The Hole Hootenanny

With the number of weeks shrinking before June 30 raises its ugly head, the gang at the Hole in the Wall is becoming increasingly frazzled, and it's no secret why. The only real question is which is more frustrating -- knowing or not knowing. What they do know is that on June 30, the Hole's lease runs out. What they don't know is what happens after that day. "[The owners] only have to give us 30 days notice, of course," says Hole card Debbie Rombach, "but I'd hoped we would have heard something by now!" Things don't look good for the beloved local venue, with no clear plan of action in place and rumors being born "on a weekly basis" according to Rombach. All one can do for now is support the club by attending as much of the "30 Days in the Hole" as one can stomach. That runs from Wednesday, May 15, through June 15, with confirmed or expected bands including the likes of Free Range Bastards, Damnations, 2 Hoots & a Holler, Orange Mothers, Hickoids, Shoulders, Young Heart Attack, Meat Purveyors, Chaparral, Alejandro Escovedo, and other possibles such as Jimmie Dale Gilmore. Things kick off next week with a "Britney Spears and Friends" Hoot Night. There will be two more Hoots (and plenty more hollers) over the following 30 days, including the "Stars That Fell From the Sky Hoot" (air crash fatalities), and "Wretched Excess" (musicians who died from overdoses or overdoing it). "Ricky Nelson songs are allowed at both," says Rombach, "since he was freebasing when his plane went down." If we only knew a few more details, Aaliyah might have made it into all three!