We Have All The Delicious Ingredients To Keep Your Home Warm&Savory Open Daily 8am-6pm • 799-3374 • 101 Ocean Street, South Portland Voted Greater Portland’s “Best of the Best” Butcher Shops Two years in a row n o v e m b e r 2 0 1 8 4 9 pressive given the instrument’s assertive- ly male-dominated reputation. “You really slipped through the cracks to get in here,” said one bass player with a sneer. Perhaps Nashville’s macho atmosphere drew her closer to those feminine forces of nature with whom she toured. “I spent one unfor- gettable night at the Exit Inn and Bluebird Cafe with Lucinda Williams—we probably had more than one or two drinks—as she unleashed a tirade against the white male rigidity of Nashville.” Decades of hauling drumkits out of clubs at 2 a.m. has tempered Cote’s appetite for performing in recent years. A connoisseur of clubs, the idea of opening a music venue had been brewing for some time when she heard rumor that the former Griffin Club building at 60 Ocean Avenue was for sale. “I spent two weeks going there every night to really consider the atmosphere of the place. I got the feeling—this was the spot.” Tough research. While Cote hoped to re- store the bones of the place, structural engi- neers advised her she’d be wasting her mon- ey. Instead she’ll rebuild the space, complete with soundproofing and two second-sto- rey rooms for rent. The vision is for a down- to-earth tavern for music lovers and locals, with live sets Thursday through Sunday un- til 11:30 p.m. The legacy of The Griffin Club has left a rub of acrimony among certain diehards. “I’ve heard so much hurtful shit from people who are against it, but I know how much musical talent there is in Port- land. SoPo is crying out for a venue, and I’ve gathered ideas from every club I’ve played in over the decades.” Can we hope to see her on stage some night? “I don’t know—we’ll see if I get a chance,” she says. Sounds like a promise to us. I picked up some sticks aged six, sat behind the Blue Sparkle, and without a clue began to play a beat.