Outraged DC concertgoers (might have) waved handmade signs above their heads at a rally last week, reading slogans like "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Crocs" and "Stop Wasting My Pedicure." The crowd's wrath was directed at one man by the name of Dante Ferrando, owner of the Black Cat club, in response to his new anti-flip-flop policy.
Showing concern at the number of concertgoers suffering serious injuries like crushed toes and cuts from broken glass, Ferrando has decided to tighten up his suggested policy sometime this summer, turning away those who attend shows in the offending footwear. "Flip-flops are pretty much the same as bare feet," he says.
Appalled at Ferrando's consideration for his patrons' safety, proponents of the flip-flop are calling his move "sneakerist" and "creepily compassionate," insisting that all forms of footwear be permitted within the club, lest their summer wardrobe be, like, totally ruined.
Rumors of the Black Cat's conspiratorial secret deal with major athletic shoe companies could not be confirmed at the time of press, but Nike mysteriously could not be reached for comment, even when I called them repeatedly on this here bananaphone. Phooey.
