When people consider San Luis Obispo, many do not think of art as a big part of the city – the gumwall, of course, being a glorious exception. When it comes to the performative arts, music in particular, then we must confess that places are few and far between. The recent discussion sparked by the zoning issue surrounding the Libertine Brewery has revealed a key issue: Places to perform in San Luis Obispo are limited.
While yes, technically, there are many outdoor parks and fields where one can play music as they please, the benefits of playing in an enclosed space, with security and accessible power, cannot be underestimated.
This is why: even if people are not actually thrilled about Libertine or its owner, they still find the benefits that Libertine’s stage and venue provide a strong argument for fighting for it. John Pranjic, manager at Libertine, found that much of the support was personal. “We really like John, so we went up to bat for him,” an anonymous musician said. “Cal Poly has a huge performance arts center for large concerts, and there are plenty of social venues to book, but to jam out, only Libertine has the stage and is downtown, which is where we want to be.”
“It is a great place to get started,” so many bands that made it big out of SLO, they probably started at Libertine, or at least had some big shows here,” Libertine’s sound engineer, AJ Absy, said. This sentiment is likely why support for Libertine was so high on Feb. 23 at the San Luis Obispo City Hall hearing on Libertine’s zoning review, and why so many shared hopes of keeping their music permits late. In fact, it has little to do with Libertine as a business, but rather with the role and niche the venue fulfills.
But this does raise the question: if the Zoning policy did change for Libertine and the verdict went the other way, where else do we go?
The businesses of downtown SLO are comfortable with Libertine as the performance and show bar, but few would be willing to take on the creative risks that Libertine so embraces. “John Pranjic was the only bar that was willing to let me try out standup on the big stage,” local comedian Annabelle Fagan said. “Now I get booked, but when I started, nobody was willing to risk me bombing at their store, but John did.”
This is a mindset we need in San Luis Obispo, as embracing all the young talent can only improve the city’s image and make it even more attractive to prospective college freshmen. Fostering the arts is a low-cost investment that benefits communities and makes socializing easier. As downtown will not expand anytime soon, we must make the most of every venue and not let the few businesses that support the arts be swept away by frivolous opinions. As long as the brewery occupies that small but vital niche alone, then Libertine will get the support it needs, no matter what people think of it.
