Geography Reference
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fication, internalization) of reality-making (see Berger and Luchmann 1966) blunts the
influenceofafast-actingneoliberalcapitalism.Viahumanconstituting,thesedrivesand
sensibilities become one humanly mediated set of ingredients fed into the production of
highly personal stocks of knowledge and understanding that ultimately shape this per-
son's decision about possibilities for new commercial wrinkles in their club. Neoliberal-
capitalist drives and sensibilities bound, frame, and slice through their realities. But
these club owners assemble and organize legible, experiential worlds that “defang” and
“decolonize” these sensibilities.
I analyze club owners because they are the central decision makers of club futures.
They decide the kind of social milieu that will be cultivated in the club and pursued
in the future (e.g., whether it will be sold to development interests, kept but upscaled,
kept and retained as is) as they poignantly live through and work through the forces
that purvey this commodifying. In this process, they always operate out of a sense of
their own best interest. But all is not so simple: this best interest is enormously com-
plexandtypicallyinvolvesbotheconomicconcernsandsocial-culturalconcerns(Grazi-
an 2005). Social-cultural concerns, often extremely meaningful to club owners, involve
their being able to produce pleasure and identity-nourishment for themselves and oth-
ers in their clubs. To Grazian, many South Side club owners—rendered by race, class,
andarealaffiliationsociallymarginal—oftenfeelanacutekinshipforfellowSouthSide
“subalterns” (Balkin 2002). Thus, the dominant reality made by club owners, as they
engage their patrons and workers (blues wannabes, blues voyeurs, long-term local regu-
lars, musicians), becomes crucial to determining this future. Defining a club's character,
sensibilities, norms, and protocols to their satisfaction is critical when they ponder new
commercial wrinkles or massive commercialization.
Beebe's, my empirical focus, like many South Side blues clubs is beginning to feel
pervasive South Side commodification. On the one hand, the club has experienced little
conspicuous physical change. It continues to barely subsist, located in a severely disin-
vested low-income economic setting. Funds to upgrade are scant (owner Jackie Smith
frequently bemoans the club's economic plight). In this context, its exterior is still a
gritty, industrial-looking front set within a block of seemingly abandoned buildings. A
faded white sign “Beebe's” is the only evidence that a vibrant music scene lies within
a seemingly falling-apart building. The interior has been the same for more than two
decades (dominated by black painted walls and faded red carpeting covering all floor
space). No bay windows, ample walking space for customers, or track lighting exists at
Beebe's. A no-frills decorum wraps around a tiny stage which can barely accommod-
ate five musicians at one time. Behind the stage are faded, unframed posters and photo-
graphsofSouthSide musicians whohave played at the club. Acrowded, dimly lit room
with smoke wafting across the floor and tables still dominates the ambiance. Ashtrays
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