The Club Downunder on the Florida State University campus in Tallahassee is a storied venue with a rich and long history of providing musical and comedic entertainment on a national, regional and local scale. Formerly the DownUnder Coffeehouse, the CDU started out in the basement of the FSU Oglesby Union, underneath the current Food Court. The first events were presented in the late 1960’s. Singer-songwriters-folk artists were primarily featured, including Jimmy Buffett, Chuck Mitchell, and Gamble Rogers.

In the early 1970’s, the CDU became a favorite venue for local bands of all genres-original rock, jazz, and blues. Comedy was also a staple of the CDU in the mid ‘70’s and legendary shows by Steve Martin and Michael Keaton drew standing room only audiences.. In the late ‘70’s, the CDU became one of the first venues in the south to feature local and regional punk and new wave artists.

In the early 1980’s, the independent music scene blossomed, and regional and national acts hit the road in station wagons and vans looking for college markets to play in. Tallahassee featured many such venues (CA Chapel, Cow Haus were two of note), but the CDU remained the featured venue for most touring indie bands. An incidienary show by The Replacements marked a highlight in the CDU calendar. In the mid 1980’s, the Union went through a major renovation. During the 2 ½ years of construction, the CDU was closed and concerts were moved to the ballrooms, the Union Green, and The Moon.

In the fall of 1988, the Club Downunder opened in it’s current location, a building that formerly housed the FSU bookstore. Finally, the CDU had a permanent home. The calendar at the time featured movie nights, comedians, student organization events, and concerts.

These first couple of years of concerts featured such bands as the Flaming Lips, Sonic Youth (Daydream Nation tour), Alice Donut, Dinosaur Jr, Pylon, Alex Chilton, All, Soundgarden, John Hammond, and the Dead Milkmen.

As alternative music continued to thrive in the early 1990’s, the CDU booked some of the biggest bands in the burgeoning college radio scene. V89 was at the height of its popularity and the CDU stage was graced by the likes of Buffalo Tom, The Lemonheads, The Feelies, Superchunk, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Ween, Cracker, Stone Temple Pilots, Afghan Whigs, Gin Blossoms, the Silos, The Verve, Poster Children, Guided By Voices, Young Fresh Fellows, Archers of Loaf, Goo Goo Dolls, Seaweed, Jawbreaker, Squirrel Nut Zippers, and Jonathan Richman among others.

In the mid to late 90’s the CDU continued doing local and national shows, including Luna, Polvo, TFUL 282, Trans Am, Derek Trucks, Dismemberment Plan, Modest Mouse, Olivia Tremor Control, Elf Power, Galactic, Son Volt, Cibo Matto, June of ’44, Brainiac, Godspeed You Black Emporer!, Low, Promise Ring, Jimmy Eat World, and Jawbox. There were also countless ska and swing bands during this period, which reflected the evolving music scene. Bands such as The Mighty Mighty Bosstones and Squirrel Nut Zippers came to the CDU at the height of the genre’s boom.

For years the CDU shared the space with food service and it housed Wild Pizza and Rally’s for FSU student meal plans. In the summer of 1997 food service left the facility and we were left with a room that was exclusively for events. While food service was still provided during events, it was not open for regular meal plans or lunch hours. For the first time we could start decorating the room ourselves, and did our best to cover up the old stigma of a college cafeteria with a ton of paint. A large dressing room took the place of the Rally’s kitchen and the loading ramp was degreased, making rolling amplifiers less of a contact sport.

At the end of the 1990’s, the CDU suffered from budget cuts and a slowing in the economy. While there were fewer shows during this period, the tradition of excellent bands coming to the CDU continues, with standouts included Death Cab for Cutie, Of Montreal, Mary Timony (of Helium), Rainer Maria, Crooked Fingers, Pedro the Lion, and Juliana Hatfield.

In 2001 the Club Downunder became its own department, now under the name Club Downunder Productions. The Club was renovated once again (the lava lamp years), and the CDU was open 6 days a week, whether for dinner or for events. Big shows started again with the White Stripes, The Donnas, Yellowcard, Har Mar Superstar, Pinback, North Mississippi Allstars, Cat Power, Mofro, Spoon, Iron & Wine, and Ted Leo. Open Mic, Karaoke, or Poetry nights and events such as Charles Atkin’s Blues Lab, Monday Night Football, and student organization events augmented nights without shows. Attendances began to climb again the CDU began to regain its reputation of being a great (and cheap) place to see bands.

2003 brought another new administration and proceeded to hit record marks in attendance and number of shows. Highlights of the past few years include the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Sea & Cake, Mastodon, The Walkmen, Drive-By Truckers, Mark Kozelek, Mouse On Mars, Matchbook Romance, and Rilo Kiley. The CDU is hard to recognize for anyone who remembers the early days. Gone is the turquoise paint, the strange wooden grates over the windows, and the pizza and Pac Man decorated carpet. In the summer of 2004 the room was completely renovated with new paint, all new furniture, and even new fixtures in the bathroom.

In 2005, Student Campus Entertainment (SCE) and Club Downunder re-united as organizations, now joined under the name Union Productions. Union Productions programs all events that happen within the Club Downunder, and the programming areas all work together to build our calendar of shows. The past half decade has seen tens of thousands come through the doors to check out shows from acts such as Andrew Bird, Son Volt, Stars, Okkervil River, and Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings. The Club Downunder is one of the most successful programs on FSU’s campus and continues to churn out year after year of diverse events.

If you have any memories of our archived shows or years in the CDU, please let us know. Comments are encouraged below each year of shows!

As we celebrate our 20th year of being in our very own location, we thank all of you who have performed in our venue, worked long nights in our venue while attending FSU, and visited our venue as our esteemed guests to our numerous and memorable shows.

We look forward to continuing this great tradition of providing Florida State University and Tallahassee with great entertainment and good times.

 

2007
2006 - 2005 - 2004 - 2003 - 2002 - 2001
2000 - 1999 - 1998 - 1997 - 1996 - 1995
1994 - 1993 - 1992 - 1991 - 1990 - 1989