May 5, 2008
Flip-Flops: Don't Wear Them to the Black Cat
That wearing flip-flops to a rock concert could be dangerous might seem obvious to many of us, but we all know those people who, when the weather finally gets warm enough, more or less refuse to wear actual shoes until the fall. These folks will wear flip-flops to a fancy restaurant, on a first date, or even to church. But venerable rock venue the Black Cat has a message for those of you committed to bearing your toes: it's time to stop wearing flip-flops to the nightclub.
Black Cat owner Dante Ferrando told DCist that due to safety concerns, he started trying to ban flip-flops from the venue last year, though never went so far as actually enforcing the ban -- he just posted a "no flip-flops" rule on the wall, instructed his door staff to remind people of the rule, and generally still let people in who were wearing them. But after a couple of concert goers had to be carried downstairs with foot injuries thanks to broken glass or crushed toes, he anticipates cracking down on flip-flops in the near future.
"Flip-flops are pretty much the same as bare feet," Ferrando said.
The nearby 9:30 Club does not have a policy prohibiting flip-flops, though they recommend concert goers wear sensible footwear.
There's no date set yet at the Black Cat for when strict enforcement of the no flip-flops policy will begin, and Ferrando said that it ultimately might depend on the kind of concert in question. He'd be less likely to turn away someone in flip-flops who was coming for a mellow acoustic show in the Backstage than he would for someone attending a sold-out punk rock show upstairs. In the meantime, though, Ferrando is hoping people who come to the Black Cat will just start adopting the rule for themselves, before he's forced to turn anyone away from the door. The rule only applies to rubber flip-flops, and not to open-toed sandals, though Ferrando said he's "not crazy about" those either.
Photo by cstein96
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Ooo! Will they ban crocs as well?
I'd feel safer mowing my lawn with flipflops than going to the Cat in them. A bladder full of Red Room Ales and a poor sense of aim can be a lethal combination.
they should go one step further and ban the PEOPLE who wear flip flops.
If the Black Cat extended their dress code to ban oversized sunglasses, no one would be able to get in!
I know who goes to a show at the Black Cat wearing flip-flops, it's the two morons I saw on a scooter downtown a few days ago, in flip-flops and shorts with no helmets.
There is not an overabundance of common sense in this town.
Who in their right mind would use a public restroom wearing flipflops? I get the hee-bee-jee-bee's when I'm wearing my army boots!
Fine by me. Better than ditching glassware altogether like the 9:30 Club did -- anyone else miffed over the piddly 12 oz. plastic cups?
Now if only Dante could get the Black Cat staffers to smile. Please? Every now and then will do.
YES! I am so excited that Black Cat is getting the ball rolling on this.
It's like all of my dreams are finally coming true...
I ♥ Face Control.
Oh drat. That was supposed to link...I'll just do it the old-fashioned way.
http://theantidc.blogspot.com/2008/04/soooooo-delicious.html
I never wear flip-flops to a show anyway. Would kind of suck if you went to a low-key show wearing flip-flops and were barred entry though. They should use discretion on the ban.
That's odd. I always thought that it's illegal to wear sandals and other shoes without backs in ALL DC bars. I also heard that it's generally only enforced in gay bars.
haters. i like flip flops.
but do they like you?
It's lucky for XYZ Affair fans the ban doesn't apply to blond, bespectacled guitarists or Saturday's show would've been canceled.
touche, HCE.
yeah! i'm with jeffrey. good show saturday night, even if he did forget his shoes.
but i wear flip flops b/c i'm from kentucky and kentuckians don't like to wear shows.
ahem, wear SHOES. kentuckians can't spell either.
i've accidentally stepped on broken glass while wearing flipflops at several bars in the area and ended up pretty bloody.
Because I was too drunk to realize it, I also bled on my white sheets at home. doh.
i almost never wear flops to the bars anymore.
it wouldn't be bad if they had a rack of bowling shoes to offer to flip flop wearing customers.
Eeewwww....who in their right mind would wear flip flops to the black cat anyway?! I'd never want any of the ambiguous muck on their black floor to get on my feet. My purrrty feet.
I was there Saturday wearing flip-flops. It was a nice day, and after way too many mint juleps and beers, I didn't feel spending an extra $3 and 45 minutes riding Metro just to put on shoes before heading to the Black Cat.
I agree with TW too...discretion is the name of the game. Of course all it takes is one Georgetown undergrad with a cut foot and an ambulance-chasing daddy before their insurance rates jump and glasses and bottles are banned...
I was told after showing up Friday that all flip flops were banned outright starting Saturday. I personally don't mind but if I am just going to the bar or to a show at backstage I don't see flip flops being a major issue. Also I think a huge percentage of girls there that night were wearing flip flops, it may be a rough transition.
Darwin's theory at work, in a minor way. The people who always whine about their feet hurting are the ones who go barefoot or minimally shod.
Oh, well, they just better watch out for my ponyplay hoofed boots.
next thing you know they'll be baning surfboards and beach umbrellas.
smart: banning flip flops. dumb: that people couldn't figure this out on their own.
So now if I go to the Black Cat I have to wear wingtips with my Speedo? No way!
That's gonna cause some problems the next time Jimmy Buffet rolls through the Cat.
A few weeks ago, I was sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of the couch in the Red Room talking to some friends and was told by some employee that sitting on the floor was not allowed, and that this policy was, in fact, 'for my own good'. Apparently the BC is quite afraid of broken glass.
@Silas
Hope you took some penicillin after sitting on the floor. That floor is nasty, but not as nasty as when we still had smoking in DC bars. I slipped on some liquid and came up covered in a huge wet spot consisting of cigarette butts, ashes and god knows what else kind of nastiness.
In related news, at 18th St Lounge women CAN wear flip flops but men canNOT where flip flops. I went with my boyfriend - wearing essentially the same pair of shoes. He was denied entry. And the bouncer said: women can, men can't. I hate gender discrimination, especially when it relates to SHOES!!
Silas, just an fyi. I'm pretty sure a few of my friends have spilled beer, broken glass and spewed chunks on that floor. I'm just saying.
Yeah, I quit wearing open-toed shoes at the Black Cat after someone threw up on my feet. That was a hard-won lesson.
And yet they have NO problem with people peeing in the sink. It's so European!
This is one of those white people "crimes" that always go unpunished.
Kae, you file a formal complaint with the DC Human Rights Commission. It is illegal for a club in DC to discriminate based on gender.
I stopped wearing flipflops to Black Cat after WizzyLiz stomped me with her army boots.
kae - To be fair, most women have nice looking feet that they actually take care of. It's not an issue in a place like 18th Street. Men, however, let hangnails grow until you can open beer bottles with them, and let the toe jam build up until they reach Hobbitty levels of nastiness. If I'm paying $18 for a cocktail and listening to Thievery Corporation air pudding, I don't want to have to look at that s**t.
@kellygo: my god, that's nasty. i think it would be almost as nasty even with regular shoes.
i have not been to the black cat yet [and yes, i've been here two years, i guess that means i must live in a hole], but you all are making me reconsider any sort of desire to go.
glad to see badtzmaru is still flipping the race card up. that must be one hell of a deck...