A few weeks ago my buddy Jon of Lackluster (shameless name-drop) asked me if I wanted to go see Historians play a free show at Oldfields on High. I said, “sure” as I don’t mind Historians and hey, it’s free, ya know?
So we get there and of course it is right smack dab in the middle of OSU’s Senior Crawl. Like my friend Bridgit would say, it was like I was in the middle of an episode of Jersey Shore that continued for hours. Are all college girls whores, or just the ones that go out in public? Ah, but I digress…
We walk in and notice everyone working is wearing Evolved t-shirts. The place also seemed… different, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. Outside smoking a cigarette, I talked to the door-guy and he said the bar was recently bought out and is being renamed, “KOBO.” I asked him why the name change, as Oldfield’s has been around forever and people recognize it. He said he didn’t know but I could ask the owner and pointed out a 14-year old kid moving boxes of beer around.
That 14-year old kid is actually Jacob Wooten (who is 26 years old). He’s a member of the band, The Pinkertone’s and bought Oldfield’s with the owner of Evolved.
To be honest, I was dismayed by the name change and unsure of the direction the place was going to go. However, I’ve changed my mind and think it’s pretty brilliant.
Kobo means an artist’s work space in Japanese. The idea behind KOBO is that Wooten wanted to make a bar that caters to bands, not the other way around. He’s taken down all the beer signs and put up old flyers and posters (many, if not all, seemingly from the old High Five) of local bands. The shit-beer has been taken off the taps and replaced with imports and micro-brews. Sound dampening has been installed behind the stage, and in general, the place looks more cleaned up.
He even took out the cable television! Which is brilliant because even I have found myself being drawn into a T.V. when I should be paying attention to the band on stage.
I think the idea is great, and within 4 years no one will even care that Oldfield’s on High is gone. I wish KOBO and Wooten the best, and I hope to make it back often. check out http://www.kobolive.com for more info on upcoming shows.
In other news, that same night I went skinny-dipping for the first time in my life, met some awesome dudes in a band called, Spruce Campbells (seriously, these guys were sweet), and somehow emailed myself something about a band called, “Barker’s Beauties” which I think may be linked to Spruce Campbells? I have no idea. If anyone can help me out with Barker’s Beauties, I would appreciate it.