Trading money and canned goods for local music

Tonight isn't a typical Thursday night. Though people will be going out for their live music fix, something different is happening in the Bloomington music scene. As always, bar and club owners want as many patrons as possible, but tonight, Hoosier Hills Food Bank and Union Board's Live From Bloomington committee share a stake in how many people go out. Live From Bloomington's Club Night, a CD release party, will saturate several local venues and all proceeds from tonight's concerts go to the Hoosier Hills Food Bank. \nJennie Volpert, a senior, says last year's Club Night was a lot of fun. She says she had a good time running back and forth from the venues trying to catch all the bands she wanted to see. \n"There is something for everyone and truthfully, the hardest part is deciding where you will go when and which band you will see," she says.\nSeventeen local bands will play five venues around town, allowing patrons to get a more in-depth look at the bands featured on the album. Four dollars buys a bracelet that gains admission into all Club Night venues. For those short on cash, two canned goods and two dollars are also accepted. Live From Bloomington CDs will also be on sale. \nThis year is the 18th year for Live From Bloomington. Brad Wilhelm, a Union Board director in 1986, helped start Live From Bloomington with the help of other students and faculty following the success of Live Aid in the mid-1980s. Wilhelm, now the owner of Rhino's All-Ages Music Club, says Live From Bloomington was originally a one-day concert held at Assembly Hall. About a year or two later, Club Night (as it is known today) was started. This year, people can catch the bands at Uncle Fester's, The Bluebird, Rhino's All-Ages Music Club, the John Waldron Arts Center and Vertigo Live Music Venue. \nThe bands that play Club Night must first have their original song chosen for the Live From Bloomington CD. A selection committee is in charge of deciding which bands will appear on the CD as well as who will perform on Club Night. \nJessi Williams, Live From Bloomington director for Union Board, says when her committee was deciding which bands would play together, it tried to pick a headliner and build the show from there. \n"We try to pick bands that won't clash," she says. \nThe Bluebird is just one of five venues participating in this year's club night. Owner Dave Kubiak says Club Night is a good event to be involved with. \n"It's a good cause and raises awareness for Hoosier Hills Food Bank," he says. "It also exposes live bands from Bloomington." \nJust up the street from The Bluebird is Vertigo Live Music Venue, participating in Club Night for the second time. Two years ago, the venue was non-alcoholic, but this year it is serving alcohol. Dan Duncan, owner of Vertigo Live Music Venue, says Club Night will be good for everyone involved. \n"It supports local musicians and it is going to benefit us," he says. \nClub Night isn't just for music lovers over the age of 21. Rhino's and the John Waldron Arts Center will host all-ages events. One of the bands playing at Rhino's, Cardboard, is comprised of Bloomington High School North and South students. Graham Campbell, lead guitarist and trumpetist, says the band decided to participate in this year's Live From Bloomington to get some exposure. He expects the crowd on Club Night to be different and older than the crowd they usually draw when the play Rhino's. \n"Usually most of our crowd is high school kids," he says. \nRhino's has participated in Club Night off and on for the past eleven years because the event helps out Hoosier Hills Food Bank and showcases local bands, Wilhelm says. \n"(Club Night) is remarkably positive and a great thing for the community," he says. \nLive From Bloomington and Club Night have made significant contributions to the Hoosier Hills Food Bank. Since it started, about 200,000 pounds of food and more than $50,000 have been collected. Williams says the Union Board is hoping to beat last year's totals of 12,000 pounds of food and $3,166. The most they have collected in one year was in 1999, when they received 13,474 pounds of food and $6,303. \nChad Murphy, a senior and assistant director for Live From Bloomington, worked Club Night last year at Kilroy's Sports and plans on doing it again this year. He worked as a stage manager, keeping the bands on time, doing sound checks, and helping out in any other way he could. He arrived at Kilroys Sports around 8 p.m. and didn't leave the venue until 2 a.m. Going into the evening, he thought his job would be quite stressful, but he says everything went pretty smoothly. \n"I love live music," Murphy says. "It's a good opportunity to get out."\nThis year, Murphy will be a runner. Each venue has one stage manager and six or seven runners who go to each of the venues to make sure the shows are going as planned. Murphy says being a runner is probably the best job on Club Night because when there is a lull in work, the runner can watch whatever bands they want for a period of time. \nAlthough Kubiak isn't worried about a bad turn out, he says he is a little worried that attendance might be lower this year because the venues are located further apart than in the past. Earlier Club Nights were confined to a smaller radius, like Kilroy's Sports, The Bluebird, Second Story, Rhino's All-Ages Music Club and sometimes Axis. \nWilliams says she thinks most of the people at Club Night will be interested in the event and the bands. She says if they weren't, they wouldn't pay to get in. \n"I think it brings a different batch of people who normally wouldn't go out and a lot of music people who wouldn't necessarily get into the bar scene," Williams says. "You get to see seventeen bands for four dollars"