‘Barn Dance’ on the Move

KSCN’s Tuesday night “Barn Dance� concerts will apparently move in mid-August from the Little Nashville Club to the Palomino Club, said the show’s frequent host, Ronnie Mack.

Mack, who hosts the popular weekly show every other week, said he has been told by officials of the Cal State Northridge radio station that the move is “very likely.� A station spokesman would only say the matter is under consideration.

The switch in North Hollywood locations comes, Mack said, because Little Nashville is too small and has a poor sound system. He also criticized the club’s two-drink minimum policy, complaining that both performers and members of the audience frequently have been kicked out for not buying drinks.

Johnnie White, owner of Little Nashville, said he hadn’t heard about the station’s possible move but defended the two-drink minimum. He said Mack brings in friends who only want to listen to music.

“Hell, the whole idea is to make a dollar,� White said, “and if they don’t pay for drinks, what’s the point of being here?�

The point, Mack counters, is to help spread traditional American music and rockabilly, which he claims will be easier at the Palomino. A larger crowd--the Palomino can seat 550, compared to Little Nashville’s 200--will allow more people to be exposed to this form of music, he said. The Palomino has no drink minimum.

Under the new arrangement, he said, Mack would be the show’s host every Tuesday from 9 to 11 p.m. It will be broadcast live on KSCN (88.5 FM).

A BIT OF ENGLISH: English psychedelic folk singer Robyn Hitchcock brings his offbeat stage persona to McCabe’s in Santa Monica on Friday and Saturday.

Hitchcock, 36, often shifts into stream-of-consciousness commentaries on stage, as he did during his March concert in New York City when he polled the audience for its view on fish sticks versus breaded vegetables. The result was mixed.

But when Hitchcock sings, his music is clever and tuneful and filled with pleasant harmonies. He likes to mix up a show, switching between solo acoustic guitar to heavy backup help from his band, the Egyptians. The band includes Squeeze bassist Andy Metcalfe, drummer Morris Windsor, and moonlighting R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck.

There will be two shows each night, at 8 and 10:30 p.m. Tickets are $12.50 for each performance.

RIDING ON A RECREATION: On July 31 at Whisky A Go-Go in West Hollywood, the spirit of Jim Morrison returns. He’ll be played by Dave Brock and his L.A.-based band, Wild Child, which will re-create the Doors sound in a concert.

Brock said he will portray Morrison within certain limits.

“The show won’t be overly tame,� said Brock, 27, “but we’ll definitely take some of the edges off of it. You can’t get too wild and yell obscenities to the audience, like Morrison did.�

Brock got into the business of recreating the Doors when he played Morrison in a rock opera in Los Angeles during the early 1980s. He said the opera fared poorly, but he grew to enjoy playing the mysterious legend.

Tickets are $12 and can be bought at the door. Doors open at 8 p.m.