10.23.1 1 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

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