Things to avoid smashing at a show: The A.V. Club’s guide to valuable artifacts at Madison venues
A behind the scenes look at the Majestic's classic marquee.
Shit happens. Just ask the Madison man who blacked out at the Orpheum Theatre recently and smashed the venue’s $50,000 antique fountain. When it does, we’re left to light a candle and clean off the stains, and perhaps deal with criminal charges. To spare inebriated music fans a similar fate, The A.V. Club took a look at some of the other valuable property contained within the city’s concert venues in hopes of steering would-be destroyers in the other direction.
The Frequency: Don’t wreck the memorabilia
Anyone who decides to total a toilet at the Frequency wouldn’t be the first, according to owner Darwin Sampson. What a waste of aggression. But at least they didn’t smash the two glass cases located in the venue’s middle room by the fireplace. They contain memorabilia from autographed Britney Spears and Ron Jeremy pictures to Brewers baseball cards from the 1982 World Series—no such luck this year—to autographed Jane’s Addiction and Grateful Dead ticket stubs. Check them out the next time you’re at The Frequency.
High Noon Saloon: Don’t smash the glass shrine
Patrons familiar with the venue’s Western theme might have guessed the longhorn cow skull nailed to the wall would make the list. Though it’s inadvisable to desecrate the remains of this bovine, try again. Between the ATM and the main bar, a glass case hangs as a shrine to O’Cayz Corral, the music venue Cathy Dethmers owned before opening the High Noon in 2004, says employee Kimbra Berry. O’Cayz burned down on New Year’s Day in 2001. The glass case contains everything that could be salvaged from the building, including T-shirts, bricks, drink chips, and concert posters. Artist Frank Kozik designed one of the posters for a Pachinko, U.S. Maple, Gaza Strippers, Unsane, Today Is the Day, and Bongzilla show. The mementos in the case probably wouldn’t fetch more than a few hundred dollars on Craigslist. A signed copy of the Kozik poster is currently going for $80, but for Dethmers and music fans with fond memories of The White Stripes, Soundgarden, and Nirvana shows at O’Cayz, the relics are priceless.
The Majestic Theatre: Don’t topple the historic marquee.
There isn’t a whole lot to smash inside The Majestic Theatre—besides other fans in a spontaneous mosh pit at a show. The current form of the Majestic opened as a live music venue just four short years ago. It’s also Madison’s oldest theater in existence, dating back to 1906. A paradox to rattle humanity’s very conception of time and space? No, just a case of changing identities. Before opening as a music venue, The Majestic served as a vaudeville playhouse and later a movie theater. The current marquee has informed the greater community since the 1950s. Every day, employees change the letters by hand to maintain the theater’s iconic charm, says co-owner Matt Gerding. Thankfully, this historic element remains high above any drunken fan’s path of destruction.
Mickey’s Tavern: Don’t kill the vibe.
As Madison’s oldest operating bar, Mickey’s has a colorful past and eclectic decor to match. Patrons can’t help but note the venue’s collection of TV lamps and mirrors described by employee Benjamin Altschul as Saint Vinnie’s finest. Saint Vincent de Paul thrift stores sell everything from clothing by the pound to the sort of antique lamps from the ’40s, ’50s, and ’60s that currently adorn Mickey’s walls. Customers can also bask in the neon glow of the tavern’s two dog-head signs from the ’40s. The neon signs were part of an effort to reinvent the venue’s image when it resumed legal distribution of spirits after functioning as a speakeasy during Prohibition. Funk, jazz, and punk tunes issue forth from the Emerald Isle jukebox to provide entertainment when live bands aren’t tuning up. Don’t forget the ’80s PBR sign hanging proudly outside the venue. Anyone who decides to channel his or her inner “bull in a China shop” should steer clear of Mickey’s; there’s too much fantastic stuff everywhere. Anyone who’s looking to delight in fine bands and brews should stop on by.
