Excessive property damage following nighttime live music shows at the Coffeehouse in Uptown Normal has prompted a decision to cancel some of those shows indefinitely, its manager said in an interview.
Yvonne Wilson sent a letter Thursday to artists and bands that were scheduled to play during upcoming after-hours shows the Coffeehouse typically hosted from 7-11 p.m., telling them those shows have been canceled indefinitely due to concertgoer behavior over the past few months.
Wilson told WGLT on Friday the decision was difficult, given the 28-year-old establishment’s long history of providing an accessible venue for local musicians and bands, but she didn’t see any alternatives.
“This was not damage done by the bands; this is the concertgoers that just have a lack of respect for our coffee shop and the welcoming environment that we’ve provided,” Wilson said. “It’s just been absolute chaos. … We love the scene, but people need to learn how to respect bands, they need to learn how to respect venues.”
She emphasized the bands and artists are not at fault for the damages — though the consequences may impact them the most — and placed blame on concertgoers whose actions have ranged from “chaotic” to “not normal behavior.”
“Things we’ve seen are people being lifted, like crowd-surfed into the air, trying to walk on our ceilings; people trying to jump and bang on our ceilings; the whole ramp at the back of our store has been ripped (with) people just throwing themselves through it,” Wilson said. “The backdoor was ripped — someone tried to rip it off but I caught them before they succeeded. Just, like, madness.”
Asked about the financial costs, Wilson said she “wouldn’t even want to go there.”
Some shows do remain on the books at the Coffeehouse, including art receptions, acoustic sets, jazz bands and open mic nights already scheduled through March and April. Wilson said the Coffeehouse will continue to do some shows, “just not gigs that were going until 11 p.m.”
Gender Envy, a music festival featuring bands with women and non-binary leads, is set for Friday and Saturday nights at the Coffeehouse as planned.
“We’re all about supporting, but we can’t do it under the circumstances, so we need to take a break,” Wilson said. “People need to collect themselves and figure out how to be respectable people and then we can start again. Whether that’s months or a year, I don’t know. But this isn’t our fault, it’s not the bands’ fault. It is the people coming to these shows.”
