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Name: Harvest Bible Chapel
Age: 6
Occupation: megachurch
Last Seen: Traverse City, MI
Bee-otched For: killing rock 'n roll in northern Michigan
Age: 6
Occupation: megachurch
Last Seen: Traverse City, MI
Bee-otched For: killing rock 'n roll in northern Michigan
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By the end of this year, Streeters could be a memory like the Tanz Haus, Glacier Dome and Castle Farms before it.
The popular Traverse City concert venue announced that they are in the process of selling their building on Garfield Avenue across from the Cherryland Center to Harvest Bible Chapel, a church whose current meeting place is at Grand Traverse Academy, a charter school. The church has raised $525,920 out of a $1 million goal and now has a purchase agreement with Streeters owner Doug Street.
The Streeters building was listed for sale earlier this year for $2.29 million. According to Street, who has owned Streeters for over 20 years, the reason for selling was because of the fact that it's a seller's market, plain and simple. He also claims that he wants to continue bringing concerts to northern Michigan, but at a different location.
Streeters has been bringing concerts to northern Michigan since it opened in 1998. Over the years, the acts that have played there included Powerman 5000, Static-X, Clutch, Mastodon, Hellyeah, Seether and Saliva, just to name a few.
Oh, and let's not forget Pop Evil, Kittie, Starset, Papa Roach, Halestorm, Killswitch Engage and Jackyl. I hope nobody didn't get sliced in half by that chainsaw.
Currently, Streeters has several events on their schedule, including several 80s bands (L.A. Guns, Bulletboys and Enuff Z'nuff), 2000s rockers Saving Abel (remember "Addicted" and "Lips of An Angel"?), Kid Rock guitarist Kenny Olson and a Beastie Boys tribute band. When news of the impending sale came about, some took to social media complaining of the lack of good concerts Streeters has had over the last year. One would wonder if the upcoming sale played a role, or the simple fact that it's easier for bands to play bigger downstate cities like Grand Rapids, Detroit or even Flint.
For me, the impending sale of Streeters brings up two unpleasant situations of my childhood. When I was a kid, I wanted to go to Castle Farms to see Metallica, Ozzy and other headbangers that played there. Sadly, my overbearing mother kept saying no, especially since she worked there herself. I was able to go to some of their minor shows, like the yearly Reggae Funsplash and a small rock festival that only lasted one year. My mom told me that I could see my first concert there when I turned 13. Well, a few months before I turned 13, Castle Farms was sold to a 4H group. Talk about having the rug pulled from under you. As a matter of fact, I finally got to see my first concert two years later: AC/DC at the Palace of Auburn Hills.
Between the Castle's closure (though after the 4H sale fell through, it did reopen for concerts in 1996 with Def Leppard and *ugh* Ted Nugent) and the opening of Streeters, rock concerts up north were very far and few in-between. The National Cherry Festival did a few shows in the mid-90s at the Fairgrounds with bands like The Wallflowers, Collective Soul and Third Eye Blind. But, complaints from the old assholes who lived close to the Fairgrounds caused the Cherry Fest to tone it down. However, both Sheryl Crow and Don Henley pulled out, leaving the Festival with lame-o country and oldies acts.
Then, there's the situation where when I was a teen, my father and I went to a non-denominational church in the Grand Traverse area. My father was a bus driver and on his route, he met a family that went to that church. They invited him and we ended up going a few times a week. My dad went to the singles ministry while I attended their youth ministry. Well, things went out of hand with our ministry homes. My dad dated a woman who cheated on him and my youth ministry threw me and others into small groups. There, they asked me personal questions like "how often do you think about sex?" It was all because of a verse in the NIV Bible where Jesus tells a group of young men that if they think about sex, they're going to hell. The final straw came when the church's pastor asked us all to give him $2 million on a single Sunday. Two of the donors were businessmen who sold their businesses to help fund the church. My Dad and I no longer liked that church, so we quit. Because of what they were doing, I didn't go to another church for years.
Ya know, It's sad that Harvest's parishioners would rather give to their little megachurch instead of doing things that Jesus would actually approve of. You know, giving to Traverse City's growing homeless problem (and I know folks up north who are only squeaking by on $25,000 per year) and helping those in need. Now, chances are that TC might be lucky to get one good rock concert per year. Wanna see a show? Gotta go downstate.
Now, if Street wants to create another venue, God bless him. There's many ideal places in the area. Hell, maybe he might be interested in the old Kmart in Acme, since it's where Tanz Haus stood! That place could hold more people than the current Streeters. If not, well, at least I live in Grand Rapids now. If any of my up north homies need a place to stay, they can HMU.
