The Monkey House (“The Monkey”) is a small venue located in the heart of Winooski right across from Spinner Place. The Monkey hosts some of the most up and coming musicians, such as Phantogram, who played their first Burlington area show at The Monkey.
When I asked Courtney Weitz, a Champlain student and resident of Spinner, if she went to The Monkey House, she replied, “What the heck is The Monkey House?” Most students seem to have the same reaction as Weitz.
Padraic Reagan, head of booking, acknowledges “Winooski is out of the way.” However, unlike Burlington, Winooski does not have laws prohibiting the number of underage patrons.
Higher Ground, the biggest venue in the Burlington area, kicks shows to The Monkey. Where, artists have a chance to play an intimate show. This is exactly what happened in the case of Phantogram. Their name is now recognized among Indie Pop enthusiasts. The band played their first Burlington show at The Monkey. Then, when they came back to Burlington they opened at Higher Ground; and on November 20th Phantogram will be headlining the Higher Ground Ballroom.
Sarah Barthel, of Phantogram studied Visual Arts at Champlain, before starting the band “Charlie Everywhere”, which changed their name after signing to Barely Braking Even Records
Another resounding complaint is that students don’t want to pay a cover for a band they might not like. Reagan had this to say, “A lot of the stuff we do is five to ten dollars,” most of which goes to keeping the band on the road. Even for a struggling college student a night out for five dollars is doable. You may not love the band, but go with friends and it will be money well spent just for the atmosphere alone.
Kelly Ravin was the first person to play The Monkey when it came into new ownership back in ’06. Ravin asserts that The Monkey is a great venue for all musicians, whether established or just breaking into the business. “Stop going to Main Street and Church Street and come over the bridge,” is Ravin’s message to Champlain students.
