Saint Andrews Hall Detroit's Iconic Concert Venue
 

Bands List

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Adam Ant

Adema

Adrian Belew

AFI

Agnostic Front

Aimee Mann

Alarm

Albert Collins

Alice In Chains

Anthrax

Bad Brains

Bad Manners

Bangles

Bauhaus

Beastie Boys

Beat Farmers

Beck

Ben Folds Five

Berlin

Big Country

Billy Bragg

Black Crowes

Black Eyed Peas

Black Flag

Black Market

Blind Melon

Blues Traveler

Blur

Bob Dylan

Bow Wow Wow

Buckcherry

Buckwheat Zydeco

Buddy Guy

Bush

Butthole Surfers

Buzzcocks

Cadillac Kidz

Carl Perkins

Cheap Trick

Chevelle

Circle Jerks

Coal Chamber

Concrete Blonde

Corrosion of Conformity

Counting Crows

Cramps

Culture Club

Cypress Hill

D-12

Damned

Dashboard Confessional

David Bryne

De La Soul

Dead Kennedys

Dead Milkmen

Deftones

Delbert McClinton

Dexy's Midnight Runners

Dickey Betts

Dickies

Dinosaur Jr.

Drop Kick Murphy's

Echo & The Bunnymen

Eddy Grant

Edie Brickell

Eminem & D-12

Erykah Badu

Esham

Evelyn King

Everclear

Everlast

Face to Face

Faith No More

Fastball

Figures On A Beach

Fine Young Cannibals

Fiona Apple

Fixx

Flaming Lips

Fleshtones

Flock Of Seagulls

Flogging Molly

Fluffy

Frank Marino

Frankie Goes To Hollywood

Fugees

Gene Loves Jezebel

George Clinton

George Clinton & P-Funk Allstars

Ghostface Killah & Raekwon (Wu Tang Clan)

Gin Blossoms

Girls Against Boys

Godsmack

Goo Goo Dolls

Good Charlotte

Graham Parker

Grandmaster Flash

Green Day

Gun Club

Gwar

H2O

Hatebreed

Hives

Hole

Hoo Doo GurUs

Hoobastank

Houseshoes

Howling Diablos

Husker Du

Ian Hunter

ICP

Iggy Pop

Incubus

INXS

Jane's Addiction

Jesus & Mary Chain

Jim Carroll

Jimmy Cliff

Jimmy Eat World

Joe Satriani

Joe Strummer/ Mescaleros

John Mayer

John Wesley Harding

Johnny Thunder

Juliana Hatfield

Junior Wells

Katrina & The Waves

Keith Sweat

Killing Joke

Knack

Koko Taylor

L.A. Guns

Lemonheads

Lemonheads

Lene Lovich

Limp Bizkit

Little Steven

Live

Living Colour

Liz Phair

Lone Justice

Lords Of The New Church

Love & Rockets

Lucinda Williams

Lyman Woodard Organization

March Springs Eternal in the Best of Lists

 

Every March the Best of Lists come out to guide us through the next year and this season is no different. The never ending Best of Titles suggest the hottest, coolest, friendliest, newest, emo-est (well you get the picture), but actually manages to cloud the real content of the club or venue and are almost as credible as “The World’s Best Coffee”.

 

Saint Andrew’s Hall is certainly worthy of one distinction that could never be challenged, “Iconic”. The Hall which is over 100 years old, with the auditorium later consummating its visionary completion in 1912, was originally the home of Detroit’s St. Andrew’s Society, organized in 1849 for the Benevolence, Patriotism and Fraternity of Scotchmen and their Descendants.

Since 1978 however, the “Three Floors of Fun” at Saint Andrew’s have been home to their own objectives as one of the longest continuously run music venues in the country. Clutch Cargo’s presents and Ritual held a booking agreement with the St. Andrew’s Society of Detroit until 1994, when they purchased the building outright. Today, Saint Andrew’s Hall is owned and operated by Live Nation, whose recent merger with Ticketmaster makes them one gigantic name in the concert business.   

 

The predominantly rock venue is comprised of The Burns Room which until recently was used as the third floor of activity in this funhouse and now serves as the “dressing room” for incoming artists, The Auditorium which houses the ballroom, main stage and features a full length bar and The Shelter which during the 90’s went through a dramatic overhaul to become an oasis at the venue in the lower level.

 

Capacity at Saint Andrew’s is 818, thanks in part to the Great White incident in Rhode Island, and is much more comfortable than the previously unregulated 1,000 (or more). The Rhode Island fire reclassification not only created capacity changes, a quarter of million dollars in physical changes were made to the building, including fire sprinkler systems, rubberized back stairs and fire rated doors. If you had been to the Hall prior to these changes you’ll recall experiences of the building being so packed with people, that many were stranded in the lobby and couldn’t get into the ballroom to see the show.

 

Saint Andrew’s Hall caters to a variety of crowds, not unlike its unusual list of shows. Patrons and performers move throughout the building without attracting too much attention, in the relaxed, low key environment, unlike the larger more heavily guarded venues. When going to Saint Andrew’s you have to remember you are attending a rock show, there are no chairs or seating in the main auditorium and the aptly named Shelter can be a refuge where you can go to sit down, smoke or get away for awhile. 

 

The typical fare of talent served up in this extraordinary place is an alumni club with a veritable “Who’s Who” list of artists of their day (Nirvana, Stevie Ray Vaughn), legendary Hall of Famers (Bob Dylan, Patti Smith), local performers on the rise (Eminem), and the next best acts (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Black Eyed Peas), along with your very long list of ordinary ones. The Shelter has been host to plenty of talent itself with John Mayer (yes, “The” John Mayer), Queens of the Stone Age and local bands like the Howling Diablos.

 

St. Andrew’s Society of Detroit

 

“For the relief of the indigent and unfortunate of our Countrymen, and for the promotion of harmony and good feeling amongst ourselves, we the undersigned Scotchmen and Descendants of Scotchmen, with Benevolence for our motto, do unite ourselves into a Society and agree to abide by the following Constitution of the St. Andrew’s Society of Detroit.”

 
On November 30^th, 1849 the St. Andrew’s Society of Detroit was formed by 35 men as a result of a growing number of Scots who continued to emigrate to the U.S. and began moving into the Midwest. By the early 1900’s, the auto industry began to develop, Detroit quickly expanded and so did the Society’s membership growing to over 1,200 men by 1906. Until that time the Society had met at various locations but had no official home of their own.

 

On August 3^rd, 1907 the cornerstone was laid for St. Andrew’s Hall at 431 East Congress Street and with the completion of the new Auditorium a vision was fulfilled opening to the public on November 22^nd, 1912. The cost of the land and construction of the building was under $50,000, but the building of their own was “a thing of beauty”. A large brownstone-type building, the main floor held a ballroom billed to seat a thousand guests, stage and small meeting rooms, The Burns Room (second floor) was reserved for Society meetings and the basement was available for “informal” entertaining.

 

By the late 1980’s the Society membership was declining, members not feeling safe to come downtown, they eventually sold the only building they ever knew as home in 1994.

 

The Burns Room (Upstairs)

 

The Burns Room is assumed to be named in immortal memory of the beloved Robert Burns, famous Scot poet, who adapted the traditional song Auld Lang Syne. The St. Andrew’s Society meetings continued even through the shared existence with the music venue until the sale of the building. Afterwards it became a third floor of added value with live shows or DJ performances until November of 2009.

 

The room is a large open space with wood floors and trim, large floor to ceiling windows arched at their tops. An aged wooden staircase leads to a similarly fashioned balcony area that overlooks the room with its tall ceiling and chandeliers, now tilted from many years of revelry.

 

The room is furnished with a random collection of comfort zones to accommodate the special guests of Saint Andrew’s in its current role as the dressing room for the performers at the venue and has seen it fair share of wild activities as one might imagine.

 

The bathroom adjacent to the Burns Room has become a monument to the music venue as many have inscribed their band names, date of performance and in some instances remarks (photo left). The bathroom is now filled with the names of bands that mark the walls, ceilings and woodwork like a glorious wallpaper pattern that is never to be replaced. Bands like Good Charlotte, Muse, Gym Class Heroes have signed the wall; even Nirvana, whose inscription was mysteriously cut out of the drywall and now serves as someone’s personal souvenir (photo right). 
  

 

The Auditorium (Main Level)

 

The Main Floor of the building is made up of the entrance lobby, the ballroom (auditorium) with balcony, the stage area and a bar. Nothing in the ballroom has changed since the original building was erected except for the bar in ’98, which used to be two smaller sized bars on either side of the floor and now is one full length bar on the house left side of the stage.

 

The entrance from the lobby to the ballroom is through two French doors that have probably seen well over a million guests over the nearly 100 years. The ballroom features well worn wood floors, two staircases that lead to the upper balcony whose facade lines three sides of the auditorium, curved side walls that are met at the center with wood ceiling panels and a lighting grid overhead that includes a mirrored ball.

 

The balcony, which features one of the most unique vantage points to view a performance in the country, regularly fills up first when a major performer is playing at Saint Andrew’s Hall and gets great attention from the acts playing the venue.   

 

The stage is simple, not very large, on wood floor, black walls and features the recently painted “Saint Andrew” logo on the back wall (see photo right). Raised only a few feet from the ground the artists remain in close view and proximity of the concert goers at this venue which magnifies each performance.

 

The real hallowed ground of this Hall is the band inscriptions high above the side wing walls not visible to the audience (house right). Here the band graffiti is prominently displayed and the legendary Red Hot Chili Peppers drawing is revered by all who have been in its presence (see photo below).  



 

A show piece itself, the bar that is bathed in glowing light, runs the full length on the house left side of the ballroom and offers a huge selection of beers from Budweiser, Goose Island IPA to Rouge Dead Guy Ale. Regardless of the acts, type of crowd or the economy this part of the venue has always been a top performer. 

 

 

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