One of Toronto’s most reliable music venues is closing its doors.
The Mod Club posted a message on its Facebook and Twitter pages Friday night, saying goodbye to its customers.
“We regret to inform you that The Mod Club Theatre will be closing its doors and operations at 722 College Street, Toronto ON effective Immediately,” they wrote.
“Serving you for the last two decades has been full of great memories and good times! We hope we have been successful in adding to the community since we first opened doors in 2002. Our goal was always striving to bring big smiles, positive vibrations, and memories that will last a lifetime.
“Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for the years of love, we appreciate every single one of you! Let the good times keep Rollin’…”
Mod Club was the brainchild of Mark Holmes of Canadian band Platinum Blonde, which had a handful of hits in the 80s. One of them was Not In Love, which was later covered by Crystal Castles with the Cure’s Robert Smith. He was later known as DJ MRK. In the 2000s, the Mod Club became one of the city’s most popular indie rock dance clubs, which were trendy at the time.
The Little Italy club has been a fixture of the nightlife and music scenes since the early 2000s. It opened in 2002 after a club night at Lava Lounge and the Revival, paying tribute to the 60s UK mod subculture and its many offshoots and revivals. It also hosted many hip-hop and EDM nights and mid-level concerts for a crowd that topped out at 600 people. It was a venue for the city’s two major club-level music festivals, NXNE and CMW.
Notably, the Mod Club hosted the first ever concert by the Weeknd in 2011. It remained a major stepping stone venues for a number of local artists on their way up in the last few years, including Charlotte Day Wilson, Daniel Caesar and Jessie Reyez.
No reason was initially given for the closure, but music venues have been struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Mod Club was sitting empty. The Mod Club was one of 45 music venues given tax relief by the Toronto government, but even with such programs and tide-overs like livestreaming, many venues have had to make a tough decision about whether to stay open. It seems the Mod Club has chosen not to.
