Friday, April 28,2000
Page 10
Editor: Sarah Baker
(402)472-1756
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Knickerbockers anchors itself with a mix of music
This is the last in
a series of 13 stories
exploring the history
of the O Street bars.
The strip - which
begins at Nth and O
streets and runs down
to Ninth and O streets -
has served as a major
gathering place for
University of Nebraska
Lincoln students for the
past 70 years.
By Emily Pyeatt
Staff writer
It’s a chilly night in Lincoln.
The rain shifts between ran
dom drops and heavy showers.
I spot a neon “open” sign and
cross the street to the last bar on O
Street. Band posters cover the outside
windows and newer neon stickers
advertise frog legs and crawdads.
The door is open. I walk in, wipe the water
off of my glasses, and I am immediately wel
comed by one of the bar’s owners.
I glance around the small crowd seated at
the bar and the even smaller stage covered with
chairs and a pinball machine. Hundreds of
autographed photographs of bands are along
the wall.
It’s a quiet and cozy night in
Knickerbockers, 901 O St. The live bands,
which distinguish the scene, have yet to per
form. Live music five nights a week promises a
crowd, but without a packed bar, regulars sit
and talk as I hear the history of Knickerbockers
from owner Shawn Tyrrell.
iyrrell said May 3 will be Knickerbockers
seventh anniversary. The bar opened in 1993.
It is the only bar in Lincoln that has always
been a bar since the building was constructed.
Actually, it is the west building of the bar
that has not only seen many years, but many
changes.
In 1908, the home of Knickerbockers was
known as the Gold Saloon bar, and in the 1940s
the building was turned into an Air Force bar.
But it was during the 1960s when the bar
saw some fierce action. The bar in the ’60s was
called Marie’s Oasis and opened at 6 a.m.
“Laws, of course, were different then, and
people would line up at the Oasis before and
after work,” Tyrrell said.
The bar itself ran the length of the building.
was then renamed Ceg’s. After Ceg’s closed,
Shawn Tyrrell and Chris Kelley bought the
building and opened Knickerbockers.
Tyrrell and Kelley have created a bar that is
fueled completely by the power of music.
The east portion of Knickerbockers was
added four years ago to function primarily as
the “music room.” The room, complete with
another bar and painted flames on the wall,
remains somewhat dark and quiet unless a
band is playing.
Knickerbockers draws in a good number of
acts.
“We bring in about 50 touring bands a
month,” Tyrrell said.
The concerts included memorable shows
by Bo Diddley, Junior Brown and the Flaming
Scott Eastman/DN
Tyrrell said. “Some come play here and
aren’t that big, but then to see their popularity
increase is cool.”
The crowds, especially the regulars, take a
lot of pride in the diverse selection of music at
Knickerbockers. Patrons can hear everything -
country, death metal, mainstream or punk - all v
in a single night.
It is not just the live musig but also the
jukebox that gives a slight pulse to
Knickerbockers.
“We have the best jukebox in Lincoln,” said
Charles Lieurancg, lead singer of the Black
Dahlias and contributor to the jukebox’s selec
tion. “It reflects ^hat Chris and Shawtit, the
owners, think about music. It’s not just top-40
music or classic rock in the jukebox but real
indie classicism ol
albums that first
inspired modern
musicians.”
Bartender
Kristen Mann has
worked at
Knickerbockers for
two years and favors
the “whole gamut”
of music played at
the bar.
“I think we are the
foremost bar in
Lincoln to promote
local music,” she said.
Mann also said the
regulars at
Knickerbockers are “fab
ulous.”
Many of the regulars are
musicians, and many are in
the bands that perform at the
bar, Mann said.
“It’s fun to see a mixture of 18
and-over punk-rock kids getting
along with big, burly electricians and
working-class people,” she said.
One regular, who is also Kristen
Mann’s sister, Kimberly Mann, said she
prefers Knickerbockers to other O Street
bars for specific reasons.
“It’s a very cozy and clean atmos
phere,” Kimberly Mann said. “You can be any
one you want to be, and there are not a lot of
old, weird guys here.”
The simplicity of a single bar, dart boards
and booths are complemented by
Knickerbockers other live attractions.
This year, the bar began the “X vs. Y” con
cert competitions the third Tuesday of eaci.
month. Two different bands and musicians are
chosen for the competition, and local bands
can play up to 10 songs. Then the crowd choos
es the winners.
Kelley said the bar also has seven beers on
tap and called it “a wonderful selection and
good variety.”
Food specials by George’s Red Pepper Grill
bring in crowds for Thursday night 25-cent
tacos, and now new Cajun cuisine is offered on
Wednesdays and Fridays until 9 p.m.
