Thursday, July 01, 1999
Era ends as Ripley's Alive! closes doors
BY :BY LARRY NAGER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Ripley's Alive! is dead. The club, a mainstay of the University Heights scene for more than 30 years, closed after Saturday's show by local band Ray's Music Exchange.
“We were having some financial difficulties and we wanted to go out on top rather than let things get really ugly,” said owner Dan Morris, 30, who bought the venue in January 1997, and added Alive! to the club's name.
The building at 2507 Clifton Ave., near the University of Cincinnati campus, had been a nightclub since the mid-60s, operating as the Pickle Barrel, Collage, Ripley's and, finally, Ripley's Alive!
It was most active as Ripley's and Ripley's Alive!, specializing in rock and reggae and presenting such national acts as Widespread Panic, Adrian Belew, the Verve Pipe, the Why Store, Gov't Mule, Derek Trucks Band, Burning Spear, the V-roys, Inner Circle, Lonnie Mack, New Riders of the Purple Sage, Flock of Seagulls, Bad Brains, Col. Bruce Hampton's Aquarium Rescue Unit, the Mighty Mighty Bosstones and Leftover Salmon. For younger bands on that list, the 400-capacity club was often their introduction to Cincinnati.
It also was home to some of the area's better bands. Three recorded live albums there — psychodots, SHAG and Ray's Music Exchange.
The closing of Ripley's Alive! means the end of live music there. A sale is pending, with plans for a restaurant/bar.
The area has changed, says Mr. Morris, as live music has gravitated to the Main Street entertainment district. “That neighborhood doesn't have a commitment to nightlife anymore.”
Mr. Morris will remain active in the concert business, operating near the Main Street district at the BarrelHouse Brewing Co., 22 E. 12th St. Working with BarrelHouse booker Craig Plummer, he'll present shows through his Dingo Boy Productions. Dingo Boy's first event there is a July 31 date with Merle Saunders.
But the closing of Ripley's Alive! marks the end of an era in campus-area concerts.
“We gave it our best for our three years,” Mr. Morris asserts. “I wish we could have stayed longer.”
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