The Musical Box

The theme is “Independent Music on Independence Day.” For six years now, CD Central has been promoting that notion with a mini-festival of fine local indie acts along with an out of town guest or two staged smack in the middle of the outdoor madness that transforms downtown on July 4^th into a street carnival.

This year, the event takes on some hefty - and, perhaps, unintended - significance. It will be staged in Phoenix Park, a mere block away from where The Dame shut its doors less than two weeks ago. As such, it will showcase roughly eight hours of the sort of vital live music that downtown, as it stands now, is almost entirely devoid of.

But let’s not stray too far from the celebratory mood CD Central is out to summon. Headlining Independent Music on Independence Day this year will be Nashville’s De Novo Dahl, a quintet that has been a guest of The Dame on many a fine night.

If any outfit can brush away the grey that has circulated around the downtown music scene of late, this is the one. Though its musical sentiment regularly borrows from ‘70s and ‘80s pop, De Novo Dahl possesses a summery sound all of its own. Its recent Move Every Muscle, Make Every Sound album is loaded with light - and, dare we say, uplifting - pop confections, from the soul saturated Shakedown to the atmospheric bounce of New Hero to the blinding hullabaloo dervish of Make Some Sense .

Fans should also note there is a non-CD, iTunes-only bonus track on the band’s myspace page: an update of the Speed Racer theme that really sends De Novo Dahl’s pop time machine reeling. The tune was nixed at the 11^th hour from the soundtrack to the recent feature film remake of the vintage cartoon series. Maybe the movie would have made a more lasting impression at the box office had it gotten Dahl-ed up a bit.

There’s a wealth of great local music on tap today, as well - including slices of blues and boogie from The Tallboys and some seriously ear-crunching street noise from Tight Leather.

Here’s the full, free lineup:

Ben Allen (10:30 a.m.); Everybody Lives Everybody Wins (11:15 a.m.); The Tallboys’ (12 noon); Bedtime (1:15 p.m.); intermission for the July 4^th parade on Main St. (2 p.m.); De Novo Dahl (3:15 p.m.); Tight Leather (4:30 p.m.).

Independent Music on Independence Day will be held July 4 in Phoenix Park. Admission is free. Call (859) 233-3472.

In order to appreciate the current game plan of Hot Club of Cowtown, you have to review some previous box scores.

First, there was the dispersal. After seven years, five albums and who-knows-how-many performances, the Austin, Tx. trio, designed as a nexus between the ‘30s and ‘40s Western swing adventures of Bob Wills and the pre-World War II “hot jazz” pioneered in Europe by guitarist Django Reinhardt and violinist Stephane Grappelli in the Quintette du Hot Club de France, disbanded.

But when Cowtown fiddler Elana James later hit the road to support a self-titled debut album, she thought of no finer guitar foil for her band that longtime Cowtown mate Whit Smith. When James’ bassist then relocated to Chicago, she signed up stringman Jake Erwin, who just happened to be the bass player on Hot Club’s final two albums.

Then the realization hit. The very band James had on the road was the very Cowtown lineup that busted up in the first place.

“We had been playing together, the three of us, under my name for nearly a year,” James said. “After awhile, it was like, ‘We should call ourselves what we really are.”

Thus began what she terms “the re-launching” of Hot Club of Cowtown, which James and Smith first formed in 1997.

“It’s a rare thing for the three of us to have musically developed when and where and how we did,” Smith said. “Somewhere in all of that there was just a connection. We were coming from more of the same place than just the fact we have a lot of the same records.”

While relentless touring in the wake of 2002’s Ghost Train album yielded a high spirited concert recording (2003’s Continental Stomp), it also saw friction in the band ranks. But the resulting split came without any lasting animosity.

“We got to the bottom of everybody’s character and saw that we still liked each other,” James said.

The reconvened Hot Club of Cowtown returns to Lexington tonight to serve as the final band to play The Dame. The trio will stay over to perform for the WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour on Monday.

