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PAGE 20 â€" WATERLOO CHRONICLE, WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 17, 1988 All1 their world‘s a Stage Coral Andrews Chronicle Special Last October, in the heart of Oktoberfest com pah pah, hundreds of people stood in the frigid cold waiting to experience a Big Shiny New Night Spot. e _ It was Walter Ostenak‘s Ziggy, Ziggy, versus Billy Idol‘s Mony, Mony; Ein Prosit versus I‘m With It «2. When Kitchener‘s Odeon Theatre brewed its last batch of hot buttered popcorn and closed its blueâ€"tint doors for good, curious passersâ€"by wondered at the leopard pattern wallpaper adorning the theatre‘s former lobby. A catchy shadowâ€"lettered logo was plastered in previous coming attraction poster frames. Street hype ran rampant. The town socialites are all a buzz at Stages‘ light show extravaganza. Said one shrewd observer, "this is Pink Floyd, without the band." Stages wasn‘t conâ€" cocted overnight and Stages director Dave Ryan has carefully researched and written a script for guaranâ€" teed success. Everyone knew this new live performance palace had three levels. Maybe a miniâ€"Lulu‘s? Then a Kingston connection soon caught every ear, strengthened by the appearance of bold black and white marquee lettering which confirmed the rumor of a likeâ€"named Kingston show bar, as Kâ€"W‘s excitement increased. Still . .. what was it to be?? The operative letter is S, as every night owl now knows. This Big Shiny New Night Club is over five months old, and has triumphed over the dreaded Kâ€"W novelty bar syndrome. Introducing ... Stages, the multiâ€"concept "club". ACT ONE ‘"‘Kingston Stages is my partners‘ place. My involveâ€" ment with that is minimal (Ryan‘s partners are previous Coronet owners/brothers Ross and Glenn Grieve. Ross in Kingston, Glenn, here)," explained Ryan sitting in his plush ivory decor dressing room. ‘"We have a similiar format. Our light and sound show are 50 per cent better than Kingston. Kingston was the test market for the concept. We improved on that greatly. Now we have a market and a show that is second to none in al} Ontario." Ryan, who spent 15 years as a sales manager for Carling O‘Keefe Breweries, had a good idea of the Stages master plan two years ago. After discussing the entire plan with Ross and Glenn Grieve, he loved the idea, but was astonished at the lightning pace of the finished threeâ€"level club reality. $ x _ ‘The response of the public has been phenomenal." f 3: said Ryan "I‘m happy with the way they perceive us, how they support us. We are a relaxed sort of place. We don‘t expect a lot from our customers. We have a » relaxed dress code, in terms of the music we play," said Ryan. The Parachute Club graced Stages last fall, ~CT FoOUunr just one of the many feature acts that have Lots of people treat Stages like home. They are there put Stages on the concert map. every night. Ryan is happy, happy, happy. "Thursday, Scott Gardner photos Friday and Saturday are very good. g{xt something Stages consists of three plateaus. The bottom floor is for serious mingling, outfitted with ample standâ€"up bar space, dance floor tables. Video screens accentuate Dance Central, and side standâ€"up bars. On soldâ€"out nights (and that‘s a regular occurence), it‘s hard to move about. So meeting people becomes compulsory. Just watch your drink, as bustling tunnelâ€"vision types don‘t tend to cry over spilt anything!! The second Stages level is the lounge ‘sweet‘ for those social creatures, and couples who like to have a decent chat without having to fight decibel disc jockeys. Level three offers more tables, and a bird‘s eye view of The Big Fun. Stages was designed by Toronto architect Robert Johnson, and constructed by Design Build Niagara. Time to shed some light on those lights! _ o The "pictor" is an extremely expensive piece of equipment which throws various beams around the room, in addition to strobes, and a lighting fantasia called the Venus, a huge cluster of visual dazzle. The Venus is similar to a miniature space ship as it descends gently toward the dance select. The only thing missing is E.T. Another added much talked about Stages feature are the smoke machines which huff and puff clouds as they create nightâ€"long mists whether you like it or not. For nonâ€"smokers this night fog takes a bit of getting used to, but most Stages mainstays love it. "Our lights are second to none, in the entire nation," said Ryan proudly. "And I would say if not the foremost, then the second foremost . .. I say foremost because I believe they are the foremost lighting show in North America. They were built by Phase III of Toronto, designed by Ron Burke (Phase III have supplied many Toronto and