Club Essence, 8605 Two Notch Road, 22 December 2009 2 comments
I confess that this story in The State came as a complete surprise to me:
Club Essence on Two Notch Road in Northeast Richland, the scene of nine separate shooting incidents over the past three years, is closed.
Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said pressure from police and neighbors persuaded the building owner not to renew the club's lease.
"Santa Claus came early for this community," Lott said Monday. "This place has been a hell hole."
I had driven past the place many times during the day, noticed the signage with a guy playing saxophone over the legend "Club Essence Jazz Club" and thought to myself "hey, that sounds nice!". I couldn't imagine that jazz would draw much of a crowd and imagined it as a smoky, low-key kind of place. Shows how detached from reality I get sometimes, I suppose.
(Hat tip commenter Matt)
UPDATE 3 June 2010 -- It's now Pandora's Lounge:
2 Responses to 'Club Essence, 8605 Two Notch Road, 22 December 2009'
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24 Jan 10 at 7:00 pm
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I was there the night of the last shooting. infact I held the young man's leg on and stopped the bleeding with a belt while the shooter unloaded a mack 11 dropped first clip and reloaded. all from his blue box Chevy in the road not even man enough to pull in the parking lot. when he was done he pulled up to the stop sign and waited for the police car to make the right turn off two notch the shooter made a left and calmly drove away. you can still see where every bullet he fired at me went around me while I was standing over the victim . 40 yards max . it started at another club and the shooter chased someone to the club he thought. but no they never came there. I truly believe it was more to it and lot saw to the closing his way. victim was a special needs man who was a amazing soft-spoken person who was running the kitchen and taking a order to his customer enjoying just being able to work and feed himself. this is the truth on my life. the club owner and guys working there where good people.
G.jones
28 Jun 23 at 6:02 am
"... The saxophone player was wailing away on the bandstand bringing the rest of the trio along for a wild ride, when the whole room shook with a low rumble that had crept up to the club in a surprise. Lingering for a few thumps, the rumble ended and within moments the side door of the club opened, and a gangsta ambled in as if he owned the place. Almost as if a blatant cliché, the blue steel of his extended phallus was revealed for the whole room to see as he carefully chose a place to sit and preside over his new den. About the time the mighty horn was beginning to play the solo break for John Coltrane's "Giant Steps," the new king stood up and proclaimed that the place was now a rap den and if anybody had any questions, they could ask his homey, and then he pulled his long denim jean jacket open to emphasize his "homey" ..."
from the new book, Jazz In A Cinder Block Palace On Crack Boulevard, by Miles Monk ©2010 Lackluster Press