WAUKESHA – Dave Meister certainly could claim to be speaking words of wisdom as his plans for a British-themed pub and eatery called Let It Be unfold in the months ahead.
After all, the music lover with an artistic touch is no stranger to the influence of the Beatles, having already once recreated a replica of the Liverpool, England, underground music venue where the group drew crowds in its early years.
This time, it’s different. Meister wants to generate a true live-music venue in downtown Waukesha that would do the British Invasion proud, to the delight of fans of all ages locally. It won’t be bigger than the Beatles, but as Let It Be takes shape, piece by piece, before it opens in the summer of 2021, he admits to having high enough hopes to become, at minimum, a downtown centerpiece.
His highest hopes? To pique the curiosity of name-brand acts, possibly, and most alluringly, the likes of Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr.
“I’d love to have them come just to have fun,” Meister said, going so far as to invite some performers to shuttle over to his private 1930s-themed jazz club in Hartland “and jam.”
“Of the people who will be performing here, I want them to perform it in the spirit of the way it was performed in the ’60s,” he added.
Setting the stage
For now, it’s a work in progress at 716 Clinton St., a mostly nondescript, century-old building that, among other uses, had once served as a bowling alley.
Two years ago, Meister began by starting from scratch, completely gutting the interior, bringing the building up to code and refurbishing almost every structural element to create a blank canvas to deliver exactly what he has in mind.
Even now, at least nine months in advance of his generalized timeline for opening, it isn’t difficult to see his vision in brick-and-mortar terms just a few steps beyond the front door. For those who have seen historic pictures of the venue, there’s no mistaking the stark resemblance to the Cavern Club.
What will be the stage area is completely surrounded by the famous brick basement facade of its Liverpool counterpart. The bricks are real, especially the full-depth bricks that make up the arched portal.
The stage area will fill more than half the confines within that brick enclosure, though Meister said he plans on limited table seating directly in front of that stage among the roughly 75- to 100-seat capacity of the overall space. When the music and mood demands that people want to dance, those tables and chairs can be pulled back to leave room to do so near the stage.
The effort is a combination of artistic expression, a love of music and the ideal of people-oriented venues, he explained.
“It’s about life,” Meister said. “I want something in which people can immerse themselves.”
There will be other people-pleasing elements, including on onsite wine cellar, a 37-foot long bar outfitted in fine walnut and brass rails, a working British telephone booth and various historic images.
He envisions comedy acts and other entertainment as well.
There’s more, but Meister doesn’t want to say too much now. When the grand opening eventually takes place midway through 2021, he wants people to be surprised in the depth of Let It Be’s artistic approach to music history.
For the music lover
Sure, the Beatles connection is obvious. There’s no question about that, given the name, drawn from the McCartney-penned tune that upon its release in 1970 served as a kind of swan song in the group’s final days. There’s purpose in that name.
“When you come in here, you let it be, and you come together,” Meister said.
Also, an 8-foot diameter sign will depict the now-iconic “Imagine” ground mosaic that serves as a John Lennon memorial in New York City’s Central Park, close to where the ex-Beatle lived and died.
But it isn’t all about the Beatles. Like the original Cavern Club itself, which served as a venue for a variety of Merseyside acts in the early 1960s, Let It Be will incorporate other iconic musical influences from both sides of the Atlantic.
“I grew up with the ’60s and ’70s music, and I liked the Beatles and I liked the British Invasion, but I like all genres,” Meister said.
Not surprisingly, that includes Waukesha’s own Les Paul. A precise replica of Paul’s hollow-bodied Epiphone log guitar will be displayed within the pub restaurant. It’s fully playable, “and available for Paul McCartney to play, if he wants to,” Meister said.
Another customized replica guitar, a 1910 Gibson model evoking the model played by John Denver, also will add to Let It Be’s musical notes.
“This is the type of thing that I’m into,” he said. “I like John Denver, I like the folk music, the Mamas and the Papas and all of this, and it’s all whirling in my mind. I’ve got to find some way to organize and choreograph evenings — infinite evenings — of all of these things.”
While Let It Be is a business, which will likely incorporate a cover charge, it isn’t intended as a vast money maker. An accountant’s take on profitability is already virtually impossible, said Meister, who assumes he isn’t likely to recoup the costs of his new venue “in my lifetime.”
In fact, he had initially planned on opening the venue this year, but “then COVID hit,” which dampened the spirits — and strained the finances — of many live-music venues and restaurants, prompting him to further stretch his timeline.
That’s OK. Meister — who founded the nonprofit Blue Sky Jazz “dedicated to using music as a means to foster growth in the lives of individuals” — thinks it is the music that counts most, and eventually it will be heard.
“I want this to be fun,” he said.
Meister firmly believes the club will become a destination venue in downtown Waukesha, possibly spilling over into other new attractions as well.
For Mayor Shawn Reilly, whose office is next door to the Clinton Street venue, the plans for the venue comes as no surprise, and he shares Meister’s enthusiasm for its potential.
“I’ve been following that development for quite a while, and I’m glad to see that it’s moving ahead,” Reilly said, supporting Meister’s decision to push his plans back to what hopefully will be a healthier post-COVID environment. “A music venue, an Irish-type of pub I think will do quite well.”
Admittedly not an avid Beatles fan, Reilly, 59, nonetheless grew up during the group’s active years in the 1960s. He trusts the that venue will do the Cavern Club proud, and draw in more focused fans than him.
“It sounds like a very cool concept,” he said. “I’m looking forward to it.”
Martin A Nethercutt is a writer, singer, producer and loves music.
Creative Director at McCartney Studios
Editor-in-Chief at McCartney Times
Creator-in-Chief at Geist Musik
President (title) at McCartney Multimedia, Inc.
Went to Albert-Schweitzer-Schule Kassel
Lives in Playa del Rey
From Kassel, Germany
Married to Ruth McCartney
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