Here’s how it works: Tell us why you deserve free tickets for a night with Lisa Williams in the comments section below, then email us your contact information. We’ll announce our winner on Wed., Dec. 2!
COVER STORY
— What’s next for Jannus Landing? The life, death and rebirth of a beloved concert venue.
NEWS & VIEWS
— Image of the week: Same-sex marriage supporters March for equality in downtown Sarasota.
— The week that was: Rounding up local headlines.
— .Com-ments: Bahi Hut, El Guaro, local hooch, Safe Sex Halloween Bash.
“Quern” by B.L. Elkins will be displayed at the Creative Arts Association Fall Art Show Sat., Nov. 21
Ed. note: This piece was compiled by Danielle Favreau.
VISUAL ARTS: OPENING
ALLYN GALLUP CONTEMPORARY ART GALLERY 1419 5TH St., Sarasota (366-2093 or allyngallup.com). William Nichols Enveloped Outside will be on display through Nov. 28. Normal hours are 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat. Free.
ARTCENTER MANATEE 209 9th St. W., Bradenton (746-2862 or artcentermanatee.org). On and Off the Wall, an open, juried all media exhibition will be on display through Dec. 4. Regular hours are 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Fri. Free.
ART UPTOWN 1367 Main St., Sarasota (955-5409 or artuptown.com). Laura Avery’s solo show Atmospheric Abstracts will feature her foil on canvas works. Also on display will be Boots Culbertson’s ceramics. Regular hours are 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Fri. and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sat. Free.
New owner Jeff Knight mans the backhoe in the Jannus Landing courtyard
“This didn’t have to happen,” says Rob Douglas, his 6-foot-4 frame slouched on a sofa in his south St. Pete condo, his raspy voice weary and tinged with bitterness. He’s a linchpin of the St. Petersburg concert scene, his tenure as a promoter, venue operator and production manager dating back to the early ’80s, when shows were put on by enterprising locals rather than mega-corporations. He spent 25 years working at Jannus Landing, one of the Bay Area’s most beloved concert venues, until August when he severed ties with the downtown St. Pete institution. Douglas, 54, had reached the end of his tether with then-owner Jack Bodziak. “Even with the wreckage of the economy, we could have survived this,” Douglas says. “It was due to piss-poor stewardship.”
When he spoke those words in late October, Jannus Landing had been empty for most of the prior three months, its last show having been the execrable Insane Clown Posse on Oct. 9. Several scheduled concerts had relocated to other venues, most to The Ritz Ybor. Bodziak was beset by financial and legal problems, the most glaring of which was his arrest by state agents in May on charges that he failed to pay more than $200,000 in sales tax on revenues from Jannus Landing. He also owed a reported $160,000 in back rent and faced eviction. A new guy, Jeff Knight, waited in the wings, a well-heeled businessman with grandiose plans and no experience in the concert business.
SO WHAT HAPPENED to Jannus Landing?
Creative Loafing Half-Hour Variety Hour: Episode #35 (Part 1)
Creative Loafing Half-Hour Variety Hour: Episode #35 (Part 2)
It’s that time again, folks! Time for more of the best banter on the Suncoast!
This week, Tim and I welcome a very special guest to the 1220 AM and 106.9 FM WSRQ studios: Contributing Writer Robert Johnson!
To kick things off, we chat with Tim about his cover story for this week’s issue, covering two new ways to get your hands on locally produced hooch. Then, in part two, we discuss Robert’s feature this week, updating readers on what’s been happening at the Sarasota Boxing Club since his original tale of the place. Then Tim jumps back on the mic and wraps things up with some observations from a recent Q&A he conducted with Sen. Bob Graham.
Listen up!
PASSERINE, FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: Miles Tweed, David Brain, Tanya Radtke and Carmela Pedicini
Ed. note: This piece, by Michael Hamad, will appear in next week’s issue of Creative Loafing.
Passerine
7:30-10:30 p.m. Sat., Nov. 21, Sarasota Olive Oil Company, 500 Central Ave., Sarasota, free, myspace.com/passerinemusic
The Avett Brothers, Fleet Foxes and The Decemberists are critically acclaimed, high-profile indie rock acts that expose younger listeners to the rich traditions of American music by using acoustic instruments and homespun vocal harmonies, and by expanding the acceptable palette of alternative rock sounds.
Still, some cringe at the terms “folk music” or “Americana,” bristling at what they view as a preference for tradition over originality. Others simply tune out to any sounds they perceive as belonging to their parents’ — or even their grandparents’ — generation.
For Passerine, a Sarasota-based quartet, Americana encompasses all of this country’s musical traditions without exception. Folk, bluegrass, rock and roll, soul, country and even pop have a place at the table. Rather than limiting what is allowable, Americana embraces every style under the sun.
Pete Yorn plays at Push Ultra Lounge Thurs., Nov. 12
Ed. note: This piece was compiled by Jennifer Almond.
THURSDAY, Nov. 12
THE FLYING DOG CAFÉ Open Mic/Jam Night
THE GATOR CLUB The Cherry Bombs
HONOLUANA ISLAND GRILL Open Mic w/Lynn Haines
THE IRISH ROVER Rhythm & Blues w/Paul Duffy
MATTISON’S RIVERSIDE The Tony Tyler Band
OLD PACKINGHOUSE GreenHouse Effect
O’LEARY’S Willie BeThere (Early)
ORPHEUM Captured! By Robots A one-human experimental comedy rock act, JBOT (aka Jay Vance), is backed/enslaved by inhuman (robot, ape and ambiguous) players: DRMBOT 0110, a severed doll’s head on drums, assistant drummer AUTOMATOM, GTRBOT666 on bass and guitar, The Ape Which Hath No Name on tambourine halo, The Son of the Ape Which Hath No Name on monkey cymbals, and on horns, despite missing key air-conducting parts, the Headless Hornsmen. —Leilani Polk
Photographer Patsy Hall will have her work displayed at Artists’ Guild Gallery on Nov. 13
Ed. note: This piece was compiled by Danielle Favreau.
VISUAL ARTS: OPENING
ALLYN GALLUP CONTEMPORARY ART GALLERY 1419 5TH St., Sarasota (366-2093 or allyngallup.com). Enveloped Outside, an exhibit by artist William Nichols, will be on display through Nov. 28. Normal hours are 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Fri., 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Sat. Free.
ART CENTER SARASOTA 707 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota (365-2032 or artsarasota.org). Join Sean and Marina Colson for a Hungarian night of ethnic food, fun, culture and art. 6-9 p.m. Nov. 12. Normal gallery hours are 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tues.-Sat. Free.
The Suncoast has never been known as a haven for alcohol producers, and until recently locally made spirits were tough to come by. But over the past year two local companies have jumped onto the scene in an effort to give Sarasota its own distinctive flavor. Drum Circle Distilling and Jalehouse Beer are helping to create a new aspect of the area’s identity — our very own booze. And the two companies may soon be tied together.
