Should bars have more active competition?

I was at a local bar recently when something dawned on me. In all honesty the thought had crossed my mind before, but I never gave it much—if any—thought.

I looked around and saw exactly what I saw the last time I was there: the same people.

Some call them bar stars; I refer to them as the dazed and confused. I live in a city of approximately 200,000 people, and I would like to believe that there is more to do in this city than just hit up the same places day in day out.

I never really go to the "club" all that often; you could almost say never. But there was a time when I did, and since I have been gone from this scene, nothing, not even the people have changed. Aside from the saving of cash, this is likely the reason I stopped going. Like I said I never gave it much thought before, but now that I have, it is the likely suspect.

I was greeted at the door by the same bouncer, I paid my cover charge to the same waitress/host, I ordered a drink from the same bartender, and then took a look around. Don't get me wrong, seeing the same staff is not all that surprising considering it is their jobs, and most people don't switch employment every 6 months. It was what I saw, and unfortunately heard next that got me thinking.

I look over to the dance floor and what—or who—do I see? It was that same group of girls, in the same spot, and I believe wearing the same clothes dancing to the same twelve month old music. I then made my way over to the smoking area, and low and behold the same guys—you know the ones: the ones that just spend the whole night avoiding being in the bar, and sit outside, then tell everyone how much fun it was, even though they never stepped foot inside. I then went to the washroom, and it was even the same guy sitting in there thinking it was his duty to charge me for using the facilities.

I went down to the DJ booth to request a few songs, to which I was informed he has a set play list and could not entertain my request. I don't think this guy could entertain anyone for that matter. I was a little pissed off but thought it couldn't be all that bad. I was wrong. The music in the "club" was the same as it was last year. That might not be that bad, but the music was already a year old, a year go. You do the math.

I used to wonder why bars and night clubs in Regina would open only to close a month or two later? I no longer need an answer to that question.

I figure it's because it's the same shit day in, day out without any effort to make it new or exciting enough to draw a loyal crowd. How long can you draw a crowd, when all you are doing is copying another close by "club," and the formula that the club you copied uses is weak at best? I know that there are a few bars or "clubs" in Regina that have remained open year after year, and the overall appearance is that they are successful. So I took the time to go and see what—if anything—it was that made these places stay open.

I couldn't get an exact reason, but what I came up with is that they have something else keeping the place open. Some are restaurants during the week. Some have an extensive amount of VLTs. Either way it wasn't the "club" itself that kept the doors open.

The other "it for right now" clubs I visited were already experiencing declines in attendance in there 2nd week of opening their doors, and it has left the owners scratching their heads wondering what to do now, to keep the crowds, as loyalty is key in the night club business.

Some are organizing concerts to draw crowds. The problem is, the bands these places are bringing in are either unheard of, or has-beens. Not the best idea for drawing a big crowd, but it does seem to work at some level. But, why does it work? Regina, for the most part, has never experienced a night club that was exciting, fresh or original so they continue to go. They think they are experiencing the night life, because this is all they know. All they manage to do is help keep it lame and boring.

I have been all over this great country and have been to some very fresh and original clubs: real clubs, not what people in Regina consider a club.

So why don't Regina bar and "club" owners try and freshen up the scene? Because they don't have to, there is no real competition. All they do is copy each others lame concepts, pick a night of the week that will be "their night," and become complacent.

If for two weeks, the people of Regina took a stand and boycotted the bars and "clubs," the financial loss would be significant enough to warrant some changes. Will this happen? Probably not. Should this happen? Only you can answer that, you already know my opinion. Would I start going again if these changes happened? Probably not, call me a hypocrite, bitching about change then turning a blind eye, but if they would have made these changes before, I probably would have never stopped going to begin with.

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