The classiest venue in town: The Mod Club
November 14th, 2006 posted by robb
Update: Vote for your favourite venue here
When someone talks about a concert, they typically talk about only the band. A “great show” usually means the band rocked out and had a great set. But whether they explicitly say or not, a concert is not just about the band – It’s about the full concert experience. And a big part of that is the venue.
Like every major city, Toronto has a wide variety of concert venues for any type of band. Some have become ‘genre venues’ where concert goers will typically know what kind of night to expect and the kinds of bands that will be performing – without having to know the actual bands. Take the Opera House for example. You’re usually guaranteed something local, something punk/hardcore and something all ages. If any one of those three tickle your fancy, then the Opera House will likely not disappoint.
How about Holy Joes? It’s a warm and friendly with an apartment-like feel, housing local singer/songwriters for intimate performances for a crowd of < 100 people. There are also brutal venues like The Docks and Ricoh Centre where concert goers will think twice about going, even if it’s a band they’re dying to see. No matter how good the band is, these venues will make them on a whole sound like shit. Hands down.
Then there’s The Mod Club, the fucking best concert venue in the city. Anyone who has been to this venue will know why: intimate yet accommodating size, classy ambiance, versatility, crisp sound, great location, and a generally great atmosphere of people.
The Mod Club is located at 722 College St., in the heart of Little Italy. Like most clubs, they don’t want bands to take away from their Fri/Sat night club nights, which is why most shows have an early 7 or 8PM start. This turns out for the better, since this also allows you to also head out somewhere else after the show.
This year, hot artists have performed at MC: K-OS, Broken Social Scene-sters, Shout out out out out, Josh Ritter, Mobile and Ben Lee to name a few. From hip hop to roots americana to indie rock, MC has the versatility to host artists of all shapes and breeds – and each time pumping out great sound in an intimate atmosphere. It’s small enough for singer/songwriters like Teitur to interact and story tell, but also strong enough to hold the likes of mega rock bands like the Killers.
The ambiance of the venue oozes class, without pretension a la The Drake. Sure, it’s skinned as “MOD”, but for the purposes of a concert, it’s got great lighting, a side section with tables for the sitters (booo), an upper balcony and even a few video screens. I’ve also found that the people are more considerate here – perhaps it’s coincidence or relative to the bands performing, but when I’m at MC I don’t find childish rushing of the stage, drunk idiots or catty elbowing. Let’s put it this way: I never hesitate to get a drink or go to the washroom for fear I’ll never be able to get back to my spot (without a fight)… and we all know how ‘intimate’ it can get at places like the Phoenix. Sardines anyone?
A great concert includes a great band and a great venue. The venue contributes to the overall concert experience. And as an experience, The Mod Club package rocks my world. It’s the Taylor of guitars or the Shure of mics. I can’t think of a better venue for any band. So for all you bands/managers out there – Why jeopardize your show choosing a shitty venue? Get yourself bloody booked at Mod Club!
Section: Uncategorized
2 Comments Add your own
1. Craig Hill | November 15th, 2006 at 8:25 pm
YESSSS!!!! a venue watch, that’s what i’m talking baout rob. good on ya. i’ll post a venue review soon enough.
2. CB | January 27th, 2007 at 2:02 am
I had a really good 2 page comment about how I disagree with your first line in this article. But then I went on to read and realize you also disagree with your first line in this article. And now I’m just going to spout off about random stuff about live shows.
Suffice to say, I don’t think the majority of people talk about the band at all. I think a lot of it DOES have to do with the venue.
I’m also not sold on the Mod Club as being a wicked venue. It’s like the Opera House for the new generation. They both have terrible acoustics, but somehow the atmosphere makes it all better.
It’s really not THAT good of a club. In fact NO club in Toronto is really good for live music as most places are designed to get people in, buying beer and enjoying themselves over designing the latter half of their bar to acoustically make sense to a live band that might be playing.
Everything is too loud, too distorted and the lights are just a pretentious apparition of designers gone wild. These bands think they are that much closer to the ‘scene’ by playing in venues that no one really appreciates. But these scenesters know what kind of business they are getting into when they go to a show. If it’s at the ACC for a big ticket band they know. If its at the Reverb for an indie punk night they know. Most people who are in to music can differentiate the two styles of show, and the two styles of bands. I would say any audiophile knows when a band is overproduced and playing in a venue that is under-acousted. Btw, I’m inventing that word for the sake of this article.
Either way, when it comes down to it I think I lot more people that one might think know what they are getting themselves into as far as venue is concerned well before they go to the actual concert. And the differences can be seen in the indie culture as well as the the mainstream. Both sides of the coin, more often than naught, know what they are getting themselves into before they go to the show.
I hope that makes some sort of sense. Because at this point I’m rambling the rhymes on the top of my head.
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