A night at 'The Clinic'

Walking up to the house, a small group of people smoking and talking on the front porch welcome anyone willing to enter. Once inside, people line the hallways, socializing in and out of the rooms. Choose a staircase, up or down. If up, a strobe light greets dancers along with a live DJ. Packing against the walls, people make their way to the basement where a sea of music enthusiasts surround the performing band. This experience can only be found at the house known simply as “The Clinic.”

“There is a long history of this being a party house,” said senior Jason Watson.

Watson and his roommate, senior Paul Levy, moved into the house in August 2008 and are trying to keep the tradition alive.

“Our landlord told us this used to be a free clinic in the ’60s, and so the bedrooms we sleep in used to be patient rooms,” Watson said.

They had their first house show in early September 2008 with three bands.

Levy said the house was not crowded until the third or fourth show when they opened the upstairs floor for a disc jockey.

“The guys who owned the house a couple of years ago did it, and we thought it was a pretty cool idea,” Levy said.

Watson said there are about 300 to 400 people who show up throughout the night of the shows.

“There are so many kids who come to the shows, so we open all levels of the house,” Watson said.

Watson said he and Levy create a Facebook event page to advertise and invite their friends. He said those friends then invite even more people, increasing the guest list.

“We have had as many as 1,600 people invited and 310 people confirm,” Watson said.
“There is a big misconception that we don’t live in the house,” he said. “Someone always comes up to me and says, ‘Oh man you actually live here?’”

Watson said he and his roommate prepare for two to three hours on the day of the show by moving furniture, hiding anything that could be stolen, and putting locks on their bedroom doors.

“We clean up before because people would think they could trash up your place more if it was already dirty, so having it clean, people actually throw their garbage away,” Watson said.

There are upsides and downsides to having shows, Levy said.

“We have had chocolate syrup squirted all over the ceiling, a shower curtain cut up, mirrors broken and someone broke a water pipe once where we had to turn off the water,” Levy said. “But the fun outweighs the damages to the house.”

IU-Purdue University Indianapolis junior Michael Dimanshtein said he was unsure whether he would come visit his friends in Bloomington for the weekend, but when he heard about the show at The Clinic, he decided to come.

“I know that there will be a lot of people there and more people equals more people having fun,” he said.

Dimanshtein said he enjoys house shows over music venues because there is a more intimate atmosphere between the bands and the crowd.

“You can get closer to the band itself, and you feel more on their level when it comes to their music,” he said.

Unlike some music venues, The Clinic is open to all ages and does not have a cover, Watson said. Shows usually begin around 10:30 p.m. and can last until 2:30 to 3 a.m., Watson said.

“Bands are more excited for house shows because they are less structured, less formal and people can let loose,” he said.

Dimanshtein said that even if it is not his first choice for the type of music, the energy of the live performance definitely makes up for it.

Watson said he and Levy try to have bands play that are more rock ‘n’ roll, but said he sees the Bloomington music scene being more indie-rock. Because of this, he said he brings bands from out of town, including the Philadelphia band Grandchildren, which has performed on three different occasions.

Other local bands who have performed are Found Objects, Alexander the Great, Husband and Wife and Clouds as Oceans.

Clark Dallas, Clouds as Oceans guitarist, said his first show at The Clinic was probably the most fun he has had on stage because of the energy of the crowd and interesting audience.

“I’ve played shows where people aren’t there for the music but just to get drunk, but here people turn out to hear the music,” Dallas said. “It is almost claustrophobic in the best way possible.”

Sophomore Sam Clark has been to shows at The Clinic and said he enjoys the social aspect.

“It is generally the same group of people every time, so there’s a sense of community,” Clark said. “In a grungy, underground kinda way, it’s very homey.”

During Welcome Week, freshman Johanna Palmieri was still adjusting to the college lifestyle when she attended The Clinic with some of her new friends.

“At first it was overwhelming and unlike anything I experienced in high school,” Palmieri said.

She said it was the most crowded party she’d ever been to but enjoyed that the music was not just background music and that people were actually listening.

“Slowly I got to know people and saw more familiar faces,” she said. “If I go to a house show, it is my favorite place because I do feel like I belong with the people that go there.”

As for future occupants of the house, former roommates Francis Hunt, who graduated in December, and senior Vejay Nair, who moved into a new apartment, have left Watson and Levy the only two in the house.

Both will graduate in May, but Levy plans to live in the house for another year after graduation and find some new roommates.

Junior Andrew Voorhees has been to all The Clinic shows and he said he would be interested in moving into the house because of its history and the memories he has had there.

“It is cool that a lot of different people on the IU campus go to class every day and then they all enjoy live music on the weekend and want to be a part of it,” he said.
Cold weather may limit people from hanging out in the alleyway, Watson said, but it doesn’t stop people from coming.

“It just means we have a huge pile of jackets left behind that kids come back to pick up the next day,” Watson said.