Toronto's historic El Mocambo opens its doors for the first time in years
It seems like all music venues ever do in Toronto is shut down, but the El Mocambo that's been around for over 70 years is actually poised to reopen.
A media walk-through this week offered the public the first glimpses of the glamorously refurbished club and performance space.
If you played a battle of the bands at this place in the past, you'll barely recognize the place. Two completely soundproofed floors are now equipped with a ton of "selfie spots" including custom neon, not to mention state of the art sound equipment.
Each floor can host separate acts on solid concrete stages, and the space has a total capacity of about 700. The second floor features the iconic old El Mo sign flanking the stage, a balcony, and a tiki bar.
There's also a vocal booth for recording and broadcasting, an elevator and a third-floor dressing room that should also encompass a recording space. The venue is also designed to be available for rehearsals, film shoots and special events.
The venue's makeover has already been called "mindblowingly good," and it seems the new El Mo will have bills to match. Apparently the venue is in talks with acts like Pearl Jam, Billy Idol and The Rolling Stones.
"you can expect an average ticket price to run between $100 and $1,000 depending on the performer." IMSORRYWHAAAAAT https://t.co/tJPwNl4CkG
— Lana Gay (@LanaGay) March 4, 2020
Unfortunately that also means no measly $5 cover charges. According to owner Michael Wekerle, tickets for shows here will run more around $100 - $1000.
The El Mo has been closed for around five years, and the updates cost around $30 million.
No firm opening date has been released, but apparently it'll be sometime in early April, most likely April 1 or 4. While this is earlier than a previously promised date prior to Canadian Music Week in May, the El Mo has missed deadlines to reopen in the past.
