Copyright startribune
Playing to a full house at Animales BBQ just after 4 p.m. on Saturday, Al Church changed the lyrics to an iconic Fleetwood Mac song to reflect the fact he and his band weren’t the day’s star attraction. “Well, there you go again, you say you want your barbecue,” the rocker sang. Heavily anticipated by Twin Cities-area foodies, the barbecue maker with one of the hottest food trucks in town opened its new permanent location in Minneapolis’ Harrison neighborhood just west of downtown this past weekend. Patrons who had been dreaming of Animales’ smoked meats had to wait until 4 p.m., the earliest the barbecue can be served every day due to unhurried smoking procedures. Along with the meats, Animales is also serving a hearty side of live music every Thursday through Sunday — enough to make it one of the most noteworthy new music venues in town alongside its restaurant buzz. Saturday’s lineup proved there’s reason for music lovers to also get fired up over the place. Church and his nimble band kicked off a grand-opening lineup that also included jazzy piano legend Cornbread Harris toward the end of dinner rush, followed by synth-rock mainstays Solid Gold for late-night grooves. Layout-wise, Animales’ sizable stage is set across the sprawling 12,500-square-foot room from the long bar, with ample wraparound booths and picnic-style tables in between. It’s ostensibly a supper-club setup, with room for 220 seated patrons and about 500 standing. There’s also ample space in front of and beside the stage for standing and/or dancing. Old-school Twin Cities music lovers may liken the new venue to the old Famous Dave’s space inside the former Calhoun Square, what with the barbecue tie-in and Animales’ focus on Americana music and other rootsy-flavored sounds. But the remade space is also reminiscent of the warehouse-turned-supper-club vibe at Icehouse in south Minneapolis and your average brewery taproom, too — like the one right next door at La Doña Cervezeria, which should get more deserved attention with its bustling new neighbor. Housed in the former Royal Foundry cocktail/social-room space, Animales has informal ties to two other current music venues in town: Berlin in the North Loop, the thriving jazz club whose owner Rich Henriksen is also co-owner of the new Animales space; and the Aster Café, whose former talent booker Jen Whittier is overseeing the music lineup here.
