This unlikely music venue attracts all kinds.
Locals of all ages come to Cajun two-step
on the large, wooden dance floor. Tourists
generally stand at the protruding half-circle
bar eyeing the dancers. Some patrons just
come to bowl with great background music,
not the usual repetitious drone heard in
more traditional alleys. Rock 'N' Bowl focuses
on regional roots styles, from Cajun and
zydeco to swing and rockabilly.
Don't expect high-tech bowling that keeps
score for you; this is an old score-sheet-and-pencil
kind of alley. A downstairs performance space,
cheekily named Bowl Me Under, hosts special
events and local acts during busy times such
as Mardi Gras and Jazz Fest. Patrons pony
up a pay-one-price cover for unlimited back-and-forth
access to both the alley and the hall below
About
Mid-City Lanes...
New Orleans, Louisiana may be known as the
birthplace of jazz. But the new sound in that
town is called
"Rock ‘N’ Bowl."
There are more than 100 clubs featuring live
music here in the Big Easy, but only one place
to find Rock ’N’ Bowl: the World
famous Mid City Bowling Lanes. While other
centers might stage occasional "rock ‘n
bowl"
type promotions, Mid City Lanes’ owner
has acquired exclusive rights to the Rock ‘N’
Bowl name, and the place is defined by the
concept. Literally, locals and tourists alike
go to this 18 lane center to dance until two
or three in the morning, where the air is filled
with sounds of crashing drums, honking saxophones,
rolling bowling balls and falling pins. Given
this atmosphere, it doesn’t take long
for a bowler to start doing the Twist on the
approach. By midnight or so, the jitterbuggers
start to command the pits. When a familiar
couple waltzes on the bar, regulars smile knowingly.
It’s owner John Blancher and his wife,
Deborah. It’s the signal to the fact
that Rock ‘N’ Bowl, Blancher’s
way is in full swing for another night.
Blancher competes with other music clubs
by offering low cover charges. He seldom
goes above $5 for admission. His real drawing
card however, has been a flair for offbeat
promotions and an obvious love for bad, bowling
related puns. There are, er, leagues of examples.
Mid City Lanes offers free corned beef on
St. Patrick's Day and calls it "Shamrock
and Bowl." Thanksgiving means "Pluck
and Bowl" for a turkey that cries "gob-bowl,
gob-bowl." A benefit for families of
troops stationed in the Persian Gulf was
called, of course, "Iraq and Bowl."
Once Blancher celebrated Elvis’ birthday
by having a local impersonator emerge from
behind the pins in a cloud of smoke. It was
so popular that now he does it twice a year,
on Elvis’
birthday and "deathday."
Team bowling at Mid City Lanes includes
a gay league, a yuppie league, and a mentally
handicapped league, but Blancher discourages
some serious bowlers from coming to a place
that might not be- well, serious enough. "This
will never be a big- league alley," he
admits cheerfully.
"But the recreational bowler loves
it here. People who have never bowled before
come for the music. "Do I have to
bowl?" they ask. Ten minutes later
they’re putting on shoes and the
next thing you see is they’re bowling,
and jumping up and down and screaming about
it."
According to Blancher, the easy-going atmosphere
at Mid City appeals to the first- timers. "The
lights are down and the music’s playing,
so who really cares what your score is?"
he reasons. It’s Blancher's willingness
to experiment with new ideas that has breathed
new life into a historic New Orleans bowling
center.
" If I hadn’t bought it, I believe
these lanes would not be open today," he
says. Judging by the response, New Orleans
is glad they’re open, too. For Rock ‘N’
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