Dreamland

Dreamland fills a huge gap in the intellectual palette of Louisville by bringing odd, one-​off lectures/​readings, live performance, musical performance, and film into one community space. Their current bookings are an impressive variety and distinguish them from some of the other music-​only venues. Generally, you will only find such an establishment in New York or Chicago, so it’s all good that we have this right here and now.
Dreamland is jointly run by Tim Barnes and Joel Hunt. Barnes is a world-​renowned percussionist, sound designer, and experimental musician; and owner of Quakebasket Records, His discography is an encyclopedia of musical culture and he currently also shares that wealth of experience via a show on
(Fly Closer To The Sun, Tuesdays 4−6PM). He occasionally also performs here in Louisville. Joel Hunt is a talented promoter and event producer who has played a significant role in the recent explosion in the Louisville music scene (by landing shows by legendary acts including Wire and Swans as well as by this venture with Mr. Barnes).
The Dreamland space is a former Wayside chapel that became available when Wayside relocated to the Louisville Hotel on Broadway, it’s a medium-​sized room, but small enough to remain intimate. It is notably clean, with church pews for seating, although I wouldn’t describe the room itself as churchy. The space is well-​suited to the cultural events currently booked, which range from lectures/​forums to full live band shows, film screenings, and even a record fair.
Dreamland has a liquor license and a small, well-​selected range of beverages. They do not serve food but are in the heart of NuLu (right behind Decca, in fact) with its many fine restaurants.
I was able to attend two recent events at Dreamland. On 4÷13÷14 I enjoyed a screening by director Lance Bangs of footage he’s taken with notable bands, including R.E.M., LCD Soundsystem, White Stripes, and many others. The Louisville premier of «Breadcrumb Trail» was the following night at Headliners. Bangs was, of course, also present at Slint’s Nelligan Hall performance on 4÷15÷14 and played an active role in documenting that event for future posterity.
The second event I attended here was a reading and performance by David Grubbs on 4÷17÷14. Grubbs ia a veteran of Louisville band Squirrel Bait & many others and has played on numerous seminal records since that time. On 4÷17÷14, Grubbs read from his book «Records Ruin the Landscape,» which covers the collision of popular culture with composer John Cage and other avant-​garde composers of the 1960s.

I’m not enough in the know to say exactly what Louisville Film Society is and does, but it is clearly our Keep Louisville Weird counterpart to the multiplex, and Dreamland is their showroom. It’s ground zero for local independent filmmaking, as well as a nice place to see something off the beaten path.
I know what you’re thinking: «In this day and age, with just a few mouse clicks I can pull up 20 different Gerard Depardieu movies, all in French, and watch them in the comfort of my living room.» (Okay, weirdo, you do that.)
But we saw a screening of three Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin movies accompanied by a live performance from Bourbon Baroque (a five-​piece ensemble), who did a great job picking out music appropriate for the chosen pictures. Try getting that in your living room. They do special screenings and bring in film writers and directors. And yes, they play a lot of old movies. So I don’t think anyone is getting rich off this operation. But the LFS is clearly run by a lot of creative types and enthusiasts, and it’s always worth a look to see what they are up to.
Dreamland is a 75-​seat converted chapel, but when I say «chapel» don’t picture anything with buttresses. It’s just a decent-​sized room with a reasonably large screen, comfortable seating, and a good enough sound system. Playing a bunch of movies not starring Tom Cruise.