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Old 05-12-2012, 04:32 PM
 
Location: Tempe
1,832 posts, read 5,765,818 times
Reputation: 1738

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Sad to see it close I have seen many great comedians there. Looks like Standup Live in downtown Phoenix did them dirty.
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Old 05-12-2012, 04:57 PM
 
Location: Sonoran Desert
39,078 posts, read 51,239,172 times
Reputation: 28324
Quote:
Originally Posted by LocoAZnative View Post
Sad to see it close I have seen many great comedians there. Looks like Standup Live in downtown Phoenix did them dirty.
I heard that. Used to go there a lot. It's hard to believe that downtown Phoenix can out draw Tempe. Times must be a-changin'.
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Old 05-12-2012, 05:02 PM
 
Location: Phoenix
640 posts, read 957,842 times
Reputation: 1496
They had a nice monopoly in Valley for many years while they were really the only place to see good comedians. It's amazing what a little competition will do. I've been to both places in the past couple years and thought overall Stand Up Live to be a better experience.
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Old 05-12-2012, 05:55 PM
 
Location: Tempe
1,832 posts, read 5,765,818 times
Reputation: 1738
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ponderosa View Post
I heard that. Used to go there a lot. It's hard to believe that downtown Phoenix can out draw Tempe. Times must be a-changin'.
looks more like prior partners @ tghe Tempe Improv took their booking book and poached talent. Pretty shady esp ecially when Standup Live wont be around in 5 years.
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Old 05-12-2012, 09:49 PM
 
10,719 posts, read 20,300,551 times
Reputation: 10021
Quote:
Originally Posted by LocoAZnative View Post
looks more like prior partners @ tghe Tempe Improv took their booking book and poached talent. Pretty shady esp ecially when Standup Live wont be around in 5 years.
That is not quite the entire story. There were many problems with the Improv. They did not upgrade since their opening. Their food was substandard. There were rumors the owner was not very friendly to performers and staff.

Losing a booking agent or list of contacts seems like a weak excuse. How is it that a club has been in operation for decades and suddenly closes within 6 months of a new club opening because they lost contacts. You would think the owner would have made some contacts and not relied so heavily on one book or agent. Why is it that Dodge Theatre can still lure acts but the Improv can't? Finally, the biggest reason for the Improv's closing was due to business. Standup Live was able to lure performers by arranging for other dates at different locations which the Improv couldn't compete with.

I think some element of their closing has to do with lacking competition and having a monopoly over the industry. They did little to use reinvest their earnings and improve the quality of their product. And when competition arrived, they just couldn't compete. Their location was not ideal and the strip mall it's located in has gotten worse over the years. They probably should have moved to a better location and in a more contemporary building like in Old Town Scottsdale.

I am sad they are closing and I think we as consumers benefit by having more options but sadly this is typical Arizona tale of being the sole act in town and failing to improve in quality due to a lack of pressure from competition.
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Old 05-12-2012, 10:36 PM
 
Location: AZ
1,046 posts, read 3,484,627 times
Reputation: 682
I was listening to something on the radio a few days ago....

Is is true that it was bought a couple/few years ago by some new people?..
They turned it into a family friendly/Christian place with no alcohol sales.

Christian Comedy with no alcohol sales = Comedy club going out of business.
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Old 05-29-2012, 07:45 PM
 
Location: the AZ desert
5,035 posts, read 9,225,324 times
Reputation: 8289
It doesn't sound like the owner is taking things well.

Missing comedy club owner believed to be suffering from mental breakdown, family says
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Old 05-29-2012, 09:13 PM
 
168 posts, read 456,464 times
Reputation: 216
Quote:
Originally Posted by roundball View Post
I was listening to something on the radio a few days ago....

Is is true that it was bought a couple/few years ago by some new people?..
They turned it into a family friendly/Christian place with no alcohol sales.

Christian Comedy with no alcohol sales = Comedy club going out of business.
If that happened, it's been within the past year. We saw a show there last year that was definitely NOT Christian/family friendly and we definitely DID drink alcohol.

Too bad it's closing. But I agree - it needed updating. There was an element of 80's dingy-ness to it.
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Old 05-30-2012, 05:03 AM
 
3,822 posts, read 9,478,654 times
Reputation: 5160
Met the owner once on a sales call, one of the weirdest sales appointments that I ever had. He would only meet vendors and potential vendors between 9 PM and midnight on Friday night. Then you had to sit outside of his office until he decided to call you in to talk with you. If you were a woman he would let you in right away, so I ended up spending over two hours cooling my heels outside of his office. The sales call went fine, I had the right product/price he was looking for. But I never pursued it any further, it wasn't worth wasting my Friday nights to service his account.
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Old 06-07-2012, 08:22 PM
 
Location: the AZ desert
5,035 posts, read 9,225,324 times
Reputation: 8289
Tempe Improv owner Mark Anderson found dead in Buckeye, police say

"The owner of the Tempe Improv who was missing for more than three weeks was found dead Wednesday morning in a hotel room in Buckeye, police said.

Mark Anderson, 60, was reported missing by his wife on May 15, according to an Oklahoma City police report."
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