The Library in Historic Soulard

I visited a new music venue called The Library on Monday evening. They were holding an open house for all bands interested in playing in this new venue. The point of the open house was to meet and greet each band and allow the bands to network with each other as well as gather contact information from each band to help in the booking process.

The Library had a hard time trying to get a bunch of bands to go to a club on their night off to drink free beer. They also offered free pizza and hot wings. Surprisingly enough there was a good turn out for The Library’s open house. If you didn’t catch it I was being facetious.

Truthfully, I felt a little awkward walking in The Library for my first time (with my band Achalachia) because we knew no one and really didn’t know what to do. We found our way to the bar to grab our first of many free cups of beer.

We proceeded to do what most other bands were doing, stand in a small circle of the people you know and not daring to talk outside of our bubble. Not really knowing what else to do, we drank our beers too fast and smoked too many cigarettes.

Eventually The Library’s gracious host arrived on the stage to thank everyone for coming out. She let everyone know there was plenty of free beer and food and encouraged us to eat and drink more. We happily observed her request. She also told us that there would be door prizes and are contact forms for booking, and asked everyone to fill one out. We filled out forms that almost seemed like job application and submitted our name for door prizes. Later that evening my bass player Nick won one of the door prizes, a gift card, and my Drummer Adam was given a pair of drumsticks from another band. And eventually we even began to mingle. It started to feel like some weird version of speed dating. Gather a bunch of people in a room and see who connects.

With liquid courage in hand we were comfortable enough to converse with a few other bands. One of which we had already been talking with on MySpace. We setup a few tentative shows with some of the bands and we’ll just have to wait and see if they actually happen.

The Library’s open house was only scheduled for two hours, and once things got moving time flew. It was over before we knew it and it took us over 15 minutes to actually leave the building because we kept getting caught in different conversations.

All in all I thought it was a brilliant idea for The Library to hold an open house for the people that will provide the entertainment. They both need each other. The bands need a place to play their music this is not only cool but also a place the fans will go. While The Library needs bands to play and bring beer-drinking fans so they can keep their lights on.

The Library in Soulard is the one of the newest music venues to hit Soulard. Originally Cruisin’ RTE 66 in South County, when the lease expired they decided to make a change by moving everything and everyone to the old Historic Soulard Library.

The Library is located in Historic Soulard in what was originally the Soulard branch of the St. Louis Public Library. The owners have restored the building but maintained the historic value and feel of this amazing building. The venue has a true rock feel with a large stage and open room with a bar. There is an upper loft area with a second bar and more seating for people who want to enjoy the food.

The Library
706 Lafayette Ave,
St. Louis, MO 63104
The Library Website
314-621-3900

Popularity: 2% [?]