Live From Bloomington

Not long after the thunder of Little 500 is over, a different kind of thrill will make its way through Bloomington.

On April 17 and 18,  Live from Bloomington’s Club Night will shake up town for the 23rd year in a row, taking up two nights to showcase local artists and contributing its profits to the Hoosier Hills Food Bank.

Live From Bloomington is a division of Union Board that focuses on showcasing local artists. Each week, the organization puts on a show at the IMU called NOISE. The annual Club Night is the biggest event of the year for Live from Bloomington, and it also puts out a compilation CD for each artist.    

April 17, Club Night, is when the Bluebird, Fester’s, Max’s Place and the John Waldron Arts Center will showcase the artists. April 18 is an all-ages version of the previous night hosted by Rhino’s, Max’s Place, Collins Living-Learning Center and the Indiana Memorial Union Gallery. The event is run by Union Board, and all the proceeds will go to Hoosier Hills Food Bank. This local charity will donate canned goods and the funds accumulated to families in need in the Bloomington area. Concertgoers are also encouraged to bring canned food to the venues.

Junior Jordan Bleckner was elected to the Live from Bloomington committee after serving two and a half years on Union Board. He credited Live from Bloomington’s past success to the community’s interest in the local music scene.

“There are so many talented bands, we’re happy to give them a media to showcase their talent,” he said.
He also enjoys the project because not only does it foster the budding Bloomington music scene, it helps out the community
as well.
The artists are coming together and getting revved up for the event.

Prizzy Prizzy Please keyboardist Ted Wells said he is excited for this year’s show.
“We played Club Night last year to a packed house thanks to the great job Live from Bloomington did promoting and organizing the show. Club Night last year was great fun, and I imagine this year will be so, too,” he said.

Wells said that after submitting Prizzy Prizzy Please’s song “Shorgasm” to the Live from Bloomington committee, he received confirmation that it was added to this year’s LFB compilation CD.

Wells said recording a good album is like writing a good research paper: The biggest struggle is to be satisfied with your own work when you’re done.

“You need to be confident that you can trust how you feel about what you just did. It’s important not to get so concerned with details that you lose sight of the big picture,” he said.

Prizzy Prizzy Please will appear April 17 at the Bluebird and then April 18 at Rhino’s.
Solo artist and Live From Bloomington newcomer Eric Radoux heard about the Live From Bloomington Club Night after the release of last year’s compilation, whose popularity he noticed in WIUX’s playlist. Radoux will perform Thursday at the John Walrdon Arts Center’s Rose Firebay, which starts at 9 p.m. and Friday night at the Collins Coffee House at 8 p.m.

“Both shows will also feature three other bands from the CD, and I couldn’t be more excited to be playing with them,” Radoux said.

The bands that will follow Radoux on Friday are Aviary Ghost, Gravitas and husband&wife.

His performance will be a blend of looping, trumpet, singing and guitar playing and he will sing in English, French and Russian. “Club Night, for me, is a chance to help build a stronger Bloomington community. Not only does the event support all sorts of wonderful local music and venues, but both the CD and the concerts help support the Hoosier Hills Food Bank. They provide a fantastic and much-needed service for the city,” he said.

He added that anyone who enjoys music would enjoy Club Night and should come out to support the event.

“It’s a great opportunity to be a part of something larger than yourself. We’re all living together in Bloomington; we should embrace that fact and help build a stronger sense of community.”

With a music scene as talented as Bloomington’s, it is no surprise that a 23-year old-tradition would be dedicated to preserving it. Not only does it cultivate local musicians, it also provides charity for members of the community who are in need.
Anyone who has an interest in music and likes to party would enjoy coming out and supporting Live from Bloomington, Wells said.

“If you don’t like music, I’m afraid there’s not much hope,” he said.
LFB will begin receiving applications for the 2009 Club Night this fall.