Dragonfly’s mid-life crisis
By floor9 on Jul 8, 2006 in Downtown
There’s a rule of thumb in the industry concerning the lifespan of any given nightclub. Generally speaking, the average life of a club under the same owner is four years. Furthermore, the average nightclub — not counting superclubs and major market venues — has three owners in its lifetime. Having opened in April 2002, and still being under the same original owner, this makes Dragonfly about 33 in club years. Yup - middle age hits the fly. I only bring this up because the recent string of equipment failures is laughably funny:
- Friday, 6/8: LightJockey’s touchscreen monitor flashes all white, goes dark, then returns to normal. I think nothing of it.
- Saturday, 6/9: Upstairs lights are so caked with dust that all the colors have shifted. MAC-250s no longer tracking correctly, all point in different directions. Shorty no longer pans.
- Friday, 6/16: Downstairs hazer sounds like a jackhammer (should be silent). Upstairs lights look terrible.
- Saturday 6/17: Downstairs hazer stops working. Upstairs fogger working intermittently and/or with weak output.
- Saturday, 6/24: Lights look bad enough that I finally decide to clean them all later this week. One of the MAC-250s refuses to work, even after a thorough cleaning, and gets sent in for repair. Downstairs hazer sent in for repair. Upstairs fogger declared DOA. Leaf blower broken while diagnosing fogger.
- Friday, 7/1: First day with clean lights. Everything works perfectly! Fogger finally gets sent in for repair.
- Friday, 7/7: Two of the three remaining MAC-250s begin to fail again, despite their recent cleaning, and are tagged for repair at a Martin facility. Upstairs LightJockey monitor begins to fail.
- Saturday, 7/8: One of the downstairs MX10s completely dies, and another keeps overheating and shutting off. Receive word that fogger is dead beyond repair, order placed for replacement.
So as it stands now, Dragonfly has:
- 3 dead / about-to-die light fixtures upstairs.
- 2 dead / about-to-die light fixtures downstairs.
- No fog.
- A LightJockey monitor that’s about to go under.
That last one should be fun. We have a backup touchscreen that can be installed on a moment’s notice. However, if the screen fails during the night, there’s a good chance we’ll see about 15-20 minutes of full-power house lights while I power down LightJockey for the install. Or I suppose I could leave the place blacked out, and we could temporarily relocate The District to the second floor.
Otherwise, all of those problems are easily fixable, and Judd has already started sending pieces in for repair. Honestly, the fact that the club has entered its fifth year and has thus far only had minor problems like these is a testament to how well-built that place is. Whether they enjoy going there or not, most of the people I talk to agree that Dragonfly is a near-perfect building for a nightclub. Structurally, the place is flawless.
Honestly, If that is all you have to worry about you are doing great. I like you night club and still would consider to come no matter what happened. In fact I would like to book some bands there.. So hopefully this makes you feel better. Take care.
Kelly Farner
Farner Entertainment
http://www.farneradvertising.com
717-823-6958
Kelly | Jul 10, 2006 | Reply
Re: the post above, I’m going to be nice and I won’t say a word. But let’s just say that I found the website to be, uhh, rather interesting. And the model’s choice of using this quote cracked me up:
“Girls are like pianos. When they’re not upright, they’re grand.” Benny Hill
LOL LOL
Dave | Jul 10, 2006 | Reply
I’m biting my tongue too. But congrats to Ms. Farner as she was able to get at least two of us to look at her website.
Mak | Jul 11, 2006 | Reply
Interesting - the people you asked said that Dragonfly was a near perfect building for a nightclub. It is so sad that they people obviously have never ever been to a real nightclub. It is even sadder that you seem to be happy with their comments. But if you have never dined on lobster - fish fingers taste great!
Whatitsallabout | Jul 15, 2006 | Reply
Cue the “OMG HARRISBURG SUCKS COMPARED TO NYC” crowd.
And keep your fish fingers to yourself. I’m allergic.
floor9 | Jul 16, 2006 | Reply
Actually, I think that was a “OMG WIAT TIL THE SUPERCLUB OPENS WOOT IT’S GOING TO BE DA BOMB.”
Opening the day after Frost, right, Mak? :)
Sara | Jul 16, 2006 | Reply
Actually,i would love for the Burg to have a club like Crowbar in New York that place is happenin’ i try to go twice a month especially when weather permits.
Sarah T | Jul 17, 2006 | Reply
I’ve heard much about the Crowbars, but I have yet to go to any of them. I came *this close* to hitting Chicago. *sigh*
floor9 | Jul 17, 2006 | Reply
Harrisburg could never have a crobar( no “w” in the name). clubs in PA close way too early. A place like crobar doesnt get going untl after 4am when the liquor lincense expires. Since we are not aloud to even dance in a venue after 2am, it will never happen.
Big Ron J | Jul 20, 2006 | Reply
We aren’t NYC, we will never be NYC… and whats wrong with that??
