When Medusa nightclub reopens in downtown Elgin Saturday night, general manager Miguel Ortuno wants people to have a good time.
It’s what his friend, Dave “Medusa” Shelton, would have wanted.
“Everybody who knew Dave, we just thought it would make sense to have a celebration rather than have it be something sad,” he said.
Shelton, an Elgin native, was the owner of Elgin’s Medusa as well as the legendary all-ages dance club in Chicago of the same name in the 1980s and early ’90s. Shelton died of natural causes Aug. 7 at his Elgin home; he was 64.
The gathering planned for Saturday will be a one-night-only memorial, with doors opening at 7 p.m. and plans to keep the festivities going into the wee hours Sunday, according to the club’s Facebook page.
“He wanted to be remembered in a fun way,” Ortuno said. “Come pay your respects, come have a shot.”
Shelton, nicknamed “Medusa” for the curly permed hair he donned in the 1980s, was in his 20s when he opened Medusa on Chicago’s North Side in 1983, a no-alcohol club that became a magnet for teens and young adults. It was open for nine years, and praised both for its inclusiveness and its embracing of the cutting-edge music scene.
Medusa in Elgin opened in 1997 on at 209 E. Chicago St., where it still stands.
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Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, entry into the nightclub Saturday will be limited to allow for social distancing, Ortuno said. No more than 50 people will be allowed inside at one time, and security outside will work to ensure people waiting to get in are six feet apart, he said.
Given the cult-like following the Chicago club had in its heyday, there could be hundreds wanting to attend, Ortuno said. He knew some people from as far away as California were planning to be there, he said.
The nature of the memorial is explained on the Elgin club’s Facebook page.
“You may be wondering … ‘Why is it at the club?’ Well … there is a pretty simple answer. ‘Why not?'” the post reads. “(Dave’s) legacy was in the club and everything he created had to do with a club … so that is where we shall host it!”
Ortuno asks those who attend to limit their time inside to a maximum of 30 minutes in order to ensure everyone who wants to come will have time. For those who want to linger, the parking garage next door will be open but no alcohol will be allowed, he said.
Ortuno said he met Shelton more than 20 years ago when Ortuno was working at a Bloomingdale record store. Shelton invited him to work at the nightclub shortly thereafter, he said.
“He was a super caring person,” Ortuno said. “He cared about people, he cared about animals. He was extremely loyal. … He wanted you to come into his space and be safe, come together.”
For Ortuno, it will also be the first time he’ll be seeing some of his coworkers and friends since the club closed in March because of the pandemic. He’s not sure when the club will reopen on a regular basis.
“There’s no answer right now,” he said.
Donations can be made during the event to benefit the newly-formed Dave’s Animal Foundation, which benefits animal charities.
“He was always about saving animals,” Ortuno said.