The Canopy Club

This place has the worst music I’ve ever heard and all of the employees are racist jerks! NEVER going there again! They encourage illegal and vagrant activity.

This place is literally so poorly managed it’s ridiculous. If you have any issues with ordered ticket purchases they won’t even acknowledge you at the door!

Canopy Club often has live music on nights when there’s none being offered by anybody else in CU, like tonight, for example. I think this is the smallest live music venue in CU — one long bar and three little tables — but if you want to meet the musicians, there’s no place better. Open Mic nights are a mixed bag; I’ve seen horribly awful comedians here, but I’ve also seen more good hip-​hop here than anywhere else in CU.

Really cool place to go if you’re trying to get up close and personal to the band, I saw Umphrey’s McGee here last night and it was one of the best shows I’ve seen yet. You can’t tell how big it is until you get inside. For a venue in the small town of Urbana.
The staff is super friendly, very accommodating and not condescending like the staff at other venues. Overall, really great place to see shows in C-​U.

Best place to see music thus far for the Pygmalion festival that is put on yearly. Drinks are a joke though, not even remotely close to a full pour for the price. Have a few before catching the show.

It was a nice sounding room with a very kind and courteous front of house staff. The green rooms in the basement were comfortable and there were plenty of food options close by. Overall, a good experience.

Canopy is a decent local music venue that can accommodate both large and small acts. It’s a former movie theater, so the acoustics on the main stage aren’t phenomenal, but there is plenty of floor space up front by the stage, and seating further back for a good capacity. A smaller stage in a front room is great for smaller acts and slow nights. The bar is fine, employees are quality and, nestled in the middle of the music campus of the UI, it’s a fine location.
They do a really great job of pulling in local acts and up and coming talent such as Mars Walters, or the Dramatics and Tropical Fish.

This review is for Urbanite at Canopy Club:
Ventured out for Urbanite 2013 and so glad I did! For a non dancer it felt like the movie Step-​Up in the flesh. The dance community seemed super encouraging towards one another and Canopy was filled with high/​positive energy. The venue is like some of the smaller/​older theaters in Chicago or the Egyptian Room in Indy where it’s standing room in front of the stage and there are seats in a small balcony further away. This is one of those times where being short is tough and those 6″ heels may be of assistance (especially when a tall guy decides to stand in front of you with his furry hooded winter coat).
It was a great showcase filled with super sexy dance numbers from approximately 15 different groups that made me want to throw my hands up and shake my hips!

Came here to see Above & Beyond earlier this year, and coming from Chicago music venues, I’m a huge fan of the Canopy Club. Yeah it might be a little small, might get a little packed (and I didn’t know they had coolers with water, that’s even better). But overall, the crowd here is good since it’s predominantly U of I students.
I thought the acoustics sounded great (but it was a DJ, not too many vocals) and I also like how there are 3 different bar areas, drinks were easy and fast to get. If you feel like taking a break from dancing on the main floor you can always perch up on one of the seats up in the balcony.
Expect it to get HOT during packed shows, but that’s expected. Also don’t plan on using their washrooms unless in dire emergency.

My first time playing at this venue. Nothing spectacular other than a place for musicians to showcase their music. The venue has enough space to get a pretty decent sized crowd. The sound engineers seem fairly knowledgeable and our sound check went pretty smooth.
Unfortunately this place is good for music and nothing else. The venue looks pretty beat up and raggedy, but it serves it’s primary purpose very well. The bathroom smells like a combination of urine and old glue, so I recommend only using their facilities in an emergency.

I’ve only been to this venue a few times, but every show I’ve seen here has been AWESOME! The staff is nice and laid-​back, the crowds are always great, the sound and lights are up to par, and the acts I’ve seen at The Canopy Club tend to rage harder there, than anywhere else I’ve seen them throw down. Kudos to this dope music joint :)

Being from out of town and having numerous recordings from this venue, I was very excited to attend my first show there. That is really where the excitement ends tho. The door staff and security were all really nice, I will say that! Same goes for the bartenders.
However, the place is really kind of a dump, sorry! Acoustically I did not appreciate the sound. The bartenders either did not know how to put alcohol in the drinks or just were cheap-o’s (they were friendly people tho). And all in the all the place is pretty small and cramped when there during a sold out show. The outside smoking area was nice so you can leave the venue to get some fresh air.
All in all not horrible but not magical.

