The Venue thread

[thatguy]

Why not…

There’s a new venue coming to Menlo Park:

https://guildtheatre.com

COMING VERY SOON

The Guild Theatre is a not-for-profit music and event performance space bringing live music and entertainment to the Peninsula region. Currently under construction, the venue will hold 500+ patrons and host a wide range of music, film, and special events programming.

Decent upcoming show list, including Son Volt and Femi Kuti (different shows)

—tg

[Drunk Monk]

Woah. The old movie theater? Cool!

[thatguy]

Another new venue coming July 1:
https://www.sfgate.com/food/article/revi...147881.php

One of the Bay Area's oldest dive bars comes back from the dead as Thee Stork Club

Amanda Bartlett ,  SFGATE 
Updated: May 5, 2022 6:04 p.m.
[img=375x0]https://s.hdnux.com/photos/01/25/46/75/22441805/6/1200x0.jpg[/img]
One of the Bay Area's oldest dive bars, the Stork Club in Oakland, is slated to reopen as Thee Stork Club on July 1 with help from founders of Eli's Mile High Club and Mosswood Meltdown. 
Grant Kerber/Courtesy of Thee Stork Club

One of the Bay Area’s oldest dive bars and music venues is coming back from the dead — and famed musician Shannon Shaw, longtime DJ Chris Owen of Budget Rock Festival and legendary cult filmmaker John Waters plan to help usher it into a new, gaudy era. 

The Stork Club — newly christened Thee Stork Club in a nod to its ties to the garage rock scene — will welcome the public to the historic space on Telegraph Avenue again with a grand reopening bash on July 1, according to a press release shared with SFGATE by the venue’s new owners on Wednesday. Now at the helm will be Marc Ribak and Amy Carver of Mosswood Meltdown (the annual music festival formerly known as Burger Boogaloo), Billy Agan and Matt Patane of Eli’s Mile High Club and Tony Bedard of Hemlock Tavern and Talent Moat. 

When the decades-old watering hole was forced to close its doors in May 2020, its clientele lamented the loss of a scrappy “home away from home” and a hub for the punk and DIY community. Now, Ribak, a veteran of the local music scene who co-signed the 11-year lease on the space in September, hopes it will carry on the same spirit of the grungy Mosswood Park festival on a year-round basis and foster a thriving epicenter for Bay Area bands.

“The old vibe of the Stork Club was like, anybody and everybody could play there. You literally just called up the bar and you could book a show,” Ribak told SFGATE over the phone on Wednesday afternoon. “It’s a really special place for a lot of people in the music scene because they made so many memories there.” 

He and his wife, Carver, usually book 25 or 30 bands a year for Mosswood Meltdown in addition to a few other one-off shows, but balancing a mix of local, national and international acts posed a challenge. He said they felt they weren’t able to accommodate enough bands from the local scene, and things got worse when the pandemic hit. 

“It’s gotten harder than ever for people to pursue their art in the Bay Area. Rent has gone up. There’s been inflation. You can’t buy a vintage guitar from the ’60s anymore without signing a deal with the devil,” Ribak said with a laugh. 

Those obstacles, coupled with a slew of dive bar and venue closures, including Elbo Room, Lucky 13 and the Stork Club itself, gave him pause — and made him wonder if there was something he could do about it. 

“When the opportunity came along to rent the Stork Club, I thought maybe we can save it,” said Ribak. “Maybe we can bring it back and make it cooler than it was before.”
The former owner, Micki Chittock, her son and manager Tom Chittock, and his wife, Laura Carney, were known for treating their customers like family, according to backers of the Stork Club’s 2020 GoFundMe campaign. Ribak, a longtime patron himself, said that while the former owners had decided it was time for them to move on after the initial closure, they were grateful to see a group of devoted customers who were invested in breathing new life into the space. 
“Tom said that if I was interested, he wanted to help out and make sure the club could continue,” said Ribak.

They started brainstorming new ideas and renovations for the venue over a year and a half ago while they negotiated the lease, Ribak said. Once it was signed, Ribak brought up the concept to Waters in October at last year’s Mosswood Meltdown, which the filmmaker emcees, and Ribak said Waters was immediately on board.

“He really wanted to get involved,” Ribak said. “Dive bars are one of his hobbies, and when he comes to San Francisco, he likes going to some of the famous ones.”

