Numbers goes Corporate

Well maybe it happened a while back...but I just noticed.

OK, so for those of you not from the Houston area, this means nothing. But to those of us who grew up here, and were of "that" certain segment of society, this is pretty scandalous. A little background is probably in order. Numbers Night Club has been a Houston institution for almost 30 years. One of the most established dance and live music venues in Houston, Numbers has hosted countless shows over the years along the line of Siouxsie, REM (in the early 80's...before they sucked), The Ministry, Violent Femmes, The Cure, The Church, They Might Be Giants, Nitzer Ebb, Red Flag, Bella Morte, and well...you get the idea. So...imagine my surprise when I learned that Numbers was hosting the teeny bopper tour.

Now, don't get me wrong, I admit to both watching and enjoying One Tree Hill, weekly even, but come on! What the hell is going on with this? Numbers? I mean hardly the crowd. Of course, upon closer inspection I also learned that Numbers is also hosting quasi-mainstream yap artist XZIBIT and the scarily geriatric Billy Idol (on separate dates of course).

The owner of Numbers used to own a record shop in Houston, where you could get rare club tracks and imports found nowhere else. I used to practically live in that place as a teenager and young adult. About 10 years ago, the Record Rack began, I guess in an attempt to drive sales, to stock more mainstream fare, subsequently sucking the life out of the place. I mean one can only stock so many Pet Shop Boys and Madonna remixes until your traditional clientele gets a little frustrated and stops showing up. Naturally, the shop shut down a few years ago.

I will never fault a business owner for just trying to make a buck; however, I just hope we don't see the Record Rack business strategy drive our beloved Numbers straight into oblivion.