(Credit: Julie Patterson)

Time Capsule

The Continental Club incorporates the new Austin while preserving the old

By William Bass

Published May 4, 2011

Austin has always been insistent on preserving its own historical institutions: Hoffbrau Steaks, Barton Springs, and The Cathedral of Junk. However, there is one fixture that many students have yet to explore: the Continental Club.

All by itself down on South Congress, the Continental Club is Austin’s oldest music venue. The Continental shucks off all notions of time and trends in music, instead choosing to focus on retro roots, country, rockabilly, and swing.

Opened by Morin Scott in the 1950’s, the Continental was originally a private club. In the 60s, the place showed some leg and became the first burlesque club in Austin. The next decade, the Continental took on its now famous reputation as Austin’s premier live music venue with acts like Stevie Ray Vaughan, Kinky Friedman, and The Butthole Surfers all helping to create the legendary history of the place. Today, the current owner Steve Wertheimer has transformed the venue’s interior into its fifties dress, booking local luminaries, national acts, and everything in between.

Indeed, entering the Continental, one’s senses are immediately flooded with Austin’s musical history — legends watch you from the walls, as you sip from a glass possibly shared by Stevie Ray Vaughn.

“The ambiance is one of the biggest draws,” says Continental Club spokeswoman, Dianne Scott. “Steve [the owner] has made it this sort of retro cool aesthetic inside: It is really kind of an old Austin vibe.”

Moreover, the Continental Club isn’t just another one of the thousands of venues in Austin just looking to get you in the door and out: the Continental is a true club in which, like Cheers, everybody knows your name.

“I think the club part of the name is representative of what the place actually stands for. People there recognise you, know what you like to drink, and want,” says Continental doorman, Tom Grzinich. “It is more like a really loose fraternal organization that is open to everyone than a music venue.”

At the same time, many of the musicians and regulars that can bee seen at the club revere the space almost like a shrine, — a place where patrons and performers alike can forget it all in the now moment of the live music experience.

“Unlike other venues, you see a lot regulars. The place is sort of therapeutic for them,” notes Continental patron, John Pointer. “Likewise, a lot of the musicians that play here share that same experience. They want to play here because of that, even though they might be a little big for the space.”

For many, one of the main draws of the place is the sincerity of the fans and the music. The acts that play the Continental are enthusiastic, and they know the fans want to share in that same vibe.

“Everyone is there to experience the music and have a good time,” adds Grzinich. “People aren’t standing around disinterested, staring at their cellphones, looking for something better to do.”

All in all, the Continental Club seems to have thoroughly carved out its own place in Austin’s music history.

“Steve not only owns the venue but the building also,” notes Scott. “So unless there is a fire, we won’t be going anywhere soon.”

http://uweeklyaustin.com/article/time-capsule-1720/