Did We Just Play for the Mob?

[Keyser Soze]

.... if they knew what the heck they were doing, they would have had them sign an NDA as well (in advance).

Yeah, that old mob tradition; having people sign NDAs. LOL.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

I was in the Army in a Pershing missile unit (nukes) and did a fair share of guarding individuals. They were watching him closely, but it's unlike they were pointing firearms at him. They had rounds in the magazine but unlikely that they had any in the chamber. Accidental discharges are a big problem for everyone in the chain of command and that's just an accidental discharge into a clearing barrel designed to catch an accidental discharge. But someone suited up in body armor and carrying an M16 or M4 is intimidating, by design. And the time we had a contractor pull out a pellet gun during a vehicle search. Are you seriously that stupid??

Off topic but thanks for your service Rich.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

Off topic but thanks for your service Rich.

Thanks, but I had it pretty easy. More MASH 4077 than Generation Kill.

 

[Johnny Fingers]

Played at a Mob wedding years ago and was treated royally.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

It's usually in the contract terms, yes. As for emergency contact, the phone is in a locker and not a cube of concrete; if you want to leave the venue to check your messages then you're probably not going to get your kneecaps broken. How many bands are taking their phone onstage at bar gigs to check between songs?

What about singers that can’t remember lyrics? LOL!!!

 

[Nuage420]

I agree: the “Hand over your cell phones” would have sounded a whole lot like “Have a nice day, goodbye.”

at this point it's too late to do anything other than hand over your cell.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

Especially if they think you're gonna "sing"

That was awful, but I liked it!!!

 

[lermgalieu]

Yeah, that old mob tradition; having people sign NDAs. LOL.

As previously noted, it’s not clear whatsoever that’s what it was.

 

[Keyser Soze]

As previously noted, it’s not clear whatsoever that’s what it was.

"Did We Just Play for the Mob?"

 

[Outbush]

Sounds mafia to me. On a related note many years ago, my band played a casino gig that was completely on the up-and-up but the security was ridiculous. All the gear was searched, they made us hand over our driver's license in exchange for a pass that we had to keep on us at all times and the load in.... God almighty the load in. It was terrible. Both in and out of the building. They paid very well though.

Maybe they took your licenses to ensure you played the gig after you saw the load-in?

 

[Axtman]

Your first clue should have been when Guido, Louie and Rocko met you at the door trying to sell you health insurance.

 

[Paul New]

Don't know what it's like now, or if there even is a Mob any more, but from what i saw way back in the 70s, those guys would have left you with no doubt. It's impossible to describe how scary they were up close. I know that sounds melodramatic or something, but I'm telling you.

 

[g-dude]

Reminds me of the father of a long time neighbor who was a professional musician and vetted regular musical performer, I believe part an ensemble, at Bohemian Grove.

If you have musical talent that can be useful, it’s possible to become an associate member of the Bohemian Club (the Grove is simply a place that they have), and after a couple of decades, you can become a full member without it costing as much as becoming a member the traditional way.

There is indeed a waiting list to be a member.

I haven’t been to the Grove, although I did get invited to Spring Jinks but unfortunately had to decline. It’s best described as Boy Scout camp with booze, with each “cabin” having its own sort of feel and membership base.

The club itself is wonderful. Longest bar in the SF. Beautiful library. The theater is really nice too.

No women allowed, except on certain nights, and while members can stay overnight, absolutely no women are allowed to stay overnight - really it’s about making sure that the wives of members don’t have reason to suspect the club is a place to conduct an affair.

For those who suspect that all sorts of nefarious deals are taking place, it’s quite the opposite. You can’t talk business or shop. You’re there to have a good evening and socialize. You’ll get scolded for whipping out a cellphone.

So what does this have to do with music?

The music is simply wonderful. The musicians are all talented, and they’ll occasionally have big names sit in on sets. You’ll also see famous people there.

Most of the conspiracy theorist stuff you read is utter nonsense, or making something out of relative nothing.

At the end of the day, a night at the club is actually really fun. It’s been ages since I’ve been because I’ve moved out of the area. It’s also not the only club of its sort in the area - The Family is another one, and they have a “farm” instead of a “grove”.

Oh, and the freaky looking ceremony above? It’s the “Cremation of Care”, in which there’s a giant effigy of an owl that is dubbed “dull care”, and they literally light it up like a version of Burning Man.

