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Keeping it live at The Blue Agave |
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Written by Morgan Kriz
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Tuesday, 08 April 2008 |
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If you are in the mood for a mellow evening of good, original music and enjoying drink and food specials — head to the Blue Agave every Wednesday night.
The Blue Agave continues with the crop of Tahoe City venues bringing live music back to the North Shore town, and owner Steve Topol has created an atmosphere where people feel comfortable while enjoying live music. The acoustic night also gives local musicians a venue to showcase their talents. Names such as Megan Lacey, Sol Jibe, The Beergardeners and The Rusty Strings play regularly at the acoustic nights.
The venue itself is a classic and takes a lot of TLC to maintain, Topol explained. The atmosphere has a nice hometown feel and is definitely a local’s place. The bar is never too crowded and is quite spacious. There is a pool table and plenty of seating around the bar area in ears distance of the music.
“We have had some amazing talent come play here,” Topol said. “We have a policy of no cover songs, we want all songs to be original, let people hear some of the local talent and what they’ve got. We try to keep the music mellow so we only have acoustic music, which is nice because we want the venue to have a grownup type feel, nothing rowdy. The whole point of the night is to make people feel comfortable and enjoy good live music.”
Blake Beeman said he agrees that is the point of the acoustic music night. Beeman, owner of Seventh Wave Productions, has been performing and booking music acts for more than 30 years here in Tahoe. He built the high-end sound system that is tailored for acoustic music and designed specifically for the Blue Agave.
“We really want to promote local music,” Beeman said. “There is so much history at that place (Blue Agave) and the sound system is custom for acoustic music. There is great sound and there is a really cool vibe there.”
Beeman is apart of the band The Beer Gardeners, so as a performer, he said playing on Wednesday nights at the Blue Agave is a great intimate sit down setting — musicians have a great time playing there. The Beer Gardeners will be performing on April 16.
Beeman and Topol both recall the venue back in the “old days,” where the Blue Agave was the nightlife hot spot for live music and dancing.
“Cidro Willey used to come in and play all the time,” Topol said. “He had a large house band. It was really nice in here; we had a stage where the pool table is now and we closed off one side of the restaurant because the music was so loud but we still had the restaurant part going. People used to walk in where the jukebox is now, that has changed. We want to keep the live music tradition going here so that is why we try and have a few entertaining activities going on earlier in the week.
“Some of the other bars and restaurants around the area tend to have the more traditional music features on the weekends. We like to spread out our activities during the week and focus on our restaurant and bar over the weekends, since we are so busy anyways.”
The Blue Agave features the Major League Baseball package and large screen televisions strategically placed around the bar. Sports fans have been making Blue Agave a hot spot for big games and to cheer their favorite teams on. Many regulars come in because they know what they are going to get, Topol said, good music in a good hometown setting.
Wednesdays at the Blue Agave has been a hit since the fall and will continue through mid-May, starting up again in the summertime.
Specials
Blue Agave’s happy hour is daily from 4 to 6 p.m. and on Wednesday nights the special on half-price quesadillas and $2 PBR runs from 8:30 to 10:30 p.m. The music is always free.
Steve’s picks
Favorite item on the menu: Fish Tacos
Gotta try: Carnitas, the house special
Favorite drink: Tahoe Inn Margarita
Gotta try: Prickly Pear Margarita (made with real cactus) and the Pomegranate Margarita
Upcoming schedule
April 9 — Bias & Dunn (acoustic blues)
April 16 — The Beer Gardeners (acoustic blues/rock)
April 23 — Jeff Jones (acoustic blues)
April 30 — The After Eights (acoustic)
May 2-5 — Cinco de Mayo weekend celebration
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 08 April 2008 )
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