Sara, touche’. Unlike our “friend,” Frost actually has a building, a sound & lighting system, proper permits, a management team, and everything has been purchased. We’re just waiting on a fire surpression system… go figure.
Mak | Jul 20, 2006 | Reply
“9″,
First let me begin by saying I non-chalantly bumped into this site a few days ago only to find your commentary a little intriguing. There once was a time where I thought I was the only restaurant & club critiquing freelance, “I guess I was wrong”.
Who am I? Would that have been your reply? April 17, 2003 @ 26 years old I resurrected Vendettas Nite Club later to be known as Club 717 for an anticipated 2 year run in Steelton, strictly for the purpose of proving a point… I’m full of sh.. I wanted to make some money too! Hip-Hop, Baltimore Club, Reggaeton @ it’s finest. I sold to KoKomo’s in May of 2005, “Mission Accomplished”.
I mean no disrespect or insult to intelligence by the following, however I have to say that a good bit of what I’ve read appears to be Pro-Dragonfly. So here is my thoughts, I see Dragonfly in it’s current state as a Vendetta’s/ Club 717 clone! Hurk/ Matrix, Judd inherited when I sold in May. Christ Geno & Sharon were and/or are on security and at some point Matrix’s brother Jerry was on the wheels, I brought him off the boat from Puerto Rico !!! Here further, The Kamionka enterprise stomped a HOLE in Judds arse for years and thats not to build him up, Believe me I would take great pleasure in returning the same. Yes, Judd has managed to hang on for a whopping 33 in club years. I guess selling “The Croc” offered no crutch. After all if you can’t pay the Phone… Clone!
“9″ Do what you do!
Kind Regards, Justin
Justin | Jul 21, 2006 | Reply
This what I would do to a Venue like Dragon-Fly.
Upstairs.
Sony Vaio Notebook
Allen&Heath Xone VF-1 Filter
Allen&Heath Xone 3D Mixer
2-Denon DN-S5000 CD Player
Pioneer EFX-500
2-Turbosound TQ-308SP ( Booth )
RANE DC-22 Compressor / Gate
RANE AC 23B 3-WAY Crossover
RANE GE-60 Dual 30 channel EQ
Turbosound LMS-D6 ( Management system )
8-Turbosound THL 828.2 TSW-124 ( 4 stacks each containing 2 boxes )
8-Turbosound THL 2
Powered by Crest Pro Amplifiers
– 20,000 Watts
Main Floor:
Sony Vaio Notebook
2-JBL VP7215/64DPAN ( Booth )
Rane MP 2016 Mixer
- Rane XP 2016 Xpander
Vestax DCR-1200Pro 4 Band Rotary Isolator
2-Technics SL1210-M5G Turntables ( GSANY Modified Arms )
Denon DN-D9000
2-Pioneer CDJ-1000 MK3
Pioneer EFX-1000
Ashly XR 2001 3-Way Crossover
Rane RA30 Realtime Audio Analyzer
2-Ashly MQX-1310 EQ
Rane C4 Quad Compressor / Limiter
Rane G4 Quad Gate/Expander
4-JBL CBT4 Ultra-High Frequency Array ( Above Dancefloor )
4-JBL Dance5 Dedicated Dance Club Loudspeaker:
4-Custom Boxes ( each with 8-18″ Subs )
2-Custom Bertha Boxes Understage ( each with 2-18″ Subs & 13ft Throat )
Powered by Crown Macrotech & I Tech Amplifiers
– 50,000 Watts
Let me hear what you guys think!
Big Ron J | Jul 23, 2006 | Reply
Remember that wattage isn’t everything. In fact, it counts for very little. But I am glad to see another human being recommending something other than QSC amps for a mid-level install.
Your Vaio has got to go, and I’m going to add Serato. Bonus style points for using a MacBook Pro. Better yet, refrain from notebooks altogether and rack a desktop in another room. Ironically, the booth is not a friendly place for electronics.
While some of the equipment you listed is nice, it is overkill for a venue of that size and status. I would love, for example, to have High End lighting in there. About the only person who is more into that idea is Judd himself. The problem is that no business case can be made for the cost, so I’m stuck with Martin. If I could make a presentation that dropping $250k on the lightshow would pay for itself within 36 months, it would be done immediately. The problem is that once you cross a set point, no manner of upgrading will be noticed by any but the most die-hard club patrons.
In other words, I can easily quantify the difference between Dragonfly’s lighting and Eclipse’s lighting. It’s atmosphere. But the difference between “good enough” and the very best, at least in this case, doesn’t translate to revenue. The result is that we use 1200s, QSC amps, and JBL mains. “Good enough” wins.
floor9 | Jul 23, 2006 | Reply
i have 3 and 3 questions alone:
1- does it sound good
2- does it look good
3- are there people
if the answer is `all of the above’ im going
burgi | Jul 24, 2006 | Reply