Club Metronome: Six Years of Live Music

Anne Rothwell opened Club Metronome up over Nectars a little over six years ago and since then she's kept the place packed with a mix of the hottest disc jockeys and the biggest national acts. Chris Parizo catches up with Anne and Matt Thorsen shoots her.

There are some things in this world that are taken for granted. Some of these things are: fresh air, the comedy stylings of Bill Cosby, a non-screaming child in public and Club Metronome. Why Club Metronome, you ask? Ask any patron of live music or a touring musician and he or she will tell you that a nice, well kept club is a beautiful thing. The Metronome is a place where the floor doesn't stick to your feet, there is no weird smell and you are treated with some respect. And except for a toilet in the ladies bathroom that Troy Pudvah has yet to fix, everything seems to work just fine. They even open the doors daily to air the place out.

Glancing at the tags on the walls of the backstage room at Club Metronome is probably the best way to get an idea of what kind of establishment you are dealing with. Many hours can be spent melted into that really comfortable couch, staring at the walls and reading the bands that signed themselves onto a list of memorable and not so memorable performances. This is the place where the logos of large and respected bands are mixed in with some gosh darn locals: a Wide Wail tag can be found near a large, handwritten Counting Crows one. Also, such strange slogans as: "Slush is not Chin Ho!" and "Spill is sneaking up behind you with something good!" are scrawled onto the walls. These signatures cover almost every available space on the left side of the room and are moving steadily to the right.

Owned by Anne Rothwell and her partner, Lou Natale, the 'Nome has been open for six years and running. Anne was trying to convince a friend to open a club, but later found herself with one. "I had a friend who owned the Front (now closed) and I was trying to talk them into a similar place at a different location, the Border was closed so it just happened, I owned it. Lou was a friend of a friend who kept coming offering his help. I took him up on it."

The club was originally scheduled to open on April Fool's Day of 1992, with a wild party planned and music donated by Chin Ho!, however, City Hall stepped up and canceled the night, citing that Metronome did not have the proper building permits to open. So Anne and the gang were forced to hold off until the next day, which hosted a private party. The club has been open ever since, presenting out of town and local live acts, as well as mixing in DJ's who spin party music and techno.

With over 75 tapes and CD's coming in every month and over 60 follow-up messages a day on her answering machine, how does Anne choose which bands to book?

"That is kind of difficult to answer" Anne replies. "I'll book anything that is danceable. Our tastes change from year to year, but anything that is good, I guess. When the band is playing similar clubs in the area and when the time seems right, I'll give them a shot."

Some of the bands that were given a shot and later went on to become successful touring acts include: Moe., Hootie and the Blowfish, Blind Melon, Ani DiFranco and G. Love & Special Sauce.

"We caught G. Love trying to smuggle some under-age girls through the back of the club once when he was opening for Moon Boot Lover," Anne recalls. "He got upset and ended up writing 'This place fucking sucks!...G. Love' all over the walls. I heard later that he talked trash about us once on the Buzz...we made up though."

One of the benefits that Anne has under her belt is the best sound system in town and a sound guy who's reputation is known to musicians all over the world. Sergei Ushakov is respected by all who ever stand on stage at Metronome. The stage sound is crystal clear, almost like listening to a CD. Musicians leave the Metronome believing: "Sergei is God."

Anne's personal favorite night at the 'Nome? The fifth anniversary party was a night that not many will soon forget... especially Anne. "One night after closing, we decided that it would be a good idea to have Jade (Metronome employee Jade Kindar-Martin) walk across a tightrope from the Kinko's building to the club. He did it and then WENT BACK ACROSS! When he got back to the club we just partied... we were so happy he wasn't dead. Jusagroove played for the night. If he fell...so would have we," she says with a laugh!

With a great line-up of bands coming in and out of the club, it is surprising to hear Anne state that the club doesn't rely on the music to bring in a crowd (you must admit, though that it doesn't hurt) but instead falls back on the "walk-up" crowds. "We really rely on them to stay in business," she says. "The last hour of the night is usually where we make the most money. We really want to be a neighborhood bar with a good solid music line-up. We want people to become regulars."

Rusted Root, October Project, The Dandy Warhols, Peter Case of the Plimsouls, Leftover Salmon, 700 Miles, Scarce, The Commitments, Tonic and Buffalo Tom are just a few of the bands and personalities that have crossed the threshold and performed on stage at the Metronome. With a history like that and more to come, it is no wonder why Club Metronome is one of the favorite watering holes for so many in Burlington. Long live rock. ~GC~

Chris Parizo plays bass for Burlington's Chin Ho! and was a dj at WIUV... the same station that Anne Rothwell was station manager for once! It most definitely is a small world and we are all connected somehow...kind of like waffles. His favorite Metronome show was The Dandy Warhols last summer.