EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK: The unvaccinated, live shows and the 86 list

One by one our nation’s music clubs, entertainment venues, festivals and production companies are taking the stand: No entry without proof of vaccination or a recent negative COVID-19 test. Live Nation, the country’s largest booking and production group, set the precedent last week, requiring the vax for all artists, crews and attendees, effective right now. The Ramkat has announced a similar policy, along with Merlefest. Doubtless there are more to come.

This works for me; I got two pokes of Moderna in my left arm with room for at least one more. Plus I’ve been too careful for too long to catch COVID-19 from some dipshit who thinks wrestling is real but the virus isn’t, who insists upon enjoying the benefits of the vaccine without making the sacrifice.

Some, I understand, are even going so far as to obtain fake vaccination cards. People used to set your car on fire for doing things like that.

The ban is good because it rewards people for doing the right thing, and increases the safety level for everyone. But it’s also a great way to keep shitty people out of the club.

When I was working the bars, you had to wait for someone to do something before you threw them out. I tossed people for stealing tips off the bar, being too handsy, picking fights, breaking stuff, sleeping, messing with the regulars, vomiting on the floor, taking a dump in the urinal. Most bounces were for 24 hours, allowing patrons another shot after they had sobered up. But repeat offenses and more serious indiscretions could get you on the 86 list.

In a restaurant, the 86 list has ingredients the kitchen is out of, as in, “Hey, 86 the redfish,” shouted from one server to another throughout the wait station. In a bar, the 86 list is a living document of people who can never come back. Ever. They 86-ed Painless Paul from Checkpoint Charlie’s back in like ’96 for stealing booze, I believe; at the Half Moon in the Irish Channel, they would take your Polaroid when you got 86-ed, then hang it on the wall.

Which brings us back to those unvaccinated folks griping about missing Bonnaroo if they don’t get the jab. A lot of these folks, I’m sure, know exactly what an 86 list is, and this is not the first time they’ve been on one.