Earthlink Live
1374 West Peachtree Street
Atlanta, Georgia
-Rob Turner

One of the many nice things about living in Atlanta is the plethora of quality settings for live music. There are parks, theaters, clubs, and even one of the sweetest arenas in the country. However, the one spot that may emerge as the cities finest is the recently re-opened Center Stage.

Now called Earthlink Live, this intimate (it fits 1035, and over 1200 with an open floor) venue has truly outstanding sound, ideal sightlines, and a staff that respects the music going public. I have caught three shows so far (Keb Mo with Corey Harris, Bela Fleck and The Flecktones and Duran Duran) and each evening has been a positive experience. The club has invested money in a brand new sound and light system. I was impressed with the full, clear bass sound at all three shows. When Corey Harris performed solo, I sat in the last row and could hear every note and word perfectly. The light show during Duran Duran was striking for a room of its size. Personally, I am looking forward to seeing many more shows here, and perhaps finding the ideal setting to satiate my feverish musical "jones."

Since moving here close to two years ago and gradually becoming acclimated to the vibrant Atlanta music scene, I have spoken with many long time Georgia concertgoers. My curiosity was peaked when I repeatedly heard veterans lament the closing of Center Stage. Apparently it was lost some five years ago due to mismanagement, and re-opened about a year ago only to quickly close again. The beginning of the current resurrection of this Atlanta landmark came last July when the acclaimed local restaurateur Tom Cook joined forces with another area businessman (Mark Jones) and purchased the facility. Initially, they did not plan on doing shows there, but when the fledging House Of Blues Club Network became involved, the future of the theater began to take shape.

Back in Boston, many fans of jambands were not entirely enchanted with Cambridge's House Of Blues. While they would book bands like Ulu, Miracle Orchestra and Uncle Sammy before many other clubs, they didn't seem to understand our li'l subculture. The venue was tainted by its over-priced covers, overpriced food and drink, the seemingly unfathomable rules AGAINST TAPING EVEN OF BANDS THAT ENCOURAGE IT, the overly aggressive security, and the talkative, seemingly marginally interested tourists that the club attracted I have heard rumblings of disapproval about other House Of Blues venues across the country, particularly with regard to taping.

However, when I visited Center Stage, my host Lucy Lawler, a woman who has worked in the Atlanta music scene for close to a decade, served to mold my negative opinion of this music industry giant. She explained to me how the House of Blues Club Network is different from the House Of Blues clubs themselves. HOBCN is apparently developing relationships with clubs across the country in an effort to broaden their horizons. They employ Talent Buyers and Promoters, as well as club owners.

"House Of Blues Club Network is about building bands," she says, "Our goal is to take bands from below the one thousand seat level, and develop the relationship to help steer them to the theater level and on up into the amphitheater/arena level."

I assure you Lawler has a tremendous amount of belief in what she's doing. When she speaks of this venue and the network her eyes are full of enthusiasm. She walked away from a lucrative job at SFX Entertainment, where she could book any act in venues of any size across Atlanta and the surrounding areas. Why would she leave a position that would be a dream job to many? She felt that Earthlink Live could become the most fan friendly place to see music in the city.

Walking through the site with her I got the clear indication that this was a woman whose considerable knowledge of the music business was complemented by a keen awareness of the fan side of the experience. She has been to many shows herself, and she is proud of providing a customer service-type approach to her music patrons. This spirit permeates the offices at Center Stage right up to Cook, who surprised me by walking me through his feverish passion for the Boston band Blake Babies (a recently reunited Mammoth artists that features Evan Dando and Juliana Hatfield) and their various offshoots. This encouraged me not just because I am a native Bostonian, but because it indicated to me that these people would not form a liaison with a large corporation unless they were sure that the concerns of the music fans were not ignored.

The building was completed in 1967; a local businessman named Ron Cartiledge built it as a memorial for his mother. There is a small floor in front of the stage, which can serve as an open dance floor, or when filled with chairs can lend the building an even cozier feel. The seated area slopes gradually from the floor (rather than being completely set off), and goes back deeper on the sides than straight on from the stage. There is an upscale club feel (rather than a bunch of scrappy concession stands) to the bars in the theater, minus the attitude heavy staff one might expect. They employ efficient bartenders who are friendly and attentive (although at Duran Duran a good bit of my final Guinness was discarded after the bartender used a tiny cup, c'mon man, for five bucks, give me the whole beer). They employ enough people to keep the lines from getting too long, even at set breaks. In my one-hour visit with many of the staff members, I got the impression that everyone is interested in keeping things as comfortable as possible for the music fans. This may be why Kevin Bailey (venue manager, I believe) did not bristle when I brought up the fact that hundreds of people waiting to pick up tickets were still in the chilly February Atlanta air when Fleck took the stage. Instead, he not only acknowledged that the club had fumbled the ball a bit that night, he also made it clear to me that this concern was a priority, "there were an unusual amount of charged tickets that night, and many arrived at the same time. We are addressing the problem, and we've come up with a couple of ways to deal with similar situations in the future."

The theater has a rich history, as it has hosted many legends of rock, jazz, blues and other music genre. Rolling Stone did a feature article on the venue back in the early seventies. However, it is the potential future of the building that most excites me. Cook's restaurant experience soon will reap rewards for Earthlink live patrons. They are building an upscale fast food style restaurant targeted at the concert going public. Above the restaurant, they are planning a dance club that will double as a place to showcase smaller, upcoming bands. This is particularly important in Atlanta, where the options for bands such as this are limited and predominantly unappealing to them and their fans. Word has it they've been discussing future shows with Z93's The Dunhams (Earthlink Live will host The Dunhams' Freaker's Ball on April 13, with Ancient Harmony headlining), who have the combination of awareness and resources that could really help this club reach the elusive jamband audience.

The future looks good, and Lawler seems to have the right attitude, "We are not stereotyping what we go after, blues, jamband, hip-hop, we will consider anything, across the board." The first band that performed at Earthlink live with HOBCN at the helm, the hard rocking Three Doors Down, could easily have played one show at a much larger venue. However, they were so impressed with Earthlink, and the HOBCN, that they opted for a two-night stand. Bela Fleck was so enamored with the room he vowed to bring The Flecktones back for a multiple show run of their own. Collective Soul is considering doing a "stealth" show here, and it is Elton John's favorite place to rehearse in Atlanta.