West Coast clubs). Stages bulbs flash and spin to the neon tune of $275,000 and Ryan plans to add even more. Stages boasts every lighting effect imaginable. ‘"Robots" switch a light to any direction in the room, at any specific time. The "main shroud*" lowers and raises at the command of Stages lighting ‘genius‘ Steve Smith, who plays the multiâ€"complex system like a state ofâ€"theâ€"light concerto. Ryan laughed ‘"Those smoke machines are nonâ€"toxic, and we‘ve had the toxic chemical people asking about this. There is nothing toxic whatsoever with those machines." ACT THREE At Stages, you are the concert. You are the centre of attention the minute you hit that dance floor, and that‘s exactly what Ryan had in mind. "I‘ll be very honest. I think having people orthedme floor is our main concern. We :foo sell alcohol here, but when people are dancing they are enjoying themselves." Ryan is staunch in his opinion. When referring to Stages, BAR is the wrong word. o ‘"We are a dance club. We are not a bar. We‘ve spent a lot of money on lights and format. I know people enjoy dancing but I don‘t think it has to be a continual beat mix theory. I don‘t like ‘beatâ€"mixing‘. I‘m not saying it‘s wrong, but I am saying dancers should be offered great alternatives to what they want to dance to." ACT TWO that‘s really surprised me, is how this community has supported Stages Komedy on Tuesday nights. It‘s almost a weekly sellâ€"out. We put a number of people in here to near capacity, with something that no one ever expected in the Twin Cities." Comics have been here before, on the campus circuit, and as occasional opening acts for performers at Centre in the Square. Little Club FM, now again the Back Door, also tried the comedy concept, but the venue was just too small. This talkâ€"ofâ€"theâ€"town club is Ryan‘s whole life, and the jovial individual plans to ‘eat and sleep the place‘ for the next two years, as a partnership commitment. ‘Right now time doesn‘t mean anything. My whole existence is surrounded with Stages. I also have a family. I‘m fortunate. My wife Heidi is very underâ€" standing, and my son Dave is a great kid, who offers to help out at every opportunity. I‘m very thankful for that. They are wonderful people." Stages is bigger, and comics love playing to rather different Stages clientele, from the weekends. When you come to Stages, it‘s a new club every night. Monday is the Lip Synch contest/discover Stages game. Tuesday is Yuks Yuks. Wednesday is Ladies Night ‘with a twist‘, and Wheel of Fortune. Ryan says to find out what that "twist" is, you should check it out. Thursday is traditionally concert night. Friday and Saturday the soundâ€"light phanasmogoric splendor. But the Seventh Stages Day is special. ‘"Sunday, Stages closes all its bars. There is no alcohol seen by anyone as the club presents an evening for teenagers from 13â€" 16. Stages shows the entire light/sound show, non alcoholic business as usual, providing a 99° pop ‘n‘ pizza deal," said Ryan. "The first week I wondered why I did it. 280 showed up. The second week 375, third 410. Now its over 500 and the response is excellent. It‘s a good way to make them feel of age. People under 19 are often regarded as irresponsible, in some instance. I‘ve seen young people here who are very adult. They come here, have a good time, and there are no problems. If it were up to me, I‘d build a club like this just for these kids. I think it‘s a growing market." GRAND FINALE Stages is a club geared to all tastes and pocket books. Ryan and company do their own entertainment thing, no offense to anyone. "Look, anybody who opens a new place is going to affect some one else. But that‘s not our deliberate intention. My goal in operating Stages is to do the best job we can possibly do in this building. If that means that someone else gets hurt, perhaps they should take a look at their own format." Mitchell, David Wilcox, Nash The Slash & FM, Chalk Circle, plus Blue Rodeo, grammy nominee Steve Earle (Feb. 22) and some Toronto acts. The 87 lineâ€"up ... Johny Winter, Roy Buchanan, Jeff Healey, Northern Pikes, and Parachute Club put Stages on the live concert map. ‘"‘There was a quote in the paper that said I felt too secure," said Ryan. Now, I don‘t know how anyone feels too secure. 1 didn‘t feel too secure. I felt my position with Carling O‘Keefe was not what I wanted to do for my life. Stages was a challenge. I‘ve seen a thousand bars in Ontario, and I‘ve never seen a club or ‘concept‘ like Stages. I don‘t feel any more secure now, than I did with a major company. I don‘t feel insecure, here because major companies make big changes all the time. AND THE SHOW GOES ON Possible live acts for 1988 include bar regulars Kim Dave Ryan