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I hate to be the bearer of bad, sad news, but here
goes: The Underground City Tavern is not long for this world, and this
weekend will mark the end of an era for the Springfield music scene. The
Hilton heads have leased the space to a popular restaurant chain, and so
the live-music venue must go. The UCT’s transformation over the last
six years from an obnoxious sports bar to one of the most popular roots
rock bars in the Midwest owes much to the dedication and desire of Brian
Reilly, now executive night manager of the Hilton Springfield, and the
booking prowess of Sean Burns of the Sangamon Valley Roots Revival, along
with the blessing of Hilton general manager Michael Fear.
In addition to live Americana music most Friday and
Saturday nights, the bar has also hosted diverse open mics
Tuesday-Thursday. Acclaimed acts that performed at the Underground City
Tavern included Billy Joe Shaver, Robbie Fulks, the Tarbox Ramblers, Rosie Flores, Dave
Alvin, Commander Cody, Slaid Cleaves, BR-549, Wanda Jackson, Del McCoury,
Big Sandy and His Fly-Rite Boys. The incredible acts that waltzed through the
below-ground bar gave rise to countless memorable moments:
There was the time when a songwriting buddy and I
were trying to get CDs of our stuff to Billy Joe Shaver, considered one of
the best writers in the business. My friend finally got a chance to talk to
Shaver and with a deep breath handed him the fruits of his intensive
songwriting labors. An exasperated Shaver snapped, “Why do I need
your songs? I’m trying to write my own!” He refused the CD and
turned away.
Then there was the special moment when the bass
player from Commander Cody (at 52, the kid in the band) expressed to me his
joy at playing the Underground: “Yeah, man, I love it here. You can
get as drunk as you want playing, then all you got to do is stagger
upstairs and crash. This is where it’s at.” Even though hauling
equipment down those stairs was tough (and hauling it back up at the end of
the night was even tougher), the thought of resting in a nice hotel was
appealing to road-weary musicians, as was the proximity of the beds to the
place of intoxication. Remember when Dave Alvin broke yet another string on
his acoustic guitar while trying to keep up, volume-wise, with his
rockin’ band and stomped offstage, never to return, during an encore?
And how about (I wasn’t even there for this one) when Slaid Cleaves
was so obviously moved when his UCT audience sang the words to his songs
during his 2005 performance? When I saw him at the 2006 MerleFest, he
recalled that night with honest joy.
Maybe you just had to be there, but the UCT did put
Springfield on the roots-rock map and gave plenty of us Springfieldians
some of the finest musical moments of our lives. Hasta la vista,
Underground City Tavern. It was fun while it lasted. The last shows at the UCT (700 E. Adams St.,
217-789-1530) will be Luke Turasky’s Bluegrass Jam (tonight, Sept.
13), Matt the Electrician with the Henhouse Prowlers (Friday, Sept. 14),
and Scott Kay and the Continentals (Saturday, Sept. 15).
Contact Tom Irwin at tirwin@illinoistimes.com.
This article appears in Sep 6-12, 2007.
