Ineed a good fake ID. Not necessarily for liquor purchases or going out to the bars, but because concerts here in Madison almost exclusively cater to the 21-plus crowd. This fact hinders about three-quarters of the undergraduate college population from seeing good bands performing live. So far during my college experience, many acts came through Madison, leaving us underagers begging to get into the show at the door, being rejected and reading the positive reviews the following day.
Pedro the Lion, an independent band with a large following especially among those under 21, is coming to High Noon Saloon next week. The concert is rather inexpensive, but underage fans are not able to gain entry and see them perform. Similarly, current policy also threatens the Madison music scene since local bands cannot appeal to younger fans because they cannot see the shows. The People, a local Madison band, is also playing at High Noon Saloon, but many college kids are left out of the picture.
Kirk Wall of the Madison-based band, The German Art Students, would like to see venues open their doors to the 18-plus crowd. He claims, \The music scene could be broader and more inclusive if 21-plus as well as 18-plus can all be at the same venue.""
Instead of broadening the music scene, the city currently tries to protect those who cannot legally drink by refusing them entrance into venues that serve alcohol. Concerts, however, are a great way for the city to combat the campus' ""drinking problem."" If students see a live show, they will be less likely to drink and more likely to be entertained by the music. In essence, these laws almost foster drinking and unruly behavior, since turning kids away from shows only points them in a different direction. They will eventually go to a house party, frat party or give in to some other sort of unruly behavior, all resulting in more negative consequences than innocently seeing a concert.
Last spring, Madison's Alcohol License Review Committee reviewed the city's current cabaret ordinance and are thinking of relieving venues from strict laws. The city would allow all adults, 18 years and older, admission into venues. Club owners could also apply for a Visual and Performing Arts License, which would permit people under 21 to enter into the building to see live shows.
Alcohol sales should not be a legal issue for Madison because University venues like the Rathskeller and the Terrace sell alcohol, but they do not prohibit underage students from going to see live shows. These two venues offer some great shows and they do so without incident. The idea of allowing admission to people older and younger than 21 needs to be extended to all venues in Madison. If the city is worried about underage drinking why not let clubs adopt a wristband system to denote who is old enough to drink so bartenders can easily tell whether patrons are of age.
""We played at a club in Iowa two-and-a-half years ago. The underage patrons wore bracelets. It worked really well. I see no reason why venues could not adopt this policy,"" Wall said.
The wristband policy, however, has not yet been established in Madison. The 21-plus policy of venues such as The Annex, Luther's Blues and other small venues is tragic for the music industry.
Musicians, venues and students should join the fight these rules, especially since many 21-plus venues fail to sell out the shows. Bands thrive on touring and make their money on concerts. By prohibiting ""minors"" from seeing shows, bands are losing a younger, more diverse audience, who are usually the most excited about the latest in music and the most willing to go to concerts.
Ryan Johnson, manager of The Annex, said if they could serve alcohol at shows with all ages, business would increase immensely. He said ""[The city] is talking about allowing alcohol sales at shows with crowds of people who are 18-plus. This would help out a lot of people. We just need to understand proper security measures.""
He went on to suggest that handstamps and wristbands would be more than adequate.
Madison is supposed to be a college town, but with the current laws in place, the city is not serving much of its population. Students, we need to let our voices be heard in this matter and demand the city provide us some sort of entrance into venues so we can embrace the diverse Madison arts scene. We are adults, but still treated as children and excluded from so much of the college experience. As for those who are paid to keep underagers out of clubs, you see my mug shot--help a girl out.
Contact Beth at eawick@wisc.edu.
