Standing outside with the smokers between bands at Eclipse Records last Friday night, 24-year-old friends Laura Smith and Sheryl Posthumus remembered what the St. Paul record store meant to them when they were still underage.
"It was kind of a gateway into the music world for us," said Posthumus.
Smith had a less meaningful but no less important memory of it: "It was just somewhere to go."
Four years since it last hosted a band, and a year since it reopened in its new home at 1922 W. University Av., Eclipse finally got back in the live music business last weekend, bringing a much-needed all-ages music venue to the Twin Cities.
But even as Eclipse had excellent bands and a new stage and even an actual sound man lined up last weekend, the one thing the store didn't have much of was customers under age 21. "We're going to have to reintroduce ourselves to a whole new audience of underage fans," admitted Eclipse co-owner Joe Furth.
Eclipse used to be housed in a strip of businesses near Macalester College, too close for comfort to a residential neighborhood. Furth successfully fought a cease-and-desist order from the city based on neighbors' complaints in 2003, but he couldn't fight his landlord a year later.
The new location remedies the old problems. It's in a mostly residential-free business area and has ample soundproofing. The city of St. Paul gave Eclipse a STAR grant to get up and rocking again, and Mayor Chris Coleman has pledged his continued support.
St. Paul and Minneapolis need all-ages venues like Tom Cruise needs Oprah. Since Eclipse closed, Minneapolis lost TC Underground, the Toybox and the Quest's Ascot Room.
