fter posting some offensive, anti-Black Lives Matter tweets earlier this month and blaming the Dallas shootings on “libtards,” the barely-a-year-old electronic dance music venue Populux abruptly pulled the plug on operations, leaving a trail of canceled bookings and — from what we heard through the grapevine after we posted our original story calling out the offending tweets — confused employees in a lurch.
Now the venue reverts back to its old format and will be the Magic Stick again, an attempt to distance itself from the unsalvageable Populux name.
As of now, the only difference between Populux and the soon-to-be reopened Magic Stick is that Amir Daiza, one of the investors of the EDM venue, is walking away. So it’s basically a new name, with virtually the same management. The company is still maintaining the story that their account was hacked and that they filed complaints with the FBI, Wayne County Sheriff’s Office and the Detroit Police Department — although we still highly doubt the FBI is investigating.
In 2015, entrepreneur and music promoter Daiza touted that the venue would “breathe new life into the city through reinvesting in Detroit’s rich, historic music culture bringing people back downtown, a big step towards revitalization.” They clearly ran out of breath.
And Daiza and Majestic Complex co-owner Dave Zainea had what seemed like a very close relationship when they embarked on the Populux venture. Let’s revisit more from the original 2015 press release from when Populux was first announced.
"I have been promoting events with Amir Daiza for over 25 years,” says Dave Zainea, co-owner of the Majestic Theatre Center. “We have had a great relationship promoting local, national and international artists. It only seemed a matter of time before our success and relationship took off to reimagine The Majestic Complex in a modern, innovative way.”
But that relationship doesn’t seem as tight as before. In a Detroit Free Press story posted last night, The Majestic Theatre Complex just “leased the Populux space to Daiza and gave him free rein to operate the dance club.”
Something about the Populux/Magic Stick/Majestic Theatre Complex saga still isn’t adding up to us. But despite our doubts, local music fans are buzzing with excitement about the Magic Stick’s return.
populux is dead, long live magic stick
– Ryan Felton (@RyanFelton13) July 21, 2016
magic stick coming back! https://t.co/xzn6dbI0D5
– bk (@bkmacdonald) July 21, 2016
thank god populux is gone
– swithin wesson (@iHateSwithin) July 21, 2016
Whoa just heard #MagicStick is a thing again and #Populux has officially closed! That's so crazy #Detroit
– tifini kamara (@TifiniK) July 21, 2016
