Fast N’ Loud Loves This Bar

Peter Ore, a former Live Nation exec and promoter at Soda Jerk Presents, is also a partner in a soon to open venue in Dallas called Gas Monkey Live! 

The venue takes the place of Toby Keith‘s I Love This Bar, which occupied the building for less than a year. Ore and his partners are reopening it in October as Gas Monkey Live! Yet, even though the I Love This Bar didn’t make it, the Gas Monkey folks have no worries about their venture.

Ore was hesitant to dissect the previous business, but he told Pollstar that the main difference was that I Love This Bar was mostly a restaurant with a few special events and parties thrown in for good measure.

“While we will have food because we have a kitchen, and will hopefully serve upscale concert food, we are going to be a concert venue,” Ore said. “We want to fit as many concerts as we can into our venues, and we’ll be open those nights only. We could have corporate events or private parties of course but the main focus is strictly to be a world-class concert venue.”

The venue has an added attraction in partner Richard Rawlings, star of Discovery Channel’s top-rated show, “Fast N’ Loud.” Rawlings and his partners opened Gas Monkey Bar & Grill last year.

The show is huge: the fifth season premiere had nearly 2.7 million viewers, giving it the No. 1 spot on cable and the second spot on all of television among men 18-49 (excluding sports). It only lost out to the Emmys that night.

Ore says people have flocked to GMBG, considering it a tourist attraction. It’s also become popular on social media. But the main focus is the restaurant even though it has an outdoor stage. As for the new place, where the bigger bands can play – it’s right across the street.

“It just fell in our laps,” Ore said. “We were doing so well already that it seemed like a way to expand our operation in the market, grow the brand. We’ve already got good shows lined up so there’s already a gap from what agents want and what’s in town.”

I Love This Bar came with a stage that needed little modification, but the Gas Monkey partners bulked up the lights and sound and added video screens.

Capacity ranges from 1,600 to 2,500 depending on the room configuration. “We’re going to either do a curtain or removable walls. Something different than just a drape,” Ore said.

The first show is Social Distortion Oct. 11. Other shows on the books include Opeth, Pink Floyd Laser Spectacular, In Flames and Los Lonely Boys.

“I’ve been doing this for 18 years and never been close to something as interesting in that time,” Ore said. “Live Nation has tons of exposure but it doesn’t have this exposure.”