What Happened At The Whitney in Detroit
If you’ve never been to The Whitney in Detroit, it’s a wonderful place – true Detroit history and great meals (plus music). But recently things got a bit sideways when a piano player (there for her anniversary dinner) decided to play the piano – and it got weird. Here’s the review that was publicly posted:
The Whitney – She’s Not Happy
First off, we spent some time talking about this on Wednesday’s show…and even put her review to music:
But how did this all start? Here’s the link to the reviews (go to lowest and seek out “Piano Demon”)
What did she write? Here ya go!
I had a wonderful dinner at The Whitney this evening. Unfortunately I will never go back. NEVER. I hope the current owner of this restaurant reads this review in its entirety.
When I first arrived at The Whitney, I was awestruck at the mansion. But I entered and saw a man I immediately did NOT like. I cannot explain it. His overconfidence and sense of belonging exuded a negative energy that repulsed me. I swear to God I’m being honest about this…
He then sat at the piano and my heart softened. I myself am a classically trained pianist & have been playing for over 35 years. I write my own music & have been published. I walked over with a smile & he invited me to play with him which I did. I told him of my experience. He did not ask me to sit at the bench and now I know why. He is a narcissist beyond compare. Stay tuned for the end of this story.
At any rate…my handsome husband & I had a lovely anniversary dinner. We were offered to keep an anniversary menu (which I was excited for) but it never arrived. No big deal. We also did not get the bread that was advertised on the menu. But it also was not a big deal because I didn’t want to fill up on bread. The dining experience was phenomenal & I was greatly looking forward to the tour of the mansion. We spent over $400 on our anniversary dinner & graciously tipped our waitress Alexis.
At the end of the dinner I was drawn to the piano in a way I cannot explain. I wanted to play Etude in A Major (The Coral Sea) by William Gillock, a song that I learned & mastered at 14 years old. I told our server Alexis to imagine the beauty of Michigan when listening to this song.
I was just beginning the song & already had a crowd of customers standing around me while my husband was recording me. It’s truly a beautiful & magical song, and when performed correctly it sounds like water. I was wanting to play this song all night. Before I opened the baby grand piano, I was told that Joel was extremely protective of the piano & that he had already left for the evening. I assured the servers that I had already played with Joel (the Whitney’s Pianist) and that he would be ok with it. Oh my goodness was I ever wrong.
Before even getting past the introduction of this beautiful piece, Joel scolded me while closing the piano. He stated that this was his personal piano & that I had no right to sit at his bench without his permission. I calmly reminded him that I had already played with him earlier in the evening. He said as a fellow musician, I should know better than sitting at another pianist’s bench without permission. In this, he’s absolutely INCORRECT. And I rightly told him so. I would gladly welcome him at my own baby grand piano bench. But I am a different person than him. I allow children to experience the joy of music at my piano.
What we are dealing with here is an extreme narcissist pianist who cannot handle another pianist playing his instrument better than he can. It’s truly sad. If he cared this much about his piano he would install a lock on the key cover to prevent other customers from doing the same thing. And he would also tune this sad piano because it has clearly been neglected.
Shame on you Joel. Shame on you, The Whitney restaurant. This is NOT was Mr. Whitney would’ve wanted. Do better. I will never return to your restaurant & I will advise all of my friends (and I have many in Detroit) to do the same.
You’ve ruined my beautiful anniversary dinner & because of Joel I did not take a tour of the home, which I was desperately wanting to do.
I curse you. And I mean what I said to you, Joel, before I left The Whitney restaurant.
So What Should The Whitney Do?
As of Tuesday morning, our friends at The Whitney haven’t responded to this online – but it’s on fire on reddit. Would you respond or just let it go? Now I need to go show my support…for The Whitney, not the angry piano player.
