I want to take a minute to mourn the loss of the Underground City Tavern. While it was not the best beer bar in town, it definitely had some acceptable brews, if I remember correctly. No, friends, I mourn the UCT more for its music. I didn't really get involved in seeing the bands there until months before their closing but I was fortunate to see a few good acts. Trampled By Turtles was chief among them. Their music is bluegrass, newgrass or some melange of bluegrass and rock as it might feel to you. They played a great show and I managed to catch them for only one reason. I read a blog which features some lesser known music. Some of it fits my tastes and quite a bit doesn't but I check it often. That all stems back to the day I discovered Trampled By Turtles on the blog and managed to correlate it to their appearance at UCT that very night. I will always hold the memory of UCT dear for that very reason. I will also retain a special place in my heart for the Songs:Illinois blog and its author. Generally I am a bit too lazy or focused on other concerns to seek out the lesser known acts and that blog does quite a fine job for me. Since I wanted to share the music I added the blog to my blogroll as the least I could do to make up for all the great music I have taken away from his.
As much as I focus on beer in choosing a bar to patronize, music is a definite draw for me and if any local establishment can draw in some of the regional acts that the Underground City Tavern had then you will definitely have my support and, if you can pair that with exotic brews then you will have my unadulterated love. Make it so!
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Agreed, the music at UCT was far from the standard fair. However, you only need look a bit down the road to find the tunes are still rolling. Sean Burns was the genious behind the music at UCT, and still is with SVRR Radio, Taste of Downtown and Old Capital Blues and BBQ. His latest project is Bedrock 66 Live - at the Hoogland Center. He's partnered with WUIS and Samuel Adams to bring great American music to Springfield. The beer is also a nice selection of Samuel Adams' brews. So, come on out and support live music - with good beer.
Actually, I can agree here as I attended the Infamous Stringdusters show which was very nice. I applaud the beer selection as well. There is a subtle difference between being at a bar with your beverage of choice and trying to fit one in on the intermission but that would be my only complaint. Otherwise I was thrilled to attend the inaugural Bedrock 66 Live show and hope the project continues into the future.
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