Greg Wood

Brock Davis and Emilee Baldwin take in the atmosphere at 4620 Reinvented.

Greg Wood

Regina and Nathan Phillips spend part of a recent evening at 4620 Reinvented.

Greg Wood

Truckstop Coffee performs at 4620 Reinvented.

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KNOXVILLE — ***Editor's note: This is the last weekend 4620 will exist in its current incarnation. Beginning Wednesday, Feb. 3 , it will celebrate its grand opening as Velvet, a premier show club/gay bar.***

Although the Bearden-area nightclub 4620 has been through several transitions, the venue is still around and kicking — for now under the name 4620 Reinvented.

Months ago a friend of mine’s band from Nashville came to town to play a show. “We’re playing at some place called 4620 Reinvented,” he said. “I don’t have any idea what that means.”

The name would definitely be confusing to out-of-towners. Locals knew this former jazz club as the downstairs venue located at 4620 Kingston Pike. Nowadays its title includes the modifier, even if their sign visible from Kingston still reads 4620.

But “reinvented” is a necessary term.

The brick walls in the stairwell leading down to the club are now painted a striking blood red. The carpet has been changed, the walls decorated differently, and colored lights hang throughout the venue. It’s more colorful all around, no longer the soothing, simple setting it once was. The change in scenery smacks you in the face the second you reach the lower level.

Though the décor has changed, the setup hasn’t. The bar itself has always been one of the most striking features, being a soothing light-blue hue with a futuristic aesthetic. This remains, as does the seating arrangement of several very high tables and a handful of booths.

This is all expected — plenty of bars get facelifts. But the most unexpected change: The average age of patrons has dropped 10-15 years.

Back in the days of 4620 being strictly a jazz club, the clientele was mostly in their late 30s and 40s. This is when the place also had a dress code, something that has since disappeared. In past days well-dressed adults sipped martinis and schmoozed to upright bass-driven smooth piano music with sparing drums.

Recently, the club was packed full of 20-somethings with some people in their 30s, but anyone older than that was rare. And instead of the two young female bartenders mixing up an array of martinis for the patrons, they spent most of their time yanking caps off Budweiser bottles which littered the lengthy table in the center of the room.

On a recent Saturday evening local rock musician Matt Woods headlined the show with out-of-towners Truckstop Coffee opening. Matt Woods is no stranger to the local scene, as the crowd indicated, with some even donning T-shirts of his band.

The stage is, well, nonexistent. Bands just play in the back corner of the room, setting up behind two columns of speakers. Directly in front is an open standing area for fans.

Even though 4620 Reinvented has branched out into the rock genre, the sound setup can handle it without blowing out anyone’s eardrums. Talking over the live music isn’t difficult, which it is far too often at other venues.

Right off the bat, opener Truckstop Coffee grabbed my interest. Wearing plaid shirts and jeans, the foursome kicked into some Neil Young-inspired rock ’n’ roll with a slight southern twang. They had a ’90s charm but weren’t cashing in on the novelty, as their lengthy guitar solos exhibited talent.

For only a $5 cover, two local bands rocked the venue for hours with the first show starting about 10:30. The venue was accommodating both with volume level and seating. In fact, I can’t recall going to a local show recently without inconvenience until this evening.

4620 Reinvented has existed in its updated form for a while now, and it’s definitely in its groove these days.