The Summer of Sound

July 05, 2006

A few years ago I remember reading an article in one of the local entertainment papers about the death of the rock club in Birmingham. Sadly, the writer had a point. In a span of just a few years three live music clubs in the Five Points South neighbor closed, two tragically replaced with meat market dance clubs. The most painful of of three was Five Points Music Hall which, it its decade-long life, hosted The Ramones, Frank Black, Rufus Wainwright, Ivy and Superchunk just to name a handful. The Nick, always the staple of live original music, has always and still brings in interesting acts, but somewhere around the time I turned 30, I got tired of buying expensive drinks in plastic cups and having to quarantine the clothes I wore into the place due to the dense wall of stale smoke. Zydeco has decent bands from time to time, but again with the smoke and more recently, the over-the-mountain frat crowd.
WorkPlay has been the only exception. Here is a great space where the stage is set up with theater seating, the former soundman used to run boards for Duran Duran and I am convinced the sound system is the best in the state. The owners, which include Alan Hunter (one of the five first VJs from MTV), care about quality, cater to adults and have considered every aspect of design in their building, audio and visual.
Now there's a new kid in town called The Bottletree Cafe. They don't have the massive budget of the Hunter Brothers' operation, but they make up for it in heart, style and work ethic. This new spot, and soon-to-be restaurant, hasn't officially opened yet, but has already hosted nationally-known bands such as Elf Power, Bonnie Prince Billy, Brightblack Morning Light (Matador), Deadboy and the Elephantmen (straight off the Bonnaroo Festival), The Duke Spirit (from England). The brains behind the operation are, in part, Brian Teasley who is as well connected as Ma Bell in the world of independent music. He has played drums with Man or Astroman?, The Polyphonic Spree, and The Humans and has toured all over the world, literally. With the energy of young Jack Russell terrier, Teasley has managed to book at least three shows a week of excellent music whether it be a band from California or a local legend like Tim Boykin with the recently reunited Shame Idols.

The yin to Teasley's non-stop yang is Bottletree's owner, Merrille Challiss. I have known Merrillee since I was 17 when she was a freshman at Auburn and I was in high school and she has always had more interesting simultaneous art projects going on than anyone I have ever known. Her multi-media talents can be seen in most every design aspects of the club. From the thrift store couches, the 1970's mini terrarium to the fake deer head covered in mirror tiles and the industrial orange cement floor. The place isn't snooty or pretensious -- like Little Red Riding Hood said about everything Baby Bear-related, "It's just right."

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Long live Bottletree.
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Brightblack Morning Light photos are here.
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Model Citizen and The Shame Idols photos are here.
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13 Ghosts and The Mendoza Line photos are here.