Then on August 19, the Shout Factory label will release a 20-song anthology assembled from the band’s five Hightone albums. Aptly titled The Best of the Hot Club of Cowtown, the album is a mix of originals (Smith’s Emily, James’ Secret of Mine), standards (Stardust), swing favorites (the Wills staple Ida Red) and global string summits (Fuli Tschai). There is also a Ghost Town cover of the ‘70s-era Aerosmith obscurity Chip Away the Stone that wraps three part harmonies around Smith’s guitar/vocal lead.

“I always think you should be allowed play the music you like,” Smith said. “We’re very lucky in that we get to do that. Some people get so tired of the material they’re forced to play. I mean, could you imagine writing Margaritaville and then having to play it every night?”

A new studio album for 2009 is also in the works. While it will feature predominantly original music, the Cowtown crew has already recorded another intriguing cover: Tom Waits’ Orphans nugget Long Way Home.

“The thing that’s cool is we don’t really sound like anybody,” James said. “We don’t sound like Stephane Grappelli. We don’t sound like Bob Wills. We’ve been inspired by that stuff, but we’re not aping it at all. This is a band with a sound of its own

“Whether we’re playing an Aerosmith song or a ballad by the Hot Club of France, to have consistent character throughout the music is something I’m very proud of.”

(above, The Hot Club of Cowtown: bassist/vocalist Jake Erwin, fiddler/vocalist Elana James, guitarist/vocalist Whit Smith)

The Hot Club of Cowtown performs at 8 tonight with The Swells for the last night of downtown business at The Dame, 156 West Main. $7. (859) 226-9005.

Hot Club also plays at 7 p.m. Monday with Takeharu Kunimoto and the Last Frontier for the WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour at the Kentucky Theatre, 214 E. Main St. $10. (859) 252-8888.

Deep in the dead of the first winter weathered by The Dame, then-manager Cole Skinner concocted a promotion to attract patrons on weeknights when no live music was booked. He called it “Kung Fu Motorcycle Monkey.”

The idea was for a guy in a gorilla suit to serve as a deejay for the evening after making an especially flashy entrance. When the event made its debut in February 2004, Skinner, most of his staff and a handful of bewildered patrons were peering out the Dame windows awaiting the arrival of “the monkey.” Then, roaring down Upper St. came one of the oddest sights you will ever hope to discover downtown - a man wearing a gorilla suit underneath full karate regalia riding a motorcycle. Skinner opened the doors and in rode the monkey, cycle and all, to the middle of the club’s dance floor.

Another night at The Dame was underway.

Here’s another snapshot. When a Saturday night performance in 2005 by Austin, Tx.’s Asylum Street Spankers concluded at the ripe evening hour of 9 p.m., the band moved its fans, and the ensuing party they had created, out onto Main St. No, the liquor was not brought outdoors. But the piano was. So any curious motorists driving downtown that night were treated by another fantastic image: a Texan playing ragtime on an upright piano on a Main St. sidewalk.

Admittedly, monkey suits and pianos aren’t what longtime fans of the downtown music club will have on their minds when The Hot Club of Cowtown winds up the last evening of operation for The Dame on Sunday. But they do reflect just a few of the celebratory occasions that gave the club its character.

For many, The Dame meant an astonishing performance lineup of national acts that included X, Alejandro Escovedo, Man Man, The Rev. Horton Heat, North Mississippi All-Stars, Dirty Dozen Brass Band and literally hundreds of others. To some, it’s where local music was nurtured and fanbases were built. But above all, The Dame has been a neighbor. Now part of a decimated downtown entertainment corner and with relocation plans still uncertain, Sunday will officially mark last call for one of Lexington’s most heralded nightspots.

“As far as music goes, I think The Dame has put Lexington on the same level as Louisville and Cincinnati,” said Nick Sprouse, The Dame’s general manager and primary talent buyer. “Even though we have a much smaller population, we have gotten a lot of the same acts to play here.

