When Stand Up Live was looking to open its second Copper Blues restaurant and music venue in Phoenix, Arizona, they had a unique vision of combining three distinct spaces—a comedy nest, a live music venue, and a restaurant—into one highly flexible entertainment hub called CB Live. But the question remained: How can you combine a stand-up comedy space and a nightly live music venue without compromising the user experience? It was then that acoustician Tony Sola suggested Skyfold to CB Live’s architects, Bar Napkin Productions.
To see if Skyfold could fulfill CB Live’s acoustic needs, Norcon Industries’ Courtnie Hartwigsen scheduled a sound test with the architects, owner and Tony Sola at the University of Arizona Bioscience Building, which has 2 Classic™ 60 walls. After the test, it was determined that CB Live would need a two-wall system—a Zenith® Premium 60 and 51 installed parallel to each other—to ensure maximum acoustic comfort between events. Norcon also took the sound test as an opportunity to demonstrate Skyfold’s ease-of-use to the owners whose staff would be using the Skyfold wall daily, if not multiple times a day, to reconfigure the dining and entertainment areas.
A custom graphic depicting some of music’s biggest icons—a visual history that runs through both of Copper Blues’ locations—was applied to the walls, making the walls both a functional and decorative element that speaks to CB’s brand identity. With this custom finish, the Skyfold walls feel original to the space they occupy. To reinforce the seamless integration of the walls into the venue, the pocket closures were painted black to blend in with the ceiling.
The ability to combine fine food, music and comedy in one venue has its economic benefits. Joel Bachkoff, operating partner with Stand Up Live and Copper Blues, told Phoenix New Times that CB Live sees guests coming all day long and night, whether it’s just to dine, to hear music, watch stand-up, or all of the above. The Stand Up Live comedy house location, however, found itself empty most of the week when there were no shows scheduled.
Copper Blues and Stand Up Live no longer need two separate locations; they can conduct their businesses under one roof to offer patrons a multi-purpose entertainment package. At the end of a comedian’s set, the duel Skyfold-wall system fold into the ceiling to unveil one of CB’s daily music performances already going on for the comedy audience to join, thereby turning the 300-person comedy nest into a venue that can accommodate over 500 people. CB Live’s multipurpose concept keeps patrons continuously entertained.