Egan’s

To make a ridiculous and probably flawed comparison, Egan’s is our own little Austin, Texas. In a city of typical Southern culture, it is our weird area. Metalheads, hipsters, outsiders and professors frequent the bar. It is well deserved, because the bar is fantastic. The hops are delightful. The music is pretty awesome, too.

This is the sort of bar that relishes being open during the afternoon, after all. And, without going into overly personal territory, the place has connected me to good people in Tuscaloosa. I’d view that as a pretty solid thing.

This week sees the appearance of James Spann and the Suspenders (the band, not the meteorologist) on Friday night. As almost always with Egan’s shows, there is no cover, and the show is 21 and up.

Oz Music

Oz can seem like a dinosaur as a concept. Oz is a halcyon world in which the important contents are based on a physical medium – in this case, the compact disc. Around the back, there is a section of vinyl records, including prominent used records for those who need their Billy Joel fix. Even the name evokes a time of the past and some sort of weird innocence.

But, Oz has done one thing that could change that perception and change the store for the better. The fine folks have built a stage near the back of the store for the purpose of live music performances. Indeed, the Oz Live series of shows has already brought attention to the store, with names like The Civil Wars among an increasingly prominent list of performers.

And quite frankly, you should go there this Friday at 4 p.m. Tennessee-based The Only Sons will be there previewing the performance they will have later that night at Green Bar (more on that in a second), but this performance leaves you no excuses to not attend. There is no age limit. There is no cover charge. There is some awesome Southern-twanged rock that isn’t, for lack of a better term, overly produced bullcrap.

But what if you don’t like it? Life is about taking chances, even in something as small as “Do I like this band?” It’s a local cause, and you don’t even have to admit you’re going because some nutbar at the newspaper told you to. I mean, they sell CDs at Oz. Bolster that collection of yours.

Green Bar

From the remnants of Little Willie’s comes something that I don’t entirely get behind as a concept, but one that no doubt plays a major influence in the city’s art scene. Maybe “art scene” is just code for “hipster scene,” but I digress.

Green Bar can be a bit expensive. It seems pretty silly to pay $5 for a canned beverage of anything, much less after paying for their increasingly more common cover charges. But if that’s what it takes to bring some more great talent, or showcase the talent we already have to new audiences willing to pay $2.50 for a Pabst Blue Ribbon, then there are definite positives to the environmentally positive bar.

Not to mention, the bar will be awesome on Friday around 10 p.m., when the aforementioned Only Sons will play on the same bill as past column subjects Blaine Duncan and the Lookers. And there is actually no cover for this show.

Green Bar also has a hand in the awesome cause of Ladyfest Deep South, which will curate this weekend. The Green Bar-specific portion of the show will be Saturday night at 7. Cover is $7 for 21 and over and $10 for you 19- and 20-year-olds. And, this cause is actually worth paying a cover for.