CU Sound Review

Too many problems — the case for change at the Courtyard Café

4:00 am Mar 26 - by Mike Ingram – buzz Writer

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    The Courtyard Café no longer has a MySpace page. That’s right, it has now become even more impossible to find any sort of info whatsoever regarding any show booked at the space, which is a shame because there are some great acts being placed there thanks to a lot of work from manager Kristin O’Brien. But, it seems that so much of her work is in vain thanks to all of the hurdles she and the staff have to maneuver in order to get anything done. This latest development with the MySpace page may be one of the most ridiculous things to happen to the venue in a while, though, unless it’s to be followed very soon by a real website in its place. The current “official” Courtyard page is incredibly out of date and has no actual information. It exists as a part of the Illini Union universe of pages, none of which are particularly easy to navigate. Taking this under advisement, along with the fact that it’s probably impossible to get anyone to actually make any sort of changes to the page, a former Courtyard employee made the wise decision to start up a MySpace page so that there was some sort of place that people could find show info. It wasn’t always as informative as it could have been but, again, it was something. I’m not going to pretend that I know exactly the ruling as to why this MySpace was deemed bad, just having heard that it had to do with “marketing” — as in, apparently, the Courtyard employees weren’t supposed to be marketing themselves? In any case, it’s clear it wasn’t the choice of the current manager or any of the people under her. It’s just another shining example of how no one who has any oversight there seems to have any idea how to make things work in the slightest.

    Even before you get to the internal problems with the Courtyard, you already have to take into account things like the parking impossibility, the fact that the venue doesn’t serve alcohol (and actually has what can be a very loud coffee place next to shows that are sometimes very quiet), that the layout is kind of weird, and that the sound isn’t really all that great. With so many things already working against the place, why does it seem like some people over there are trying to make things even worse? Many managers (who have to be students, which, in my opinion, is a little silly since they’re generally so busy) have tried very hard to book killer lineups and seen empty shows. This year seems to have seen an upswing, and the upcoming Hold Steady show is a huge step in the right direction, but there are no advance tickets which is probably going to create a nightmare. So, could someone above the manager level over there maybe act like you give a damn about the space succeeding so that it, I don’t know, can? Sure, I’ve devoted a lot of space to this particular issue this week, but it pisses me off every time I think about it and as my time here winds down I feel like it needs some words.

    For those of you who don’t mind spending a little bit of time at the mall, you can catch a free show this evening (Thursday) at Hot Topic (I have NO idea how they are going to fit an extra person in that space, much less a full band) from brooding local pop-sters Sangamon. The group, is now packing a more sleek, piano driven sound following the departure of guitarist Tyler Bundy to Boston. It is fronted by the ever popular Tuesday night Canopy Club attraction, the Piano Man with Shay James Sean, but don’t expect to hear much of what you scream out requests for on Tuesdays, as Sangamon has an arsenal of original songs (and an EP you can buy). Drop by Marketplace Mall at 6 p.m. and grab a slice from Sbarro on your way to Hot Topic. Obviously, when thinking about the clientele of Hot Topic, you’ll probably be able to come to the conclusion that this show is all-ages.

    Once again, Saturday night’s early (6 p.m.) show at the Canopy Club does NOT feature Us3, the makers of that infectious ’90s jam “Cantaloop.” The band Us2 is set to perform an acoustic tribute to U2. It’s not as exciting, I know.

    In what I believe will be the Embassy Tavern’s last weekend open, Bruiser and the Virtues are set to play the Saturday night slot (9 p.m., no cover). Check out some fantastic jump-swing tunes and have a couple of beers in a salute to the bar that will be sorely missed.

    Mike Ingram can be reached at forgottenwords@gmail.com.

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    Last post: Apr. 3, 2009 at 11:32 am

    J_fisher7 (Josh Fisher) said on Mar. 26, 2009 at 10:38 pm:

    here here! the courtyard is due for some much needed changes.

    Maureen (unregistered user) said on Apr. 1, 2009 at 1:03 pm:

    fo realz. I randomly saw a sign for Caribou, one of my favorite bands, last year when I was wandering through the Union. They were awesome but the whole setup was really weird. It just felt strange to rock out in a place that's normally so quiet and kind of feels like an open court in a mall.

    anonymous (unregistered user) said on Apr. 2, 2009 at 4:24 am:

    the lighting at courtyard sucks too. taking ambient lit photos is terrible.

    John Hoeffleur (unregistered user) said on Apr. 3, 2009 at 11:32 am:

    A pretty fair case you make Mike, not much one can take issue with here, but let me say this anyway...

    You probably know, but for others who may not: there are a lot of constraints and compromises at courtyard - it is not easy to put on the show one might want to, or the show the community would want to. Much of it has to do with the University's liability if something goes wrong, and I for one have no idea how to change that. As much as I absolutely hate the cop-out of "That's the way it is," I'm afraid it might apply. As long as we have some understanding of that and don't blame the staff for it, I think constructive criticism is warranted.

    The room itself just has a sterile vibe, mostly because it's ultimately a multi-purpose space. Most of the time it is really just a student hang-out zone, and it's great for that. It will never feel like CBGB's, even if the U painted all the walls black. I joked of hanging signs that said "No Drinking No Smoking No Smiling." At least it would combat the kind of uptight feeling it has for rock shows.

    And capacity not withstanding, I'd still rather see a show at Courtyard than Foellinger, no disrespect to Foellinger.

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