I love venues that do something a little extra for their customer's. This month's venue, Cicero's, in St. Louis, built a rack for tapers to put their decks! That alone is worthy of "venue of the month". James Mullins, a Cicero's regular, and radio host on KDHX, gives us more reasons to plan a St Louis roadtrip.

As usual, if you love a venue as much as James loves Cicero's, write about it. Send ideas to venue@jambands.com.

Cicero's, St. Louis
by James Mullins moby@i1.net

Heading out to Cicero's, located in the culturally diverse University City Loop here in St. Louis twice a week (or more) has become a regular weekly habit for me. So I was very excited when jambands.com asked me to write this article. In fact, as I sit here at my computer I'm looking forward to attending tonight's show, which will consist of locals, Bockman's Euphio, opening for El Buho with special guest Victor Wooten. The scene here in St. Louis is growing and Cicero's has been a major part of that growth, booking not only bigger acts like the one mentioned above, but many local acts and lesser known bands that have decided to take the national touring plunge. But let's stop and press rewind for a bit, as this is not the first time Cicero's has been a contributing factor to the music scene in St. Louis.

Owner Shawn Jacobs opened Cicero's doors as a restaurant not too far from its current location in 1976 and began booking bands in the basement bar (now the Blueberry Hill Duck Room) in 1987. At that time Cicero's was only one of a couple of venues booking acts on a regular basis and quickly became known as an alternative hot spot in St. Louis. A 1989 article in the St. Louis Post Dispatch remarked that the first band to play there was Langrehr. Since that time virtually every rock band in St. Louis has stood on the tiny stage in that basement. The venue enjoyed regular press coverage and took Best Alternative Club in St. Louis from 1990-1995 in the Riverfront Times annual reader's poll. Bands such as the Urge (first Cicero's gig in 1996) and Uncle Tupelo, who would later become Son Volt, played their first gigs at Cicero's. Other acts which passed through Cicero's in their alternative heyday include Beck (who would play the first 18+ show in St. Louis), The Bottlerockets, Everclear, Cake, God Street Wine, They Might Be Giants, Ani Difranco, Bela Fleck, Ween, The Cranberries and Wavy Gravy. A farewell to the basement was held on Jan. 17th 1997 marking the end of one era in the history of Cicero's. The short move, just up the street to 6691 Delmar did not come without remarks of selling out. The basement veterans seemed to enjoy the more alternative atmosphere a dank basement allowed and resisted a more mainstream venue. In 1997 Chad Jacobs (Shawn's son), who was familiar with the Saint Louis music scene began booking for the venue. The legwork began and Chad surfed the internet for bands he was already familiar with and other acts which would fit the atmosphere he was trying to create. He also knew that the bands he sought out would enjoy airplay here in St. Louis on KDHX where I host Stumble In The Dark and Drea Stein hosts a show called The Other One. Were it not for Cicero's, the selections played on my show would probably be based more on wishful thinking rather than what bands are coming to St. Louis on any given week.

So, what can you expect when going to a show at Cicero's? The music venue itself is separated from the game and restaurant areas by soundproofed walls (which are also in place for the apartment dwellers living above). These walls also hold acoustic soundproofing covered by eye-catching paintings by David Spear. An example of the paintings as well as up to date information about Cicero's gigs, menu offerings, drink lists, photos and a taper's page can easily be found by going to http://www.ciceros-stl.com.

The venue area can hold around 300 concert goers (without seating) and both the restaurant and venue area contain a fully stocked bar with 50 different beers on draft and over 150 in bottles, and a full selection of wine and harder spirits. Cicero's prides itself on having the most extensive beer selections in the Midwest. If you're having a hard time deciding which brew to order there are always several hardbound booklets floating around to give you a crash course on beer types with a complete list of what's available. If you're feeling a bit peckish, don't worry, Cicero's carries a diverse menu that's sure to please any palate. And, if you've finished your food and drink and it's still a little early for the show, there's a game room with pool tables, video games and sports piped in over three monitors in the game area. Well, looks like it's almost time for the show to start, so grab your taping gear, get your hand stamped and let's head inside. The shows usually start at 9 and last until 1 A.M. or a little after. Have your ID ready, and if you're between 16 and 21 there's a $2 surcharge. If you're a taper, you're really going to like this place.

