Goin' crazy: Asylum

Whether it was seeing Rustic Overtones or Vermont jam band RAQ, most of Southern Maine’s “going out” crowd has been to a show at Asylum. They know it as a mid-sized venue that grabs high-profile local and national acts. Bill Kespert, the bar manager at Asylum, readily admits the nightspot’s first responsibility is to concertgoers.

“For the most part we are known for our venue, for live acts,” Kespert says, referring to the excellent 700-person concert hall located upstairs in the Asylum complex.

But in addition to a place to catch rock bands, the Asylum offers much more.

So why is the average person unaware of all the entertainment options there?

For one thing, the exterior of the building is Etch A Sketch. It looks like a rough and tumble place, though it is quite clean and devoid of sketchballs. Also, other than concerts, other options at the bar aren’t well promoted, even in terms of signage on the building.

Few people in my circle know anything about Asylum beyond its status as a venue (one quip from a coworker: “Is that place a sports bar? Because the people coming out don’t look very sporty!”).

Frankly it is a little confusing that there are different spots in one building, though with the right marketing this could be a huge advantage. Perhaps presenting the building as an entertainment complex with three distinctly-named areas would help attract people to the diversity of entertainment options.

The concert venue is just beautiful. There is ambient lighting, including eerie, sparkling stars on the ceiling, and there are sparse but tasteful decorations. The stage is large for a small venue but allows for very intimate shows: I can tell Asylum was created 10 years ago with music in mind.

Due to the temporary closure of the sports bar, this venue area is the place to grab some food and chill out during the day and early evening, but apparently word is not out. There was one other person there when we arrived at 8 p.m., and he left shortly after. A couple drunks rolled in and were rolled out as quickly as they arrived due to their slurred speech.

So it was just us in this monstrous room, a rare occurrence during my trips to the city’s many nightspots. Maybe because the sports bar is closed people think the whole building is out of commission?

At 9 p.m. the upstairs closed and the festivities moved downstairs, where DJ Uncle Al (or King Alberto, as he requested to be called) was spinning some seriously awesome funk music to no one in particular. The basement had less drinking options than upstairs (only PBR is on tap) and is reminiscent of a college frat party, except cleaner and with much better music.

From 9 p.m. to 11:30 p.m., the PBR drafts are just $1.50, an attempt, our bartender told us, to lure people to Asylum earlier than the usual busy time at midnight.

This tactic doesn’t seem to be working. Two middle-aged winos stumbled in around 9:30 p.m. and yelled “The Portland boys are back in town” at us. Said Portland boys' hometown reunion was short: they were kicked out seconds later. It wasn’t until 10 p.m. that people started trickling in to dance, which is a shame.

Young people want a place that has good music, cheap drinks and a dance floor. Asylum meets that criteria, and has a fun-loving and professional staff to boot (they knew what to do with rowdy drunks). A group of friends can have the dance floor to themselves before 10 p.m., which some girls took advantage of as they goofed off on the dance floor.

“It’s not like there’s anyone here to judge us,” one said, giggling, as she watched her buddies wiggle semi-rhythmically on the empty dance floor.

Skip the upstairs unless there’s a show you want to see (Rustic Overtones play there April 25-26) and wait until the sports bar reopens if you want to visit Asylum before 9 p.m. But get your goofy, c-walking friends together and head to the basement at 9 or 10 p.m. to discover a good time with excellent music. No pregaming needed; stiff well drinks are just $2.50.