Update : Crash Mansion

On 6.20.08 I wrote a post about my terrible experience at The Crash Mansion.

In a effort to do something other than put it out into the www about how bad the place is, I also wrote into the Better Business Bureau so there would be something documented on their files.

Here is the response they sent me via the BBB website:
In the absence of any response from the company this complaint despite our two requests to them, we are closing our file on this complaint.

This unanswered complaint will become part of the information we report to the public on this company for the next three years. Should any government agency request our files on this company, your complaint will also be included.

If you have settled this complaint directly with the company, would you please email us to let us know that, as well as any other comments you might have. Your help in doing this is important to ensure that our report to the public on this company is accurate.

Thank you for using the Better Business Bureau.

While nothing may be done now...it's on record. And once again. Do not go to the Crash Mansion.

Texas Style : The Old 97's

I'm a Valley Girl. I am. I never lived in the South (other than Southern California) and I certainly have never gotten into Country music. I am however into some alt country which can almost be classified as folk?

What I remembered knowing about the Old 97's was something with Ryan Adams...and that they were somewhere in between him and Wilco. I heard a few of their new tracks that were cool - so I went to check out the show. If you read the prior post on the venue, you will see that at no fault to the band - the heat in the venue was awful. I give the band credit for performing those types of conditions.

The crowd was country folk. I don't mean that description as in their music taste. Well maybe I should say they looked like true Texans....and I think there was alot of Texas pride there since the band is from Dallas. Lot's of cowboy hats. The first three songs were their more shit-kickin' tracks to get the audience going and then they moved into more of the genre I like. More alt rock with folk influence....I realllllly loved (total sucker, I know) the song "Question" from their '01 album Satellite Rides. I think their newer stuff might be a little less bar room sounding and if you like that Wilco, Ryan Adam's sound...well then you should check them out. Oh and the singer wasn't too bad looking...hello Kevin Bacon in Footloose (or at least from where I was standing).

Don't Even THINK About Going : Crash Mansion

Lame. I had never been to Crash Mansion but I had heard about it. What had I heard? Nothing - just that there was a place down town...and maybe there was a reason for never hearing about and hopefully there isn't a lot more. I hate to be so harsh but I really did not like this place what so ever. I even sent a letter to the Better Business Bureau this morning. You must be thinking that sounds a bit ridiculous. But you haven't heard why?

The second I walked in I felt something weird. You know when you have an intuition, something telling you something is off? Well I kept getting this eerie creepie feeling like something was crawling on me. Is the mansion haunted? Maybe it was the heat getting to my head. Oh, that's right? This enormous space packed with people had no air conditioning on. Isn't there some sort of health code venue's have to uphold? For god sake's - turn on the AC so people can breath and not faint! Is their hope people will be so hot they will order drinks? Wake up Crash Mansion.

That was just the tip of it. We decided to duck out prior to the last song of the night...so we went to the bar to close our tab and the bartender who opened the tab (who was so rude earlier slamming things down) was away and the guy bartender said we had to wait for her to return. Stupid - how many people does it take to close a tab? Get it together people. She returns 10 minutes later looking for the license and credit card. "Oh um", she mumbles, "we closed our someone else's tab with your credit card and license". "But we are going to find her". Is she that dense? Yeah - you are gonna find this random girl in the sea of people? the guy returns saying he can't find her and that she left 20 minutes ago but "don't worry the manager knows her and is going to call her in the morning. Okkkkk. Let's talk to the manager. Shorty manager comes by and says "I don't know the girl - but she will call tomorrow for her ID". Really? And you know that how? You know that she is going to bring my friends ID and credit card back?

We asked for a copy of the girl's license so we could contact her. let's just say shorty manager couldn't take the heat or handle any of his management roles and got very excited very quickly. He vanished in a heat of anger. Slow down shorty. Great. got the license but shorty wants us out. I'm sorry - did we ever get an apology? Anything? No? No? Right....but you want us out. And you are going to bring the bouncers over to do that? Well - first we want a letter stating what has happened and a signature? No? No? You won't do that and now you really want us out? Nice not doing business with you ever dude.

**Story has been drastically shortened and limited to the extent that this situation heated up to for the sake of my party...not for the Crash Mansion. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Did I say Bad? Forget it.

Don't even THINK about it.