Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 29, 1976)
Surface and Symbol The Emerald s weekly arts and entertainment supplement Thursday, April 29, 1976 Dancing in the aisles Musicians help fill Eugene taverns The man that hath no music in himself, Nor is not moved with concord of sweet sounds, Is fit for treasons, stratagems and spoils; The motions of Ns spirit are dull as night, And Ns affections dark as Erebus; Let no such man be trusted. Shakespeare By Greg Raschio Anyone who has risked bruised ribs and trampled feet to squeeze into Duffy's on a Saturday night might find it difficult to imagine such an unfortunate person as Shakespeare describes exist ing in the Eugene area; Duffy's is wall to-wall bodies on a weekend evening. The bnck-clad campus bistro is one of only three taverns in Eugene that regu larly feature live entertainment. Duffy's and Murphy and Me, both popular among University of Oregon students, provide dance floors for their patrcns, while customers at the Black Forest are forced to dance in the aisles should the spirit move them. Live music fans are not limited to one of these three Eugene taverns, how ever Lounges at such restaurants as The Back Door — especially popular among young adults — The Feed Mill and many nightclub-atmosphere loca tions not often frequented by the Univer sity crowd also feature live entertain ment The Homefried Truckstop. an es tablishment unique unto itself offers an additional alternative to the live music tan II « l V ' W wMVU >«> vuivuiduy 9iuu«i im iiuyv^wvi •« * "»w entertainment as well as libation will in variably frequent one of four establish ments Murphy and Me, Duffy s The Black Forest or The Back Door Each has its own characteristics in clientele and music that separate it from the rest Duffy s, located on the corner of 13th and Alder is a spacious, cathedial roofed structure with perhaps the most homogenous crowds in Eugene The pub overflows weekends with current and former University students eager to dance to rock music The crowd s passion for rock some what limits the bistro s management in their choice of bands. The weekend crowd here comes to dance, we have to give them what they want," says Adrian Clark, a Duffy s emp loyee who assists owner Steve Nosier in music selection. Clark says Duffy s tries to feature light rock and popular oldies A band that has been particularly successful for the tavern, according to Clark, is Foxe and Weasel, a male-female two-piece who perform every other Saturday evening. According to Clark, most of the bands booked at Duffy's are established local talent. "Bands that are established in the Eugene area will have a following that will come in to hear them, says Clark. Murphy and Me. across Franklin Blvd. from campus, is a rustic edifice with a bit more of a down-home atmosphere than Duffy's, perhaps because of its close This atmosphere is reflective of the Murphy and Me clientele. The pub draws a free-spirited, youthful crowd from the University as well as from the commun ity at large Among the most prolific sponsors of live entertainment (every night of the week), Murphy and Me's management is able to offer a wide variety of music to crowds with diversified tastes. John McMahon, 25, an employee of Murphy and Me's says their music ranges from bluegrass and country to jazz and rock. "We have a good variety of music each week, it stays fresh that way,” says McMahon. Dakota (see story page 8b), who play a bit of everything every Monday and Tuesday at Murphy and Me, and Wheat field, a country rode band tavern owners agree is the most popular in the area, are ■n scheduling entertainment at The Black Forest. “There's a friendly atmosphere here. The bands will bring in friends to jam with them. There is no fear of having to put on a tight show and everyone, band in cluded, has a good time," Mann said. The Black Forest has no dance floor Dakota plays at local tavern (Story on page 8b) among the tavern's most frequent groups. Many of the bands currently working in the Eugene area, including Dakota, started at The Black Forest Tavern, 2657 Willamette. A small, darkened establishment with a loose, friendly atmosphere, The Black Forest offers live music every evening except Thursday and Sunday. "Bands feel very comfortable playing here." says Gordy Mann, an employee who works with owner Steve Sertic in but offers a variety of music that, accord ing to Mann, often has persons up and moving on their feet on every available inch of carpet. Mann says Dakota, Deja Vu and Brain Damage have been suc cessful bands for The Black Forest. The Back Door, 1046 Oak on the Mall, is a hard liquor establishment that caters to a youthful crowd with live music Mon day through Saturday evenings. Skip Hoven, 36, one of three Back Door owners, says a good deal of the bands they use are from out of town and nearly all are booked through various agents. Haven and his partners will bring The Drifters to their establishment for two nights, May 31 and June 1. He says if the reception is good, they plan to bring other big-name talent to town. Despite the out-of-town talent and hard liquor prices, Hoven says The Back Door draws a crowd ranging from 21 -30 years of age, a good portion of which are students. He draws no distinction bet ween The Back Door’s clientele and that of Duffy’s or Murphy and Me’s. “People come here to dance and have a good time, just as they do when they go to a tavern. If the music is good, the place will be filled," he says. Rock and rhythm and blues are what The Back Door’s patrons usually hear. A band called Georges, who sometimes tour with Mason Williams, is currently in the middle of a six night engagement at The Back Door. For those who prefer easy listening music with their cocktails and don't care to dance, there is the Feed Mill, 259 E 5th. i i uai rv, uaoci» iui u iuui viioi a ai i intimate atmosphere and perhaps the greatest variety of music in Eugene, all without a cover charge Classical guitar, bluegrass or jazz piano may be heard on any given night at the Feed Mill. The Homefried Truckstop, near cam pus at 1414 Alder, remains as one of the last of a dying breed of live entertain ment outlets: the coffee house While weekends are far and away the biggest nights for lounges and taverns, Monday evening concerts, which are broadcast over KLCC radio, are the highlight of the week at the Truckstop, which offers live entertainment nightly during meal hours. According to Suellen Elm, 21, and Shelly Jaffe. 25. music coordinators for the Truckstop. the coffee house offers a good deal of jazz and folk "Our clientele identify with the kind of music we book. It's one of the only places in town where they can get it," says Suellen. The Homefried Truckstop looks like a coffee house: more employees than pat rons, an old cash register by the door, tables made from old wire spindles sur round a single-tiered riser stage with a well-used spinet piano sitting atop it. What makes the Truckstop unique, other than being the last of a breed, is the fact that it is owned by a ‘collective ’ of 35 to 40 young persons, all of whom work there for the same wage. This ar rangement began two years ago when the collective, with help from the com munity, purchased the business. ‘ The community helped us and we feel the restaurant is really owned by the community,'' says Tony Horn, 21, one of the collective. The truckstop generally pays musi cians only what tips are collected during mealtime and cannot book many of the bands that can be heard elsewhere in town. It does offer exposure to unestab lished musicians, however, who may have difficulty even being heard elsewhere. While Eugene is not hurting for youth ful live entertainment outlets, it is cer tainly not prolific. Many bands trying to get started in the area find it difficult to get exposure. The fortunate ones, like Wheatfield and Dakota, are guaranteed work if they want it. New outlets are not springing up, but notfor lack of a demanding market. One Saturday night fighting through waves of bodies to get to the bathroom and that becomes obvious.
