THE SCENE: Make way for Abilene
By Jen Graney on Feb. 13th, 2008
Back in the day - in the late 1970's and early 1980's, when Richmond's was Schatzees and Scorgies was still around - Danny Deutsch managed the latter and bartended at the former. He never really dreamed of owning his own bar or club, but when the right opportunity came along, he couldn't resist.
Deutsch closed the deal on what will be Abilene (153 Liberty Pole Way) in October of last year. He's hard at work on the two-floor, multi-room establishment (the former home to Tara Cocktail Lounge) that is what he calls a "hidden gem" in downtown Rochester.
It was the outdoor patio that sold him. Walk past what will soon be the smoking area and there's a great open space with a small garden at the end. Look up, and you see the buildings of Rochester's downtown loom large against the sky. Picture the lights of those buildings twinkling at night. To Deustch, a self-proclaimed downtown man, it's just what this section of the city needs: a spot where you can sit, drink in hand, under the shadow of the old Sibley's.
"The location is phenomenal," Deustch says. Though Liberty Pole Way seems like an island to some people,” he continues, “it's actually central to everything.”
"It's three minutes from Tapas, eight minutes from Salinger's and my friends at Temple," Deustch says. It's right across from the Harro East Ballroom, and around the corner from the St. Paul Quarter.
"If you can get here once," Deustch says, "you can get here again."
He anticipates questions about the theme of the bar and his ideal clientele, and heads them off. "I'm not re-inventing the wheel," Deutsch says. He suggests Abilene might draw workers from downtown offices or concert-goers as they leave Harro East. But then he mentions the phrase "corner saloon" while describing the bar, and the picture crystallizes. Abilene is meant to be a neighborhood hangout. Deutsch is simply going to offer the basics - great drinks and great music - and see what happens.
Abilene is named after a song by Dave Alvin, a hint at the central role music will play in the overall scheme of the bar. A brand new sound system has been installed, and the tunes will come from a 100-disc CD jukebox and a behind-the-bar iPod loaded with songs by acts like Wilco, Neko Case, The Blasters, The Hi-Risers, and a general mix of alt-country, blues, and alternative. Live music may follow in the summer months.
The second part of the nothing-new, keep-it-simple scheme is great drinks. Deutsch plans to offer 60 to 70 types of American craft bottled beers as well as a single rotating draft brought in by Rohrbach's.
Paninis, soups, and salads will be served once the patio opens - probably in May, Deutsch says - and the upstairs portion of the club will open, first as a lounge, then possibly with a second bar, once the first floor is firmly established.
Right now the venue is being re-painted, furniture is being installed, and Deutsch is preparing to hang some artwork - a mix of outsider art, folk art, and Americana, as he describes it - on the walls. Then, once the liquor license comes through, Abilene will open. Deutsch is aiming for late February or early March.
Club Watch: Abilene
Jeff Spevak • Staff music critic • April 3, 2008
Abilene. Danny Deutsch has been a local music scenester for decades, with duties ranging from managing the legendary Scorgie's to 23 years as an ad salesman with Freetime. It was inevitable that he would open his own place. Two weeks ago, he did. The white house next to the Harro East is the former Tara, once home to the mature gay men of Rochester. Deutsch named it after his favorite song by Dave Alvin, a place for him and his friends to gaze into their beers and express their love of American roots music. This is Danny's clubhouse.
Type. Sophisticated saloon.
Drink. Cocktails, nice wine selection. Sixty esoteric bottled beers, ranging in price from $3.50 to $4.50, including Flying Dog Brewery's In-Heat Wheat, Victory Brewing Co.'s Hop Devil Ale and Boulder Beer Co.'s Mojo IPA. Rohrbach's McDermott's Irish Ale, at $4, is the only draft beer. Budget drinkers can enjoy Rolling Rock for $1.50 and the perfect breakfast beer, the bacon-flavored Butternut's Porkslap Pale Ale, for $2.