[img=375x0]https://s.hdnux.com/photos/01/25/46/55/22440798/3/1200x0.jpg[/img]
John Waters introduces performers at the 10th annual Mosswood Meltdown festival (formerly Burger Boogaloo) on July 6, 2019, in Oakland.
Miikka Skaffari/Getty Images

During a staff party held at the club last December, Shannon Shaw (of Bay Area doo-wop garage rockers Shannon and the Clams) similarly jumped at the chance to someday play at the club and encourage other bands to do the same. 
“That night was super cool because it really made us start to feel like we had a purpose and a vision for this,” Ribak said.   

When Thee Stork Club is formally unveiled, patrons can expect to see some new, ’70s-inspired embellishments and an aesthetic that’s undeniably smattered with Waters’ fingerprints: think wood-paneled walls, retro carpeting in multiple shades of pink, kitschy art and chandeliers that will sparkle over a shiny gold dance floor while visitors imbibe a menu of so-called “tacky” cocktails with excessive garnishes.

"TGI Friday's is a big inspiration lol," Agan said via text. (It’s worth noting the club’s notoriously cheap PBR tall boys will be here to stay, too.)

But one of its most recognizable features — a vast collection of Barbie dolls looming over the bar — will not be returning. Tom Chittock told Ribak that following the closure in 2020, when they were packing up and placing the dolls in boxes, someone had stolen them all.
“I couldn’t believe it,” Ribak said.

In spite of the loss, they’ll be replaced with a quirky new collection of memorabilia featuring the iconic canine actor Benji, who was the star of the retro TV sitcom “Petticoat Junction” and the ’70s film franchise that followed the heroic dog’s adventures. But a ’50s-era dollhouse Ribak unearthed upstairs will be on display, hearkening back to the Mattel legacy.
[img=375x0]https://s.hdnux.com/photos/01/25/46/55/22440797/3/1200x0.jpg[/img]
Shannon Shaw, left, and Cody Blanchard of Shannon and the Clams perform during Noise Pop Festival at the Fox Theater on Feb. 27, 2017, in Oakland.
Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images

Meanwhile, the back room where the pool table once was will be transformed into a “red room” and dining area inspired by Italian horror movies, spaghetti westerns and marinara sauce, Ribak said. There, they hope to permit the kitchen previously unutilized by the former leaseholders and serve pizza in the style of Bella Napoli, an Italian restaurant and bar that occupied the Telegraph Avenue space in the ’80s. 

“Coming into a historic space like this, one of the things that’s really important for us is honoring the past and honoring the folks that worked really hard there before,” Ribak said. 
When Thee Stork Club reopens, Ribak and Bedard, who is in charge of booking at the venue, plan to host at least five shows and 15 bands every week, with storied San Francisco punk band the Avengers, fuzz rockers Tha Retail Simps and Oakland five-piece Body Double among some of the acts appearing on the upcoming roster.

“People seem to be more excited about the club than people ever have been about [Mosswood Meltdown], which I didn’t get at first. It’s just a dive bar, guys,” Ribak joked. “But as I’ve thought about it, I’ve realized that for a lot of people in the music scene, these places can feel like home, and a place for them to showcase their talents year-round instead of just one weekend a year.”

SFGATE’s California trending news reporter Ariana Bindman contributed to this report. 
[img=375x0]https://s.hdnux.com/photos/01/25/46/75/22441848/3/1200x0.jpg[/img]
Thee Stork Club will reopen on July 1.
Courtesy of Thee Stork Club

--tg

[thatguy]

The UCSC Quarry is finally getting some love (besides being a film location for "Devs")


https://www.goodtimes.sc/noise-pop-colla...hitheater/

Noise Pop Collaborates with UCSC’s Quarry Amphitheater

June 8, 2022

On June 24, Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Carla Morrison’s Quarry Amphitheater concert will kick off UCSC’s partnership with Noise Pop Industries. 

In the early ’60s, modernist landscape architect Robert Royston took on an ambitious project: designing what’s now the Quarry Amphitheater on the UC Santa Cruz campus. Like Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado, Royston’s approach to creating the venue centers around environmental preservation. After all, the Quarry is located in a majestic setting cuddled by a canopy of towering redwoods, and the space’s limestone provides natural acoustics far superior to most indoor concert halls.

