Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Night Owl --->Blind Bob's ( Whither the Music Scene?)

DDN drops a music scene bombshell with this article:

Night Owl has been sold and maybe be converted into a play geared to an over 25 audience.

... In another major change, the kitchen would be restored. "We want to offer hearty soups, great sandwiches, to make it somewhere comfortable you'd want to stop at on the way home from work," Mendenhall said. "We're looking to create an American tavern."

The Nite Owl's tradition of live music would continue with opportunities for local bands. Nights geared to the under-21 crowd would likely "go by the wayside," with a target audience of 25-year-olds and up, Mendenhall said.

But he has to clear the Oregon District residents council first. That should be fun.


Meltones over at the Bhudda Den makes some good points on this.

Particularly the issue of the young adult/college age crowd being excluded, and the fact that Night Owl was a big touring spot, replacing the defunct Elbows to some extent in that role.

So makes me think that that the all-ages space being proposed by the Dayton Dirt Collective is going to become sorley needed as venues become closed to the younger crowd.

This is a bigger deal than one may think, as this young adult demographic is a big fan base for live indy music that is featured at Night Owl...and not only the fans but the artists, too.

Night Owl Memories

Not really my venue but I did stop there every so often, and every so often I would catch a good act. That's were I saw Dawn Cooksey. But the place is falling apart. Changed quite a bit from years ago, when Snapper Mitchum used to play there and the place had more of an R&B angle.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Don't cry too hard just yet. Blind Bob's intends to host shows, yes they will be 21 and up but there's no money to be made from underage patrons. We might even be able to book some touring acts, time will tell. As an update for those interested the Oregon Residents are supporting the project.