ROCK TALK : It’s Adios to Mayfair and Hello to Midnight Hour : * Troubled venue closes but a former cowboy bar reopens and--wahoo--the place is about to rock.

The Mayfair Theatre, the troubled all-ages venue in Ventura, was supposed to close its doors on May 7. The last show featuring five bands you’ve never heard of was on April 28, thus avoiding any long goodbys. The venue, plagued by complaints from neighbors, had received a four-month probationary extension of its use permit in early April from the Ventura Planning Commission and had apparently cleaned up its act.

The high water mark at the Mayfair, owned by the Tate Living Trust in Los Angeles, was a show by Ill Repute and Pinching Judy that drew more than 700 rockers a few months ago. But the place has had trouble attracting bands and fans. The Mayfair is all boarded up now, alleviating all doubt--before, it just looked closed.

Manager Chris Schertzer and his self-described co-manager/roommate/significant other, Karen Kelly, agreed there were health code problems that would have necessitated a serious cash outlay to bring the 50-plus-year-old venue up to standard. Some of the improvements needed, she said, were a refrigerator, new sinks, a new floor, and new plumbing--and that’s just at the snack bar.

For a rock venue, the Mayfair hardly had any advertising posters in front of the building or even along telephone poles--the typical rock advertising network in town. And the huge marquee, with a few exceptions, was typically blank.

“We’ve got all the letters,” Schertzer said, “but no one wanted to go up on the ladder.”

“That ladder’s pretty treacherous,” Kelly said. “It took two people to hold it.”

*

So it’s adios to the Mayfair and hello to the Midnight Hour, the newest venue in Ventura. Actually, it’s not new--the place used to be the Chapparal Club, a cowboy bar, but has been closed following the death of the previous owner almost a year ago. Thus, wahoo, little darlin’, the place is about to rock. In fact, ‘60s legends Spirit will celebrate drummer Ed Cassidy’s 70th birthday at a gig there Saturday night. The new owners are hoping the liquor license will be operational by then. Or else it may be a Spirit Sprite party.

The last bar toward sundown on Main Street in Ventura, the Midnight Hour is easy to spot--it’s the purple and turquoise place. Inside the nifty wood venue, Waylon and Willie have been bucked off the jukebox, replaced by a collection of classic rock CDs. The stage is now on the street side of the bar where the pool table used to be. According to co-owner Larry Burdorf, a window, sliding glass door, and new deck will be installed to allow new access to the old horseshoe pits outside.

“We used 55-gallon drums of cowboy grunge remover,” Burdorf said. “We hope to have music five nights per week with reggae on Thursdays. And we really care about the quality of the sound system here. Hey, we’re Deadheads.”

*

Another new venue in downtown Ventura is Nicolby’s Coffeehouse, inside Nicolby’s Antiques at Oak and Main streets. Upstairs, the place used to be Mogz, an all-ages alternative rock hangout. Now it’s full of pricey antiques.

Anyway, the venue is in the front window facing Main Street. The performers stand in the window with their back to Main Street, sort of like rude mannequins, and play to a small roped-off area plus a stairway that used to lead to Mogz. Very weird setup. It’s poetry night on Thursday with acoustic music on Friday and Saturday.

Remember those cool Warner Brothers cartoon-character drinking glasses? The ones that cost about 49 cents when they were new? Now, at this place, your very own Yosemite Sam glass will set you back $9. The industrial strength coffee is cheaper, about $2.

*

Science fiction writer Theodore Sturgeon once noted that “90% of everything is garbage.” He’s probably being a bit optimistic if you apply that to rock ‘n’ roll. But it’s that 10% that makes for those magic moments and makes it all worthwhile. I had my last one last Friday night at the Ventura Theatre when I cruised in at the end of the Flew set--that’s Joe Walsh’s new band.

Anyway, what a cool encore. Not paying much attention until my guitar god hero Dave Edmunds joined the band onstage and kicked in with his only radio hit “I Hear You Knocking.”

Edmunds, an Englishman who does American roots rock better than the Yankees do, has a new double-CD package just out on Rhino. Dave. Dave. Dave.

*

Rob Sison and his Phooey band mates recently had their comeuppance during the most recent skirmish April 29 in the never-ending Battle of the Bands at Cheers in Simi Valley. Phooey was one of four bands scheduled to perform that night.

“We were set up by 8 o’clock when they told us we had to wait until the Kings’ game was over,” Sison said. “Then the next thing they tell us is we don’t get to play because we didn’t bring enough people. Hey, our fans don’t want to pay seven bucks and drive clear to Simi.”

“They came here and they didn’t bring anybody,” Cheers owner Mark Krumholz said. “If there’s five guys in the band, everyone must know five people. Bring 25 people, 20 even. They knew about it but they didn’t bring anybody.”

Funny, I thought a Battle of the Bands had something to do with music. Phooey.

*

“It’s just like starting over,” said Blue Monday promoter Michael Kaufer after a month and a half at his new kinder, gentler venue, the Holiday Inn in Ventura. After a lengthy association with Alexander’s in Harbortown, the Blue Monday gig now is a $9 cab ride closer to downtown Ventura than before.

So far, attendance is a little slow but things should pick up as the lineup takes a turn for the spiffy during the next two months. C.J. Chenier, Nathan & the Zydeco Cha Chas, William Clarke and Joanna Conner are all slated to do that Blue Monday thing. Shows start at 8:15 with dance lessons an hour earlier.