“Granted, there has been a lot of amazing stuff that has gone on in Lexington over the years at UK, Rupp Arena, the shows Michael Johnathon has brought in and especially Lynagh’s (Music Club). But I think over the last few years, everything has really come together at The Dame.”

Lexington guitarist Willie Eames, who has played The Dame countless times with several local bands - including The Tall Boys and Club Dub - as well as a solo performer, sees the passing of The Dame as unfortunate but somewhat inevitable.

“It’s sad,” he said. “There’s just not that many places to play in Lexington for people who want something different, people who are into a scene other than, say, going to Applebee’s. But I’ve been playing long enough now that I’ve seen several clubs come and go. That’s part of the scene, too. These things are bound to happen. A club can’t go on forever. But it’s still sad when one comes to an end.”

Robby Cosenza, another multi-tasking local musician (he is a member of, among other bands, The Scourge of the Sea and The Apparitions), has also played regularly at The Dame as well as the Main St. club’s previous incarnations as The Blue Max and Millennium.

“But those places never compared to how it’s been with The Dame,” Cosenza said. “I’ve played in a lot of different cities, as well, and there just aren’t a lot of venues like it - places that have the same capacity or the same really open minded, cool staff. It’s been great to have The Dame here.”

Of course, what is making news this summer isn’t so much the actuality that The Dame is closing, but rather how it’s closing. Most clubs that shut down are simply failed businesses. The Dame had its lease bought out as part of the controversial CentrePointe project which, if approved and funded, will level all buildings on the block The Dame now stands on for construction of a 40 story hotel and condominium tower.

Formal plans for CentrePointe were announced in March. But rumors have been flying, literally, for years that the buildings where The Dame and adjacent businesses like Buster’s (which closes tonight) and Mia’s (which has already relocated) resided would close to make way for some kind of downtown redevelopment. And that speculation has weighed heavy on Sprouse.

“For the last two years, it’s been really tough,” he said. “It’s been tough on business, for one thing. Customers say The Dame is going out of business, but so many things they heard weren’t true. The customers wound up not knowing whether we were open or not. Even after the 700^th time we were asked if we were closing, no one really knew what was going on - including us.”

CentrePointe’s formal announcement didn’t clear the air much, either. Sure, plans for the project were officially on the table. But The Dame’s relocation was - and still is - up in the air.

“I’ve had to turn down so many bands that wanted to play here in August, September and October because we just didn’t know what was going to happen.”

One thing is certain, though. Even if The Dame finds a new home and signs a lease today, it could be months before a new venue would be renovated and equipped enough for the club to resume business.

“I could use a little bit of a vacation,” Sprouse said. “It would be nice to get over to Al’s Bar and other spots to see what else has been going on in town. I haven’t been able to see shows as a customer for years.

“But honestly, I’m kind of numb to it all right now. This has been going on for two years. I’ve been talking about it for so long that I’m out of words to even explain myself.”

For everyone else, though, the squeeze of not having a live music venue in town on the level of The Dame, will be swiftly felt. Audiences haven’t experienced that kind of pinch since Lynagh’s Music Club closed in 2002.

“I think it’s going to hurt for awhile,” Cosenza said. “The big loss will be that the national touring bands will have nowhere to come to that’s smaller than Rupp Arena. The locals will find places to play. They always do. But for everyone, it’s going to hurt.”

“A nice sense of community has grown around The Dame over the years,” Sprouse said. “For a lot of people, going out, seeing music and even playing meant The Dame. Now all of that’s gone. It’s like a family member has died and we don’t know what to do.”

at top: The Dame on the night of the sold-out CD release party of local hip-hop stylists CunninLynguists. The date: June 22, 2007 - exactly one night before The Dame’s final night of downtown business. photo by Herald-Leader staff photographer David Stephenson… above, left: Vice Mayor Jim Gray outside The Dame last spring before walking the site of the proposed CentrePointe project

The ruckus surrounding the proposed CentrePointe may have settled down a bit as of late. But that should not suggest the project is no longer with us. The deal on CentrePointe is neither dead nor done.

