An investor hands you a wad of cash to open a bar/music venue of your own creation, what will you call it? What would it be like? And what sorts of acts (and patrons) would you hope to attract? Dream big, people.

@Milk - George Lucas would possibly sue you.

Because he can be kind of a fucker that way.

I was just watching a special on PBS about the old Barbary Coast and the joints you'd find along it during the gold rush days and learned a new word, "melodeon."

MELODEON
Noun

1. A music hall.
2. A kind of small reed organ; -- a portable form of the seraphine.
- Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) -

In my 2007 MW dictionary the only definition for "melodeon" I could find was for a small reed organ, which means its previously popular definition has fallen out of favor, sadly. That said, I'd like to open up a bar in a place that used to be an old music hall from the the early 20th century and remodel it to its former glory, and I'd name it The Melodeon. I think it will have to have a very deep stage for bigger bands/orchestras and occasional plays, a large projection screen for movies/telecasts/fucking Powerpoint presentations, as well as karaoke setup for Monday night karaoke.

I love the atmospheres of the House of Shields, the Gold Room, Bourbon & Branch and the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco, but I want to translate that experience to a bigger space without losing that sense of intimacy and delving into the past.

There is no ideal crowd, really, but I think different nights will attract different people. Musically speaking I'm a big fan of electronica, rock and indie rock (whatever that means anymore), but I love jazz and classical, too. So long as you pay your tab and you're not an asshole, you'd be welcome.

I'd call it the Brown Note.

Both as a spoof on the world-famous Blue Note in New York and as an inside "our music is so awesome, you'll lose control of your bowels" joke.

(See Mythbusters)

whatEVER... the INVESTOR would block you at every turn and want to make into some shitty bar that only attracts yuppies who don't mind paying $10 for a jack and coke. You would do all the work and have absolutely no say.

oh sorry, I'm cranky today.

Crepuscule

It would be a vaudeville theatre with a wicked lobby. The Lobby would be all red velvet and black chandeliers and would act as a regular bar even when there wasn't a show playing. The art work would be all modern pin-ups/fetish models.

The theatre would show burlesque (of course), actual plays, and bands. Fetish shows/ side shows/ and circus acts would also be encouraged to show at my venue.

It would be a smallish house (max 550 seated), with wooden seats and velvet cushions.