By Emily VaughanThe Daily Northwestern
There were too many bills at Bill’s Blues.
To keep its doors open after this week, Bill’s Blues Bar, 1029 Davis St., put aside its normal Monday open mic night to host a benefit for its own survival.
Four bands took the stage for Save Bill’s Night, a student-organized show featuring High End Trio, Rain Delay Theatre, Hubble Funk-o-Scope and Cursed Diamond. The event raised $2,300 to keep the bar in the black.
“This is, embarrassingly enough, a fundraiser,” said owner Bill Gilmore.
With back taxes, last winter’s gas bill, and equipment costs unpaid, the bar was in dire straits. Unable to pay its rent this Wednesday, Bill’s faced foreclosure unless it could raise $2,000.
“There was no one huge thing,” Gilmore said. “It’s like getting bit by eight little alligators. My friend once said it’s like ‘getting gummed to death by ducks.’ That’s kind of what it feels like.”
Music senior Katelyn Carson has been booking Bill’s Thursday night shows since August. She was one of the primary organizers of the fundraiser.
“We’re trying to make enough money to dig them out of the hole; it will be closed by Wednesday, ” she said.
Carson found out about Bill’s financial troubles just days before Monday’s show. She and others threw together the event, bringing in several regular Thursday night acts.
“A lot of regulars equate Bill’s to ‘Cheers’ or Max’s from ‘Saved by the Bell,'” said McCormick senior Brendan Fox, a guitarist in High End Trio, a group that plays at the bar once a month.
Fox, who also performed with Rain Delay Theatre on Monday, is a regular at open mic nights as a soloist.
High End Trio is part of Bill’s expanding line-up, leaving the six-days-a-week blues format to cater to a college scene much more focused on indie rock and hip hop.
“We’re not just a blues bar anymore,” Gilmore said. “Unfortunately, in this market, there just isn’t a demand.”
Gilmore’s success is hampered by his location. Blues bars cater to tourists, and there aren’t many in Evanston. Also, live music is an expendable commodity when money gets tight.
“I don’t think anyone else would have made a go at a blues bar,” said Evanston resident Dan Ford, who was at the event. “That was brave to begin with.”
Bill’s Blues is not the only live music venue to feel the sting of dwindling audiences, Gilmore said.
“Music bars around the country all end up crying on each other’s shoulders,” Gilmore said. “It’s endemic in the industry.”
Rain Delay Theatre opened to a growing crowd. The bar was about half full at about 10 p.m. Many students came to support the bar.
“I think it’s a shame (that Bill’s Blues might close) because there really aren’t other places,” said Music and Weinberg senior Philippe Treuille. “You’re not going to find another place like this with live music every day.”
Bill’s Blues has created its own culture. Many regulars have been stopping in since the bar opened three years ago; John Nance even has his own chair labeled with his name.
“It’s an important place to us, and we’re doing everything we can in an informal way to help them out,” Carson said.
Reach Emily Vaughan at [email protected].