Edit: Oh, and the top photo shows Reagan and Nixon, but there’s another fun one hanging up in the club that shows a very bored Reagan sitting there while Nixon speaks.

 

[Chickenwheels]

+1. I lived on a Caribbean island full of mafia people for awhile. I can assure you they partied happily out in the open. No need to hide, the guys doing the dirty jobs work for them. Fun fact, the largest brothel owner on the island was also the island police chief.

In other hand, there are a lot of wealthy people, CEOs, celebrities and politicians who have no desire to see their connections being aired publicly. I can totally understand the cell phone thing although, it should have been disclosed ahead of time.

Some good Graham Greene/Steely Dan content to had there!

 

[HardNHeavy]

Was the password "Fidelio"?


View attachment 4678431

haha i instantly thought of that flik!........."Hey i just play piano"

 

[g-dude]

Don't know what it's like now, or if there even is a Mob any more, but from what i saw way back in the 70s, those guys would have left you with no doubt. It's impossible to describe how scary they were up close. I know that sounds melodramatic or something, but I'm telling you.

It’s funny because I went to a party once at the most famous clubhouse of the most famous biker gang there is.

Frankly, it was hard to reconcile seeing guys who seemed perfectly pleasant with their patches that supposedly indicate that they’ve killed people. Still, I figured the best thing to do was to not talk to anyone who didn’t talk to me, and try to be a good guest.

They were all older than me - almost all of them had a lot of gray in their beards/hair.

Except one guy, who appeared to be in his 20s and was a fully patched in member. Not sure how he managed that, when people older than him were still serving in the various support clubs, but I also didn’t want to find out.

Only place I’ve ever been where I didn’t worry about my motorcycle getting stolen. It was safer there than in my own garage.

 

[5StringBlues]

As previously noted, it’s not clear whatsoever that’s what it was.

"Did We Just Play for the Mob?"

 

[Grinderman]

If you have musical talent that can be useful, it’s possible to become an associate member of the Bohemian Club (the Grove is simply a place that they have), and after a couple of decades, you can become a full member without it costing as much as becoming a member the traditional way.

There is indeed a waiting list to be a member.

I haven’t been to the Grove, although I did get invited to Spring Jinks but unfortunately had to decline. It’s best described as Boy Scout camp with booze, with each “cabin” having its own sort of feel and membership base.

The club itself is wonderful. Longest bar in the SF. Beautiful library. The theater is really nice too.

No women allowed, except on certain nights, and while members can stay overnight, absolutely no women are allowed to stay overnight - really it’s about making sure that the wives of members don’t have reason to suspect the club is a place to conduct an affair.

For those who suspect that all sorts of nefarious deals are taking place, it’s quite the opposite. You can’t talk business or shop. You’re there to have a good evening and socialize. You’ll get scolded for whipping out a cellphone.

So what does this have to do with music?

The music is simply wonderful. The musicians are all talented, and they’ll occasionally have big names sit in on sets. You’ll also see famous people there.

Most of the conspiracy theorist stuff you read is utter nonsense, or making something out of relative nothing.

At the end of the day, a night at the club is actually really fun. It’s been ages since I’ve been because I’ve moved out of the area. It’s also not the only club of its sort in the area - The Family is another one, and they have a “farm” instead of a “grove”.

Oh, and the freaky looking ceremony above? It’s the “Cremation of Care”, in which there’s a giant effigy of an owl that is dubbed “dull care”, and they literally light it up like a version of Burning Man.

Edit: Oh, and the top photo shows Reagan and Nixon, but there’s another fun one hanging up in the club that shows a very bored Reagan sitting there while Nixon speaks.

Yeah, I recognized Reagan and Nixon immediately, and I did get the impression from the son/my old neighbor that his father ([Invalid or Expired Link Removed]) was a member through long established connection to the club. The other random recollection I have is that he had done some recording session work with Invalid Link Removed.

 

[BarfanyShart]

There is a historic rock venue here in DC that has a very low key, hidden VIP space on the balcony. Even sitting next to it, you don't notice it's there, unless there is a guard standing on the outside and you notice someone being escorted in or out. I'm pretty sure one of Obama's daughters was there when I saw Big Thief play.

 

[lermgalieu]

"Did We Just Play for the Mob?"

Uh yeah, that’s the point. It wasn’t “We Just Played for the Mob!”