I've spent the past couple days putting together year-end lists for the New Year's issue of the Mercury. (Yes, we editors really leap to some outrageous creative heights in December. Stay tuned for my list of the "Top-5 Christmas Gifts to Distract Mom from the Fact That She's Menopausal, and Also That Her Hungover Ingrate of a Daughter Couldn't Even Be Bothered to Help Decorate the Tree This Year.") This rather insightful comment was on Andrew Tonry's year-in-comedy list:

Venue that Needs to Drop the Two-Item-Minimum Because it Scares People Off: Helium. As long as the drinks stay reasonably priced—which they are—patrons are likely to buy AT LEAST two over the course of a 2 1/2 hour show. Telling them they must strikes a rebellious nerve.

I would be so much more likely to go to Helium's fun-sounding trivia/comedy hybrid night on Wednesday if I do not feel obligated to buy two drinks. Because don't tell me what to do, Mom, I'm a grown-up lady, and I will have four whiskey sodas, thank you very much. I am also less likely to be distracted by Helium's profoundly generic decor and occasional flights of intense FOH disorganization if I am not already looking for things to nitpick.