CLUB SCENE

Urban renewal at the Big Easy

By Sam Pfeifle

Big Easy co-owner Jim O’Brien shares more than a name with the Celtics interim manager, he also shares his penchant for shaking things up and turning things around. Just as the Celtics’ O’Brien refuted Rick Pitino’s claims that the Celtics couldn’t be motivated, by putting together a six-game winning streak, Portland’s O’Brien, with his twin brother Billy, has shown there’s more to the Big Easy than blues.

After purchasing the long-time blues club, formerly on Fore Street, this past July, the O’Brien brothers have slowly combined their loyal, older, blues-loving crowd with a new focus on young, hungry local bands. “I just wanted to change it up a little,” says Jim. “Toward the winter I wanted to market to a younger crowd.”

Success in accomplishing that is thanks, in large part, to the bands the brothers have been able to attract. “We got lucky,” says Jim. “There wasn’t any science to it.” The first to set up shop was Sly Chi, who replaced Dead cover-band Lazy Lightning as the Tuesday night staple.

“My bartender’s roommate is [Sly Chi’s] drummer,” says Jim. “I listened to their CD, brought them in, and by the third week they were in here, they were packing the room.” The O’Briens started to see a younger crowd coming in to check out their Clinton-esque funk.

Then Eddie Dickhaut, drummer for the reggae band Stream, got an idea. “I wanted to start a soul band,” he says, “play some challenging songs. I found out [lead guitarist] Ryan MacCalmun was back in town.” That led him to get friends like bassist John Lammy and keyboardist Peter Dugas involved, and “then I found out [Rustic Overtone drummer] Tony [McNaboe] wanted to sing, and that was it.”

Inside Straight was born.

Dickhaut approached the O’Briens with his idea for a regular gig for the band.

“I gave him a shot on Monday,” says Jim, “and the same thing happened,” as had happened with Sly Chi: big crowds on a night when “we weren’t even open before.”

That success led the O’Briens to further extend their hands to a younger audience, setting up a Wednesday line-up for February and beyond, which will see a rotation of the Desprit Avakadoz; Relish; kNOw Complex, adding a second weekly gig; and Spencer Albee’s new project Frankenstein’s Rock n’ Roll Revue, which will feature the Popsicko and bands like Boston-based Reverse, who played the initial Revue January 31.

McNaboe, for one, likes the new feel of the place. “That room used to be Granny’s,” he says, referring to Rustic manager Bill Beasley’s old bar Granny Killams. “We were literally born out of that building, in terms of Rustic’s success, so it’s been cool to go back in there and experience the same atmosphere of young and old together. It’s really got that spirit.”

As a seasoned musician, he also appreciated the O’Briens’ approach to the club. “I think the biggest thing is that they’re interested in being active in the scene,” says McNaboe. “They give a lot of attention to bands, asking, ‘Who else do you think would be good to get in here?’ They’re constantly looking for advice from the bands.”