Tony Bennett performed at the Bijou in November of 1994.
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Tony Bennett performed at the Bijou in November of 1994.
I’d rather see a concert at the Bijou Theatre than anywhere else in town. The sound is great. The seats are comfortable. Even in the back you feel like you’re close to the artist onstage, and for patrons of my generation there’s still just a hint of something forbidden about the place.
My first memories of the Bijou are not as Knoxville’s premier concert venue but a mysterious den of sin. As a kid, I’d see newspaper advertisements for “adult” and “art” films screened at the Bijou. While the Tennessee Theatre might be screening “The Jungle Book,” the Bijou might be advertising “Play Pen Girls,” “Nudist Camp Antics” or “Cold Nights and Hot Women.”
While I was imagining, future Knoxville Mayor Randy Tyree was getting an eyeful. On Nov. 13, 1968, in his capacity as city intelligence officer, Tyree watched the color feature “A Man With Eight Girls” at the Bijou. His review of clearly “not art” led to the arrest of the 22-year-old Bijou assistant manager for showing obscene material.
On trips downtown my mother steered us clear of the building telling me “that’s where they show dirty movies” and word was from other folks that you needed to bring two sticks into the Bijou with you — one to hold up your seat and another to fend off the rats.
By the time I actually got inside the Bijou, it was being rehabilitated from its life of debauchery into a place where you could bring your family. I think the first actual concert I saw at the Bijou was Mary Travers in 1980. I was working at the McDonald’s across the street. Mary was pretty good, but it was the Bijou that made it special. I wondered if the folks who’d visited it as a porn theater had taken time to appreciate those little gold cherubs resting over the boxed seats. They are naked after all.
From that point on I was a regular at the Bijou and the experiences were sometimes revelatory.
I saw John Hartford and the Dillards. The show had been terrific in itself, but before it was over reclusive banjo icon Earl Scruggs stepped out onstage for a surprise jam.
I saw Chet Atkins at the Bijou. It was the first time I really understood why he was such a great artist. Rather than just appreciating Atkins’ technicality on the guitar, that night, Atkins revealed himself as a soulful player. And when he sang “Would Jesus Wear a Rolex” (which he co-wrote) the audience saw a side of Atkins that was rarely celebrated.
I was reviewing concerts for the News Sentinel by the time I saw Buddy Rich and his band in 1986. I went backstage to ask Rich the name of the songs he had played during the first set. Sitting alone by the curtain, Rich sneered at me. Brushing me off, he waited until he was onstage again to announce the titles from the first set.
That same year the now legendary (and much friendlier) acoustic supergroup New Grass Revival presented probably the best show they ever played in Knoxville — even goofing with a bluegrass version of Prince’s “Purple Rain.”
In 1988, bebop co-creator Dizzy Gillespie wowed a packed house with his trumpet chops, his improvisational creativity and his pure charisma. I don’t think anyone could forget hearing Dizzy sing “Swing Low, Sweet Cadillac” and seeing his beaming smile that night.
There were only 250 or so of us there in 1987 to witness a concert by modern classical composer Steve Reich. It still ranks as one of the most surprisingly moving shows I’ve ever seen.
Before the Bijou had a new heating and air conditioning system installed, the comfort level of a show could be dicey. In the early 1990s, I watched jazz saxophone great Joe Henderson blowing into his hands to heat his fingers up between solos on a particularly cold night. The musicians could all see their breath. In contrast, cult rock act the Replacements came through town on the band’s final tour on a hot night in May. Each time singer Paul Westerberg raised his arms a stream of sweat poured from his shirt sleeves onto the stage. Yet both shows were amazing.
Things were far more comfortable when Tony Bennett performed at the Bijou in 1994. At one point Bennett sang a number without amplification, letting the audience appreciate how sweet the natural acoustics of the Bijou are.
In 2006, the Bijou reopened after a two-year renovation and began again to present some amazing shows. Last year, Henry Rollins gave a three-hour-plus spoken word performance that was extraordinary. Randy Newman gave the sort of sweet, intimate, funny show that would have not been the same in any other venue. Now with WDVX’s terrific live radio broadcast “Tennessee Shines” selling out at the Bijou each month and the Big Ears festival bringing international fans of progressive music to the hall, the Bijou is enjoying a new glory.
And only some of us know we’re sitting in a theater where the pleasures were once forbidden.
© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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Comments » 2
earlofsandwich writes:
What a wonderfully written article. I enjoyed it immensely. The Bijou and the Tennessee two of Knoxville's best treasures. I've enjoyed many shows at the Bijou, but none before the current renovation. I especially enjoyed hearing about a number of performances that stood out for you.
WayneBledsoe writes:
Thanks, Earl. There have been lots of others, but those are ones that came to mind easily. I'd like to hear which ones stood out for you.
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