For the past three decades, the space at 2265 West 84th Avenue has held various incarnations of Babe's: Babe's on the Hill, Babe's Country, House of Babes and, most recently, Babe's Restaurant and Lounge. But the Babe's brand — which drew a sometimes dicey clientele — was finally put to rest on February 1, when longtime manager Glen Stevens transformed the spot into a live-music venue called the Take 5 Tavern. "We're getting a whole new crowd," he says. "We made money off it for a while. It got kind of dangerous there. We were the number-one club for drug busts before they even got in the door. Most clubs don't care, but we do. We don't want that shit in here."
Years ago, Stevens recalls, one of the Babe's did feature live music — but then the venue went with Top 40 DJs instead, and the stage was turned into seating. Now he's put in a new stage, complete with revamped lighting and sound systems. For now, Take 5 is booking '80s rock bands Thursdays through Saturdays, but Stevens says he'll mix up the music more in the future. He also plans to add karaoke in the next few weeks and add other events, since Take 5 is open seven days a week. "We're just going to be trying out a little bit of everything," Stevens says.
Rock cover band Crimson Sky plays the venue this weekend; Five13 takes the stage next weekend.
Club scout: The Stringray Lounge has sputtered to a halt at 2911 West 38th Avenue. When owner Leigh Jones gets it back in gear this week, the space will be known as Coop de Ville. And while some things will remain the same — the automotive theme, for example, and the tater tots that first became famous at Jones's Horseshoe Lounge — the pizzas will have been left by the side of the road. Instead, the Coop de Ville will focus on homestyle comfort food, offering such dishes as chicken and mashed potatoes.
The folks behind Beauty Bar and Derbyville rollerskate shop have teamed up for Down & Derby Roller Disco: Hair Metal Edition at the Exdo Events Center (1399 35th Street). The skating party that brings back the glory days of '70s roller disco is held on the third Friday of every month; on February 17, Beauty Bar resident DJs Double Trouble and Mike Disco will be spinning hair-metal dance remixes alongside classic '80s videos. Roller-skate rentals are $5 on a first-come, first-served basis, and the cover is $15 ($10 pre-sale RSVP) for ages eighteen to twenty and $10 ($5 pre-sale RSVP) for ages 21 and up.
