By Susan Dickson
Staff Writer
For the last 15 or so years, Carrboro institution Cat’s Cradle has looked much the same as hundreds of thousands of visitors and musicians have crossed through the venue’s doors.
Tonight (Thursday), Cradle visitors will have the opportunity to see a somewhat new-and-improved rock club, with a free show by The Old Ceremony to celebrate those changes.
“There’s been a lot of things that over the course of the last 10 years I have picked up just working with other venues that I felt like could be improved on here at the Cradle,†said Frank Heath, who co-owns the club with Billy Johnson.
Visitors will first notice a new entrance to the club, along the right side of the building.
“The way it’s been set up for 15 years is so people walk by the stage when they walk in, which is not ideal,†Heath said. “I think it’s going to change the dynamic of how the crowd is able to watch the shows, because there won’t be this constant disruption of people walking in.â€
Heath said he also hopes the club will be able to add 100 people to its capacity by installing sprinklers. The sprinklers are already in, but he’s awaiting final word from the fire marshal before officially changing the capacity, which is about 600.
“In general, we have a good number of shows that sell out here, so a lot of these shows we could probably sell another 100 tickets to,†Heath said. “We’d be able to increase our revenues, increase the ability of people to see shows – everybody would win.â€
Other renovations include changes that Heath hopes will increase the amount of usable viewing space in the Cradle.
“We’ve added 6 inches to the height of the stage so that people can see better from pretty much anywhere, and especially the shorter among us will benefit from that,†he said. “In any club, it’s sort of a challenge to find the right spot, and that will hopefully help.â€
In addition, staff removed a number of risers from the club, increasing the open space and hopefully the free flow of movement. Other changes include some fresh paint and improvements to the floor and sound system.
Heath said the staff will observe over the next few months how the changes affect the flow and viewing experience at the club, then probably make a few more improvements accordingly.
Although the planned 300 East Main project – which includes the redevelopment of properties extending from the intersection of Main and Boyd streets near Nice Price Books to the present municipal parking lot on the corner of Main and Roberson streets – is set to begin within a number of weeks, Heath said he wanted to go ahead with the improvements because it is unclear exactly when the part of the project that includes the Cradle will begin. Developers have indicated that phase of the project could begin as early as late 2012 or early 2013.
“It seemed like the right time to do it, regardless of timing for the project,†he said. “The area is just so vibrant now and I feel like the music scene, the local scene as well as the national scene … deserves to have the production setup that they need to put on the best show.â€
“I think that [the upfit] will give us a better opportunity to land some of the shows that historically, over the past 10 years, have gone to some of the college auditoriums,†he added.
The Cradle – which is 41 years old – has been in its current space for 18 years, and Heath said he wants to stay at 300 East Main, even as the property is redeveloped.
“The vibe of Carrboro and the vibe of this two-block area I think is about as welcoming as you can expect from the environs of a rock club. We’re pretty happy about the way that things generally unfold for the bands when they show up here,†he said.
Tonight, Heath hopes community members will come out to the Cradle to check out the improvements and The Old Ceremony – “a warm and fun band with a lot of great local ties,†he said.
The show starts at 9 p.m.; doors open at 8.