Canopy Club

The Canopy Club first opened in 1998, and refers to itself on its website (www.canopyclub.com) as the “only true concert venue in Champaign-Urbana”. While that may be a bold statement, and one I am not willing to fully support, they do have the most diverse set list that I have seen in Champaign-Urbana. Named as an allusion to rainforest canopies that cover the most diverse bioregions, the Canopy Club is committed to covering a diverse array of music. Whether you’re taste is rap or rock, indie or pop, this place has got something to please anyone’s personal tastes.

The Canopy Club has a great location for University of Illinois; it sits just over a block east of the quad on Goodwin Avenue in Urbana. Upon talking to Ben, a doorman at the Canopy Club, I learned that the head employment of the privately owned business includes owner Anthony Rossi, head talent buyer Ian Goldberg, and the head of advertising Seth Fein. Canopy Club also serves up Manolo’s Pizza and Empanadas, which is located right around the corner from Canopy Club on Oregon Avenue. While Canopy Club is mainly a place to listen to live music, they have so much more to offer. They are also committed to positive social and environmental change through hosting different benefits and informational gatherings. They have every amenity of the campus bars, with a completely different atmosphere. Canopy Club is a haven for students tired of watching drunken students grinding and fist pumping on the dance floor to pounding Top 40 hits.

The combination of great atmosphere and location would make almost any student happy to work at the Canopy Club. When I talked to Canopy Club employee Ben about how he got his job, he told me he applied at the beginning of the summer, because that is when Canopy Club does a lot of hiring. He said other popular times for hiring are at the beginning of each semester, and that they normally hire more people first semester than second. It seems that the application process is pretty standard; one must fill out an application and cross their fingers for an interview. Different jobs include, bartenders, security, and people to check i.d.’s.

The Canopy Club’s current trends include Sunday night’s “Pizza + Pitcher and a Movie”, Tuesday night’s “Piano Man”, and Wednesday night’s “Physical Challenge”. Every Sunday night Canopy Club plays a different flick and customer’s can pay ten dollars for a large Manolo’s Pizza and a domestic pitcher of beer. On Tuesday nights Canopy Club becomes one of the most crowded bars on campus, as the “Piano Man” sings and plays almost any song you could ever think to request, anything from Billy Joel to Britney Spears. Wednesday night’s “Physical Challenge” is a newer happening at the Canopy Club, and is a dance party as indie-rock D.J.’s play music similar to the styles of “Girl Talk”. As a commercial form of leisure, Canopy Club’s main issue is competition with other bars. However competition is not as much of an issue, as they offer a unique atmosphere, and it doesn’t hurt that they are the only bar on campus that 18 year olds can enter.

When I asked Ben what he thought Canopy Club’s definition of leisure would be he told me he thought that “leisure would be chilling with good people, good drinks, and good music”. Canopy Club’s main benefit is that they have such a wide variety of music to offer people in the area. When bands that have performed in the past include Lucky Boys Confusion, Umphrey’s McGee, Motion City Soundtrack, Girl Talk, and Flogging Molly, you just know there is something for everyone.

Overall, I was extremely impressed by the Canopy Club. There are many pros to working at Canopy Club; I even wish I would have applied to work there at the beginning of the semester. It seems like a very fun and exciting atmosphere to work in. There would always be great music to listen to, and you would get to listen to some great concerts without having to buy a ticket. No two nights at work would be the same, as there is always something new going on every night. The only downside I can think of to working at a place like Canopy Club would be the late hours, but let’s face it, we are college students, if you aren’t up until two in the morning most nights, you must be doing something wrong. The Canopy Club is a great example of a leisure-service system as it is a commercial recreation business that enables the facilitation of special events that provides a wide variety of entertainment for young adults in Champaign. While it obviously yields economic benefits, its commitment to social and environmental change also yields benefits for the community and environment.