Middle C Jazz brings activity to Charlotte’s live music in the COVID era
For anyone who has experienced a live concert, it’s not just about listening to the music. Rather, it’s about feeling it.
That’s especially the case for Larry Farber, owner of ‘Middle C’ Jazz club. Reopening on May 28 for the first time since the coronavirus shut everything down in March was music to his ears.
“When the first notes rang out upon reopening, I can honestly say that music never sounded so pure, so powerful and so healing,” Farber said. “It was like I had been on a 90 day fast and just tasted my favorite food again. It had been the longest period of my life without live music.”
Just because his musical fast is over, doesn’t mean the entire live music industry in Charlotte still isn’t on life support. Most venues remain closed.
The day the music died
Middle C Jazz, named for the note at the center of a keyboard, is the lifelong dream for Farber. The 69-year-old opened the club last November at 300 South Brevard St. in uptown Charlotte in the shadows of the NASCAR Hall of Fame. By mid-January, most of the shows were sellouts, with a list of paid members twice as many as the intimate 200-seat venue.
As the coronavirus went from a concern overseas to a global pandemic, the club and jazz crowds kept growing. Then, COVID-19 shut everything down.
“As a business owner, seeing Middle C close during the pandemic was stressful knowing our last weekend open in March set records for revenue,” Farber said. “As a musician, I feel the personal pain all our artists are suffering without a platform for live performances. And, as a music lover, there has been a personal emptiness, a loss that hurts deeply.”
Farber found himself in better shape than most small businesses, having prepaid rent for two years. Other music venues, like the Neighborhood Theatre and Visulite, turned directly to fans for support.
New life for live music
While most music venues in Charlotte remain quiet as COVID restrictions remain in place, that’s not the case for Farber’s club. Since Middle C is licensed as a restaurant, the venue was part of Phase Two of North Carolina’s reopening plan. The smooth sounds of jazz once again filled Middle C, but things looked much different.
“We consulted with a number of advisers, legal experts and city leaders before going forward with the decision and then completely transformed our club to accommodate new COVID readiness protocols, which include electrostatic spray disinfectant, extremely reduced club capacity, socially distant seating, mandatory face masks for staff and guests, temperature logs, hand sanitizer stations, Plexiglas barriers and more,” Farber said.
The response was extremely positive from fans who returned to the club, he added.
Here are just a few of the comments on the club’s Instagram page:
“Great night last night and thanks so much for all the precautions you are taking. We felt very safe and comfortable,” PM Kinney wrote.
“Went last night and have to commend you guys on doing a GREAT job in setup & procedure. Kudos on a job well done, felt totally safe,” Curtis Watkins wrote.
“The safest I’ve ever felt! Hand sanitizer on arrival. Temperature check. Wanded head to toe with a germ killer. Tables six feet apart. Doors open,” Stacee Michelle wrote in an Instagram story.
While reopening under COVID conditions is a labor of love for the club owner, the reduced capacity is a temporary Band-Aid.
“We are in survival mode, and it is not a sustainable business model,” Farber said. “We went from selling 200 for a full venue to allowing only 50 tickets with expanded outdoor patio seating. We are operating in the red.”
The new ‘live’ experience
Shortly after closing in March, Middle C rolled out Notes from Middle C, an interactive live performance streamed live on Facebook starring Noel Freidline and Maria Howell. Thousands of viewers watched the live shows over the next four months. The shows used a single camera in a home “venue.”
Now, the club wants to take livestreaming of concerts to a new level. It installed what’s called “Blackmagic” equipment, four high-quality cameras with multiple angles using the highest quality sound.
The goal is to give people a club experience in their own homes.
“We are hopeful for a safe return to the live music gatherings we all love and miss, but we don’t see that finish line on the horizon any time soon, so we had to move fast,” Farber said.
“Clubs across the country are deploying livestreaming as a way to keep the music alive for the foreseeable future, and we are extremely proud to have rolled out the offering at our club. You’ll be watching a high-quality, professional production. Most of the music world is streaming now. We just want to do it better.”
The additional revenue stream will also help the club during these lean times with limited in-person seating capacity.
Middle C’s livestream debut will be for this weekend’s Bobby Broom performances. Prices range from free to $10, based on performers.
Saving Charlotte’s live musical soul
The live music industry in Charlotte, and everywhere for that matter, is struggling. That’s why more than a dozen venues, including Middle C, joined the Charlotte Independent Venue Alliance to navigate this uncertain time together as an industry.
“The coalition is working together to help venues prepare to open responsibly so that we can preserve Charlotte’s local music culture. This includes surveying music fans to learn what they’ll be looking for when they return to music venues, exchanging operational solutions and just supporting each other during an extremely difficult time,” Farber added.
For Farber, he’s not only a venue owner, but a musician. He will take the stage himself this Sunday to reunite with some of his favorite musicians at the Middle C
“I promised myself this gift upon reopening,” Farber said.
For most people in the industry, it’s not about the money or fame. It’s simply about the music.
“Music will always find a way. It’s a universal language, expressing a full range of emotions from joy to sadness, and it brings people together in the most trying times,” Farber said. “We need music, now more than ever, and Middle C will continue to adapt and innovate to keep the music playing.”
This story was originally published July 9, 2020 at 10:13 AM.