After sitting at the bar and visiting with
people who genuinely enjoy Knickerbockers
for its laid-back atmosphere and music, I
walked back out into the rain with a new appre
ciation for the simplicity of a great bar.
Dancer Gregory Hines taps through Lincoln
By Josh Nichols
-.-1
Staff writer
When one begins to develop a tal
ent at the age of three and continues to
nurture that same talent for the rest of
his life, you would think he’d get tired
of it
Then again, when the skill is mak
ing money at age five, and then it lands
you lead roles on Broadway, in
Hollywood and on television, the
monotony factor may never kick in.
And for tap-dancing maestro
Gregory Hines, it hasn’t.
This weekend, the renowned per
former will tap his way onto the stage
for two performances at the University
of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Lied Center for
Performing Arts.
Bringing with him six musicians
and his own tap floor, the multi-talented
performer said he would sing, dance,
talk and just “try to distract die audi
ence for at least an hour.”
Judging by Hines’ resume, Lincoln
is lucky to get the opportunity to be
“distracted” by Hines, because the guy
keeps pretty busy.
Actually, die New York City native
^ Gregory Hines
Iff j WHERE: Lied Center for
I4J the Performing Arts,
p™ 12th and Q streets
WHEN: Friday and
E Saturday at 8 p.m.
iJ COST: $39, $35 and $31,
£ half-price for students
THE SKINNY: Renowned
C dancer taps onto the Lied
m* stage.
has kept busy tapping his entire life.
At die age of five,he and his broth
er Maurice began touring as die Hines
Kids, doing performances in night
clubs across the country.
The Hines Kids eventually grew
into the Hines Brothers, toured interna
tionally and made frequent appear
ances on “The Tonight Show.” .
After taking a short time off from
dancing that included a move to
California, Hines returned to New York
and broke into the Broadway scene.
“Eubie,” a Broadway hit, landed
Hines his first of four Tony nomina
tions.
Other nomination scoring perform
ances included “Cornin’ Uptown” and
“Sophisticated Ladies.”
In the mid-’80s, Hines broke into
the Hollywood industry.
He was teamed with Billy Crystal
in the 1986 hit comedy “Running
Scared.” The two played irreverent, yet
effective, Chicago policeman.
In 1988, he starred in the film
“Tap,” which combined his acting and
dancing skills.
The movie featured Hines along
side other tap-dancing legends
Sandman Dims, Bunny Briggs, Harold
Nicholas and Sammy Davis Jr. It was
the first dance musical to combine the
art of tap dancing with contemporary ?
rock and other funk music styles.
Hines described his opportunity to
work with one of his idols, Sammy
Davis Jr., as “a dream come true.”
Other notable movies to Hines’,
credit include “White Nights,” “The
Cotton Club,” “Deal of the Century,”
“The Renaissance Man,” “Waiting to
Exhale” and “The Preacher’s Wife.”
In more'recent years, Hines has
made numerous television appear
ances, had his own television show and
has tried his hand at directing.
He said he is getting ready to shoot
a show for Showtime, but in the mean
time is enjoying the opportunity to get
out and perform live.
“I really enjoy performing live,” he
said. “I grew up on the live stage and
have found there is nothing like it.”
He said when he hasn’t been on
stage for a long period and goes to a live
performance, he finds himself envious
of those on stage.
That is why he said another
Broadway performance is conceivable
in die near future.
“I find if a tremendous pleasure to
express myself as a dancer,” he said.
One change Hines said he has seen
in himself as a dancer is that he must
now work harder than he did 20 years
ago.
“As I’ve gotten older, I need to
dance more to stay in shape,” he said.
But for him, he said, that isn’t a
problem.
“You value your skills even more
when you have to work hard for them.”
Hines said it is also a thrill to still be
dancing during a time when tap danc
ing is at its strongest.
'' “There’s so much dancing going on
around the country,” he said. “It is
stronger now than it was in the ’40s.”
He described the young dancer
Savion Glover as the new champion of
tap dance and the best ever.
Glover was influenced and even
learned from Hines.
Charles Bethea, executive director
of the Lied Center for Performing Arts,
said the comments made by Hines
about Glover signifies what type of a
person he is.
Many famous performers, he said,
would not cast such praise onto a next
generation performer.
“He loves being able to pass his tal
ent on,” he said. “He is just a great guy.”
Tf* Bethea saw Hines^performance at
a venue in Arizona in the early ’90s and
has had it in the back of his mind to
bring him here ever since.
“We are absolutely excited,” he
said. “He is completely versatile and
one of the premiere performers of our
time, and, without a doubt, the best tap
dancer of his generation.
“The show is just great and some
thing everyone should be looking for
ward to.”