10.23.1
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ARTS AND FEATURES
I
Rock and roll bar and venue opens in West Asheville
Max Miller
nmiller@unca.edu - Staff Writer
The Mothlight at Mr. Fred’s, a bai‘ and
music venue, opened in West Asheville
on Oct. 9, debuting with shows from
alt-country artist Richard Buckner and
singer-songwriter Angel Olsen on Oct.
11 and 12, respectively.
The shows drew large crowds to
the 250-capacity venue, with Buckner
bringing in around 200 people and Ol
sen selling out. The results were im
pressive for a bar just finding its foot
ing in the tight-knit West Asheville
community, and according to co-own
er Amanda Hency, the opening went
down without a hitch.
“There were good vibes and a good
crowd. It sounded better than we ex
pected it to,” Amanda said. The bar
went smoothly. Everyone was com
pletely understanding of the line, be
cause with a private club there s the
membership factor, so that slowed
things down a little bit.”
Amanda founded the bar with her
husband Jon Hency. The couple moved
to West Asheville from Chicago three
years ago with plans to open a venue.
“We met at a music venue in Chi
cago, the Empty Bottle, which is one
of our favorite music venues in the
world. Jon worked there and I worked
at a different music venue around the
corner, but I always was hanging out at
the Empty Bottle,” Amanda said. “We
eventually hung out and decided that
what we wanted to do was our own mu
sic venue, but not in Chicago.
The Mothlight draws on Amanda and
Jon’s experience as bartenders, arid
serves as a distinctly no-frills venue in
a city where microbreweries serve as
the norm.
“We’re not a craft drink place, we re
a rock ‘n’ roll club,” Amanda said. “We
are a music venue, and that’s what we
take the most pride in, but we’re also
here for everybody in West Asheville
that wants to just have another neigh-
borhood bar.”
The importance the owners place on
their musical reputation can be seen in
the impressive roster of touring acts set
to play at the Mothlight over the next
couple months. From frenetic rockers
like Screaming Females to psychedelic
wanderers like Cave, the calendar has
been deftly filled by Jon, who handles
the majority of the booking, bringing in
touring acts he would like to see.
“There’s definitely a niche to be
Owner Amanda Hency talks with customers in the Mothlight at Mr. Fred’s.
Photo by Beckett Bathanti - Opinion Editor
filled. Fm friends with Angel Olsen,
and that did really well. The Grey Ea
gle couldn’t do Buckner that night, so
it was cool to have another option for
him. And then there’s other stuff that’s
rough around the edges that might not
fit at The Grey Eagle - more abstract,
more psychedelic - that we totally want
to support,” Jon said. “And then there’s
other stuff that might be more artsy,
minimalist or jazzy, maybe like Kayo
Dot or some other acts.”
This niche was left especially gap
ing and prominent when news came
this weekend that the Apothecary, an
independent downtown venue opened
by UNC Asheville students, had lost its
lease and would be forced to close its
doors on Nov. 1.
Frank Meadows, a senior music
technology and jazz and contem
porary music student, co-founded
Apothecary last August. During its ex
istence, it provided local experimental
musicians and artists with a place to
reach the community.
The venue’s founders had been
searching for a new location, includ
ing a location in the River Arts District
that briefly appeared to be a sure bet.
With the notion of moving in mind,
they signed a month-to-month lease
this year. Meadows knew the landlord
was considering renting the space out
to prospective business owners, and
had even been showing the space to
other clients.
See MOTHLIGHT page 17