The Medusa Fora

Eric V wrote:
I'd love to see them in London next year, and if I must get peed on then so be it. Odd sort, these English.

Ah, they love their watersports

Dear God there is a lot of "pee" talk in this forum!

Me and the wifey are there on the 10th. We have our tickets on our fridge at the moment. We have a hotel room reserved so we can indulge in alcoholic beverages without worrying about driving (we live 1 1/2hrs away).

Some advice for people who have never been to the 9:30 before is to get there early. I say early because of parking. You want to get a spot close to the club because if you park more than three blocks away in any direction your car might not be there after the show. Or if it's there, it might have its windows broken and your belongs will be gone.

Yes, this is a crappy neighborhood.

I was gonna take the Metro, actually, and leave my car in some hotel lot outside of that neighborhood. Do you know if the Metro's far? The club site says it isn't too far away.

Thanks for the tip! How early do you mean by "early"?

The club is only a block or two from the U Street metro stop.
When you get to the proper metro stop, leave the station via the Vermont St. exit. It's a pain in the ass if you go to the other exit. After you exit the station, there is a weird turn that you have to make to get to the club but I'd suggest that you just follow the drunken paddys and shamrock shirted hooligans, as I'm sure that there will be loads of them milling about around there.

IrishPunk® wrote:... Some advice for people who have never been to the 9:30 before is to get there early. I say early because of parking. You want to get a spot close to the club because if you park more than three blocks away in any direction your car might not be there after the show. Or if it's there, it might have its windows broken and your belongs will be gone.

Yes, this is a crappy neighborhood.

There's been discussion of this elsewhere on this board. I'd describe the area as -- uh -- "transitional." For decades the surrounding neighborhood was called "The Black Broadway" because of the number of pre-integration-era theaters and cinemas that had black owners or catered to black audiences.

After the King assassination, some of the most destructive rioting in DC happened around 14th and U Streets. For decades after, the neighborhood was a shambles, with a few small business remaining in the area, and a lotta prostitution.

Several years ago, when the Metro's Green Line came through, new businesses started springing up.

You'll see a mix of ordinary, working-class black people who've lived in the neighborhood for years or generations, possibly some newly arrived latinos, and some federal workers, lawyers, social workers, artists and students of all ethnicities 'round the neighborhood.

I'd advise parking on U or south of it, and doing what's probably obvious in an unfamiliar urban area -- choosing a spot in an area that's well-lit and seems to have a fair amount of pedestrian and vehicular traffic around it.

There's a police station or substation on Vermont Avenue, right across from the nearest Metro station (U Street/African-American Civil War Memorial/Cardozo). If you're especially nervous about parking, consider looking for a spot near the police station -- even if it's a block or so outta the way, you can count on break-ins being discouraged by the fact that police cars will be coming and going up and down the nearby major intersections.

Mr.Awesome wrote:The club is only a block or two from the U Street metro stop.
When you get to the proper metro stop, leave the station via the Vermont St. exit. It's a pain in the ass if you go to the other exit. After you exit the station, there is a weird turn that you have to make to get to the club but I'd suggest that you just follow the drunken paddys and shamrock shirted hooligans, as I'm sure that there will be loads of them milling about around there.

Yeah. The full name of the station is U Street/African-American Civil War Memorial/Cardozo.

As Mr. Awesome has said, unless you're in the mood to walk a few extra blocks of U Street (or to stop by Ben's Chili Bowl or to see the large mural of DC's native son, Duke Ellington,) you'll want to take the Vermont Avenue exit from the station.

If you're going to eat someplace before going to the show, you'll find several bars and restaurants on 14th Street, between around Q and U. If you're going to 14th Street, you'll wanna take the other (13th Street) exit.

If you're heading straight to the 9:30 Club, take the Vermont Avenue exit. The escalators will deposit you in front of a statue (the African-American Civil War Memorial). As you come outta the station, you'll need to face opposite the war memorial, toward U Street.

I'd advise walking to the club on the fairly well-traveled and well-lit U Street. As you stand with your back to the war memorial, you need to head right on U Street for ~ two blocks to 8th Street.

As Mr. Awesome has said, you'll pro'ly see lots o' shamrocks, green, etc. in the neighborhood and can follow the crowd to the 9:30 Club at 815 V Street.

Awesome info. Thanks everyone! I'm sure I'll get there with no trouble.

carol wrote:There's been discussion of this elsewhere on this board. I'd describe the area as -- uh -- "transitional."

While I'm sure you know the area better than I do, I can relate that this http://www.nbc4.com/news/5319879/detail.html happend a block from the 9:30, after I attended the DKM show there in Nov., and about three hours after I pulled my car from in front of this restaurant.

After reading about this incident on the internet the following day I swore I would never go back to the 9:30 because a concert just isn't worth the risk. Missing this shooting by a couple of hours was just too close of a call for me. Then the Pogues decided to play there so I'll risk it one more time.

The neighborhood isn't that bad. That shooting occured because of an incident that took place inside that particular club. If you don't keep your wits about you, you can get into some pretty hairy situations but it's not like the 9:30 club is in the middle of Tikrit or Kabul. That whole area has undergone massive development over the past few years and I think that it has some of the coolest bars in the DC area. Places like Cafe St. Ex, the Black Cat, DC9, Local 16 are pretty hip and rockin'. I've never had a problem stumbling and bumbling my way around there but I suppose that it might be because I am over 10 feet tall and made of muscle. Also, if anyone needs to know where to rock out and be awesome in the Washington, DC area, feel free to ask.

Mr.Awesome wrote:The neighborhood isn't that bad. That shooting occured because of an incident that took place inside that particular club. .

"seven people have been shot, including some fatally, near the club since June"

Hardly an isolated incident attributable an altercation in the club. Seven shootings within a block of 9:30 from June-Nov.

If you're nervous about the neighborhood, the best advice I can offer is staying on U Street, which is well-lit and has plenty of vehicular traffic and pedestrian traffic (in part because some of the bars, restaurants and cafes that have been mentioned are either on U Street or are just a few steps off of it).

The 9:30 Club is on V Street, but if you're at all nervous about or unfamiliar with the neighborhood, I'd counsel walking on U Street 'til you reach 8th Street. The club's entrance, its will-call window, etc. are at the corner of 8th and V.

And if you're walking from the Metro station, when you come to the intersection of 8th and U, go ahead and cross 8th Street at the crosswalk. That'll put you in front of some tannish-colored brick building, the name of which escapes me. If you don't cross 8th Street at the crosswalk, you'll probably have difficulty crossing further up the street to get to the 9:30.

Kili's was shut down following the rash of shootings (which had nothing to do with the 9:30 club or any of its patrons), as was Club U, so I wouldn't worry about it.

I live in the Logan Circle neighborhood, and will be walking to the show on the 9th (albeit with 3 friends), like I always do. Don't have a ticket for the 10th, in case anyone feels like hooking me up with one.

As I mentioned in another thread, there is a new Irish restaurant/pub set to open soon across 9th St./Vermont Ave. from the 9:30 club. Given it's location and (one would assume) ample supply of Guiness, I would expect that it would make an ideal pre-show meetup location. Seriously, what more could you ask for? I'll check it out before the Flogging Molly shows in February, and post details here.

Do you know when that place is going to open?

Mr.Awesome wrote:Do you know when that place is going to open?

As of December 30, it was "opening soon." I live nearby, so I'll try to swing by soon to see exactly when they're opening.