Metro Chicago

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Metro is a concert hall at 3730 N. Clark Street in Chicago, Illinois that plays host to a variety of local, regional and national emerging bands and musicians. The Metro was first opened in 1982. The building housing Metro also houses Smart Bar.

1 History
2 25th Anniversary Year
3 References
4 External links

[edit] History

In the late 1970s, owner Joe Shanahan left his hometown of Chicago for New York City to live in the midst of the developing art, music and dance culture. After a year, he returned to Chicago and realized that there wasn't, at that time, a decent club tied to those communities. Drawing upon his friends and experiences from New York City, he set off to fill this void.

Metro/Smart Bar began as Shanahan's personal parties for his friends in his loft apartment. Exploiting the camaraderie in the local art community, Shanahan began to combine these DJ-driven parties with local gallery openings. Attendance ballooned, and the parties quickly outgrew his loft space. A local promoter directed him to the building that now houses Metro and Smart Bar. Shanahan fell in love with it.

The Metro building was originally built in 1927 as a Swedish Community Center. When Shanahan came across it, it was home to a jazz/folk club, Stages. Enamored by the space, Shanahan opened Smart Bar in July of 1982. A dance club mixing a variety of the new genres of the time, Smart Bar was located on the fourth floor of the building, which now houses the offices of the Metro staff.

Smart Bar quickly became a success. Groundbreaking DJs Frankie Knuckles and Joe Smooth would spin regularly. Bands like Ministry and Trent Reznor showcased their new "industrial" music by playing tapes of freshly recorded tracks for the crowd.

A month later, Shanahan had the opportunity to promote a show in "the big room" with a little known band he met in New York. Using the name of his production company, Latest Creations, he placed his first advertisement in the Chicago Reader, and drew posters and flyers. For five bucks a head, Chicago saw this show featuring a little-known band from Athens, Georgia - R.E.M. The show was a success and Shanahan began booking the club's weekend slots.

Shanahan gradually took over the main floor of Stages, moving Smart Bar from the fourth floor to the basement of the building. Metro, then called The Cabaret Metro, was re-opened as a live music venue in its current space. It would be a place that focused on local talent and emerging talent from the region, nation, and ultimately the world.

Metro began paving its path with local bands like Naked Raygun and Big Black. Soon, the club looked to other cities to achieve its goal. New York for Sonic Youth and the Ramones. Athens for R.E.M. and Pylon. Minneapolis for The Replacements, Hüsker Dü and Soul Asylum. Texas for the Butthole Surfers, and California for X and The Bangles. In Metro's first year of business, Shanahan hosted future music heavyweights New Order, Depeche Mode, Killing Joke, Billy Idol and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark.

Metro's mantra opened doors not only for artists but also for new genres of music - the club figured heavily in the early industrial explosion, welcoming artists such as Cabaret Voltaire, KMFDM, and Einsturzende Neubauten.

During this time, Metro began a long-standing relationship with Chicago's own Jam Productions. This symbiotic relationship with one of the country's last independent concert promoters has helped Metro remain true to its own independent entrepreneurial roots. It allows Metro to take its promotional sensibility outside its four walls to continue working with artists as they move to larger venues.

The 1990s brought the rise of grunge and alternative music. The Smashing Pumpkins, Urge Overkill, Liz Phair and Veruca Salt began their careers in Metro's backyard. From Seattle came Nirvana, Soundgarden and Mudhoney. Los Angeles brought Jane's Addiction and a relationship with Perry Farrell that continues to this day. Many bands from Britain, such as the Manic Street Preachers played their early gigs at the Metro in an attempt to break America.

Some of today's prominent music makers have also cut their teeth at Metro. The White Stripes, Alkaline Trio, The Killers, No Doubt, Disturbed, Travis, Jimmy Eat World, Interpol, The Frames, Jack Johnson, Kanye West, Walter Meego, Atmosphere, Haste The Day, Aesop Rock, Moby, The Faint, Fatboy Slim, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Muse,The Academy Is... Fall Out Boy, Certain Distant Suns, Kill Hannah, and many more. Kill Hannah is believed to have played more shows at the Metro than any other single band.

Metro is also a place that celebrates the American and British roots of rock and roll. Legendary artists including James Brown, Iggy Pop, George Clinton, Joe Strummer, Prince and Oasis have all performed for the Metro crowd. Shanahan names as a career highlight when Bob Dylan performed two shows at Metro to celebrate the club's 15th Anniversary.

[edit] 25th Anniversary Year

On July 22, 2007, Metro celebrated its 25th Anniversary. The 25th anniversary year kicked off with a free public concert at Millennium Park's Pritkzer Pavillion with the Decemberists backed by the Grant Park Orchestra.^[1] On July 21, 2007, Metro held an employee reunion and public party to count down the hours to the official anniversary at midnight on July 22, 2007.^[2]

On October 11, 2007, Metro's owner Joe Shanahan was awarded a Recording Academy Honors from the Chicago Chapter of The Recording Academy in recognition of Metro's 25 years in the Chicago music community. ^[3]