Photography by Julianne Wise
Just a couple of nights ago, the Venice Café opened on New Year’s Eve for the first time in over 20 years. There was music, of course, in the form L.S. XPRSS; rare is the day that there’s not music on the schedule of the Venice. In fact, live music’s been such a staple in the 30-year venue’s life that it’s almost easy to forget the Venice’s prime role in keeping musicians in gigs, be it the Tuesday-night blues evening steered by Jeremy Segel-Moss, the Saturday-afternoon rotation of bands new (Smokin’ Lion) and old (Liquid Gold) or the Venice’s decades-old open mic on Mondays.
It’s on those evenings that Suzie Gilb (aka Suzie Cue) developed her relationship with the place, which continues to this (literal) day.
"I played Venice’s open mic for several years, then started doing occasional solo gigs there,” she says. “Usually they have one band/artist play the whole night, for three-four hours, and while I can do that, it’s not nearly as fun as playing with friends. So I approached Chad Taylor [the manager at Venice] and asked if we could do the 3 Bands for 3 Bucks show. That was July of 2012, and we’ve been doing it the first Thursday of every month ever since. It does help that it’s one of my ‘home bars,’ so I always feel welcome and comfortable in that room. Plus I’ve had many acts tell me they’ve always wanted to play Venice, so I enjoy making that happen for folks, as I believe Venice is an institution in our music community and everyone should experience such a great, fun room to play music in.”
Over time, the process of curating her monthly event has gotten easier.
“There’s not much pressure,” Gilb says, “aside from the basic stuff of getting the show booked and promoted. By now, I have a pretty decent system down, and lucky for me, folks want to play there, so at this point I don’t have to do much searching usually for bands or artists to play. Since we don’t open the upstairs at Venice on Thursdays, it’s a pretty small room to fill, compared to a lot of venues around town, so I think that helps it remain fairly low pressure. I’ve often joked that if each band/artist brings five people, the room feels pretty full. It also makes it a great gig for folks just starting to play out because it's so low-pressure.”
Another reality is that there’s no stage, per se, at the Venice. In fact, as bartenders prep the room for the night’s music, they and the band are typically moving tables out of the zone where bands play, pushing those closer to the bar. It creates an environment that’s pretty-accurately described as “intimate.”
"Having played so many times there now, I feel incredibly comfortable, and I sometimes even have conversations with the crowd during my set," Gilb says. "It’s so much fun, and it feels like we’re all friends by the time I get off stage. Being a sort of old-school folkie by nature, I talk a lot between songs and it’s one of the places where you can do that and people actually give a shit. I mean, they're right there in front of you. There's no bright stage lights, so the fourth wall doesn't really exist to me in that space."
An environment like that might suggest that the proverbial “magic moments” are ripe for the picking. And there have been some in 3 Bands for 3 Bucks’ history, which is now about 70 shows deep.
“Something that interests me is getting to do weird stuff, like putting together lineups that nobody else would," Gilb says. "I’ve played with rappers, metal bands, and everything in between. I’m a folkie, man—that’s not how it’s ‘supposed’ to work, but that is really what makes the shows magical at times, is getting a diverse group of local music fans together to experience other music they probably wouldn’t have heard otherwise. Let’s be real, most of us like multiple genres of music, so if you’re good, people will like you. I like rap and metal and folk and whatever, and I’m not special in that, so part of what makes it really fun is getting to introduce both attendees and the artists themselves to each other, and hopefully it makes our music community more interconnected and united. I've met a lot of really wonderful folks doing these gigs, and I think that's what stands out the most to me.”
A month from now, on the first Thursday of February, the 3 Bands for 3 Bucks concept gets a major tweak, in that the cover charge will reflect the needs for a bit more cash flowing from customer to performer. Out of this necessity the “3-4-5” monthly will be born.
“Being the cheapest show in town (aside from free shows of course) gives us an advantage in a way, but I think people are finally pretty universally ready to throw down $5 on a local show, even on a weeknight," Gilb says. "This month will be the last 3 Bands for 3 Bucks show before it bumps to a $5 cover. It was a tough decision, and something I’ve been thinking about for quite some time now, but I was concerned it would negatively affect our attendance. Plus, I have to re-brand the whole dang show. It just finally seems like a good time for it, so February will be the first ‘3-4-5’ show (or 3 Bands for $5). Since we’re bumping it up in February, we’re adding a ‘bonus band’ to the lineup, so it’ll actually be four bands for $5 for that show.”
Tonight, Suzie Cue will appear on the gig, as she does every month.
Rounding out the bill will be “Desire Lines, Jenny Roques’ band. She’s one of my favorite songwriters and singers in STL—she’s just absolutely phenomenal, easily the best country music frontwoman in town, and I’m delighted to finally play a show with this newer band of hers. Casey Jovick will have his buddy Craig Wagner playing with him, and they do some really fantastic Irish-inspired acoustic tunes. Casey and I used to play the open mic scene together, years ago, so it’ll be nice to again share a stage with him. The January show usually doubles as my birthday show, and this one I selfishly booked some of my favorite people with whom I rarely get to play shows.”
She’ll be celebrating with a birthday show at Foam on Friday, January 11, as well, featuring her full Suzie Cue band alongside Bagheera and Ellen Hilton Cook. This spring, she’ll welcome a new album, The Bridges Were Already Burning, with an exact release date to be determined. And, of course, every first Thursday of the month, there will be her solo gig at the Venice Café, one of this untraditional room’s many traditions.
