Students at AU may be academically driven and politically active but that doesn’t mean they don’t know how to have fun.
Venture to the 9:30 club on U Street any given night and there is bound to be a handful of music-loving AU students enjoying the advantages of D.C. living.
Since 1980, the 9:30 club has been a D.C. staple, attracting artists from Tom Jones to Justin Timberlake.
“The best part [about the 9:30 club] is that you can’t define the demographic it caters to,” said Audrey Schaefer, the venue’s spokeswoman. “We have every type of show from cutting-edge, in-the-moment, edgy, mother-would-never-want-you-to-go-to to adult, sophisticated, funky and friendly.”
The venue has a widespread reputation for good music, good food and an intimate setting, with two floors of prime sight lines to the stage and a 1,200-person capacity. The club boasts a 70-item menu that serves everything from paninis to nachos, along with a variety of vegetarian and vegan-friendly options.
The signature 9:30 club cupcakes are a must-have, not only for patrons of the venue, but for visiting musicians as well who receive free cupcakes in their dressing rooms before every show.
“[The 9:30 club] worked with a bakery for a year to get what [it] thought was the perfect recipe for our signature cupcakes,” Schaefer said about the devil’s food cupcakes with a butter cream center, chocolate frosting, ganache and the venue’s logo piped in white as the finishing touch.
But while the cupcakes may be a perk, the real attraction of the 9:30 club is its music.
With one of the best sound systems in D.C., the venue draws performers from across the globe with its reputation for launching the musical careers of countless artists. David Grohl of Scream, Them Crooked Vultures, Foo Fighters and Nirvana was discovered at the 9:30 club during his days playing for Dain Bramage.
The Killers played the 9:30 club even before releasing their first album “Hot Fuss” and Kings of Leon performed at the venue in 2007, a year before their album achieved chart success in the U.S.
The 9:30 club is not exclusive about who it chooses to feature, especially when it comes to supporting the local music scene, according to Schaefer. Wale, a hip-hop artist from D.C., played some of his earliest shows at the venue and has since gone to tour with M.I.A. Justin Jones, a singer-songwriter from Virginia, has not only opened at the 9:30 club but is the first artist to sign with 9:30 Records, a new label launched by the club’s co-owner Seth Hurwitz.
The venue also helps out in times of emergency. A year ago, the 9:30 club opened its doors for a concert benefiting Haiti. The club donated all $36,000 of the concert’s proceeds from ticket and bar sales to the Yele Haiti Foundation and Partners in Health Organization.
The 30-year-old venue has been named “Nightclub of the Year” four times by Pollstar and regularly tops the list of top ticket-selling U.S. clubs. From Bob Dylan to P!nk, the club has made its mark by catering to old and young alike.
“When Tom Jones came to play, you would think only older people would come, but really there were the people who grew up with him and their kids and their kids so there were three generations at one show,” Schaefer said.
For the spring semester, the 9:30 club has posted a concert calendar that would make any venue jealous. The wildly popular Girl Talk and Jimmy Eat World will be performing as well as alternative bands like Deerhoof and Slightly Stoopid.
For those pinching pennies, Schaefer offers a word of advice: It is cheaper to buy tickets at the box office than pay for online fees and shipping. But the 9:30 club has proven to be a venue that bands love to play and people love to attend. And that is priceless.
thescene@theeagleonline.com
