Old Favorites in a New Package

Cafe Voltaire is dead and so is the old Ban-Dar, but long live Cafe Voltaire’s Ban-Dar, Ventura’s newest venue in an old location and now a hybrid of country and original music in a classic dive bar setting. The new place, which can hold more than 200 people, will host its official grand opening gig tonight featuring Jimmy Adams & Friends and rock-star-to-be Jonathan McEuen.

The old Cafe Voltaire, named after a famous French guy, was in the old city bus barn in downtown Ventura, and it was an all-ages venue that featured music seven nights a week in a laid-back atmosphere until its untimely death last summer.

The old Ban-Dar, on Main Street near Five Points in midtown Ventura, had been around for more than 70 years and is the site of the new Cafe Voltaire’s Ban-Dar. It was originally a Big Band dance club opened by a couple of guys named Bannister and Darwin, hence the name.

Purchased in the ‘50s by country music hit makers Johnny and Jonie Mosby, the Ban-Dar was for years the redneck center of the universe, a place where “wahoo” was the prevailing world view.

But under the new regime, there’s no need for the pointy-shoe crowd to ride off into the sunset. The new place will still have live country music Wednesday through Friday nights, but with more variety. The Desperados, who have been the house band for ages and have officially changed their name to Aces & Eights, will play on Wednesday, one of the venue’s big nights (must be that dollar beer).

New country acts on the calendar include the Bum Steers, who will play Saturday night. Mark Insley & Friends (one of whom is guitar god Albert Lee) will be playing in May as will the original Riders of the Purple Sage. And then there’s Jimmy Adams, one of the first acts to play at the original Cafe Voltaire. The transplanted Texan will initiate the grand opening festivities about 8:30 p.m.

A gifted songwriter and one of the nicest people in the hemisphere, Adams is best known for one of the finest California beach songs ever written by a Texan, “I Think I’ll Go Down to the Ocean.” Adams will doubtless play selections from his vast repertoire, plus tunes from his forthcoming third album, “20/20 Vision.”

The Ban-Dar “sort of reminds me of the old Palomino Club--it’s got a good vibe,” Adams said.

The new regime at the Ban-Dar includes partners Todd Winokur, who by sheer force of will created the music scene at the old Cafe Voltaire, and Tamara Coe, one of the original members of the hard rock all-girl band Vixen.

Not exactly the Voltaire II, the new Ban-Dar is a 21-and-over club with a full bar. There’s a large kitchen, so that all that great Voltaire food is already on line. For example, a serving of nachos is as large as a ’58 Chrysler and cheaper too. The venue has a large dance floor, but with an unusually low ceiling, precluding the appearance of any Lakers celebrating an NBA championship, except on their knees. There’s also a separate room with three pool tables, darts and a fireplace.

Winokur, so upbeat he could sell a raincoat to a cactus, likes the possibilities: “We hope the Ban-Dar at Five Points will be the place where the five points of music will come together--country, blues, folk, rock and pop.”

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DETAILS

Jimmy Adams & Friends and Jonathan McEuen at Cafe Voltaire’s Ban-Dar, 3005 E. Main St., Ventura, 8:30 tonight; $7; 643-4420.

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The skateheads at Skate Street continue to provide a viable venue for all-ages shows featuring mostly loud and fast punk rock music. The next gig will be Sunday night with longtime hard-core heroes 7Seconds headlining the $8 show. Local punkers the Missing 23rd and Norcal rockers the Knock Offs are also on the bill.

With a life span much longer than its name would indicate, 7Seconds has been around since the early ‘80s, fronted by the one and only Kevin Seconds.

The band has about 10 albums, plus lots of EPs and seven-inch singles on a variety of labels. The unifying theme of 7Seconds’ music is their steadfast belief in political and social awareness, positive thinking and a drug- and alcohol-free environment.

“I’m no goody-goody,” said Seconds on one of the band’s many bios. “I’m not some guy who thinks he’s going to take on the world and make it a brighter day. I realize how screwed up things are in life, but what are you gonna do? You’ve got to carry on--no one’s gonna do it for you. The only way my life is gonna work is if I make it work, and that’s something we try to put across in our music.”

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DETAILS

7Seconds, the Missing 23rd and the Knock Offs at Skate Street, 1990 Knoll Drive, Ventura, 7 p.m. Sunday; $8; 987-2026.

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Beck, that accomplished and likable weirdo, will headline this season’s second show Thursday night at the tree-lined Santa Barbara County Bowl. Opening will be Latin rockers Cafe Tacuba.

Beck Hansen was born in Los Angeles and became interested in blues and folk at an early age. When he was 18, he moved to New York City and became part of the Big Apple’s “anti-folk” scene. Moving back to L.A. in the early ‘90s, Beck hit it big with his quirky home-recorded song, “Loser.”

No one-hit wonder by any stretch, Beck has created his own sound by combining elements of folk, rock, punk and hip-hop as a backdrop to his stream-of-consciousness lyrics. His 1995 album “Odelay” won the artist a pair of Grammys. His latest is “Midnight Vultures.”

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DETAILS

Beck and Cafe Tacuba at the Santa Barbara County Bowl, 1122 Milpas St., 7 p.m. Thursday; $23.50-$31.50; 962-7411.