Clientele. Not too many people in this town know more people than Deutsch. During a recent return visit, it became apparent that a few of Tara's old customers were returning to their old haunt during the afternoons.
Sound. The jukebox was as carefully researched as the beer list. Willie, Waylon, Neko Case, Lucinda Williams, Rochester's the Hi-Risers and, of course, Dave Alvin.
Future plans. Open the upstairs with a stage for live bands, an outdoor patio, a limited menu that would include panini-type food.
High arts. One wall displays several paintings that, upon closer examination, are paint-by-number works. They were acquired on eBay, which makes one wonder ... . "As opposed to doing them myself?" Deutsch asks with a shrug, intercepting the second half of the question. "If anyone wants to donate any more paint-by-numbers, that wall will expand."
The details. 153 Liberty Pole Way, (585) 232-3230. Noise factor is 6, Hook-up factor is 5 (1 being the lowest, 10 the highest).
—Jeff Spevak
(April 11, 2008)
20 questions ... for Joe McBane
This bar owner once served beer to Iggy Pop and Joe Cocker
Matt Wittmeyer
Tap & Mallet owner Joe McBane says he likes optimistic people and cheap living.
More about him
A native of Sheffield, England, Joe McBane came to the United States in 2000. He opened the Tap & Mallet pub — located in Rochester’s South Wedge — this past November with business partner Casey Walpert, who owns Mex on Alexander St. In his free time, McBane says he enjoys golfing when the snow melts, and his favorite things about Rochester are the summertime, Wegmans, cheap golf, optimistic people and cheap living.
Age: 29
Occupation: Bar owner
Residence: Brighton
1. In 30 words or less, describe what you do all day at work: Make a list. Add more stuff to it. Cross things off. Add more stuff. Talk on phone. Buy LOTS of fantastic beer. Sell it. Laugh and drink beer with friends.
2. What's your favorite thing to do outside of work? Hang out with my wife, Bethany, and our two boys.
3. Where do you get your coffee? From the legendary barista Todd at Starbucks 12 Corners. As strong as possible, please, in your largest container.
4. What's your adult beverage of choice? I love beer!
5. What's your favorite bar? Abilene. It is a super cool new bar near the Liberty Pole. Stylish and chill. Check it out!
6. Describe your personal style: European contemporary rustic.
7. What was the last great meal you had? Takeout from Paola's Burrito Place. I was so hungry I could have eaten a horse.
8. What's the next movie you want to see? No clue. I almost never watch movies.
9. What do you DVR? I am English. We only just got compact discs.
10. What's the last CD you bought or downloaded? Our Earthly Pleasures, by Maxïmo Park.
11. Have you ever met a celebrity? I once served Iggy Pop and Joe Cocker a pint of Murphy's at my local pub when I was younger. Joe Cocker's dad had a house around the corner, and I guess the rock and roll folk fancied a quiet pint.
12. What's your favorite book? I love reading cookbooks. I have cooked a lot out of Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles Cookbook recently.
13. What's in your glove compartment? Nothing of mine. It is an area of organization for my wife. I have no doubt that if I needed something that might be found in a glove box, it would there.
14. When's bedtime? As early as possible but usually incredibly late — 5 a.m. is not unusual.
15. What do you do for exercise? Come to work and move around.
16. What one thing — not person or pet — would you save in a fire? Golf clubs.
17. What makes you cringe? Chip (the nickname of one of the staff at the Tap & Mallet). He likes to cruise the Rochester nightlife scene periodically. Chip, you might not remember your alter ego, but we know who you are!
18. If you could have dinner with any historical figure, living or dead, who would it be? Tiger Woods.
19. If you could relive one moment, what would it be? The birth of my children, although I have got to believe my wife would probably have a different response if you asked her the same question. Oh, it is good to be a guy sometimes. Ladies, take the drugs!
20. Who should be the next president? Barack or Hillary would be great for this country, in my opinion. Unfortunately, they don't let me vote yet.
— Trey M. Wydysh
THE PRESS ROOM
RIJF STARTS FRIDAY NIGHT!! WE'RE PROUD TO SUPPORT LOCAL BARS AND BUSINESSES!
