Photo by Ben Slowey
MKeUltra - Interior
MKeUltra DJ booth and stage
MKeUltra, located at 1535 W Mitchell St., is a new DIY event space and performance venue situated two blocks west of where Historic Mitchell St. ends. Opened earlier this year, MKeUltra has quickly become a busy hub for live local music with many shows each week, welcoming acts of all sounds and styles.
With a maximum capacity of 49, MKeUltra features a wood floor stage that sits before a red curtain. A DJ booth off to the side is illuminated by glowing pink lights. Couches and comfortable chairs line the room in a dimmed ambiance. The bar is stocked with beer, wine and non-alcoholic options. If one needs fresh air or a smoke break, the backyard contains a fire pit and plentiful seating.
The venue’s name is a play on a top-secret government experiment. Fittingly, MKeUltra keeps a low profile from the outside, lacking visible signage. The owners recommend that patrons enter through the wooden side gate, reserving the front door for load-in.
MKeUltra is run by three longtime friends Dave Pacifico, Brian Hospital and Andy Worzella, who all play together in the band Age/Out. They originally found the place in 2019 while looking for a new practice and recording space on Craigslist. Prior to them moving in, the building had previously been a bar, a motorcycle gang clubhouse and a church. “We had a lot of room, so we thought it’d be fun to do shows here,” Worzella recalls. “Then 2020 happened, so we hit the brakes on that idea until last year.”
Over the years, the three men gradually furnished the space, hosting one-off shows here and there. Come this past April, MKeUltra began having consistent weekly shows, the first of which featured local bands El Wrongo and Hazefader in addition to Bimbo from Michigan. Its calendar quickly filled up; since then, acts have come from as far as New York, Colorado, Texas, Oregon and even Ireland.
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Hospital affirms, “It’s tough to find places to play when you’re a touring band, so it’s nice to be able to do that for a lot of those bands.”
MKeUltra is equipped with a backline drum kit and both guitar and bass cabinets, all of which may be used free of charge. Bands and artists who play MKeUltra are treated to the venue’s signature hospitality of vegan rice and beans. “The sound here is great, and that’s because these guys have done a huge amount of work to tune the sound system to the room,” Pacifico says. “People bring super positive attitudes to the shows.”
While MKeUltra has mostly featured just music so far, the owners are open to hosting creative events of all kinds. “The quirkier, the better,” Hospital says. For a full list of upcoming shows, visit the MKeUltra website. For booking, contact mkeultrallc@gmail.com.
