thing. But I was reading a piece about it that intrigued me:

"When the Norva was undergoing its renovation, the midcity shopping mall, MacArthur Center, was also being constructed. The two have provided a powerful economic catalyst...

"Sarah Parker, an assistant director in Norfolk's development and marketing office, adds that prior to the NorVa there were three restaurants in the neighborhood, and now more than 80, including within the mall. The NorVa's opening also jump-started the life of several other older theater spaces...

"All I can tell you is that it works," says (Terry) Bishirjian (City of Norfolk Communications Director) of the NovVa's impact. "I see audiences lining up out front at 5:30 in the afternoon. It's a beautiful thing."

[rusthebuss]

Norva is not a club Burt. Its for concerts. Thats why it never mentioned.

[burt]

Norva is not a club Burt. Its for concerts. Thats why it never mentioned.

[occasio]

Has anyone checked out Club Sevens yet?

[vdogg]

I was going to go but a friend called & said she couldn't get in because it was invite only. This seemed odd because it had a huge line outside when I did a drive by.

I am so happy for the entertainment district that Granby has become. The next thing is going to be to get the quality of promotions raised and some large company sponsored events brought in.

[brikkman]

Dude I'm Spring 98. I'm only 28. It still will be classy, just a question of where.

It's funny because there is a hip hop event going on tomorrow at Seldon arcade. Proceeds are being used for a gun buy back. Will there be any drama, I doubt it.

[brikkman]

Club Sevens looks like one stylish, hot club! Congratulations, Norfolk.

[vdogg]

Premiere special exception permit

Here is the entire permit that will be brought before council tommorrow for the reopening of Granby Theater. Warning! Large .pdf file.

[Chesapeake Pirate]

The VP Editorial page contains a scathing opinion piece on the possible re-opening of the Granby Theater. Even though I have never been there, I think they are being too harsh on the venue. Maybe they are trying, with this public pressure, to help make sure all possible rules and regulations are followed to the T to therefore avoid/minimize the chance of any future incident.

Here is the url:

http://content.hamptonroads.com/story.cfm?...0&ran=22882

[vdogg]

That article p**sed me off so bad I don't even want to type. This is the second time the pilot has tried to run Bobby Wright through the ringer like this. For the record, Granby may have plenty of clubs, but not plenty like this. Not everyone wants to go and listen to top 40 all the freakin time, which is the only thing left on Granby if there is no Sevens or Premiere. I wish the people with influence in this city could lighten up and take a look at the big picture. Bobby did make one mistake. He should of stuck to what he knew instead of branching out into other genres. None of this would have ever happened.

[vdogg]

Also, I never once worried about getting shot while having a good time. The nights I went that simply wasn't a factor. The crowd that went on the weekends wasn't violent at all. Also, the Norva is a concert venue not a club. It's a completely different thing and atmosphere. I would expect incidents at bar or nightclub to be higher than a concert venues. The performing arts theater will be a "performance hall" as well. Should we compare those two? They're completely different things. The one thing i've noticed about the editorial board there is that they will conveniently leave out facts that may be detrimental to their opinion. An example is the new civil remedial fees. They only talked about drunk driving and reckless driving while conveniently leaving out that certain lesser charges like changing lanes with no signal are also affected. They then came out with a scathing editorial the next day blaming people for not being more involved in the process and saying "you deserve whatever you get" basically. I wonder why there isn't more investigation into the background of the company that was throwing the event where this man got shot in the first place? You never hear anything about them. As you can tell, this one struck a nerve with me.

[VAGATOR]

The Pilot is a poorly written and run paper. Shouldn't be surprised with the crap they print out. You laid the out the perfect example with the illegal "civil remedial fees." Notice they didn't say anything about this area being rated as a crappy place for young professionals by Forbes. That was major news and not a peep from them except for a little summary of the article.

[Glassoul]

The Pilot is a poorly written and run paper. Shouldn't be surprised with the crap they print out. You laid the out the perfect example with the illegal "civil remedial fees." Notice they didn't say anything about this area being rated as a crappy place for young professionals by Forbes. That was major news and not a peep from them except for a little summary of the article.

[vdogg]

I would imagine that eventually these fees will be thrown out in the Virginia Supreme Court on constitutional grounds.

[Sky06]

What's so ridiculous, phony, and oh-so-predictable about the Pilot is that they criticized the city at first for closing down (or forcing closure of) Granby. When that happened, all the paper (and its pathetic companion Portfolio magazine) could talk about is how the city overreacted and that the only ones who would suffer are the citizens. Now that it is reopening, the paper takes a clearly opposite view.

"The city has been accused of overreacting and being on a witch hunt. But its actions so far have been justified, and the new restrictions are necessary and reasonable." [VP editorial]

In fact, it was this same newspaper who made these claims. Sure, this is from the editorial staff, which is different from the general reporting staff. But damnit, it's the same newspaper! This is not the first time the Pilot has flip-flopped in order to criticize everything and anything in it's local path. (In fact, it's probably not the first time this week.) There's absolutely no doubt they'd still be saying what they originally said if Granby were not re-opening. I mean, how phony can you get?

[Telmnstr]

What's so ridiculous, phony, and oh-so-predictable about the Pilot is that they criticized the city at first for closing down (or forcing closure of) Granby. When that happened, all the paper (and its pathetic companion Portfolio magazine) could talk about is how the city overreacted and that the only ones who would suffer are the citizens. Now that it is reopening, the paper takes a clearly opposite view.

"The city has been accused of overreacting and being on a witch hunt. But its actions so far have been justified, and the new restrictions are necessary and reasonable." [VP editorial]

In fact, it was this same newspaper who made these claims. Sure, this is from the editorial staff, which is different from the general reporting staff. But damnit, it's the same newspaper! This is not the first time the Pilot has flip-flopped in order to criticize everything and anything in it's local path. (In fact, it's probably not the first time this week.) There's absolutely no doubt they'd still be saying what they originally said if Granby were not re-opening. I mean, how phony can you get?

[vdogg]

Granby to reopen July 21st

[vdogg]

Went to Sevens last night. Very classy place. I love the decor, especially the waterfall. Definitely a step up for HR. A word to the wise, this is a very popular club already. They have limited capacity so it's best to get there early. There was already a large line by 10 pm and by 12:30 am, when me and my friend left, the line stretched all the way down the block to Time. There is definitely room on Granby for both Premiere and Sevens though because Sevens doesn't offer high enough capacity to really compete.

[mikeas]

I checked out club seven last night aswell. It is a pretty decent place, drinks are about a dollar more than Baxters. They should have done something better with the ceilings though, everything is real nice looking and then you have the standard white tile drop down ceiling. (in the basement atleast). I was happy to see the line down to Time... Time had no cover to try and draw people in but I don't believe it was working. Time has always sucked anyway.