June 9, 2008
Jazz Fest kicks off in a big way this Friday night! Get your sleep now and slip those runners on, it's time for a marathon of music!
The weather is hot in Rochester, near 90 degrees today and the forecast is calling for a hot weekend with great music ahead! In addition to presenting the over 250 shows in this years RIJF, we are striving to help create economic impact in the City of Rochester. One of these ways is by lending support to our local establishments.
One of RIJF's great friends, Danny Deutsch, has opened a fantastic new place, the Abilene Bar and Lounge next to Harro East Ballroom so start your evenings off with a drink at Abilene and head over to the 5:30PM show at Harro!
Abilene is a a gem in the heart of downtown Rochester, a "corner saloon" that features great drinks, including 60 bottled American craft beers, and fantastic music. Free live music -- jazz, blues, Americana, rock, and dance -- will be featured on Abilene's outdoor patio in the shadow of the Sibley Building and Harro East every night throughout the Rochester International Jazz Festival!
Abilene, 153 Liberty Pole Way, is situated across from the Harro East Ballroom and near other RIJF venues. For directions and other information, please call Abilene at 232-3230.
Grand Canyon Rescue Episode to play roots music at Abilene saloon
Jeff Spevak • Staff music critic • June 12, 2008
Just a few weeks ago, Tom Mahoney heard there was a new bar in town. "I stopped in for a drink, just to check it out, and looked at the jukebox," he says. "They had Gram Parsons and some other things, and I said, 'This is the place for me.'"
Abilene, the roots music-inspired, contemporary saloon, and Grand Canyon Rescue Episode were made for each other. This month, the band is in the midst of a run of Wednesday-night open mikes at Abilene, located on Liberty Pole Way, with a special 4:30 p.m. Saturday show that's a little warm-up before the Dave Samuels Caribbean Jazz Project begins its Rochester International Jazz Festival gig across the street at the Harro East.
Mahoney, a 45-year-old, self-employed investment adviser ("Don't put money in the stock market. Run!"), for years played guitar in area Grateful Dead bands like Psychedelic Rooster and Into the Now. He and bassist Ron Permoda began basement jamming on vintage music in 2005, slowly adding pieces: drummer Jimmy MacAlvaney, Steve Day on dobro and Jim Howe on banjo.
"Just like I learned about Jimmie Reed through Keith Richards and the Rolling Stones, I kinda got into Son Volt, and then Uncle Tupelo," Mahoney says of two of the bands that helped re-ignite interest in vintage Americana sounds. "I re-visited some of the roots stuff. Bill Monroe, the Louvin Brothers. Even though it was old, it was new to me. You start thinking, 'My gosh, how long has this been going on, and how did we miss it?' "
Drawing its name from a line in the Neil Young song "The Thrasher," Grand Canyon Rescue Episode plays music by Steve Earle, Ralph Stanley, Drive-By Truckers and a handful of originals at hippie fests, barbecues and 1,200-acre farms, "where they're calf roping and everyone from high-up corporate execs to Amish people are coming to the same party.
"And American Legion chicken roasts," Mahoney says, recalling one particular gig. "Real Americana. I used to play Milestones and Water Street, 30-minute versions of 'insert song here,' and now we're playing for people in lawn chairs, a trash can cut in half that's cooking chicken and corn, people two-stepping and waltzing. I remember a full moon, a wondrous night. It's almost another view of the world."
Music in Rochester area hit high notes in 2008
Jeff Spevak • Staff music critic • December 31, 2008
Rookie of the Year: Cocktail Division. Longtime downtown scenester Danny Deutsch opened his sophisticated saloon, Abilene Bar & Lounge, early in the year, filling the little white house in the shadow of the Harro East with great beers, paint-by-numbers art and mature and smart adults who talk knowledgeably about great American roots music and the cultural life of the city. Deutsch is booking cool acts, too, including Feb. 13 with Walri: That's the band that includes members of the Eastman Eight.