Word of the King Club's closing swiftly generated discussion of its recent and past incarnations as a music venue.
The Daily Page also asked for comments from several performers and neighbors to the King Street nightspot; these follow.
Jay Moran, also known as "John Velvet," performs with Moran also notes that MadCabaret is exploring its options with regards to a future home. Their final show at the King Club is on Friday, Jan. 18, and they hope to have a new regular venue in place for their February show.
Adam Gregory Pergament is the "King Club Poet in Residence" and a member of Venice Gas House Trolley:
I've always based my approach to music and poetry on the values of creativity and community. I feel that Lisa and Tristan also upheld these values through their work at King Club and am very excited to see what will come next. King Club was a fantastic incubator for emerging Madison talent and, as such, its absence will be deeply felt. However, as with all things, change is inevitable and embracing it can only lead to new ideas and new forms.
As I've been involved in the arts here in Madison for some time now, I've seen much in the way of increase and decrease. However, I've never seen a lack of spirit. Music and poetry will continue as they always have and this alone is what it is really all about.
Josh Williams of August the Creep and Horton the Irrelevant, a hip-hop duo that has played numerous times at the King Club:
It's definitely a great loss to the Madison music scene that will be hard to replace. The King Club was more creative and took more risks with their booking than any venue in town, and we have a hard time naming a spot that will be able to match that uniqueness. This is particularly true in regards to the local hip hop perspective, as the King Club was consistently open to the local talent and didn't blink during the scapegoating of the culture that took place across the street at the Majestic and around town in general.
There are certainly other venues in Madison that put on hip hop shows, but none that offer the deserved respect and trust that was afforded us at the King Club. They will be greatly missed and we are wary that anyone will step up and fill the void.
Charles Hughes is a Madison musician and writer (including at , the mid-sized music venue across the street from the King Club:
The King Club's closing is a big detriment to live music in Madison. They were an important club in developing local talent and provided a great space for smaller national level acts. Our hope was that eventually King Street would be known as the epicenter of live music in Madison, and that every venue, would offer live music at least on the weekends. We had this dream of hot summer nights and music pouring out of open doors onto King Street with people hopping from place to place. It seems that with the closing of the King Club, this idea, however naive at the start, has suffered a big blow.
I offer them the best of luck and success in their new venture, but hope that they will return to live music at least occasionally. The more venues we have in this town, the more going out to see live music will become part of the culture here, something that I think we all want.
Liz Tymus is the founder and promoter of .