Blind Pig in Ann Arbor (Facebook photo)
The Blind Pig , one of Ann Arbor's most iconic venues, which has played host in the past five decades to such bands as Nirvana, Koko Taylor and Pearl Jam, is for sale MLive reports.
Swisher Commercial listed the Blind Pig and the adjoining 8 Ball Saloon for sale last Thursday. It's unclear if the club will continue to operate if sold, or whether the building will be converted to another use.
Melanie Maxwell reports:
From its early days as a venue catering to prominent blues and rockabilly artists like Koko Taylor, Otis Rush and Lightnin' Slim to its explosion in popularity in the early 1990s following a legendary performance from an up-and-coming band named Nirvana, the Blind Pig has been a showcase for local music and underground acts before they caught their big break. The grunge trio later went on to cite the club as their number one venue of choice, providing it with a spike in popularity.
Longtime local music organizer and Tree Town Sound Radio Show host Matthew Altruda tells MLive the potential closing of the venue is symptomatic of the problems many popular concert venues are facing, including Chicago's Double Door, and New York City's Roseland Ballroom.
"It's not really the Blind Pig changing, it's the music scene that's changing," Altruda said. "You see iconic venues closing all over America. It's alarming, to say the least.
"I feel like with the internet, YouTube and having millions of choices for entertainment so abundantly available, live music is competing against so much," he added. "People don't just take chances with music like they used to. I feel like the Blind Pig has survived all of these changes, and tried as hard as they could, and I tip my hat to them for sticking to their guns for as long as they have."
