There has been a lot of recent local chatter about the new live music venue on the corner of Lake and Lyndale in Minneapolis.  It’s called Sauce, and this past weekend hundreds of folks crammed into the space for its grand opening.  I swung on by Saturday night for Susstacular, a locally recurring event hosted by Ed Ackerson and artists from his Susstones record label.

Susstacular is what it always is; a totally “sussed” out night of “tacular” proportions.  Always worth the recession proof cover of $5 – $8, and always frequented by live show regulars.  On the bill were Joe Werner from Strangelights, The Mood Swings, Mercurial Rage, Two Harbors, and a fresh new band called Blue Sky Blackout.  I arrived too late to see Joe and Blue Sky Blackout, but caught half a set by The Mood Swings and all of Mercurial Rage and Two Harbors.

As a general rule, Susstones bands put it all out there on stage.  The label’s roster is filled with bands that plug in not for the sake of being seen, but rather to entertain you (imagine that!).  Nothing about a live performance is taken for granted here.  Multiple times during the evening I commented to others how well the bands were doing making eye contact with their audience and playing to the crowd.  This may seem trivial, as if this is something that all artists do or ought to do.  And its true, they ought to, but I don’t have enough digits to count the many I’ve seen that haven’t.  Go see Susstones’ bands, don’t just take my word for it.  You’ll have few or no regrets.

Here’s a new tune by Blue Sky Blackout, available for download via the Susstones website.

“Anatomy of an Affair” by: Blue Sky Blackout

---

Sauce itself seems to be doing a number of things right, and some things wrong as well, but consider this caveat.  The venue is brand new, and like anything else, new things often need some tweaks.  Expect Sauce to shift and reshape itself over the next few months as they learn what sorts of things work and don’t work.  What their patrons like, and what turns them off.

The layout of the venue is simple: two larger rooms (approx. 1600 -2000 sq. ft.) and a hallway leading to a rest room area.  As one enters, bar stool seating is found to either the right or left, and an approximately 25ft. long bar is found straight forward and to the right (see photo below).  This room is arranged well for foot traffic, although things do get a bit tight between the bar and the booths located directly in front of it.  Hardwood floors add a warm touch to the overall aesthetic.

The second larger room (the concert area) is entered through the north wall of the entry room.  The size of the live room is comparable to the live room at the Uptown Bar.  A smaller (approx. 15ft. long) bar is located along the east wall of the live room, and in the far back of the room along the south wall is riser seating (the below photo was taken atop this riser).  Several bar stools and accompanying tables are scattered throughout the room, but largely the floor is kept open and most patrons are forced to stand (good!).

The quality of the sound system seemed fairly balanced, but at times was too loud overall.  This aside, the room sounded pretty damn good, though I wondered how it might sound with far fewer people soaking up the sound waves.  The sound board and engineer are located high up on a second level balcony, perfect for watching the artists below and figuring out what things, if any, they might be struggling with on stage.

Interested in seeing a listing of the equipment the bar is outfitted with?  Check HERE.

But enough with sentences, here are some lists of pros and cons for Sauce, worth at least, perhaps, an ounce of consideration.

Pros

• $3.50 Summit Pale Ale. (very competitive)

• Comfortably sized live room for local artists.

• Staff seemed very friendly – bartenders and servers were pleasantly attentive.

• Clean, clean, clean.  They put a lot of work into things.

• Sound system is just the right size for the venue, and relatively inconspicuous at that.

• Excellently sized staging area for bands, and a door located stage left makes set-up and break-down easy.

• Eight overhead lights in front of the stage seem like just the right amount.

• Spacious bathrooms.  (Well, at least the men’s room is)

Cons

• The walls of the venue need some serious decorating for flavor and character.

• The men’s single toilet stall doesn’t have a door, which means one man could lock the bathroom door and occupy the room for a lengthy period of time while a line of men doing the potty dance grows in the hallway.

• A black curtain is hung behind the stage over the large exterior windows, but another is needed stage right near the corner door.  Windows make for horrible live photography, professional or fan.

• While the eight lights before the stage are great, a couple well placed back lights could do much for the live show experience.

• Small stage, but really, there are even smaller ones elsewhere in the cities.

• Website is currently parked.  The venue is currently invisible online. Sauce’s website can be found at www.spiritsandsound.com, though you may still have difficulty finding it through search (we sure did!).

These are some of my first impressions of Sauce.  Comments are most welcome below.  Overall, tentative consensus?  Two thumbs and two opposable toes up.  Looking forward to watching it grow!

Links

Sauce – Website (currently parked) www.spiritsandsound.com

Two Harbors – Website / Myspace

Mercurial Rage – Website / Myspace

The Mood Swings – Website / Myspace

Blue Sky Blackout – Website

Strangelights – Myspace

posted July 14th, 2009 at 1:37 pm MN Rock, Reviews Blue Sky Blackout, Mercurial Rage, Sauce, Strange Lights, The Mood Swings, Two Harbors