To help out Preserve Lexington, which is promoting alternative construction on the downtown “Dame block” that blends new architecture with existing structures deemed historical, is a benefit tonight at Al’s Bar. Performing will be a strong regional music bill that features the always hearty grooves of Club Dub, local popsters The Phat Mavericks, the Versailles psychedelic blues troupe Joint Venture and Sans Serid.

Aside from serving as a cool show for a vital cause, the Saturday benefit will be an opportune time to catch The Phat Mavericks in action. The band’s new Zebra Gazebo album is a clever cross-generational party that wraps up rockabilly, reggae-fied grooves, tropically inclined pop, swing and modest hip-hop accents in one bright, melodic package.

There is a fun performance attitude surrounding this lot, as well. Check some of it out via a fun homemade video for the tipsy Sideways Strut now playing on the Phat Mavericks’ myspace page.

Need another reason to check out Zebra Gazebo? Try this: The Phat Mavericks will donate half the proceeds of the album’s sales tonight to Preserve Lexington.

The band will also be chatting and performing Saturday on WRFL-FM between 4 and 6 p.m.as a warmup for the show.

Still want more? Then keep May 15 open. That’s when The Phat Mavericks will headline its own concert at The Dame, one of the very downtown businesses Preserve Lexington is hoping to preserve.

The Benefit for Preservation Lexington will be held at 8 tonight at Al’s Bar, Sixth St. and North Limestone. Admission is $5. Call (859) 252-9104.

Even a country music beachcomber like Kenny Chesney had to admit in the midst of the most improbable concert to roll into downtown in ages that summertime was still a ways off.

Of course, wherever Chesney travels, a bit of the tropics tends to follow. On Friday night, in the teeth of one of the nastiest storms so far this winter, Chesney took his fun-in-the-sun country pop not to the cavernous Rupp Arena, but straight to the heart of The Dame. There he played, along with his seven member band, on a tiny club stage without his usual playground of lighting rigs and video screens. But downsizing the arena props proved to be half the fun.

Friday’s date with The Dame - the singer’s first concert appearance of 2008 and one of only seven club outings on his Keg in the Closet Tour - was a vastly looser affair than any of Chesney’s numerous Rupp outings. Before a sold out crowd of roughly 350 that included Vice Mayor Jim Gray, Chesney offered a program chock full of hits that shifted from the show-opening Live Those Songs to the island reverie No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problem to the brezzy pop stride of Beer in Mexico.

Chesney seemed to revel the bar setting. Sure, the looseness got a little too loose at times, as in the botched cues that made Big Star something of a big mess. But even then, the mood compensated. Chesney remained all smiles, slapped hands with fans at the front of the stage and, in general, made the boast of “I feel right at home here” seem quite genuine.

Due to the show’s late starting time (Chesney didn’t take the stage until 10:10), only the first half of Chesney’s one hour, 45 minute performance could be reviewed before deadline. But that still left time for numerous highlights, specifically the frat-country guitar strut of the tour’s namesake tune, Keg in the Closet, the midtempo seasonal meditation Summertime and the affirmative ballad One of the These Days.

Even Chesney’s appearance was extra casual. Instead of the requisite cowboy hat, the singer opted for a functional yet fashionable Cleveland Indians baseball cap.

Of course, the sheer unlikelihood of an event like this, its impromptu scheduling (the show wasn’t announced until Wednesday) and especially its place in what has been a tumultuous week for The Dame (given the unveiling of the proposed CentrePointe development, which could possibly demolish the club as early as this summer) almost overshadowed the concert itself.

But Chesney is arguably the most bankable country star on the planet. Having such a visible artist take such an unintentional but commanding role in downtown nightlife, even if it was just for one night, was a joy that had to crack the exterior of even the most hardened critic of his music.

There were signs of Chesney’s celebrity status all about Friday’s show, of course - specifically the army of stagehands and security guards along with an arsenal of guitars squeezed into the short passageway that led from the club’s stage to its downstairs green room.

