After Dark
Diverse music scene provides escape
Michael Schulze shares his thoughts on the bar scene in Lawrence.
Beers are bought and drank. Wideeyed freshmen and local old-timers jostle each other in a sweaty, humid room. Small talk ceases as the lights dim, and an unavoidable energy moves the masses toward the stage.
Jim Morrison is not singing, nor is Jimi Hendrix playing guitar. The group Creeper descends upon the stage as messiahs to the worshipful. And there is fusion as audience and band form one cohesive energy.
This is the soul of Lawrence's music scene, where artist and audience can escape from MTV, from an "alternative nation," even from KU. All pasts are instantly erased as sound baptizes the devoted followers and Skinny D again is anointed master of all listeners.
Sounds that haven't been heard since the glory days of the rack and boiling oil crush the all-too-eager keepers of the pit, as children broil around in a circle of brutality and masculine rite of passage. The sounds escaping the amplifiers are the sounds of Nietzsche's demons arising from Dante's seventh circle of hell. Smoke from the sacrifices of the Incas rises from the stage and falls upon the faithful, once again re-establishing the belief in all that is loud, good and
pure.
Not all of Lawrence's music is darkness and brutality.
Here lies the true beauty of music in Lawrence. In one evening, one may sit in a bar and watch an acoustical folk music group followed by a hip-hop act followed by an alternative band. This diversity of styles is what makes the local scene so vibrant.
At The Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire St., Level, the band that played before Creeper, ended its show with a Bob Marley cover, telling the bikers to "Stand up for your rights."
There are a variety of locations in Lawrence for the live-music listener to choose from.
Mulligan's, 1016 Massachusetts St., offers live music Wednesday through Sunday nights, in an array of genres.
The Full Moon Cafe, 803 Massachusetts St., frequently offers free jazz music to its patrons.
Lawrence music is not about college kids wearing designer flannel, whining about the world and not understanding their oppressed suburban upbringings. It's about people coming together in one place for a short time, shutting out the reality of the other world and creating a new one.
Micheal Schulze/ Special to the Kansan
Bars such at Mulligan's often feature live bands to attract patrons. Lawrence's many venues for live music has helped numerous local bands gain loyal followings.
Planet Lawrence
Feilin
Hill • September 13, 1995