Full seating guide
★★★★★ · a year ago
As a veteran of the 9:30 Club since 1981-82, it's truly impressive to see how they've shaped the music scene in DC over these last 44 years. I've seen perhaps hundreds of shows at 9:30 and I.M.P. venues over the years. Building a brand organically through I.M.P. managing a variety of great venues, not incidiously trying to take over the world like LiveNation. Their crown jewel, The Anthem, is a more than adequate revenge for the backhand deal that resulted in Fillmore Silver Spring, but that's another story. It's sorta funny to hear people wax nostalgic about the 'old 9:30 Club', which was a truly dungeonous, smelly, smoky cavern, in what was a no man's land of post-1969-riots DC, where we'd bounce between 9:30 and DC Space to see what would become iconic bands from the early days of new wave, punk & hardcore, surf, funk, Go Go, jazz, blues, LGBT, country, rockabilly, folk, novelty and anything experimental happening at the time. But, its grungy character was pretty well covered in the 9:30 Book, if you're lucky enough to find one (please re-publish it). The fact that even some of the biggest names will do surprise shows at the 9:30 is a testament to its legendary status. It still feels a bit like an extended family that manages and staffs their venues. The same cannot be said about the aforementioned promoter, whose venues I attend VERY sparingly (sorry, u can't talk about 9:30 history w/o a dig at LiveNation). Where else could you have seen Tony Bennett one night and Fugazi the next?