Cicero's is quickly becoming a very taper friendly venue. As I was putting this article together, a shelf was installed back by the soundboard to accommodate the tapers and leave more room on the floor. The shelf can hold several portable DAT decks as well as a few home units. Need power? An AC outlet strip is also there, as well as a light. Because of the size of the venue, microphones are not allowed, except for those rare occasions where a board patch is not possible. If you're fond of using mics, don't cringe yet. Cicero's has an in house matrix mix which consists of the soundboard signal fed into a second mixing board along with a pair of Crown Audio PZM180s mounted permanently just above the stage. Chad is also considering installing a patchbay to give everyone an uninterrupted feed and to eliminate the need for daisy-chaining decks, both analog and digital. On the rare occasion there are no tapers present, an in house mini-disc is run by the soundman of the evening. If you're curious about shows available either from other tapers or on mini-disc, just check out the taper's section under "venue" on Cicero's web site ( www.ciceros-stl.com) which is maintained by Lance Stack. Lance is currently Cicero's archivist and has the enormous task of transferring the shows that exist on mini-disc over to CD-R. Keep checking back as Lance is heavily updating the taper's section of the web site. While on the subject of web pages, another project that Chad has in the works is web radio dedicated to playing past performances and cuts from bands and artists coming to Cicero's. Sign up for the Cicero's mailing list on the web page and you'll stay caught up on all the Cicero's happenings.

If you're still unsure of which shows to go see, you can pick up a copy of Grateful Grooves: A Friend to the Funk Seeker. Grateful Grooves is a hard copy booklet that's usually around thirty pages. The guide is produced monthly and is free. The cover usually features an artist that has had an influence on the jam band community, such as Merle Watson, Frank Zappa, Jerry Garcia and others with a history of that artist in the back. Inside you'll find a complete calendar of shows for that month with a description of each band/artist and photos when they are available. You can also expect to find a few coupons, tidbits about the environment, jambands.com album charts as well as a CD review (usually from jambands.com) covering a recent CD release from an artist or band soon to play at Cicero's. This is probably one of the finest efforts I've seen from a venue to keep it's current patrons informed and attract new ones. The layout is well thought out with eye-catching graphics and professionally printed and bound. I can see these booklets becoming collectable if they haven't already and they are nice souvenirs for out-of-towners who drive in to St. Louis for a show. Grateful Grooves should be online soon, but if you're curious, just e-mail Chad and I'm sure he'd be glad to send you a copy.

I cannot even begin to name all the bands and artists that have appeared on Cicero's stage, but some of the more memorable performances include: Ekoostik Hookah, The Slip, Day By The River, The Big Wu, Tony Furtado, Yonder Mountain String Band, Keller Williams and a impromptu visit by Derek Trucks. Weekly gigs at Cicero's include Devon Allman on Monday night, The Kind (a local Dead cover band) on Tuesdays and Jake's Leg (another Dead cover band) on Fridays when a nationally touring act isn't playing. One look at Cicero's past, present and future calendars shows that all styles of music are represented well on Cicero's stage. One event worth very honorable mention is the Battle of the Jam Bands, which was held last August. Chad organized the event to increase the public's awareness of the local talent that's emerging here in St. Louis. The battle was held every Friday throughout the month of August 1999 and included nine local bands including The Amorphous Band, River City Buskers, Static Circus, Madahoochi, Sunny Daze, CPB, Big Bang Theory, Bockman's Euphio and Headstash. The turnout for the entire event was better than expected and Static Circus walked away winners. Static Circus was able to use the prize money to put together their debut CD, Comfort. You can be sure there will be a Battle of the Jam Bands II to follow. Finally, as if I haven't given you enough reasons to come check out Cicero's, how about location.

As mentioned at the beginning of the article, Cicero's is located in the culturally diverse University City Loop. Borrowing a description from the Loop's web page ( www.ucityloop.com), The area's diverse selection of specialty shops and award-winning restaurants attracts people of all ages. A major portion of the area is designated as a Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places. The Loop has large, well-lighted parking lots, a parking garage with a uniformed attendant and plentiful street parking. Just visit the Loop's web page and you'll see there's lots to do. It's very easy to spend an entire day there and then catch a show afterwards. You can even request that a brochure be mailed to you if you're planning a trip to St. Louis.

Good location, good food and drink, great music and a dedication to bringing some of the finest music to the St. Louis area seems to be a great way to sum up Cicero's. It's not hard to imagine that other venues in the area are also starting to take notice and book the local and national bands who stand on Cicero's stage. Cicero's is laying a very sturdy cornerstone to a scene in St. Louis that continues to grow and flourish.

Finally I would like to thank the Missouri Heads discussion list for their input and support while writing this article. Many folks on the list are regular Cicero's attendees and have been an invaluable part of the scene here in St. Louis. Time and time again the list members have helped to spread the word about upcoming shows at Cicero's. One list member notes that Chad has taken what seems to some to be a very trendy venue (not dank = trendy) and turned it into a place where everyone can come together and share in the good music. That said, I hope to see everyone at the next show!