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THE BOTTLENECK 737 New Hampshire St.
Brett Mosiman and Mona Tipton started a legacy.
Mosiman and Tipton were both recent graduates with passions for music. At the time the national drinking age had recently been bumped up to 21 and many of the bars that attracted the younger crowds were being forced out of business. One of those bars was Cockburns, a former fraternity bar, Mosiman says. When they bought it and made it into a live music club, they changed the name to The Bottleneck after the glass slides some musicians would use on their guitars.
Photo by Jake Lerman
At the time Lawrence had lost a lot of its music venues and The Bottleneck was a key player over the next five years in reviving the music scene. Over time it gained a reputation as the place to play in the Midwest and made Lawrence a critical stopping point for touring bands. From day one, the venue's had the philosophy of playing quality music of all stripes and still hosts a diverse calendar.
Open up to drink it all down: The Bottleneck. 737 New Hampshire St., get its start after a bar called Cockburns failed to survive after the drinking age increased to 21.
THE REPLAY | 946 Massachusetts St.
mid-1980s, The Crossing and The Outhouse, which were standard spots for local bands, both went out of business, leaving a massive void in the Lawrence music scene. The Replay was in fact never meant to be a music venue at all, its roots lie in low-key dining. Originally opened as an arcade and burger joint, The Replay evolved when the opportunity to fill the gap left by the venue closings emerged.
Owner Nick Carrol jumped at the opportunity and today all that's left of the old Replay are the few archaic pinball machines, dusty remnants of a bygone era. Since the changeover, The Replay has served a crucial role in the Lawrence music scene. Its smaller stage and basic sound equipment make it a perfect place for "start-upbands" to get their feet wet. As the bands continue to play and build their fanbases, they move on to some of the bigger venues in town. This makes The Replay the place to hear the newest of Lawrence's up-and-coming musicians.
Nick Carroll, the same man who owns The Replay, owns the The Jackpot Music Hall.
Carrol started The Jackpot after the building's
Photo by Jake Lerman
Jackpot bonus: The owner of the Jackpot Music Hall and The Replay says the Replay serves as a stepping stone to the The Jackpot, which has a better, bigger sound system for bigger acts.
Photo by Iake Lerman
Re-play here: The Replay, 946 Massachusetts St., serves as a launching pad for many up-and-coming bands.
THE JACKPOT 943 Massachusetts St.
previous inhabitant "Coco Loco" went out of business. His hope was to revive a tradition of a Lawrence venue that plays original live music seven nights a week, but Carrol also had something bigger in mind. From the beginning he set out with the intention of helping local bands make $1,000 in a night. This isn't something that can happen at The Replay with their standard of $2 to $3 cover charges. However, with The Jackpot, Carrol invested in a more sophisticated sound system allowing for bigger acts and bigger covers. The extra money helps local bands earn enough cash to go on tour, thus helping the local music scene gain notoriety.
Oddly, The Jazzhaus isn't the only venue on
Mass. Street that has ghost stories to tell. Carol remembers going into the venue alone one morning and hearing a woman singing. Assuming it was coming from outside, he ignored it. But when he heard footsteps on the floor right behind him, he thought twice. He turned to see no one, but moments later he heard the upright piano at the far end of the bar being played and he ran out.
These strange occurrences have done little to deter people from frequenting The Jackpot, as it's typical to see hoards of patrons spilling out of the doors onto their new street-side patio. Jp
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