But by the same token, there was remarkably little fuss outside the club, save for the wait fans had to endure in the midst of snow and freezing rain before being admitted to The Dame. Once inside, though, as real of a summertime spirit as could be summoned quickly warmed everyone up.

It’s tough not to be struck by the irony of it all. On the very day that word surfaced about the possible demise - or complete obliteration, if you want to get seriously real about it - of The Dame came the surprise announcement that country star Kenny Chesney had been booked at the club for an impromptu show on Friday.

I make no bones about my misgivings concerning the modern state of country music, just as I’ll gladly yell to the treetops that tearing down The Dame and the entire block of Main/Upper/Vine Street businesses and historical buildings surrounding it so a 40 story Godzilla with underground parking can be constructed is a serious cultural setback for downtown.

Country music, as defined by Chesney is essentially pop that is just a degree or two removed from Jimmy Buffett. Both are about as traditionally country as a C-Span special. But for anyone thinking that wiping The Dame off the face of downtown is a casual thing, keep in mind Chesney is the act that brought 16,000 fans into Rupp Arena in 2006 and 19,000 the year before that. The Dame is one of only seven college friendly clubs he will be playing as a warm-up for a spring-summer trek of ampitheatres and stadiums. The Dame didn’t even lobby for the show. Chesney’s management approached the club.

So for this week, I happily welcome Mr. Chesney back to town. Maybe, just maybe, having him playing The Dame on Friday, will make a point. Maybe the hysteria that will ignite when an artist capable of packing tens of thousands into an arena chooses to play in a Main Street club for roughly three or four hundred will illuminate the kind of downtown nightlife that could very easily disappear if The Dame gets demolished.

For that reason alone, I will, for at least one night, be one of the biggest Kenny Chesney fans in the world.

(above photo of Kenny Chesney at Rupp Arena in 2006 by Herald-Leader staff photographer Mark Cornelison)

Now we finally know. After nearly two years of speculation, plans were officially unveiled yesterday to wipe clean a cherished block along Main Street and essentially ignore the Courthouse Design Area Overlay Zone (designed to preserve historic architecture around the downtown Courthouse) and the Downtown Master Plan (the taxpayer funded recommendations for building heights and pedestrian savvy street designs)

In short, where once stood The Dame, Buster’s and Mia’s - which will become no more than dust and memories by the summer if the plan is approved - will be a 40 story tower with a estimated price tag of $250 million.

I’ll leave the historical and ecological ramifications of such a severe overhaul to wiser minds that deal more readily with those concerns. And let us all suppress snickers over claims that construction of this beast will be finished in time for the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in 2010. Let’s just focus for a moment on life without The Dame Block.

Collectively, the three establishments at the corner of Main and Upper are an entertainment block that has become one of the most visibly active centers of downtown nightlife. Maybe to some they are simply a music club, pool hall and bar. But in a city starved for nightlife, especially nightlife that doesn’t drain patrons’ wallets dry, The Dame Block has achieved what few business collectives have over the years: it has brought people downtown.

Is construction necessary on The Dame Block? Absolutely. Ever since the painfully slow erosion and eventual demolition of Woolworth’s, the block is like a face with a few missing teeth. So why not reconstruct what’s left instead of starting anew with a building that extinguishes one of downtown’s few proven, year-round centers of nightlife.

Save the historical structures. Keep the nightlife. Incorporate cutting edge architecture that would make something new and better out of something that is valued but neglected.

And, yes, bringing this around to my cause, the thought of losing or even relocating The Dame - far and away the city’s most respected music establishment - is simply heartbreaking.

So now is the time to let city officials know how you feel. Start by emailing Mayor Jim Newberry at mayor@lfucg.com. That’s what he’s there for. Express your opinion to your councilman. Tell anyone you know that putting a new face on Main Street doesn’t mean having to destroy the old one.

The plan is now out, but it’s far from a done deal. If keeping a corner of downtown alive with music and nightlife is important, the time to act is now.