Venturing down to Lyle's Pub on Saturday, Feb. 23, it was hard to ignore the sounds reverberating up through the JRC, the long line of coats in the hallway and the constant stream of curious students. The room was packed while student bands The Klezbians and Vegetable Medley play; it was nearly impossible to make it to the bar. Not bad for a basement that used to only see crowds for tornado warnings.

The opening of Lyle's means a new venue for campus bands, and Conor McGee '08, manager, said that was always an intended use of the new space. "It's been our goal to have this be a place for student groups, whether it's having concerts or having art on the walls," he said.

According to McGee, the original plans for Lyle's included a stage that either the pub or Concerts would fund, but they were never carried out. A space near the south end of the pub was cleared for the bands, with fans filling nearly every corner of the space.

For the grand opening, McGee could think of no better choice than campus favorite Vegetable Medley to perform. "They're a popular band, and we all like them," he said. The Klezbians, a new klezmer-style band, approached McGee about playing, and the two were scheduled together for the grand opening.

Both McGee and Vegetable Medley members agreed that the acoustics in Lyle's are surprisingly good. "That show actually got recorded by the Klezbians, and the recording came out really well," McGee said.

Mark D'Agostino '08, a member of Vegetable Medley, was also impressed. "I think it sounded surprisingly good," he said. "The only concern was congestion in the actual space. The tables got in the way."

McGee was pleased with how the first show went. "We did get a pretty good response, and we know that people want to come to shows," he said.

But don't expect there to be bands every night. "If you have an event every night of the week," McGee said, "it overshadows the fundamental purpose of the pub, which is to provide a space for students and faculty and the campus community in general to interact and chill out."

On a semi-joking note, D'Agostino thought that the strict ID policy for serving alcohol affected the crowd. "Inebriated fans are frequently good fans," he said, observing that the median age of the crowd increased as the night went on as underage fans left to find more accessible sources of alcohol.

McGee alluded to the possibility of regular events, including an additional jazz night and a quiz night on Wednesdays, adding that he hoped to "cultivate a symbiotic relationship with Bob's" with regards to events and acts. But for now, "we're playing pretty much everything by the seat of our pants."