Patrons applaud new concert venue on opening night
Country and Americana musician Rob Baird, who headlined a free concert Saturday night at Stable Hall, gave the new concert venue at Pearl high marks.
“I just love this place,” Baird told the capacity crowd near the start of his 90-minute set. “I’ve been here all day and I don’t want to leave. Can I just stay here?”
Patrons felt the same way on the opening night for the venue, which occupies the building that once housed the events space Pearl Stable.
“It’s remarkable, what they’ve done with it,” said Sandra Castille, who danced through the evening with her husband, Jason.
Both praised the sound for sets by Baird and opening act Angel White.
“That is a must, because if you go to the Alamodome, you go to the AT&T Center (now the Frost Bank Center), it’s kind of muffled,” Jason Castille said. “But this being a very exclusive venue, it sounded phenomenal.”
The couple was joined by about 1,000 other folks who snapped up every ticket available to the show. The main draw for many was the chance to be among the first to check out the space, so a fair amount of the conversation in line was about whether there would be seating inside — there is, on the balcony — and who, exactly, was going to play.
Some also chatted about upcoming shows they’d either already bought tickets for or were looking forward to seeing.
W. Brandt Wood, Stable Hall’s executive producer, took a few minutes before the barn-like doors opened to say thank you to those who had turned out.
“You’re our first crowd,” he said during a quick appearance on the plaza.
Once inside, staffers greeted patrons warmly, taking the time to point out the restrooms. They also guided them to the stairs and the elevator leading to the balcony, which swiftly filled up.
They directed them to the bars, as well.
“We’ve got bars everywhere,” one said near the top of the stairs.
On the first floor, several people spent the time before the live music started snapping selfies in front of the curtain.
The name of the new space is a nod to its original purpose. The round brick building near what is now the Asian/peruvian fusion restaurant Botika was constructed in 1894. It originally was a stable, home to the draft horses that hauled Pearl Brewery’s suds in the days before motorized vehicles took on that job. Some of the artwork inside, including an enormous painting of a horse in the lobby, references that past.
It took about three years to transform the building into a concert space intended to evoke classic Texas dance halls.
There were a handful of events leading up to the opening to test things out, starting with a party for Pearl staff Tuesday night.
Musicians broke in the stage at an invitation-only show Thursday night. San Antonio native Rosie Flores and her band, the Talismen, were the first to play, tearing through a blazing set that included several songs referencing her childhood here, including “Bandera Highway.”
“This is a historical night, you guys,” Flores said from the stage. “Happy Stable Hall, everybody!”
The plan is for Stable Hall to spotlight Texas artists, and that was reflected on Thursday night’s bill. After Flores, Emily Gimble and her band zipped through a set of lively Texas swing, and then two first-rate cover bands played. The Texases played classic country tunes, with the lead singer requesting “the sexiest lights you’ve got” before singing George Strait’s “Nobody in His Right Mind Would’ve Left Her.”
The Rolling Stones cover band the Charlie Watts wrapped things up, ending the night with a fiery extended take on “Miss You.”
On Saturday, White and his band of “Texas guys and gals” kicked things off, ripping through an energetic set of hardcharging country infused with rock ‘n’ roll and the blues.
The charismatic singer-songwriter described the space as magnificent and expressed gratitude for the chance to play on opening night.
“You can say a lot of words, but thank you does all that it needs,” he said.
When he said goodnight, there were calls for him to play more, but he demurred.
“It’s fine,” he said. “We’ll be back here. You gotta get ready for Rob.”
As he left, one audience member said, “I wouldn’t want to follow that guy.”
Baird, a Tennessee native now based in Austin, brought a somewhat quieter energy to the room, moving through a 90-minute set laced with stories that inspired the songs he played.
The audience started thinning out at around 10 p.m., two hours into the music. That freed up some seats in the balcony.
It also created more room downstairs for folks to dance a little more expansively than they’d been able to when it was more densely populated.
Like the musicians, the Castilles said they will be back. And they said they’d already reached out to friends, letting them know they should check out Stable Hall, too.
“We loved it,” Sandra Castille said.