Royston used the elements of nature, carving the venue out of the former lime quarry. The layout is unique and asymmetrical, but there isn’t a bad seat in the joint.

Since its construction, the Quarry has hosted experimental theater and Shakespeare. Students have held Bollywood tributes and political rallies; renowned cultural figures, including Angela Davis, Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez, have spoken, and notable musicians, from Ravi Shankar to Joan Baez, have performed. The Quarry also made an ideal spot for topless sunbathing in the ’70s.

Following an $8 million renovation that includes upgrades to the stage, electrical infrastructure and capacity expansion—the amphitheater now seats 2,700, making it Santa Cruz’s largest outdoor venue—the Quarry reopened in 2017 after lying dormant for more than a decade.

Fast forward another five years: Last April, Quarry general manager Jose Reyes-Olivias announced a collaboration between the venue and Noise Pop.

“Noise Pop’s connection to independent music and culture felt like a perfect fit to find some great artists to play here,” he said.

Noise Pop Industries founder Kevin Arnold delivered an initial statement that resonated with the same excitement: “We’re fortunate to have forged a partnership built on a shared vision and passion for the potential of the Quarry with the UCSC community.”

In addition to founding the Noise Pop Festival and co-founding Treasure Island Musical Festival and Another Planet, the San Francisco-based Noise Pop Industries has produced hundreds of shows throughout the Bay Area and beyond. As champions of up-and-coming indie artists, the organization’s impressive resume features the Flaming Lips, Modest Mouse and early White Stripes shows.

Mexican singer-songwriter Carla Morrison kicks off the Quarry-Noise Pop alliance on June 24—she’s touring for the first time in six years. Morrison’s international following is impressive—multiple platinum records, 3.2 billion streams, stadium sellouts—but her courage in writing about her mental health struggles has proven more captivating. Especially since her music breaks through language barriers—most of Morrison’s songs are sung in Spanish—and touches listeners deeply.

Morrison’s acclaimed 2022 release El Renacimiento (The Rebirth) is just that—a return, a “rebirth,” after an extended hiatus.

“I just felt like people were more enamored with my work than I was,” Morrison told Billboard. “Now that I think back on it, I was really depressed. But at that time, I didn’t know I was.”

El Renacimiento is a deep emotional dive. The 12 carefully crafted tracks exude love, forgiveness, mourning, anxiety, healing and hope through acoustic compositions, electronica, indie rock and straightforward pop. “Te Perdi” (“I Lost You”) is a stripped-down, heart-on-her-sleeve ballad with a gentle percussive backbeat. Morrison’s delicate alto vocals build up to a poignant eruption about letting herself let go.

Meanwhile, the Quarry-Noise Pop 2022 Summer Concert Series continues Aug. 12-13 with two nights of very different music. For 20 years, STS9 (Sound Tribe Sector 9) has branded itself as being undefinable. Eventually, the jam band community embraced the five-piece instrumental outfit for their live improvisational musical expanses that can go on—and on. STS9’s fully immersive live shows also include mind-bending light shows in sync with the music. A STS9 show might be what Ken Kesey envisioned acid tests could look like in the future.

Carla Morrison performs Friday, June 24, 7pm. Irene Diaz opens. $44.50/$50; $34.50/students plus fees.
STS9 plays Friday, Aug. 12 and Saturday, Aug. 13, 7pm. $47.50/$54.50; $77.50/premium; $37.50/students plus fees. Two nights $95; $155/premium; $77.50/students plus fees.

Quarry Amphitheater at UC Santa Cruz, 1156 High St., Santa Cruz. quarry.ucsc.edu.

--tg

[Drunk Monk]

The UCSC Quarry is finally getting some love (besides being a film location for "Devs")

--tg

Been there, done that 
http://www.brotherhoodofdoom.com/doomFor...p?tid=4669

There's no parking...

[Drunk Monk]

That being said, I have an 'in' allegedly with STS9. A good friend is tight with that band and he is constantly threatening to come to the Cruz and hook us all up because he thinks we'd get along well. I hooked him up with his current gf so he owes me. 

That being said, I've seen STS9 at a festival I think, but I can't remember anything about them. They look fun - jammy and they gig in my jam band circles - but I don't really know their music.

That being said, I wouldn't be opposed to meeting them. I just want decent parking.