These are just some of my musings on one of the newest up and coming venues in town.
Circa 76 is located at 1910 W. 3rd Street. It's easy to miss, but if you ever went to The Italian Couple, you could find it easily. Anyways, the store is located in a place easily accessible to people from all different parts of Little Rock. It's literally a couple blocks away from the State Capitol Building so that shows you how centrally located it is. It's not the largest place, but it has a pretty decent selection of vinyl, cds, and cassettes. The other thing that amazes me to no end is that Joey, the owner, has a good selection of music from local musicians. I'm glad to see the support is there for them.
This record store is multi-faceted. While it serves to sell and trade music, it also boasts a place where bands can practice and play shows. I believe Joey might have some recording equipment as well, but that's the one fact I'm not sure of. Nonetheless, this place seems to be a jack of all trades.
I've been there several times now and have caught a few shows. The one thing that truly stands out in my mind is that it is an honest to goodness all ages venue. I went there this weekend to catch Magic Hassle and there were several kids there under the age of ten. I thought that was ridiculously cool, and I'm glad there is a place that doesn't exclude anyone based solely on age. Each show that I've heard about tends to book a local act or two and then a touring one. I don't know if that's the strict formula for all the shows, but it seems to be working. Cover is usually a reasonable $5 and the shows are fun. You never know who you'll see down there and that's half the fun of things.
I sincerely hope this place stays open for the long haul. It's nice to have another record store in town. I like getting away from White Water and the places in the heart of downtown and Circa 76 offers a great alternative to everywhere else. So keep up the good work Joey, and I encourage everyone to check it out, even if it is only to buy a record or just go to a show. I believe they'd be happy to have anyone stop by.
For a list of upcoming shows you should go to their home page. Read up on the place and most importantly have fun there. It's laid back and a nice departure from the humdrum, every day, normal life.
--L
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