Taking over a club known for its live music and steering it in a different direction can be a struggle for new owners.

A couple of years ago, two shuttered music venues -- the Royal on Light Street and the Vault on Baltimore Street -- were bought and converted into bar/lounges.

In both cases, the new owners tried to establish a fresh identity and eventually opted to bring back live music to help bolster business.

I reviewed both of these bars soon after they originally opened. But they've changed enough to merit a second look. So a couple of weeks ago, I went back to both. Here's what I thought.

Bedrock Baltimore

401 W. Baltimore St., 410-685-7665. Hours are 11:30 a.m.-2 a.m. Mondays-Fridays and 4 p.m.-2 a.m. Saturdays and Sundays

Bringing back live music to this space was a great idea.

In the beginning, Bedrock focused on billiards -- a concept that worked well for bars like it in Washington. But putting in pool tables didn't draw the crowd management wanted, so they yanked a couple of pool tables, installed a stage and began booking local and regional bands there.

When it was the Vault, the stage was too high off the ground, and as such, the sound quality was subpar. The new stage is shorter and takes advantage of the building's high ceiling.

Even with the stage, Bedrock has the feel of a lounge. Two bands played when I was there. For the first, the sound guy kept the music at a decent level. You could talk to the people next to you or get up and dance. But for the second band, he cranked it up too loud.

There's a line between a bar with live music, where people come to have a beer, talk and maybe dance, and a live music club, where people come just to see a band and give that band their undivided attention.

All in all, Bedrock has a good thing going with the new stage. But it needs to find middle ground so that people can talk and see a live show at the same time -- similar to the Cat's Eye Pub in Fells Point. But Bedrock is definitely headed in the right direction.

Charlotte's

1542 Light St., 410-244-6767. Hours are 5 p.m.-2 a.m. daily

Brother-and-sister team Robert Philipose and Keisha Pase opened Charlotte's on Light Street in November 2006 in the building that formerly housed the Royal. Business was slow at first, but picked up some when nearby wine bar the Vine closed.

The Vine had the city's best wine "tasting" special -- $5 for five big glasses of wine on Wednesday nights. Charlotte's started hosting the special on Tuesday nights, which brought in more customers. It's the same deal, run by one of the Vine's former managers, and is definitely worth a try.

Pase and Philipose also started booking live acoustic music in Charlotte's -- another good move.

When the duo took over Charlotte's, they spent a considerable amount of time and money renovating the bar's interior but left the ugly exterior largely the same.

Stand outside Charlotte's and it's hard to tell if the place is open -- even with the black temporary sign hung there.

As long as the building looks like that, it's going to be hard to draw in new customers -- no matter how nice the hardwood floors, exposed rafters and flat-screen TV inside are.

sam.sessa@baltsun.com