yay! i am a fan!
i have been to music venues all over the world (small and large), and i was pleasantly surprised with the highdive! the staff is friendly, the sound is good, and the drinks are cheap. though they do not serve food, they allow you to bring food in from the pizza place next door. and whereas some venues have so many rules and the staff acts like fascist dictators, the staff at the high dive is incredibly chill.
my one complaint is the parking situation. it's hard not to get a parking ticket here as the meters go until 9pm (ridiculous for a town of this size. sorry...), and the highdive does not have its own lot. there are no un-metered spots for miles. the public transportation in champaign is not world class (and i really didn't want to find far away parking and hop on a bus after the long drive to get here), so that's not really an option. i don't think this is the venue's fault, but i do wish they had more ample parking.