Bull Hockey!?

I just got word that El Torreon is really and seriously having to shut down until further notice. It’s a fact: the city has clamped down on laws regarding permits for liquor, catering and dancehalls — laws that have evidently been on the books a long time but have gone largely not enforced — and the city’s busiest all-ages music venue is closing its doors until all of this can be sorted out.

The El Torreon people I’ve talked to today all cited a Saturday night show at an all-ages venue near Main Street in midtown called the Silo that was busted by the cops on charges of breaking licensing laws. I’ve heard rumors that a near-riot broke out. I’ll have to find some witnesses before I can say anything more, but the important thing to keep in mind is that El Torreon has conducted peaceful shows for years. It had to have been something else (presumably this mysterious Silo fracas) that caused the city to put the shackles on the old Bull. (By the way, if you have information on the Silo melee, or whatever it was, call me! 816-218-6774)

Here’s the story as it’s been told to me:

According to the El Torreon employees, the city’s licensing laws pretty much prevent all-ages venues from conducting business. When the El T. has a show, it charges at the door, naturally. Well, in order for it to have shows in the first place, it needs a dancehall license. In order for it to get a dancehall license, however, it must also have a catering license. There’s no stand-alone dancehall license — or, at least, El T. has been unsuccessful in its attempts at getting one. And herein lies the catch. El Torreon would want a catering license in order to be able to sell beer at certain shows to 21-and-overs, but the city says that you can’t charge admission at a catered show, period. Drop the catering license, right? Wrong, because you can’t have a dancehall license without a catering license, too, or so it seems. It’s a catch-22: you can’t put on a show without a catering/dancehall license, but you can’t charge admission under such a license. So, the question is: how can bands play if the venue can’t charge admission? It can’t. Boom! El Torreon closed.

That’s how I understand it anyway. I still haven’t talked to anyone at City Hall, but I’ll let you know as soon as I find out what the stink is going on. And if you have any tips or insights, don’t hold out!