The Big Bang in Tempe to Close on September 6

The Big Bang in Tempe are about to go silent after more than a decade. Owners of the underground piano bar, a hallmark of Mill Avenue's nightlife scene since it opened 2003, have announced that it will closing its doors on September 6. Recent messages on both the bar's voicemail...

By Benjamin Leatherman

August 26, 2014

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The Big Bang in Tempe are about to go silent after more than a decade. Owners of the underground piano bar, a hallmark of Mill Avenue's nightlife scene since it opened 2003, have announced that it will closing its doors on September 6.

Recent messages on both the bar's voicemail and its Facebook account informed its patronage of the closure. And while no reasons are given for the big end of the Big Bang, the messages encouraged its regulars and fans to attend the spot's final nights in operation.

Flickr via JuanR0driguez

(The Tempe location is one of three Big Bangs in operation around the country. Calls to both the bar and national headquarters for the franchise have not been returned as of this writing.)

Those who show up for one last round at the basement-level bar, which is situated on the lower level of a bar-heavy building at the corner of Mill Avenue and Fifth Street, will be the last of a long line of rock fans, night owls, college kids, bachelorettes, couples, and drinkers who stopped by the Big Bang over the years for an evening of rock and pop covers performed on the dueling pianos.

Nightly revues of radio hits, pop standards, old favorites, and classic rock tunes performed in lively and rowdy fashion by the bar's resident pianists, usually backed up a guitarist and drummer, have been the big draw at the Big Bang since its debut. (And yes, they played Billy Joel's "Piano Man" with great regularity.)

Mass singalongs by crowds regularly resulted, with the volume getting louder as the night wore on and the alcohol really kicked in. Thanks to its spirited atmosphere, the Big Bang was a popular spot for folks celebrating birthdays, anniversaries, and other happy occasions.

However, strident renditions of "Sweet Caroline" and "Last Dance With Mary Jane" being sung by the inebriated wasn't the only sort of rock action at the basement bar, as it also occasionally hosted a few local indie bands now and again, such as Jared and the Mill, Palms, and Stellacutta.

Like with any of the ever-growing number of Tempe music joints to close within the last several months, the regulars are certainly saddened by it's shuttering. One Valley resident by the name of Courtney Jacobs made the following reply to the announcement of Big Bang's closing on Facebook:

"The Big Bang is one of the few remaining gems of Tempe and Mill Ave. From birthdays to going away parties, first dates to random Tuesday nights, The Big Bang has been a HUUUGE part of our lives," Jacobs wrote. "My husband and I had our first dates there. My best friends and I spent our summers there. It is so sad to see this piece of our little history close."

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Benjamin Leatherman is a staff writer for Phoenix New Times where he focuses primarily on arts, culture, music, and nightlife. He began writing for New Times in 2003 and joined the staff full-time in 2005. Prior to that, he contributed to magazines such as Tips & Tricks and The Wrestler. Benjamin has earned multiple awards from the Arizona Press Club including an award for sports enterprise reporting in 2009 and an award for statewide arts reporting in 2014. He holds a bachelor’s of arts in journalism from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Contact: Benjamin Leatherman

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