Connie's Lounge is gone, as is Jay's Upstairs. All that remains of these two Mecca-esque pillars of Missoula music are memories. Places for local, non-hippy-oriented artists to perform in downtown Missoula no longer exist like they once did. At the time of this writing, even The Top Hat, which was Missoula's source for the Blues, is in a coma and on life-support. Instead, what remains is a repeat of history. But to give an idea what history is being duplicated, one has to travel back to the early eighties....
In the early eighties Missoula was your typical college town. The majority of the population under the age of 30 was mostly wannabe hippies, sports-enthusiasts, and rednecks of the goat-roper variety. On a Friday or Saturday night, if you wanted to listen to live music, there were only one or two choices: top 40 cover bands that leaned towards songs written by The Eagles, or Country/Western cover bands who favored songs written by the Eagles. These were the days when places such as The Trading Post, and Carousel ruled the proverbial roost. If you wanted to hear music, original music, along the lines of what was scribed in the pages of Creem magazine, you were just plain out of luck. If you were under the age of eighteen, you were not only out of luck, but screwed out of any live music, except for local deadheads playing acoustically in the park or the occasional "hip" "Christian Rock" music outfit that would be rolling through- that is, if you were desperate enough to stomach any of it.
Little did anyone know that a late-night, public radio, hippy DJ would lay the groundwork for what was to come.
In approximately 1982, in an unassuming store-front on East Main (next to what is now The Staggering Ox), Rich Landini opened Urbane Renewal, a business that was oriented for, and specialized in, Punk Rock culture. UR was a one-stop shop for anyone interested in the exploding underground: records, tapes, magazines, and clothing. It was all there.
But this wasn't even what made the place important and daring. For that, you went downstairs, into the basement: It was here that live, all-ages shows were put on. It was from this cavern of brick & cement that other venues would take a cue: The Moose, Trends/Ground Zero, you get the idea.
As the saying goes, the more things change, the more they remain the same. Bars and nightclubs around Missoula feature live music by "tribute bands"- which in actuality are nothing more than a cover band with a very specialized catalog of music. There is original music, if you're into watered-down, white-boy funk or bands reminiscent of the Grateful Dead. And raw, real rock and roll in all its sub-genres? Where is it to be found these days? It has retreated (or been pushed, depending on who is asked) back into the subterranean; back to one of the original spots where a commercial venue took the wave of new music and culture seriously -though these days it's no longer known as Trends/Ground Zero. It's now known as The Palace.
In many ways, The Palace is a good place for Rock and Roll to be. The space and entrance are hidden in plain sight and fairly sound-proof, making "investigation" by bored police officers a pain-in-the ass and hindering invasion by rowdy, drunken patrons from other establishments. The space itself, while not as large as other places both formerly and currently in existence, is more than capable of accommodating a reasonable-sized mob. The stage, I'm sorry to say, is non-existent. While I appreciate and extol the values of performers being on the same level as the audience, it would be kind of nice to be able to see the band on crowded night. But considering the height of the ceiling, it's a livable and tolerable drawback.
The pool tables are tournament regulation size and well maintained- not your typical cock-eyed, ripped, standard, bar-size tables, and rented per hour at a reasonable price (providing that you actually know how to shoot pool). Â The bar is reasonable in the refreshment dispensary department and the prices are fair.
This particular space has seen many incarnations over the years. In its current state, it appears to have finally found a good niche. Here's to many successful years to come.
I am certainly holding on to the past with this one, but here goes - This place used to be a smokey, dungeon hangout for geezers good at pool (why i liked it, CHARACTER!). Â Now it is a sterile, self-conscious hipster bar. Â People really care there, but act like they don't...ya know? Â If you are activly pursuing a scene or something, go here. Â Remember that scene is the same one everywhere else.....
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