04 January, 2013

Is Madison a Hipster Destination?

The Cap Times' crime blotter notes a fight that broke out at the Plan B nightclub on New Year's Eve. Of the five people mentioned in the story, three of them are from out of town. Indeed, they are all from out of state - Freeport, IL, Belvidere, IL, and South Bend, IN.

In another incident that night, a young woman from Batavia, IL was arrested.

I didn't think that folks from the Chicago area visited Madison that much. Maybe it was just because it was New Year's.

Reading about these incidents I was reminded of a comment at this post up at The Urbanophile. The topic is Milwaukee's place in the Chicago mega-city. One person, whom I presume is from the Chicago area, left this:

Milwaukee is the new cool getaway city for the Chicago hipster kids. Lakefront brewery, the bars and clubs, summer fests are a big attraction. So has become Madison, Wi. It seems every weekend I hear about somebodies trip to Wisconsin for beer, cheese, sausage, farmers markets, fishing, skiing, or just a change of pace from Chicago.

I don't hang out at places that denizens of Wicker Park and Bucktown would likely make a trip for so I haven't noticed this. Have any Madison locals out there experienced a surfeit of Chicago hipsters enjoying our fair burg?

6 comments:

Will Strong said...

No hipsters in Madison - long time Madison resident.

Will Strong said...

No hipsters in Madison - Madison resident. Actually, I take that back. I saw one a while ago, but he was just passing through. I think his name was Andrew (but he went by Andy because it is hipper). Perhaps hipsters do like to visit Madison.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, I've seen a number of Hipsters looking very much at ease in and around Madison. They scurry around like roaches, Pabst in hand. Some shout the names of French art house films, others flail inside their ironically large, marled yarn sweaters.

Anonymous said...

What does marled mean? Only a stupid hipster would use a word like that.

Anonymous said...

Only a dirty, American Spirits smoking, Kafka quoting elitist would call someone a stupid Hipster.

Will Strong said...

I don't know. While hipsters seem to have invaded, unfortunately, every facet of American life (particularly, Atlanta), Madison to me seems to be a mecca of hippies instead. They all wear sandals. They all like beer. They all hate tight clothing. Regarding the first anonymous post, it is hard to put stock in what someone might say unless they stamp a name to it. Posting anonymously is exactly the sort of thing some trash hipster would do.