YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The stage is set for the first concert at Penguin City Live.
An array of six speakers hangs from the rafters, and a row of woofers sits under the stage.
The lighting rigs are in place, and sound baffling lines the concrete and steel wall sections.
The new venue at the rear of Penguin City Brewing Co., downtown, will see its inaugural show at 7 p.m. Saturday, with tribute bands Live Wire (Motley Crue) and Space Frehley (Ace Frehley). Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door.
The former warehouse space has an industrial aura.
It has been used for boxing matches, vendor sales and concerts many times already. But its rebirth as a concert venue with permanent equipment and improved acoustics starts a new chapter for the brewery – and another source of revenue, the owners say.
The new facility also meets the growing demand for live music venues that can handle 500 to 1,000 people and do not have permanent seating. Penguin City Live is the only room of that size and type in the city’s downtown.
The brewery is spending about $80,000 on sound, lighting and echo-reducing wall insulation for the project.
Another layer of sound baffling pads will be installed along the rear wall as soon as they arrive.
Bathrooms will also be added and should be open by fall. Portable bathrooms will be brought in for Saturday’s show, and patrons can also use the taproom bathrooms.
Aspasia Lyras-Bernacki, co-owner of the brewery, sees the venue becoming popular with veteran acts and also bands on the rise who will need to book larger venues – like Covelli Centre – in the future.
She is already getting inquiries from promoters in Pittsburgh and Cleveland and expects to announce shows by some major regional rock acts in the near future.
The stage is 3 feet in height but can be elevated to 4 feet, making visibility better for folks in the rear of the hall at shows that are at full capacity.
Turning the high-ceilinged space into a concert hall took some trial and error.
Jesse Fellows of Slingshot Media Services was in charge of sizing up what was needed. He handles sound equipment at the brewery and has learned from past shows.
“He had a really good idea of all the speakers and lighting that he wanted,” said Richie Bernacki, co-owner. “A good test run was the Gil Mantera’s Party Dream show [in the same room last August]. He brought in his own sound equipment for that one and was able to see how everything sounded and how to improve upon it. The six-speaker hanging speaker array is something he decided would work out really well here.”
Each speaker has been pointed to deliver maximum sonic quality for those in the audience and angled slightly toward a rear garage door so the sound dispersion doesn’t reflect on the side walls too much.
“When the sound hits the insulation on the back wall, we actually have more sound proofing and dampening,” Bernacki said. “It should all sound really nice.”
Because of the speaker array’s height, patrons near the front of the stage are not within its sound path. To compensate, smaller amplifiers have been placed on the stage floor to provide sound for fans in that area.
The power of the new music venue goes beyond its size and sound system. With its steel and concrete construction, it has the edgy look that many new venues had to pay to create.
“It has that aesthetic,” Lyras-Bernacki said. “It feels elevated.”
Pictured at top: Richie Bernacki and Aspasia Lyras-Bernacki on the new stage at Penguin City Live. The two, who are married, own the brewery.