Entertainment Notes for January 2004

Bars

The Village is having its Grand Re-Opening Celebration on January 17, and you're invited.

"We're all really excited," says Leslie Clifton, one of The Village's new owners. "The whole process has taken a couple of years."

The Village now has three new owners—Leslie, Bob (who also owns the Zone) and Lou. "Bob and Lou bring an incredible amount of experience and energy to this business." Final closing took place on November 1. The business was formerly owned by Nick Panos.

"We see this as a new era," says Leslie. "We have a lot of new ideas. We'd like to open the downstairs area. We're also thinking that in the future we could have a special dining night once a month, where couples could go out and have a nice romantic evening together and feel comfortable together, hold hands, that sort of thing." Other changes include holding catered events, for occasions like commitment ceremonies.

Changes in décor are also planned, says Leslie. First order of business along those lines: installing new barstools to replace the ones that had, um, seen better days. "We've been joking about charging for rides when people would get up on those old stools," she joked. "We used to say you had to be this tall to get on them."

Some things will stay the same. Brunches will continue, and Sunday hours have been extended. "Obviously there's still a spirit of cooperation between the two bars. We'll continue to have some events together, like Mardi Gras, which seems to work better when people can go back and forth between the two bars," said Leslie. The two bars will maintain their own distinct atmospheres, though. "The Zone is a little hipper and edgier," said Leslie, "And The Village is more comfortable and spread out."

So what's happening on January 17? That was still being planned at this writing, but they plan to have special entertainment and a champagne toast. Sounds like fun!

Music

Leah Zicari made quite a few new fans when she played the opening set at Tret Fure's November 22 concert in Erie. Her new CD Pretty on Thursday is available now, and you can order or sample it (and her other CDs) at her website at www.leahzicari.com

The Divine Miss M—Bette Midler—brings her Kiss My Brass tour to the area next month: January 5 at Cleveland's Gund Arena, January 8 at Pittsburgh's Mellon Arena, and January 12 at Toronto's Air Canada Centre. Midler's first tour in four years also sees her reuniting with Barry Manilow, who was her accompanist and musical director when the two were performing at New York's Continental Baths back in the very early 1970s.

Travel

Since we include a lot of out-of-town travel information in EGN, we've started including road & weather condition numbers and websites for travelers (see article). People who are new to the area—or younger people who have just started to drive—may not realize how intense the weather situation can be in this area. Although it's been relatively mild so far, it's always wise to check the situation before heading out at this time of the year.

Also, if you're heading into Erie or Jamestown for New Year's Eve—especially to the bars—I've listed some accommodations near the bars in case you have a bit too much holiday cheer. If you already know that's the kind of night you have ahead of you, and you have no designated driver, you may just want to make reservations ahead of time. Note that most Erie hotels and motels are located by Presque Isle or past the Millcreek Mall.; the main reason I've listed these particular Erie accommodations is that they are the only downtown locations (i.e., near the bars). Prices, quality, service, room availability and other concerns are beyond the scope of this list, and, to be honest, there is some variety in quality of accommodations. Other accommodations that aren't downtown can be found online or in the phone book.

Downtown Erie accommodations: