There is no surprise that a unanimous vote led to The Marquee being the top ranked music venue on our site. (For the sake of the article, lets all agree to just use the name The Marquee from here on out. I know that its gone through a few different changes/names, but it’s just easier this way)

Dating back to June 2006 (when I first moved to the city) The Marquee was always one of the top billed venues to check out live music. With a nice big room upstairs to house the bigger named acts coming through, to the smaller area in the basement which was always rocking with the harder edged music (and a built in pizza joint, that offered some of the best pizza in town). The Marquee had everything you could want in a live music venue; a large area to dance, musical selection, a big bar (sometimes undermanned) a room that wasn’t square thus allowing people the opportunity to shuffle towards the back, in order to gather their wits after being smacked around musically by whichever awesome band was on the stage. The sound was usually spot on, and only very rarely left an ugly taste with the crowd (that would have to be blamed on the shotty soundman that would show up every once in a blue moon).

Overall this venue had an indescribable feel. It might not have been the best looking place in town, but it had a vibe that you just can’t match; it had character. Bands played differently at The Marquee. They took what they already had and pushed it up a notch. It was as if the crowd demanded a show be put on and the bands always complied.

Whether it were local heroes like The Jimmy Swift Band, Wintersleep and Slowcoaster or international chart toppers such as Hot Hot Heat, Bloc Party and Arcade Fire, you knew that you were in for one hell of a show.