So, the owner of Small's assaulted me at The High Dive last night.

[Scary Guy]

So I went to The High Dive last night, had a lot of fun, and saw some good friends I hadn’t seen in a while. At least I did until Kat felt the need to poke me a bit. Came up and said “hey” then said “So you’re going to ‘piss on the ashes’ huh? Super cool” while lightly bumping into my shoulder and then walked off. This was in reference to my statement that I’d only return to Small’s (where she DJs and bartends) to piss on the ashes. I probably told her to fuck off or something like that after as she walked away, which I’m happy I don’t need to be fake nice anymore. At least she didn’t do what her boss did which was fucking assault me. He came up to me and we had a conversation that was a bit heated because of history, which I’ll get into all of that later. After he told me to leave and then I suggested we “avoid each other like adults.” His response to that was “stay out of my town, you can go to City but I don’t want to see you here.” To which I said “It’s not your town.” Which it isn’t, as it’s a free country and we’re allowed to go where we please (within reason.) I’m not going to let some bully try to scare me out of anywhere. Anyway apparently his response to that was to grab me by the throat. I then hit him in self defense but not hard. I was mostly shocked he even did that and wanted to git him off me. Then Aquashoes Dave puts me in a choke hold and the bouncer kicks me out even though he’s the one who started things. I left peacefully and didn’t press charges because it really wasn’t anything other than a sore throat from his thumb, and he has his staff to back him up while I do have some witnesses. I wonder if The High Dive has video? Anyway like I said it’s not really worth it (though if he tries anything again I absolutely will.)

 

So why do I not go back to Small’s? Well there are a few reasons. The first goes back to when City redid their goth nights. Small’s started to schedule their industrial/new wave nights on those same nights. City used to be a goth/industrial only club but had other formats that they were doing when they brought that back. It’s been mostly an unwritten rule that anyone who DJs at City is persona non gratta at Small’s. Or maybe they just stopped booking me because I suck as a DJ. Whatever, we were fine for a long time even after that. Mike would even wave my cover and feed me soda (since I don’t drink.) I even tried to help him root his phone once, brought them equipment they needed for a show, filled in a few times. I considered him not exactly a friend but a good acquaintance for sure.

 

Then Covid happened and Gretch shut everything down. It was at about that time I started hanging out with Alyse and soon after that we were dating. I loved and still love her and she is in my thoughts constantly. I kinda fucked things up and that’s on me. I feel that if I hadn’t have started to hang out with her or stopped dating her maybe she’d still be alive. The unfortunate truth is though, that she’d probably have still found her way to Jay’s through another one of our mutual friends. So we lost both her forever and Leo for four years since he crashed the car and her BAC was so high it made her blood thinner which probably contributed to her bleeding out internally. Both I and Jay swear that when Leo left the party he seemed okay to drive or we’d have taken the keys. Oh yes, I almost forgot...

 

So during the pandemic everything got shut down. Necto, City, and yes Small’s as well, including all restaurants and other businesses. There was nowhere to go be social at other than private events, so Jay, myself, and a few others started throwing parties. We stated that if someone felt ill or not safe to not come, we encouraged masks (though few wore them), we isolated as much as possible, limited the number of people we invited, and it was even called “Negative Pressure” which was a direct reference to how we had the place set up to cycle the air through about once every minute or so. We did this because we were going to go insane without a social outlet and needed something, so I volunteered to DJ and bring the sound system. We even invited the Small’s people who apparently used it as an excuse to virtue signal that we were being reckless (which perhaps we were but it was better than potentially watching a friend kill themselves due to the isolation.) Anyway, then after we lost Alyse, Kat said some shitty things online about us, and Mike may have chimed in as well (honestly I don’t really remember because I don’t care. I just said I was never going back there except... well I already stated that part.)

 

So they’ve used that as an excuse to be riotously indignant ever since. Even though if we weren’t there Alyse would have been somewhere else drinking her ass off (I love her but she was a gigantic lush, to which I did try to get her to cut down.) If Leo wasn’t driving she probably would have driven herself and then driven herself home, also drunk. Usually she’d sleep it off in her car at least. I know it’s shitty, and I miss both her and Leo, but people are free to make their own dumb decisions. Which, again we’d have tried to stop them if we had known. There were many others there as well who probably also would have had they known.

 

Now there is just hurt feelings and drama between us. So I guess my self exile of Small’s is now a permanent banishment, which is fine by me. However trying to get me tossed out from the scene I have enjoyed far before you started doing Goth shit at Small’s, Mike? Again, you do not own the city, and if you ever touch me again I will press charges. I don’t want to be an asshole so please do not force me to be.

[TronRP]

This is very sad to hear.

 

Wow.  So he's trying to kick you out of the whole city of Hamtramck.

 

I must admit, if you blink too long on one of those sleepy, 25 mph roads, you might miss the city entirely. 

😆

[Stu]

Yeah, I stopped going there a while back because someone (I think that same guy?) got all up in my face about my laser pointer.  The stage DJ had a multiple lasers blasting the audience, which I thought odd, and I was casually (and carefully, as always) playing with mine.  Dude bellowed at me as if I didn't know what I was doing, and I pointed out the stage DJ's lasers everywhere (including the audience's eyes), and that at least I was being careful, but agreed to put it away.  Even still, he was dogging me for the next hour, practically tripping over me.  I took the hint and left.  They'll never get another nickel of my money.

[Scary Guy]

Update, so I went to the HPD and filed a report.  Not pressing charges but multiple friends suggested I at least document it in case anything happens in the future.  I still hated doing even that.

 

Also the owner of High-Dive replied to my message and said we're all good, so I'm looking forward to the next Dis-Order event.  I'll add it to the master list of goth events.  I just wish I could put it under the weekly heading.  You should come check it out, the decor is absolutely amazing.  It's like going to church but without all the shame and guilt (unless you possibly drink too much and are hungover the next day/go home with someone you shouldn't have. )

[EatAjaxAndDie]

Sounds like that man was looking for q fight and you fit the bill. 

 

Condolences on your friends, that sucks. 

 

Side note: the pandemic and possibly even COVID the disease it self seems to have changed people, for the worst a lot of times. People seem meaner, more anxious, less patient and less willing to be decent to each other. Just reading the thread title (with no knowledge of the prior situation and what I've gathered the few times I met you Scary Guy) my immediate reaction was yep that dude (bar owner) just felt like venting with his fists.

[Scary Guy]

Honestly, I'm not sure what went through his head.  I don't care if there was a pandemic though, both that or what I said doesn't give anyone free license to act that way.