Bellingham desperately needs the Nightlight to re-open - we are simply lacking a decent venue for touring bands. Wild Buffalo is great for the kinds of shows that it’s been delivering for years, but when it gets really full (like at the last Devotchka show) it gets miserable. The Mt. Baker Theatre has a new space and are starting to book some decent shows, but it still doesn’t completely fill the void that the closure of the Nightlight has left. There have been random bits of info in the Cascadia Weekly about the Nightlight opening again, but bizarrely, owner Matt Feigenbaum hasn’t really come forward with any definitely information, leaving the whole thing to speculation. Their website still says they’re returning October 29th, although it doesn’t say 2008 I guess so maybe he meant 2009 all along. Also, instead of actually taking phone calls from the Herald or Cascadia Weekly, he has time to change the random photos on their mySpace page (shown here). It just seems like if he’s serious about getting the club going again, and making it viable, he’d be connecting more with the local community (and press), so that when (if?) the club does re-open, it has a chance of being an economic and cultural success. One thing working in their favor is the fact that the club, bar and sound system are fully operational - it was a cruel tease to go to the Trucks show back in November (an all ages affair) with the only beverage choices being Rock Star and bottled water. I’ve never seen Cap’s so busy!

Addendum: Well, it seems I was just a tad hasty with this post - the “Rumor Has It Column” by Carey Ross in the Cascadia Weekly has an in-depth interview with Nightlight owner Feigenbaum about the nearly certain reopening of the club. Here’s the key points of the interview:

–Feigenbaum says that the club should be open in 2-3 weeks. That is the approximate time when their temporary liquor license becomes permanent.
–Feigenbaum has some short term and long term debt obligations to take care of. The short term obligations should be taken care of by an inheritance that he’s waiting on.
–He’s spent the time off working on  a detailed business plan that not only looks at the short term, but the long term as well (up to 10 years in the future).
–It sounds like many of the folks that worked there in the past should be back, they plan on having shorter hours, drink specials and renewed emphasis on marketing upcoming shows.
–It also sounds like Aaron Roeder, former owner of the 3-B and drummer of The Mono Men, should be assisting Feigenbaum with the booking of shows.

The club definitely has issues to deal with - it’s location is less than ideal (it’s in the basement of a building with limited windows and signage, plus it’s really a destination location - a place where you don’t just stumble upon it while dining, shopping, etc. - you have to have a plan in mind before going out of going there), there’s no food service (I really think they should offer at least some basic food items - it’d keep people there longer and be an additional source of revenue), the layout is kinda funky (it’s great for most shows, but get’s less-than-ideal at sold-out shows), and some ticket prices are high (Bellinghamsters are cheap and are still adjusting to the fact that you need to pay more than $5/show to see quality music). Having said all of this, the pluses far outweigh the minuses - it’s a beautiful space, the sound is great, the staff is great, their ability to pull in touring bands is outstanding, drink quality is good and it’s got good parking nearby. There has been no serious movement anywhere around town to open another space that does what the Nightlight did (and the 3-B did before it), so the news that the re-opening in immenent is great news. I’m excited to see the first new concert calendar published!