Izzy Writes

TW/ the mention and use of racial slurs and anti-black language.

It is not uncommon that in the nightlife scene, you may run into a few bad apples, but according to many who frequent The Saloon in downtown Minneapolis, there is a pattern of racist treatment towards not only its patrons, but its staff as well, an issue its Chief Financial Officer, Chris Bock, seems to be unwilling to fix.

Bock came under fire on social media in September, after a former DJ at the Saloon, Aries Firebomb, took to Instagram to share screenshots of how Bock snapped on him and let him go over a “No Requests” visual he had used during his DJ set. Bock wrote, “Take this down now or I’ll come down there and make it happen.” According to Aries, this was the first interaction he had with Bock.

“I was heated. I was like, I will unplug all of this shit and just leave right now if that’s the case,” Aries said. “It made me feel devalued as a person and as an artist, because I have done so much to change the culture at The Saloon. And not to say that it was perfect, because we all know it is not, but I did enough of an impact.”

Aries had been DJ-ing at the Saloon for the past three years and was a notable figure in its club scene, having headlined the club’s Pride event this year, which saw more than 2,000 attendees. He says while there have always been issues with the “white queer folk” at the Saloon, something he has been vocal about for years, the behavior got worse over this summer.

“This particular summer, me and other DJs have noticed that people have been getting really weird and rude about things,” Aries said.

“People would hold up their phones to ask for requests or something like that. And sometimes I’d oblige, if I could fit it in. But if I would say no that’s when people would start deleting their requests from their phones and then holding up their phones flashing monkey emojis, and say I’m playing [n-word] music.”

After a summer full of this, Aries decided in early September to update his visuals during his DJ set to include a “no requests” screen. According to Aries, someone sent a photo of this to Bock, which led to his hostile Instagram message. According to the screenshots provided in Aries’ original Instagram post, which has reached over 1,000 likes, Bock says he is “not welcome” back into The Saloon without speaking in person, and then proceeded to pull up a screenshot of a disgruntled patron who requested, and was denied a song, with Chris writing, “Do you think this is okay?”

Bock’s sudden anger towards what many DJs see as a normal practice isn’t a coincidence to Aries, who says this comes on the heels of making his concerns of racist behavior during his sets known to the bar twice before this incident.

“I do feel like I definitely was singled out because I am a vocal black person, and because I specifically go out of my way to show people the origins of dance music and how that’s all rooted in black culture, you know, from hip hop, disco to gospel,” Aries said.

It is bigger than just being asked for his “no requests” visual to be taken down, Aries said.

“As a DJ, you are hired to create a vibe and create a space where people can come and have a good time and dance and having people constantly interrupt that by asking for requests is basically like going to a restaurant and be like, ‘I really want this thing that this chef prepared but I want this changed,this changed,” Aries said. “We can accommodate you, but if like this is the vibe for the night, you have to respect that.  And it’s a whole movement going on right now when it comes to, like, party goer etiquette and DJs.”

In the aftermath of Aries calling out Bock’s behavior, he created a Google Form where people could anonymously share their experiences at the Saloon, and received over 100 submissions. Multiple of the submissions shared the same theme of racism being common among the patrons, something queer Black and Brown people deal with regularly there. The full list can be seen on a spreadsheet here.

“This place is hostile towards anyone who isn’t a white cis man. If you experience violence, the managers won’t listen or help you,” One person wrote.

“I have had my share of unsavory experiences there, being a young woman, but what concerns me the most is the utter disrespect I’ve seen patrons have for performers, especially performers of color. There needs to be more done to protect Black and Brown performers in these spaces. There have been multiple instances of people disrupting and/or touching performers mid-number, and it’s always customers like myself who intervene first,” another wrote.

Many shared similar stories of transphobic and racist experiences at The Saloon; however, Aries also received multiple racist messages within the Google form, from alleged patrons.

Aries said he was not too surprised at the response, saying,  “[They’re] really proving my point here about it being a racist spot.”

“I do think it’s because it’s been a place where people have been exclusionary for so long, like the saloon has been open for over 45 years at this point.  And as people and times have changed, The Saloon has tried to incorporate some of that. Still, at the end of the day, their demographic is so they’re so used to a certain thing. Because of how society as a whole treats white gay men above everyone else in the queer community, that is the demographic that’s always going to bring them the most money in their eyes.”

While Bock and the management at Saloon have refused to comment further on this situation, despite multiple attempts at communication, Bock did address this issue in a Facebook post to his Saloon staff group, writing, “I am available and willing to discuss any part of this and anything else that might be on your minds.”

“A simple directive to take down ‘”‘No Requests’”‘ on the screen turned into a mess… I usually address an issue and let the proper manager handle things. I wasn’t threatening him, but it was a much more direct approach than I usually take,” He wrote. “I was still upset about the Venmo conversation he posted online and how he speaks to our customers, which is what led me to message him directly. I did not expect the reactions and wild accusations that followed, and I apologize for any stress I’ve caused any of you.”

The “wild accusations” he is referring to are about his criminal record, which, according to the MN Court system, he has had 11 cases involving him going all the way back to 2007, many of which were dismissed or settled. After Aries began digging into his criminal past, Bock’s mugshot began to circulate from May 2024, when he was arrested for misdemeanor domestic assault after an ex-girlfriend of his called police, claiming to fear for her life.

Concerning the multiple patrons who have come forward about their treatment at the bar, Bock seemed upset at people only now coming forward.

“It also frustrates me when anyone says such horrible things about the Saloon. We’re not perfect, but I feel like we’re all doing the best we can to make it a safe and inclusive space,” Bock wrote. “Please feel welcome and encouraged to bring any issues to management if you experience or witness anything illegal, that puts you in any type of harm, or is simply uncomfortable.”

Since The Saloon has refused to publicly acknowledge the issues brought up by Aries and multiple other patrons, he has since called for a boycott, asking patrons who may go to the bar’s drag shows to withhold from spending at the bar, and not spend time there.

“If you’ve already had gigs there, if you’ve already been contracted to do some DJ work there, I don’t want anybody to fuck up their coins, not in Trump’s economy,” Aries said. “Really, this is just going out to patrons. I have friends who are still part of Hot Pink, and still do, Werk competition, and all of that. But after you’re done with your set, don’t stick around. Get your money and go home. Hit them where it hurts in the wallet. They don’t deserve your money because, at the end of the day, they don’t respect you.”

It has been over a month since this whole situation unfolded, and while Bock remains silent, Aries has confirmed he has been in talks with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights and has “pending cases.” If Bock or management at The Saloon responds to requests for comment, this article will be updated.

For those who want to find a way to support Aries at this time, a GoFundMe has been organized for him to recoup lost wages and has raised more than $500. He will also be DJ-ing in collaboration with The QT Castle, on Saturday at a Sinners watch/juke party from 8pm until 2am. Tickets are $10.