Can SPACE pull Evanston out of the musical abyss?   

For a town with 75,000 people, a Big 10 university, and a shared border with one of the world’s biggest cultural hubs, Evanston’s music scene has been perplexingly nonexistent. Aside from the blues and jazz at Bill’s Blues, Evanston offers nothing for anyone looking to rock, dance, or even silently nod along to a singer-songwriter. But a new challenger to the suburb’s musical indifference has emerged: the Society for the Preservation of Art and Culture in Evanston, or SPACE, a 2,000-square-foot lounge nestled—almost like a speakeasy—behind Union Pizzeria's dining room. Since it started booking shows last April, SPACE has featured an increasingly impressive lineup of local talent and national mainstays (like Loudon Wainwright III). The A.V. Club caught up with SPACE General Manager Jake Samuels to pin down why the venue has broken through Evanston’s musical malaise.

Crisp sound in a chill room
With a barrel roof, vaulted ceilings, a sprinkling of little cocktail tables, and dim, classy lighting, SPACE is about as mellow a venue as they come; its ambience hints at a modern jazz club. The room’s acoustics are warm, especially for low-key acts. 

“The walls are reinforced so that sound doesn't leak into the studio, but other than that, it's a really raw room—it hasn't been messed with at all,” Samuels says of the room, which has spent time as a car dealership and a rug warehouse. “And that works great for some stuff. We have a chamber group of Chicago Symphony Orchestra members that said they prefer playing here to orchestra halls.”

Appealing to Evanston’s musical needs
Samuels hints that the acoustic singer-songwriter acts are SPACE’s bread and butter, but with few other venues in town, the place caters to genres all along the musical spectrum. One night could be a relaxed, smooth evening of quiet piano, the next, something called “Funkify Your Life.”

“People love this room to come and sit and listen to an acoustic act,” Samuels says. “On the other hand, this room can be an all-out party. We had Cyril Neville of The Neville Brothers, and it was a loud, New Orleans funky-rock thing, and it worked great.”

The acts are becoming more recognizable as well: from George Porter of funk act The Meters, to Simpsons/Spinal Tap star Harry Shearer, who played a Christmas sing-along show with his wife, singer-songwriter Judith Owen.

Reasonably priced booze
Samuels said Evanston's noise-restriction laws create some difficulties with starting a music venue, but the town's strict liquor laws haven't helped make it even harder.

“There were some pretty tough liquor laws that were antiquated and didn't make much sense, and they ruled the town for a long time,” Samuels says. “Downtown Evanston is unlike any other major Midwest college town. There's no bar scene, and I think the bar scene is kind of what a music scene will grow from. It's the basis of nightlife, and without a real nightlife, it's hard to build a music scene.”

Samuels emphasizes that SPACE is not a bar with music, but a music venue that happens to have a bar. Of course, alcohol and music will always be socially intertwined: Glasses of chardonnay and pinot noir have “sleepy acoustic show” written all over them, while $3 16-ounce PBRs seem reserved to lure the Northwestern kids that Samuels wants to attract. 

Helping artists play Chicago without the burden of actually playing Chicago
“It's kind of a curse and a blessing to be in Evanston because musicians have a lot of options in terms of where to play in Chicago,” Samuels says. “To bill ourselves as another venue in and or around Chicago is a tough sell to musicians, because there are great rooms in Chicago where they can play and be right in the middle of the city.”

Is Evanston a selling point? Yes, sort of. Some musicians are looking for an alternative to playing Chicago proper, perhaps just to play somewhere other than the typical clubs. Another selling point: SPACE’s backstage studio, which allows the venue record every show straight into Pro Tools. Artists can show up, play a killer show and leave with a high-quality recording that they can do with as they please. That kind of perk is hard to find, even in Evanston's noisy neighbor to the south.