Concerts

 

In the city of downtown Lawrence, there’s music and there’s live music.

Here’s one thing you should know about. In Lawrence, there’s plenty of venues to see a concert somewhere. So let’s take a look at number one.

The Bottleneck

The Bottleneck is a place for karaoke, trivia, open-mic, and metal nights. The Bottleneck is considered by many to be a rock and roll landmark. The historical building at 737 New Hampshire has been home to everything from a roller rink to a paper warehouse before finally taking shape as a live music club (alternately named Off the Wall Hall and Cogburns) in the '80s. It was renamed The Bottleneck in 1985 in honor of the numerous varieties of beer available. The Bottleneck’s journey began with a regular Monday evening open mic night giving local talent the opportunity to take the stage in front of friends and fans. From there, The Bottleneck soon cemented its status as a scheduled stop on many major city national tours giving the Lawrence community access to some of the best names in modern music.

Over the years, the artists that have played at the Bottleneck include: Radiohead, Smashing Pumpkins, Foo Fighters, Soundgarden, Jimmy Eat World, Avett Brothers, and so much more.

So whenever there’s a rock band coming to The Bottleneck, maybe I can get one of my friends to invite me here to that place and go jam out with some live music there. And heck, we might even go VIP. Who knows… I would really love it if we could get together and see a band together. And before we know it, I might even say “It’s okay, I’m with the band.” That would be really cool, won’t it. Booyah! It would also count as those other concert venues too. Speaking of which, let’s get down to the second place for a concert. Time to talk about The Granada.

The Granada

Why The Granada, you ask? Come on, you gotta check it out! Let me break it down for you.

The Granada Theater was originally built in 1928 as a vaudeville theater in Lawrence, Kansas by the Boller Brothers. It was renovated in 1934 as a movie theater. The first film shown there was Robert Montgomery's 1934 comedy Hide-Out. And then, the theater was renovated again in 1993 and repurposed as a comedy club/concert venue, drawing acts such as Nightwish, The Smashing Pumpkins, Ben Folds, The Flaming Lips, The Strokes, and Weezer.

In 2005, Kansas City band The Get Up Kids recorded their live album Live! @ The Granada Theater at the Granada.

If I had to pick a favorite band I wanna see at this place, I would choose Weezer.

Why? Because they got the greatest rock songs I like listening to. For instance, I remember watching the video ‘Buddy Holly’ on the Windows 95 CD, and I really loved it. It’s got a crossover with the popular show “Happy Days”, cause these happy days are always yours and mine.

If you haven’t heard of The Granada yet, then share this and recommend it to your friends, including mine from back home. 

Now let’s move to the next venue.

Liberty Hall

If you haven’t heard of this before, it’s a locally owned and operated historic theater in downtown Lawrence, Kansas. Comprised of a concert hall, video store, coffee house, and independent cinema, all located conveniently at the corner of 7th and Massachusetts Street including the lovingly referred to as Mass Street by the locals.

It was voted “Best Music Venue” for three years straight and has hosted countless live performances ranging from Willie Nelson to Wu Tang Clan, in an intimate setting with a state of the art concert hall sound system. That was when we got to go there and celebrated Americana’s 20th anniversary. Pretty cool, huh.

If I choose the next venue for attending the next concert, it would be Dave Matthews Band because I remember listening to that group when I was a young man. If only I can think of some songs I can remember listening to. Oh yes, “Crash Into Me”, “Ants Marching”, and “Where Are You Going”! Perfect!

The next concert I would probably prefer is Lyle Lovett because my dad loves his music. One of my favorite song from him I love are “She Makes Me Feel Good”, “Nobody Knows Me” “This Old Porch” and “She’s Hot To Go”. They’re the best songs that I’ve ever heard since I was a kid.

If you like the next topic on this blog, let me know on what’s up and send me some more info about planning on going to a concert in downtown Lawrence.

Okay, and now for some bar entertainment.

Let’s talk about the Replay Lounge.

Sometimes, I usually hang out here whenever I get myself a soda here. It’s the place to play some pinball here and see some rock music there. Why? Because it’s a rock and roll pinball bar. Duh! Whenever I get to hang out with Stephanie and David, we go to the Replay Lounge and play some pinball. That was fun, wasn’t it. And guess what, I’m gonna do it again! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

It’s also the place for open mic shows too. If I could pick a local band to see at the Replay Lounge, it would be 88er (Jack Kevin Proctor’s band). These guys were incredible and I hope I get to see them once again, especially when I come back.

Shout out to Jack Kevin Proctor and his friends!

The Replay is one of the coolest venues on Mass. They have an amazing staff. Nearly everyone who works at The Replay is in an original band. Lawrence, KS is the home of KU. Likewise it is the center of hundreds of original bands. There are venues up and down Mass Street (Massachusetts.) It is also plays host to the who’s who of touring bands. Stephanie, if you’d also like to plan a time and date to hang out together, we can visit the Replay Lounge and play some pinball there. And hey, we can also go to Royal Crest Lane and play some video games there too. We can even play some pinball there too. Is anyone else wanna hang out with me and see some live music here in downtown Lawrence, let me know on that and we can make some arrangements. In the meantime, I’ve got plenty of time left before I get to check it out sooner or later. Cause to be honest, I really miss the local and live music there, and I really wanna see some live music soon when I get to come back.

Now I know I talked to you guys about the fiddling jam sessions and festivals at Americana Music Academy, but I really need to talk to you guys about it really quick before I complete this blog entry.

If there’s the next Kansas State Fiddling and Picking Championship here in downtown Lawrence, feel free to invite me to the next event and I’ll watch you guys play. I’d really like to have some fun with you guys and we can jam out to the music when you at Americana have a jam session together. If I could find a song from YouTube that I can find, it will be one from Emmet Otter’s Jug Band.

If you don’t know what they are, here’s what they look like in this picture.

Well, that’s probably it for now. If you really like me blog entry, give me a shout out. I’ll be back once again for another blog entry of anything Lawrence Kansas has to talk about. Until next time, play it safe.

Deuces!