Socks and Tarantulas at the Studio
The Pink Socks, the Black Tarantulas
Friday, April 11
The Studio
By JASON HARPER
When I first heard about a new bar opening downtown called the Studio, I figured it was an offshoot of loft culture — a place for hoity toity loftdwellers to go when they got tired of sitting alone amid their accent tables and eating pre-shelled pistachios, waiting for the iPhone to ring (light up? buzz? what do those things do?). “I will now go down to the Studio,” such a fellow would say to himself, “and listen to the ‘Acoustic Stylings of Greg.'”
I was completely wrong. The Studio is where the notorious downtown rock bar Benders used to be, where, I have heard, bands played on top of pool tables. Apart from a fancy-looking art deco bar, the Studio is an unpretentious bar-&-grill kind of place. There’s lots of tables, a kitchen, a whole other room full of pool tables, a stage, a dance floor, and rather woeful acoustics. Despite the ringing loudness whenever a band’s on stage, it’s a fun place to see a show, and both the shows I’ve seen there were respectably attended. The calendar of upcoming shows at the place looks promising. Veteran local musician Matt Ericson (the Bleeding Hands, the Litigators) is helping with the booking for the place, and he told me that Friday’s bill — the Pink Socks, the Black Tarantulas and the Hopeless Destroyers*— was the kind of show he’d want to see on a night out. (*Matt had initially booked the Rich Boys, but something happened to them.)
