Photo by Jason Ashcraft

The reopening of the Thunderdome on June 28th aroused quite a curiosity amongst many Louisville concert-goers, musicians and probably even other neighboring live music venue owners.

During the mid to late 1990’s – the Thunderdome’s glory days – almost every national tour that frequented Louisville made a tour stop at the Thunderdome. During that time, this was the place to see a concert. For those of you too young to remember the original Thunderdome, poor you, but secondly, beware. The new Thunderdome does not even come close to living up to the mystique that the original Thunderdome established during the late 1990’s. For all the veteran concert-goers and musicians, well, it’s like waking up from a one big wet dream. Neighboring live music venue owners, rest peacefully; your livelihood is not threatened.

Unfortunately, I was asked to leave before I could complete my assessment of the Thunderdome. Nonetheless, here is a rundown of the essentials:

Entertainment

One of the only things Thunderdome management did right was book such prominent Louisville artists as Heaven Hill, Bryan Fox, Kevin McCreary, Dead City Rejects, Primer 55 and MSD, along with quite a few other notable talents.

But, according to several artists who have played the Thunderdome, getting paid has turned out to be a bit of a hassle, even after receiving a guarantee from the Thunderdome’s management. If this trend continues, don’t expect to see any artists play there twice, or possibly, at all.

The sound is another matter. During the two nights I attended, it sounded like a bunch of echoed gargle in a metal garage or a pole barn. Seriously. Even some of the performing musicians were complaining of not being able to hear their music through the monitors. I know the sound man is a competent pro, but it’s the room that is the problem.

Having a crowd of people will usually help prevent some of the sound waves from bouncing around so much and producing the excessive echoing effect – feedback - if there are no other sound proofing elements in place, which there were not. Regrettably, the current sound setup in this room just drowns out some artists’ better qualities of musicianship. Bottom line, I’ve heard better sound quality produced in the basements where bands rehearse in versus what Thunderdome’s environment offers.

Prices

Simply stated, it’s expensive. You’ll first pay anywhere from $7 – $10 to walk through the door. And make sure you only bring cash, because they do not accept credit cards.

It’s $6 for a well drink, served in an eight-ounce plastic cup. Of course, if that mixed drink is served a little stronger than you like, be prepared to shell out another $2 for more Coke and to upgrade to a twelve-ounce plastic cup. Cans of beer run $3 each and are also served with a plastic cup.

A margarita will set you back $8. It, too, was served in a plastic eight-ounce cup, garnished with a dry slice of, um, aged lime.

Whatever you order, just be sure you pay them promptly and with little resistance (I asked for more Coke in the rum and Coke I ordered) otherwise the bartender may opt to call security, which is what happened to me. Time to leave.

Without a doubt, the Thunderdome will go under due to the poor service, expensive prices, and the less than average sound quality. But, until then, hope you have better luck then I did!

scuttlebuttpress@yahoo.com

Photo by Jason Ashcraft

Nashville’s Framing Hanley recently made a tour stop in Louisville on July 3rd at Club Oasis. Playing to a somewhat small audience, Framing Hanley introduced a new member to their band, Ryan Belcher (guitar). Belcher originally from Nashville, now calls Louisville his home when he is not on the road. Belcher replaces original member Tim Huskinson (guitar) who recently left the band on good terms due to family obligations. The rest of the band consists of founding members, Nixon (vocals), Brandon Wooten (guitars), Luke McDuffee (bass), and Chris Vest (drums).

Framing Hanley are latecomers from that other mini-musical revolution that transpired right after true grunge began to fade – that being the birth of the screamo/emo genre of rock.

Framing Hanley’s sound, at times, is similar to bands like Thursday, Incubus, Story Of The Year, or 30 Seconds To Mars. If any of these artists hold any significance in your own musical dialect, then your estimation on Framing Hanley will probably follow suit.

When they claimed Club Oasis’s stage, it was as if it were their own garage, and what followed was an intense live set that seemed to pay no attention to the small crowd. Framing Hanley still, nonetheless, demonstrated an eagerness to get on stage and play leading up to going on. That was exemplified with all of them kind of pushing their way around on stage as soon as they opened their set. They remained at all times seemingly inspired to play their music. The majority of the crowd too seemed a bit inspired, something that was noted by many prying eyes on Nixon’s every move for the entire set.

Framing Hanley brings a real sense of passion to their music, which is a partially attributable characteristic to the essence of the emo genre, but still is something that was undeniably perceptible in Framing Hanley’s performance. They seem to understand that you really have to treat a live performance in the same manner as you do recording processes.

Speaking of recording, Framing Hanley is continuing to build on the success of there first major album, The Moment released by the Silent Majority Group (Tantric, Candlebox) in late 2007.

Framing Hanley’s first musical trait demonstrated on The Moment is that they write about the events that have shaped their lives, and not necessarily to live up to any commercial obligations. As Nixon describes what inspires them to write he stated, “Every song on that record (The Moment) is about something that one of us, or all of us had been going through. Every song has a story behind it.”

The albums first single, “Hear Me Now,” embodies Framing Hanley’s customary inauspicious song themes. It’s laden with shrieking backing vocals against Nixon’s predominantly melodic chorus, both of which are arranged over metalish guitars. “Hear Me Now” has enjoyed quite a few notable successes in its day, the most impressive being Sirius 20 Octane’s most requested song for 2007.

One other song off their album, “Built For Sin,” although not yet as popular as “Hear Me Now,” may be the better song of the two. This song could possibly lead Framing Hanley’s final effort for a push on The Moment before they head back to the studio to start recording their sophomore album. Framing Hanley has already stated they have enough new material to write another record but that’s still pending a final push on The Moment.

Photo by Tiffany Presley

Make sure you check out Framing Hanley’s website at www.FramingHanley.com where you can find out when they will be heading back to Louisville, something they plan to do in the not so distant future.

scuttlebuttpress@yahoo.com