A big story in the statewide newspaper this morning has the best club in town closing on June 1st.
This place is a 20,000 sq. ft. sprawling property that houses a seafood restaurant, two private party rooms, a large outdoor deck overlooking the river and a cool bar area that provides live music and plenty of room for dancing.
On a crowded night when we have played there, we will have 400 patrons in the bar/deck area.
As far as gigging there, it is top notch -- 25X15 stage, good lights, good PA/soundman, and good pay for the evening..............always a successful gig.
And they love us there because they "like the crowds we draw", i.e., the over-35 crowd with disposable income.
I had talked to the bar manager only a few weeks ago and he booked us for the remainder of the calendar year -- April, July, October, and December.
At this moment, the only gig we will play is the April date.
I'm guessing the half-page story in the paper today 60 days before the closure is an attempt to see if any other enterprising group wants to step in and give this place a run.
It has a history of operations that goes back 45 years and it is one of the most popular places in town.
The story reflects that the weekends draw awesome business but the weekdays are not doing well.............very sad.
For many years, we have counted on 4 or 5 gigs per year at this venue and always had a great time.
For a band that plays monthly, we may have just lost a lot..................I'll pray that someone takes the place and keeps it going.