A good drink, a well-stocked jukebox, good company, and some of the best sound in town were just some of the amenities provided by local watering hole the Divebar. But unfortunately the saloon that provided a venue for Chuck Ragan, Off With Their Heads, Joey Cape, The Queers, and a host of other bands is no more.
In a post on the Divebar Facebook group, manager Antero Medrano Jr. broke the bad news:
Words I wish I never have to say, but here goes…DIVEBAR is closing its doors for good. Due to some business and circumstances that got out of control, we are awfully sorry to inform you all that this is our last days open. I wish I was joking. Not sure exactly if tonight is our absolute last night, but it may just very well be. Gaaah…what a fucking bummer! I want to personally thank each and every last one who has touched my life (and my naughty parts) because of DIVEBAR. You all rock more than words can say! So to all of you who took a seat at our bar and ordered a drink…to all the bands who rocked their asses off on our stage…to all of you regulars, old and new, who stuck by us through thick and thin…to all those who vomited in our toilets…to all those who lost and found love under our roof…to all those who consummated that love in our restrooms (or stage, or pool table, or benches, or barstools, or parking lot, etc…) …to anyone who woke up late one morning with the worst hangover of their lives, cursing the name of DIVEBAR…to all of you Las Vegas pirates out there…we want to welcome you all to join us drunken degenerates and raise our glasses one last time and say our goodbye’s to the one-and-only DIVEBAR!
The Divebar was not without its faults, but I greatly appreciate the fact that the bar took such pride in making sure that the bands that played there sounded fantastic. Sound quality is often the tradeoff for a more intimate show, so it was nice knowing there was a place that offered the best of both worlds.
With the Diverbar gone, the July 31 show with Signals Midwest, TheCore., and Deadhand as well as the September 2 show with Off With Their Heads, Dead to Me, Riverboat Gamblers, and Deadhand are going to be in need of a new home, and I’m sure the bands would appreciate any help in relocating said shows.
Update:
Medrano offered up more information today on the Facebook group and revealed the reason behind the bar closing:
We endured slow business due to a shit economy, irresponsible business management, and multiple very bad reputations (which were vastly redeemed in the past year) which even led to boycotts. Some of which are still standing! And what does us in…a dick landlord. Just to set the record straight, here’s the gist of what happened…new owners of the building (not walmart) did not want to renew or extend our lease. They simply wanted us, & all the other businesses in the building (bakery, salon, liberty tax) out. We fought them in court for a while, but we lost. we just needed a little more time so move to a new location, but the dick landlord, didn’t give us a chance to move to another place. We are the last business to go in that building. It sucks, but it was inevitable. That’s it in a nutshell.
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