Pretty solid venue. Not too big of a venue, and it can get packed at times when they sell out. Be warned that it can get quite hot inside when there are lot of people, but what can you expect, that happens at any other venues I’ve been at.
The sound does leave a little to be desired and I can see it being an issue with live acts that have vocals, but I’ve only been here for the dance acts and it’s been a non-​issue.
One thing that I appreciate is that they have coolers of water and cups for free. A nice change of pace from venues in Chicago that charge five dollars for a bottle of water.

If it wasn’t for the awesome music, it would probably get a 1.
Since they constantly have awesome music and bands from all over playing here you would think they could put some money into the place. Just because its near campus doesn’t mean it should look nasty.
The bathroom doors in the ladies room don’t shut. That’s a pretty easy repair there, people! And there was no soap in there, either.
I understand that it can get busy behind a bar sometimes but the service was sloooooooooow and the bartenders were rude. Don’t even think about ordering a mixed drink… they are tiny and overpriced.
Definitely stick with beer. Of course, I will continue going here because as far as I can tell its pretty much the only place to see a variety of music down here but geez!

Went to the canopy last night to watch a housemate get some stage time. Was neither pleased or dis-​pleased. The tiny front room left much to be desired in the seating dept. Nice an’ intimate all right. Plus someone started a beach ball being tossed around. That’s always my cue to leave. Night will do nothing but devolve from that point.
However, Monday is dollar drink night. After one too many amaretto sours; got an empanada. Perhaps spoiled by cheap delish taco truck culture of CA, but almost two bucks for that tiny thing? Plus the only flavor was SALT. Serious salt.
Meh. Was ok.

Saw Gov’t Mule play here a couple weeks ago and this is a great place to see a show. Great acoustics and not a bad seat in the house. Bottom line, if you like a band and they are playing here do yourself a favor and head to the Canopy Club

I came for Piano Man at the suggestion of a friend of mine. It was full of undergrads who don’t have any homework yet, but we were able to find seats on the side of the room. It’s a nice big space, and pretty much any seat is a good one. The Piano Man (sorry dude, I don’t know your real name) played a good range of stuff, from the required «Piano Man» and Elton John to Miley Cyrus and Britney Spears. (Does anyone else find it disturbing that everyone knew the words to Miley? Hit Me Baby One More Time I get, but Party in the USA? Really?)
The cheap booze was added incentive. $ 2 long islands are a recipe for destruction, although I could have used a little more alcohol in mine. I don’t like to fight for space but hopefully it’ll be a little less crowded when the semester starts up. Would visit again.

Best place in CU to see a band, and pretty good for other stuff, too. Assuming Pygmalion rolls through again sometime, this is the premier venue (other than lame Krannert).
If a band you dig is slated to play at the Canopy Club for less that $ 35, you should definitely go. The sound, staff, and variety of places to watch the band (including above in movie theatre style seats) make for a great indoor venue. The front room is also an intimate, charming if you will, experience, though the sound quality suffers.
They also have Tuesday night trivia at Canopy at 7pm, which is lots of fun. It is 6 rounds of 5 questions per round, and goes pretty fast. It is hosted by the occaisionally humorous (but nearly always bearable) Fishing with Dynamite players. Prizes aren’t great, but it is a much better format than similar trivia nights in CU.
You can park across the street at Krannert garages, and they card hard, even if you are fully geezered like me. On off-​nights (not Fri and Sat), there are always drink specials that make Canopy Club as cheap to drink at as any Green Street shit bar. However, the alternative nature of college music keeps the worst elements of undergrad anti-​culture at bay.

OMG possibly the worst experience of my life.
Extremely small, crowded club with barely five feet of floor area in front. Floor is sticky and more than likely, you’ll get a drink spilled on you. Cover fee is ridiculous and I hear it’s even more jacked up on special occasions like Homecoming and Dad’s/Mom’s Weekends. Better check the band that’s playing before or you’ll get stuck listening to country crap like «Cornmeal.» Ridiculous, deadbeat hippies rocking out to lyric-​less songs.

Decent space for a live show. There’s standing room in front, a series of mismatched booths, tables, and chairs in the middle, and more standing in the back. There’s a side bar and I think you can order food beforehand.
Canopy is a great place to catch a show, and last week’s Mason Jenning’s concert was no exception. The acoustics were pretty sweet, and the crowd (despite the two really, really drunk frat guys who kept yelling in the front row – lame) was generally awesome.
Canopy definitely makes the experience feel cozy and intimate and it’s worth it if you’re looking to see an up and coming band or one that wants to make the show personal. Caveat emptor: first come first serve on the seating, and doors open an hour before the show. Keep that in mind.