Audio By Carbonatix
Another Tempe music venue has gone down for the count as Stray Cat Bar & Grill — a venue for numerous local rock, punk, and hip-hop shows over the past decade — quietly closed over the weekend.
The announcement of the bar’s closing came as a surprise to some patrons. An update to the bar’s Facebook page on Sunday morning stated that it would close later that night after “one last hurrah.” The cause of the shuttering was not stated, though we’re willing to guess it was related to money.
Replies made to the Facebook post were of an astonished nature, including some from a few people stating the closure was unexpected. Others stated that it wasn’t surprising at all.
Regardless of whether or not its patrons could’ve predicted the Stray Cat going RIP, its closure represents the loss of yet another Tempe live music venue within the past couple of years.
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Tucked away near the Tempe/Mesa border along University Drive, Stray Cat was the longtime home for hip-hop event WTFunk? Friday for several years before the night moved down the street to Club Red/Red Owl and became a monthly.
Besides featuring rock acts of the metal and industrial variety, Stray Cat was at one time a haven for local punk bands, as local website AZPunk put on several benefits and release parties at Stray Cat. Valley Fever resident DJ Johnny Volume also launched his old Banned! in Tempe punk/hardcore night there way back when.
Like many others, Volume marked the passing of the bar on Facebook earlier today.
“Stray Cat was a very special place to me, and I will always remember it fondly,” he wrote.
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