21 Proof

[December 19th, 2007]

The Oregon Liquor Control Commission voted 3-2 last week to reject amendments seeking to allow alcohol-serving music and arts venues to have all-ages music shows.

But the OLCC does plan in February to revisit that vote on changes to what’s known as the “minor postings” rule. Those changes have been long sought by Portland’s music and arts venues (see “Sonic Youth,” WW , Sept. 5, 2007) in hopes of offering all-ages shows if they submit a “control plan” to the OLCC for keeping booze out of the hands of minors (wristbands for patrons over 21, for example).

Proponents of the changes at the OLCC’s Dec. 13 meeting stressed the importance of teens having access to music in a regulated environment, and the difficulties of venues under the current rules to hold all-ages shows and remain financially viable. Some larger venues, like Berbati’s Pan, have managed to hold all-ages shows because their size or configuration allows them to separate underage patrons.

But between now and the OLCC’s review of the issue in February, here are some key numbers to consider for the other venues:

• Number of public comments or signatures received by the OLCC in favor of the changes: 256

• Number of comments or signatures opposed: 22

• Percentage of 11th-graders in Oregon who said in a 2006 survey it would be “very easy” or “sort of easy” to get alcohol: 80

• Number of months Berbati’s Pan has held all-ages shows with a control plan for alcohol in place: 12

• Number of underage alcohol violations at Berbati’s in that time: 0

• Average age of the OLCC’s five commissioners: 62