Streeters, if this is the end, we hardly knew ye.
---
By the end of this year, Streeters could be a memory like the Tanz Haus, Glacier Dome and Castle Farms before it.
The popular Traverse City concert venue announced that they are in the process of selling their building on Garfield Avenue across from the Cherryland Center to Harvest Bible Chapel, a church whose current meeting place is at Grand Traverse Academy, a charter school. The church has raised $525,920 out of a $1 million goal and now has a purchase agreement with Streeters owner Doug Street.
The Streeters building was listed for sale earlier this year for $2.29 million. According to Street, who has owned Streeters for over 20 years, the reason for selling was because of the fact that it's a seller's market, plain and simple. He also claims that he wants to continue bringing concerts to northern Michigan, but at a different location.
Streeters has been bringing concerts to northern Michigan since it opened in 1998. Over the years, the acts that have played there included Powerman 5000, Static-X, Clutch, Mastodon, Hellyeah, Seether and Saliva, just to name a few.
Oh, and let's not forget Pop Evil, Kittie, Starset, Papa Roach, Halestorm, Killswitch Engage and Jackyl. I hope nobody didn't get sliced in half by that chainsaw.
Currently, Streeters has several events on their schedule, including several 80s bands (L.A. Guns, Bulletboys and Enuff Z'nuff), 2000s rockers Saving Abel (remember "Addicted" and "Lips of An Angel"?), Kid Rock guitarist Kenny Olson and a Beastie Boys tribute band. When news of the impending sale came about, some took to social media complaining of the lack of good concerts Streeters has had over the last year. One would wonder if the upcoming sale played a role, or the simple fact that it's easier for bands to play bigger downstate cities like Grand Rapids, Detroit or even Flint.
For me, the impending sale of Streeters brings up two unpleasant situations of my childhood. When I was a kid, I wanted to go to Castle Farms to see Metallica, Ozzy and other headbangers that played there. Sadly, my overbearing mother kept saying no, especially since she worked there herself. I was able to go to some of their minor shows, like the yearly Reggae Funsplash and a small rock festival that only lasted one year. My mom told me that I could see my first concert there when I turned 13. Well, a few months before I turned 13, Castle Farms was sold to a 4H group. Talk about having the rug pulled from under you. As a matter of fact, I finally got to see my first concert two years later: AC/DC at the Palace of Auburn Hills.
Between the Castle's closure (though after the 4H sale fell through, it did reopen for concerts in 1996 with Def Leppard and *ugh* Ted Nugent) and the opening of Streeters, rock concerts up north were very far and few in-between. The National Cherry Festival did a few shows in the mid-90s at the Fairgrounds with bands like The Wallflowers, Collective Soul and Third Eye Blind. But, complaints from the old assholes who lived close to the Fairgrounds caused the Cherry Fest to tone it down. However, both Sheryl Crow and Don Henley pulled out, leaving the Festival with lame-o country and oldies acts.
Then, there's the situation where when I was a teen, my father and I went to a non-denominational church in the Grand Traverse area. My father was a bus driver and on his route, he met a family that went to that church. They invited him and we ended up going a few times a week. My dad went to the singles ministry while I attended their youth ministry. Well, things went out of hand with our ministry homes. My dad dated a woman who cheated on him and my youth ministry threw me and others into small groups. There, they asked me personal questions like "how often do you think about sex?" It was all because of a verse in the NIV Bible where Jesus tells a group of young men that if they think about sex, they're going to hell. The final straw came when the church's pastor asked us all to give him $2 million on a single Sunday. Two of the donors were businessmen who sold their businesses to help fund the church. My Dad and I no longer liked that church, so we quit. Because of what they were doing, I didn't go to another church for years.
Ya know, It's sad that Harvest's parishioners would rather give to their little megachurch instead of doing things that Jesus would actually approve of. You know, giving to Traverse City's growing homeless problem (and I know folks up north who are only squeaking by on $25,000 per year) and helping those in need. Now, chances are that TC might be lucky to get one good rock concert per year. Wanna see a show? Gotta go downstate.
Now, if Street wants to create another venue, God bless him. There's many ideal places in the area. Hell, maybe he might be interested in the old Kmart in Acme, since it's where Tanz Haus stood! That place could hold more people than the current Streeters. If not, well, at least I live in Grand Rapids now. If any of my up north homies need a place to stay, they can HMU.
Streeters, if this is the end, we hardly knew ye.
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Bee-otch of the Day Archives can be seen on http://beeotchoftheday.blogspot.com
Bee-otch of the Day is a production of Chuck69.com, Grand Rapids' site for Stern, politics and more!
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