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The Crofoot - Metro Detroit's newest Venue is Now Open

Written by Art Michalski

Thursday, 13 September 2007

As the number of shows at Clutch Cargo’s wanes from its peak earlier in the decade, live music in Pontiac had been, unfortunately, quieting down. But the creators of The Crofoot are going to make sure that the live music scene in Pontiac isn’t just relegated to whatever is happening at Clutch.
Resurrecting the old Crofoot Building, which was first built in 1830 then rebuilt in 1852 by Michael E. Crofoot, the new Crofoot Building blends a mixture of the old with state of the art sound equipment and décor for a brand new gem in northern Oakland County. The size of the redesigned Crofoot is very deceiving and is actually much larger than it looks with much space designed for dining as well as taking in a show.
The Crofoot Café offers free Wi-Fi and a menu that is still being developed and will be open throughout the day. But the number of potential venue spots makes the Crofoot unique to this area. According to manager Nathan Vestal, the Crofoot could have as many as four shows going on at any given time. The complex is divided into the following areas:

The Crofoot Ballroom: Capacity 1,100. The fresh hardwood floors and wider than usual balcony space makes things more comfortable than many venues that have the same design. Flat panel TVs line the main floor area and a large patio space awaits people who want to get away from the action for a moment. Many of the larger shows that lead booker Greg Baise is handling will be taking place in the Ballroom. (Schedule listed below).
The Pike Room: Capacity 250. Smaller acts will take place in the secluded area. The Pike Room hosted the first event at the complex, with the Start playing last week. DJ’s will also spin at the room during concert nights as well.
The Eagle Theatre: Capacity 600. Remember Industry or Have a Nice Day Café or any of the other twelve incarnations of clubs that resided in that building? Well, it's been bought by the Crofoot investors and transformed into a new concert venue. The ballroom is just about done and will start hosting concerts shortly.

The Ballroom will also host the 180 Degrees Club Night on Saturdays, which will feature alternative rock from the 80s, 90s and now. Vestal is insistent on keeping the Top 40 and generic rock music played at normal clubs out of the Crofoot. The sample playlist played at the opening of the Crofoot reflected heavy on the 90s alternative bands that made the scene, which is a more than refreshing break from the rock played at many bars (Bon Jovi, AC/DC, etc). Expect Smashing Pumpkins, Stone Temple Pilots and even Hum (remember “Stars”?).
Shows at the Crofoot will exist outside the Live Nation/Ticketmaster universe, with tickets for all shows being available at www.ticketweb.com.

Here is the current upcoming schedule for the Crofoot Ballroom Complex:
Additional dates can be found at their Myspace site at www.myspace.com/thecrofoot
-September 27: Holy F*ck- Pike Room
-September 29: Small Sins- Pike Room
-September 30^th: Deerhoof- Eagle Theatre
-October 4^th: Fujaya and Miyagi- Eagle Theatre
-October 9^th: Besnard Lakes- Pike Room
-October 13^th: Pinback- Crofoot Ballroom
-October 14^th: Polyphonic Spree/Rooney- Crofoot Ballrom
-October 25^th: The Thermals- Eagle Theatre
-October 27^th: Lotus- Crofoot Ballroom
-October 29^th: The Hold Steady- Crofoot Ballroom .

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