Cathleen Allison/Nevada Appeal
Live music has hit a high note in downtown Carson City this summer, with Doppelgangers opening a new rooftop stage for its weekend events.
For a few weeks, Doppelgangers was blocking off Proctor Street to make room for its live bands on Friday nights. But that caused some parking problems for people going to businesses in the area, such as B'Sghetti's restaurant.
"Every time we block the street off, it costs them some business...," said Tony Allec, assistant manager who is in charge of promoting events for Doppelgangers.
So manager Brad Adams came up with the idea of putting the stage on top of the building they own across the street, in order to have live music without blocking the street for the entire evening.
"Traffic-wise, it was a good thing to do," Allec said. "That way, we don't really have to block the street off until 8 or 9 o'clock at night."
Right now, only the band is allowed on the roof, but future plans could open the space up for customers by next summer.
On the first Friday of August, Allec said there were 800 to 1,000 people who came down to see the two bands they had playing on the roof. The same night, there also was a band playing at the Fridays at Third Street event a couple of blocks away, as well as a band at Mo & Sluggo's.
"What we are trying to do is get more people downtown to the events on Friday nights," Allec said. "Even if we are kind of competing with the Third Street event, it just brings more people downtown, and we all benefit."
Doppelgangers is benefiting from the scaling back of the summer concert series at Harrah's Tahoe, taking over the bookings for a series of tribute bands scheduled to play at the lake. Next week is a tribute to The Cars, and an Eagles tribute band is booked the next week.
Other businesses are benefiting from the live music as well, as Doppelgangers has invited vendors such as Mo & Sluggo's, Toad's Bar and Q's BBQ to open booths at the events.
The rooftop stage is just one of many changes that have been taking place at Doppelgangers.
Trying to provide different music for different customers, they have a variety of events happening throughout the week, and work to divide up their large space to serve those different crowds.
The back patio hosts live jazz on Wednesdays, and blues on Fridays before the street party kicks off later in the evening. Salsa/Latin music takes over on Sundays, while Thursdays are Wild West nights with live country music and free line-dancing lessons. A DJ spins dance music late on Fridays and Saturdays
"We aren't just trying to gear towards a younger crowd," Allec said. "That's why we have split it up. The idea of having bands outside is to split the clientele up. If you are older and want to go out and listen to rock and roll, or come back on the deck to listen to blues or jazz, we have something for different age groups. Something for everyone."
Allec said the back patio is scheduled to get a roof to enclose it from the elements, allowing them to keep it open for the winter months. They are also looking at expanding the deck inside where part of the pizzeria is located.
"We want to better utilize the space," Allec said. "On Friday and Saturday nights, people are actually waiting 20 or 30 minutes to get a seat on the patio."
Doppelgangers also will get its own twin next month when Doppelgangers II opens on Airport Road in Carson Valley.
Also new is the Doppelgangers Ford Excursion stretch limo that offers free rides to or from the establishment for groups of five to 10 customers.
"We are trying to push it for lunchtime for the bigger companies, if you have five or more people, we'll come pick you up and bring you here for free," Allec said. "If we can really market and promote that, we think it will be a big hit. Especially in the wintertime when people don't want to be out driving in the snow."