Michael Battipede/Choices Ron Thompson performs at Porky's Rib House every Thursday. Fresno's other live-music hot-spots Avalon Club -- The only basement bar in Fresno that features pool tables, dart boards and live music Thursday through Sunday. The lineup includes a mixture of reggae, rock, punk and the blues. Tim Esau, the 27-year-old manager, said the bar books nothing but the best in local music. The Tower District-area bar has happy hours every weekday from 2-6:30 p.m. Cover charges vary for live music. "The Avalon Club is a low-key place to hang out," Esau said. "No matter who you are, you can walk in, have a drink and make new friends." Hours: Open 2 p.m., with varying closing times Monday through Sunday. Location: 1064 N. Fulton St., Fresno Phone: 495-0852 Club Fred -- Another Tower District institution, Club Fred is known for the talented local and national bands that play Thursday through Sunday. The club is a frequent stop for mid-level touring bands that play everything from hard rock to reggae to jazz and blues. Lydia Harpham has been the bartender for the last 10 years and has heard a lot of great live music. "We're the best place to see live music," Harpham said. "We've done it longer and better than anybody else." Hours: Open 3 p.m. to 2 a.m. Monday through Sunday. Call for events or visit www.Club FredFresno.com. Where: 1426 N. Van Ness Ave., Fresno Phone: 233-3733 Fibber McGee's -- Classic rock rules at Fibber McGee's on Friday and Saturday from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Owner Gary McIlwain said the secret to pulling in the big crowds is good live music. He said he books the best local classic-rock bands that play music people can dance to. Hours: Open 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. Monday through Sunday. Where: 6650 N. Cedar Ave., Fresno Phone: 297-4100 Full Circle Brewing Co. Ltd. -- Live bands take the stage at Full Circle Brewing Co. every Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Owner Don Anderson said he stays away from head-banging and hip-hop music and tends to book a mixture of rock, blues, country and bluegrass bands that perform from 8-11 p.m. Anderson said his venue packs in about 100 people on an average Friday night. "We try to incorporate all the different types of arts, including music," Anderson said. "The live-music scene in Fresno is definitely alive." Hours: Open 2-11 p.m. Thursday through Saturday. Closed Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Open Sunday for special events. Where: 620 F St., Fresno Phone: 264-6323 Patio Café -- Does sitting outside on a warm summer night listening to jazz sound like the ideal way to relax? The Patio Café delivers every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night. Amber Alvarez, assistant manager at the Patio Café, said the Café books not only great local jazz and blues bands but old-time rock 'n' roll bands as well. Hours: Open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday through Thursday. Open 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Where: 5138 N. Palm Ave., Fresno Phone: 243-1074.

It happens every Thursday at Porky's Rib House, a Fresno bar that also features a bathtub full of free peanuts and customers ranging from bikers to businessmen to jitterbugging happy-hour hipsters.

The mechanical bull is a fairly new addition, along with a lively country-western band that follows the blues performance, sometimes hitting its first note when the blues band hits its last.

And you can't beat the cover charge: There's not one.

Even with all of the stuff going on, most people say it's the live music that keeps everybody coming back, Thursday after Thursday.

For over two years, rhythm-and-blues legend Ron Thompson, who has strummed with blues greats like Etta James and B.B. King, has played the Porky's happy hour from 6-9 p.m. every Thursday.

Thompson said he feels a special connection with the crowd.

"People get into it," he said. "I give them energy and they give me energy. It works both ways."

Although he has played around the world, Thompson wouldn't miss his gig at Porky's.

"I drive all the way from the Bay Area to come out here, so I really like it that much," Thompson said.

Joe Villareal, 62, has been a huge Thompson fan for more than 20 years and feels privileged that he and the rest of Fresno can see him perform on a weekly basis.

"I'm very surprised that for a glass of beer we can hear probably the best blues musician on the West Coast," Villareal said. "Ron is not only an artist, but an icon in the blues field."

Besides enjoying the music at Porky's, Villareal likes hobnobbing with new friends he has acquired over the past year.

"Not only is Porky's a very friendly place, but I like to compare it to the TV show Cheers," Villareal said. "The atmosphere is very friendly and there are a lot of people I have made friends with."

While Thompson undoubtedly is the King of Cool at Porky's, the Prince of Panache is Johnnie Ray. The self-titled Dancin' Man of Fresno, decked out in dark shades and a derby hat, flips his partner upside-down and offers to dance with all willing to try.

Ray, and his dance partner, Stephanie DeAngio, combine her ballroom dancing skills and his jitterbug moves to create what he calls, "Fresno Freestyle Swing." It's become part of the environment at Porky's.

Ray has danced at Porky's for several years, primarily because of Ron Thompson's music, but also because of the bar's great neighborhood feeling.

"I love the atmosphere of people of different ages and backgrounds all joining together to listen to blues and dance," he said.

It's practically a seamless transition when the blues stops in one corner and a country western band starts in another. Soon the Porky's staff rips open bags of wood chips and straw and scatters the contents all over the floor. Then the mechanical bull comes out for those willing to ride.

The overlapping blues and country fans often come early or stay later to fully enjoy both genres of music. One such style-straddler is Lucinda Roth, a 27-year-old country fan who once came early to hear what all the Ron Thompson talk was about.

She enjoyed Thompson's electrifying performance so much that she has kept coming early.

Roth has been to other live music venues around Fresno. She said Porky's has an edge.

"It's not a meat house like some other places," Roth said. "It's very casual, the dancing is terrific and you can come with friends just to hang out."

Originally published Friday, June 17, 2005