Changes

Daniel Duncan and Nate Dotzlaf sat on a back porch with a few drinks and a dictionary. It took hours of flipping through the pages to find the perfect name for their new creation: Vertigo. Their business first opened its doors in September 2000 and became a local hot spot for college students 18 years and older.\n"We've never gotten into any sort of trouble when the age requirement was 18 and over. We were careful about the drinking and making sure it was only people 21and over -- we had stamps and wristbands," Duncan says. "We were a safe place for people to go. We got some pressure from the University about how we were doing this because we were selling alcohol at a place where there were students under 21."\nThough Vertigo was not implicated, in late October police suspected audience members of selling Ecstacy at an electronic music night sponsored by an Indianapolis promoter at Vertigo, according to IU Police Department officer Dave Hannum. The IU Police Department, Bloomington Police Department and Indiana State Excise targeted the electronic music night, and although no charges were ever made against Vertigo itself, Hannum says three drug-related arrests were made that night. \n"We had an officer on duty to ensure safety, but we can't control drugs. Drugs are everywhere, but we don't promote drugs at all," Duncan says. "We tried to do the right thing by having the officer there and sometimes the right thing gets you into trouble."\nIn the past, fraternities and sororities rented Vertigo for private events. After the incident with the drug-related arrests, Vertigo was allowed to continue to hold these private events, but the owners have opted to discontinue these events to prevent future trouble. They have also stopped holding electronic music nights, which they say have been viewed as an atmosphere for drugs.\nDuncan and Dotzlaf say their original plans were to have a full bar, but they opened with only a one-way liquor license allowing the sale of beer only. Not wanting to put their original plan of having a full bar in jeopardy, this past November they raised the age requirement to 21 and older. \nTurning away their regular customers who are under 21 hasn't been easy for the owners. But the change has also brought a lot of new people to Vertigo who wouldn't have given the place a chance before. While many students might have been skeptical because some high school students are 18, what they didn't know was that a college ID was also needed to get in.\nDuncan made it clear that Vertigo isn't like any bar or club in Bloomington. Its appearance is one thing that makes the venue stand out. It is located in an old warehouse with a ceiling of black pipe and seats ranging from bar stools to couches. Duncan says the performers on stage can be seen from everywhere, which is the most important aspect.\n"We're a live music venue. We're not Axis, we're not the Bluebird. We're somewhere in between," Duncan says. "We want to give a voice to the artists here in the town. Whether it's someone that plays records or someone that plays instruments, we want to give them a chance to perform."\nDuncan and Dotzlaf say it's all about the music and they want everyone's experience at Vertigo to be different every time they come. They don't want Vertigo to be a place where people come just to see friends like they might at bars and clubs, but a place people come to because they know the music will be outstanding.\nDuncan says people are looking for something different and Vertigo has something different to offer every weekend. The atmosphere is based on the entertainment so customers will never know what to expect.\n"We want to be a venue where people come out for the music and the artists and it's not just a carbon copy of other places," Duncan says. "We want to give a voice to original music in town. We're going to offer the same entertainment if not better entertainment than any of the other bars or nightclubs and also offer better drink specials." \nJunior Brandy Granacki checked out the place last year when it was an 18 and over club. Granacki compared the appearance of the live music venue to a rave, but isn't certain about ever returning to Vertigo.\n"I've been there twice and doubt I'll ever go back. I thought it would be fun, but it was just really different. I wouldn't go back unless someone huge was there or there were some major changes," Granacki says.\nThe decision to change the age requirement came only a few weeks before the IDS Weekend "Best of Bloomington" listed Vertigo as the best place for students under 21.\n"We felt bad after seeing we were voted the best place to come for people under 21," Duncan says. "That was like a stab to heart because we had just raised the age requirement."\nSophomore Colby Miller and his band Myst performed at Vertigo both before and after the age change and says it will take some time but the change will eventually be a good one.\n"The second time we performed there was the week following the age change and there was hardly anyone there. No one knew about it," Miller says. "As far as the atmosphere, it's almost kind of more classy now than it was (before the change)."\nMiller hopes to see more people come out the next time Myst plays.\n"I think people will eventually start to go back there. I hope so anyway," Miller says. "It's a cool place, a great music venue."\nThe music is what Duncan and Dotzlaf hope brings people out. They would rather see 500 people come out and have a good time than to sit on a pile of money. What once was a $5 cover has changed to range between $1 and $3. \nBesides waiting on the approval for their three-way liquor license and a new look for the place, the owners are making some changes in the weekend line-ups. They hope to set up consistent theme nights and see Mondays and Tuesdays as possible nights for entertainment. Vertigo is currently only open on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.\nFor Duncan and Dotzlaf it's not about profits and planning for their retirement. It's about a dream to open a live music venue with a bar and entertaining the younger crowd in Bloomington and the students of IU. Vertigo is not Axis, it's not Sports, it's not the Bluebird and they don't want it to be. Striving to be different is their goal. But a change in age requirement is just a change along the way to the venue they've envisioned.