TheBurg

06.15 | The Burg | 17 What else? Maybe a dance club in the basement. Maybe a bar on the rooftop. at's in the next phase, so we'll have to wait and see. e idea isn't just about expanding the space but "bringing a whole new concept to the landscape," says Giblin. "We're going to be a one-stop shopping event for your evening out," he says. "You can come and eat, either before or between the show, you can go to the show upstairs, and then you can hang out in the night club afterwards." ere's that grown-up thing. H*MAC belongs to the Destination Midtown coalition striving for the eclectic go-to neighborhood that Harrisburg pines for. He remembers the days of the "I saw your mama on 3rd Street" taunts. Now, he sees a turnaround because a few smart folks bought low during the recession and are dreaming high. "All of those wonderfully hidden architectural gems were sitting there, waiting to blossom," he says. Giblin envisions a "middle class of acts" coming to H*MAC from the "rich catalog that appeals to the over- 30 crowd or the cottage industry of artists that makes a living playing live." at's where Lisa White comes in. She has been booking spaces and consulting since the 1980s. She signed on with H*MAC because she saw the "little renaissance" of artistic variety in Midtown and recognized the need for touring acts and events in a wide-open space. White says she won't sign any artists to the Capital Room until renovations are wrapping and an opening date is clearly in sight. "e last thing we want to do is move a confirmed show that someone has routed a tour around," she says. But she's been planting the seed among managers. At this year's South by Southwest music festival, her descriptions of this new venue in a city just off a major highway got their attention. She and other buyers are conversing about an I-81 music corridor, where acts can find eager audiences city by city. "ey can't go up and down the I-95 corridor all the time," she says. "You can only play those markets a certain amount of times before you start having diminishing returns. Bands are on the road more because they're not getting any revenue from the recorded product, so they need to find places where they can perform and do well." Enter Harrisburg. ere will be an experimentation period in booking the Capital Room, finding what delights Harrisburg, whether it's Scandinavian black metal or swing dance lessons on the ballroom's wooden floor. "at's part of the adventure of it," White says. "You don't know these things, and you can't know these things, and you just gotta try it and see what works." e Harrisburg Midtown Arts Center (H*MAC) is located at 1110 N. 3rd St., Harrisburg. For the latest updates and scheduled acts, visit www.harrisburgarts.com or the Facebook page: Harrisburg Midtown Arts Center. e Kitchen at H*MAC is open Monday to ursday, 4 p.m. to 11 p.m.; Friday, 4 p.m. to midnight; Saturday, 11 a.m. to midnight; and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Chef Louis Ray

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