Refectory is an upscale word, isn't it? It's really much more classy than "cafeteria" or "canteen" or even "dining hall". "I'll meet you for a repast in the refectory" is better than "I'll see you when I'm trying to choke down an inedible, dry sandwich in the cafeteria". It was called a refectory when I attended the original General Theological Seminary in New York City and even on days that were challenged by Chef Ernie's tripe soup, it was still somewhat elegant to spend time in a...ahem...refectory.
The thing is, refectories are large rooms that serve a purpose maybe eighteen times a week. A room of that size, left empty for most of those hours, still consumes a daunting amount of heat and light. Those utilities are expensive, so other uses for the space may be required.
For example, the TRW corporation headquarters in Euclid, Ohio had a workforce of 16,000 and the largest cafeteria I've ever seen. However, in order to assuage costs, even with their vast resources, TRW would rent the massive room to my high school for sports banquets and the infamous senior after-prom. [The official prom was at the school and supervised by teachers and parents; the after-prom was organized by students and some counter-culture parents and usually featured bands of a much higher quality than those of the official prom. The after-prom was never considered a success until the police were called. Ah, youth.]
Leeds University was faced with the same issue in the 1960's. Their refectory could feed 2100 students at a time, but was empty for the majority of the hours of the week. To offset expenses, and with very little adjustment to the facility, the university decided to lease the refectory as a concert venue from time to time. Well, "from time to time" became "frequently", then "weekly"; and, due to the high quality of popular entertainment in England of the swingin' sixties, managed to create, without very much work at all, the most legendary concert venue of the era.
The Leeds equivalent of a student activity committee [that's what they were called in my day] was able, in the mid to late '60's, to summon some up and coming bands to what was the largest indoor performance space in northern England. Thus, they hosted the following:
The Kinks
Led Zeppelin
Pink Floyd
Elton John
Rod Stewart
Deep Purple
and The Rolling Stones
What made it even more desirable a locale for bands was when The Who recorded Live at Leeds there, in what became the best-selling live music album for over a decade.
[An aside: The Who's concert, performed on February 14, 1970, also made history for achieving the highest decibels of any rock concert. So much so that it was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records and The Who's guitarist, Pete Townsend, credits his profound deafness to that evening. Rather proudly credits it, I should add.]
After Live at Leeds, everyone had to play in the cafeteria of a sometimes-dreary northern uni, even when larger stadiums and venues became available. The second generation of musicians to play at Leeds included:
Paul McCartney and Wings
Roxy Music
The Ramones
The Boomtown Rats
ACDC
Fleetwood Mac
Mott the Hoople
Black Sabbath
Leonard Cohen
Queen
Steely Dan
Well, I could go on and on, but you get the idea. Groups more recognizable to my children and their cousins still perform there and relish it as a rite of passage in their industry.
In fact, I'll leave you now and pull out my old records and my favorite bass and enjoy the rest of the evening trying to break The Who's decibel record.
More may be read here, with a great playlist included.
