The Venue Opens at 1550 S. State

When we saw this article in the Chicago Tribune we were a little perplexed.  We like to think that we know a thing or two about the neighborhood and apparently this new club, called The Venue (1550 S. State), went completely undetected by us.

Anyway, the Chicago Tribune provides some background:

Image from The Venue's Website

He has spent most of his adult life in the demanding and financially precarious world of music. Despite that, John Devens remains a sane man, and so it came as a mild shock to learn that he has decided to become the artistic director of a new music club in the South Loop. 

"Yes, it's a very tough and risky job, but this is really a labor of love," said Devens, standing on the sidewalk in front of the building that will house The Venue, a simple name for a bold and potentially important (but yes, tough and risky) addition of the city's entertainment scene, at 1550 S. State St. 

Recently Devens and some friends were putting the finishing touches — draping the walls with black fabric, arranging tables and chairs and installing soundboards — on the new club, transforming a room sometimes used for church services into what he hopes will be, as Devens says, "a great chance to showcase Chicago talent."

We grabbed the picture from their website and it appears that the place could use a little more character (at least visually).  To be fair, a picture does not always do justice and we are definitely intrigued by the concept.

We love music and hope that The Venue does well and helps bolster the neighborhoods music chops.