It's been 10 years since the dawn of the weekly Friday night Trivia Riot. Says Brick owner Sheri Parr:
I want to say that I am grateful for the last 10 years of Trivia Riot, but we are looking forward to the upcoming Friday performance and band-booking opportunities.Times change, and hosting a trivia game every Friday night is not a good fit for the Brick anymore. We started the Friday game over 10 years ago when downtown was a ghost town on a Friday night and the downtown workers evacuated immediately after work. There was no happy-hour business then, and our shows did not start until 10:30. Ten plus years later, downtown has dramatically changed. I have neighbors (both residences and businesses), and there is pedestrian traffic, the Sprint Center, shows at Crossroads KC, the Midland, the Performing Arts Center ...
The highly competitive game has actually been running at Retro on First Fridays since this past September, because Parr wanted that night at the Brick for artist receptions and special performances more in tune with that night's Crossroads atmosphere.
Host Roland Reschke — a seventh- and eighth-grade English teacher from Independence — says he's glad that the game will pick up again tomorrow without having to skip a week. "We have a new place, and Retro is glad to have us." He also admitted that the announcement was unexpected. "It just came out of left field. I was stunned." Reschke was informed of the decision earlier this week.
Reschke's game hasn't evolved much from the original format. He moves fast — 90 questions in two hours. A favorite of trivia buffs from around the city, the complex questions cover scores of topics Reschke has taken from trivia books, almanacs and encyclopedias of film and television topics. "I basically pick up anything I can find at Half Price Books," he says.
The $5 buy-in remains the same. So does the 7 to 9 p.m. game time.
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Actually, Roland was very accommodating to the bands playing. Whenever they started showing up to the venue he always told them they could go ahead and start bringing stuff up. And don't blame the game for the fact that nobody was there to see your band. It has absolutely nothing to do with the game. Like I said before, I go to a lot of shows in KC/Lawrence, and there are rarely any bands I'm interested in seeing at The Brick. They just can't get the caliber of talent that the Record Bar, Riot Room, etc. can get.
I haven't been back to The Brick on a Friday to see if business is booming, but I can tell you that Retro is very happy to have tables filled for 4 hours on a Friday before the night crowd shows up.
People taking up a table for four hours on a Friday night is not good for business (don't think the trivia people were buying too many drinks). Don't think it was personal. Once there was a good business environment downtown for a bar, trivia on a weekend night no longer makes sense.
It's exactly the two comments previous to this one that reflects the attitude that The Brick had toward trivia players. Over the past couple years, trivia players have spent thousands of dollars at The Brick. Glad to be giving my money to another place instead. The reason that many of the trivia players didn't stay for the bands is because they would basically try to shoo us all out the door. And as for getting there early to get a table....isn't that any bar owners' dream? People willing to spend good money on food and drinks two hours before an event even starts? And giving Roland only three days notice that they were cancelling his game shows an incredible lack of tact and a disrespect for all of the people that he brought into the bar, week after week, filling it to capacity. Unbelievable.
I will say it was kind of a pain the ass to play a show there after the bingo party or whatever it was on Friday nights. No room for gear, no one gave a shit about your band or what you were there for, and then it was a fucking ghost town by the time the first note was played. Go play Uno somewhere else.
glad to have those trivia assholes out of the place. they would show up two hours early, grab tables or hover over people in booths -- 'are you leaving soon??' -- trying to grab a seat. the MC is a rude dickhead. Good riddance. Good to have the brick back on fridays
Happy to see a pretty full house last night at Retro! We knew Roland's game wouldn't suffer by moving up the street from the Brick. The overall energy level was really positive; it's amazing what a difference an appreciative staff makes. The space at Retro IS a bit narrow, but the staff is really accommodating and does everything it can to improve our experience. Plus, get this: clean bathrooms with doors! We'll definitely be back next week.
Thank God. I pretty much stopped going to the game because The Brick was so terrible. Rude service and as soon as the game was over they basically kicked you out. Last couple times I was there it seemed like the game had gotten smaller, likely because everyone else was sick of the place like me. I can't imagine how this is a good move for The Brick. I can't remember the last time they had a show I was interested in seeing (and I go to a lot of shows). I guess I'll have to check out the game at Retro.
Love it ! It'll be a breath of fresh air. Here's to the new game at Retro. Can't wait! Been hoping for the move for a long time. :)
Roland's game continues, and there's no reason to go to the Brick ever again! Win-win!!
I'll miss the sucky food, the inattentive service, and the bad attitude from management, but I guess I'll check out the game at the Retro.
looking forward to trying out the new venue! glad we're out of the brick -- i never felt very welcome there, almost like we were being tolerated and never appreciated.
The Brick is making a huge mistake. But I'm glad Roland is still in the game.
good riddance to The Brick. They need to learn a thing or thirty about customer service.
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