LONELY
PLANET: SPRINGFIELD
SEARCHING
FOR A PULSE IN THE SECOND CITY
Story
& photos by Chuck Adams
Being sent to Springfield to check out its nightlife
is like being sent to a war in a foreign country; the unknowns and
misconceptions abound. My Eugene peers have only one idea as to what
goes down after sunset in downtown Springfield, and it amounts to
stripping … lots and lots of stripping. And one of my friends
(who only goes to Springfield for cheap dildos, second-run movies
and antiques) promised me I'd get in a bar fight. With all this ominous
weight over my head, I boarded the EmX at Eugene Station, the direct
route between the two cities, in search of some shade of truth.
 |
| Johnny
Wilde at Spirits |
I took the EmX because, let's face it, where else
in the world is it both so fast and utterly free to be whisked between
the downtowns of two mid-size cities? Plus, it drops you off at the
spiffy Springfield Station, at the west end of the Main and A Street
"strip," which is both good and bad. I heard many warnings to the
effect of "Steer clear of Main!" but found that between Pioneer Parkway
and 10th Street, Main is an eerily quiet area with shops, theaters,
cafés, art galleries and public space — all closed for
the evening. As for nightlife, there's Jim's
Landing, offering a lounge setting for dinner
grub and ESPN (a few fellow bus travelers made a beeline for this
establishment, only a block from the bus station). Then there's
the notorious Club 420,
which, upon inspection, turned out to be a rather ho-hum tavern —
albeit a rather large one. Across the street is its Tex-Mex
counterpart Club Rock,
featuring Latino ballads on the jukebox.
Not finding much of note with these bars, I kept walking
east. Five blocks later I hit The Woodsman.
If you need your greasy hangover fix, get it here. Speaking of grease,
across the street is the painfully institutional looking Club
1444. (Both Club 420 and 1444 apparently
couldn't think of names, so creatively opted to use their addresses.)
Yes, it's a strip club and yes, for a joint this seedy looking, there
are plenty of Beemers parked out front. About a block away there's
the classier striptease Phil's Clubhouse,
apparently housed in a former Denny's.
At this point there's a long stretch of road
to get to the next downtown watering hole, Spirits,
so wear good shoes if bar-hopping's your thing. Spirits, a relaxed
biker bar with pool tables, live music and colorful bras hanging from
the ceiling, has an odd sign on the wall that reads "Yes! We serve
liquor!" I ordered a rum and Coke to test the sign's truthfulness,
and sure enough, they served me up a weak (but somewhat cheap) cocktail.
Apparently the assortment of spirits is hidden around a blind corner,
above the kitchen sinks, so customers sometimes forget. Lesson #1
at Spirits: Order beer. Lesson #2: Smoking is allowed, and cigarettes
are dispensed on site. Lesson #3: Wear the best mishmash of REI brand-Native
American-Cowboy-Roadster-wear that you own.
Spirits was happening for a Thursday night.
The Johnny Wilde band was rocking out with an assortment of cover
songs (everything from The Beatles to T. Rex), and the conversations
were turning flirtatious, so around 10:15 pm I made my way back to
the Springfield Station (unfortunately, the EmX's last departure is
at 10:45 pm). On the way I bumped into a man and woman exiting the
Timber Bowl.
Plainly disgusted by the long wait for a lane, the woman complained
to me, "I even slipped 'em a $50 and still no luck!" I stepped inside,
and sure enough, the place was packed, mostly with families. But with
harsh lighting and no bar, it wasn't the place for me. When stripping
falls short, bowling may be the key to Springfield's nightlife.
