It was bound to happen.
I'm not surprised The Temple Club has closed for good. I've always known it wouldn't last, especially after seeing Mac's Bar go through some major changes last year. Music venues just don't seem to do very well around here.
Why is that? It's hard to say, but the fact is students just don't like to drive to a club to have a good time when they could take a 10-minute walk to East Lansing bars or campus events. They also don't like to pay more than $10 to check out local bands they've never heard of.
Both The Temple Club and Mac's Bar have tried to fix the problem, but it's obvious students aren't listening.
Every time I went to The Temple Club, I knew I would see the same crowd. The same 20 or 30 people who always came out to shows. The same group who loved to talk about how much they support local bands and venues. The problem is that a small group of people can't financially support a large venue such as The Temple Club. The place wasn't attracting new people. Freshmen and sophomores didn't venture out to Lansing to check out shows unless they had older friends who convinced them it was a cool place to hang out.
I know this firsthand. The club opened in fall 2001, my first semester at MSU. I didn't make my first trip there until a year later, and that was only because I had friends who told me good bands played there and it was somewhere fun people under 21 could go on a Saturday night. This was also around the time the Common Grounds in the Akers Hall basement was slowing down. Yes, Akers Hall used to have a music venue and bands actually played down there, but that also fizzled. Big surprise.
A friend's band was opening on the first floor at The Temple Club. At the time, I had no idea there was a second floor. The sound was pretty bad, the ticket was a bit steep, there were only a handful of people and it was really dark. But it was fun. There's nothing like seeing live music, surrounded by band members' friends. I quickly realized most of the people at shows like that one were friends or relatives of the bands playing. But it worked - at least for a while.
Over the years, I've seen dozens of bands perform at The Temple Club, both local and national acts. The favorites that come to mind are The Sights, Electric Six, The Hard Lessons and, more recently, Animal Collective and Neko Case.
I'm happy to say my last year was the best for The Temple Club. Both Animal Collective and Neko Case were sold out, the crowds were great and the music was amazing. I remember thinking, 'Why can't it always be like this?' Most nights, the place was less than half full. The club was also sold out for Jordan Knight, and I know this because I was there. But that's another story.
I credit Steve Lambert and Hood Booking for the Animal Collective and Neko Case shows; he definitely had the contacts and the ability to bring big names to Lansing. Unfortunately, he left the area, and Lansing hasn't found a replacement.
I don't think I'm particularly sad or upset about The Temple Club closing, but I'm definitely sorry for the students who never had the opportunity to experience a decent concert venue in East Lansing or Lansing. I know everyone loves to pull out the, "When I was a student, East Lansing was so much better" stories, but in this case, I must insist that line stands true.
I don't know where bands such as Ted Leo and the Pharmacists will play if they want to come to Lansing, which means they just won't make it a stop on their tours. Even local bands now have one less place to play, which is never good.
Who wants to put in the time to start a band when you can't play anywhere? Backyards, garages and house parties are now off-limits with all those ridiculous noise laws. Is anyone old enough to remember The Chicken Shack on Stoddard Avenue? I remember seeing Motion City Soundtrack at the house-turned-music venue about five years ago - further proof that live music always seems to die in this town.
When I think of The Temple Club, I'll remember walking up those stairs to the second floor, never waiting in line at the bar for a beer and the uneven floor vibrating once the band began to play. I'll remember always running into someone I knew, striking up conversations with strangers and usually being able to talk to the band. I'm sorry no one will be able to experience The Temple Club again; it wasn't always the best place to see live music, but it was ours and we loved it.
Benita Mehta is a State News and Michigan State University alumnus.