Setlist: 2008-07-05 - Toad\'s Place; New Haven, CT

[Drew_Kingsley]

Maybe this rant is a bit redundant and unnecessary two days after the show, but this has been bugging me:

Why do we seem to talk about "supporting the band" as if it\'s a painful experience to go to a show and that we would only go because our friends are in the band? A lot of us are, to one extent or another, friends with the members of The Breakfast. But we go to shows because we love the music, and we go, for the most part, whenever we can. "Whenever we can" includes accommodating family, other friends, work, financial situation and whatever else. Under 500 heads at Toad\'s is pretty weak overall, but no fan, regardless of past attendance history, deserves to shoulder the blame for missing a show on a holiday weekend.

[Yoda]

No fan needs to shoulder the blame for missing any show; they go when they can or want to.

[Klout]

i dont think 300 is a bad draw day after the 4th consider is is pretty much a whole new band

[Jim Cobb]

not that i want to be a debbie downer here, but lets not forget that 150-200 of those paid were there to see the openers and split after a few bfast tunes.  seriously, it\'s not like there were 300 people raging it till 2am.

that said, i\'m loving the new material.  metropolis is awesome.

[SkyePrizm]

i dont think 300 is a bad draw day after the 4th consider is is pretty much a whole new band

I really think the saturday after the 4th would be a really hard sell for ANY local band.  Its not just because its The Breakfast.  I think the crowd they got at toad\'s is decent.   To be honest, I think the music scene at Toad\'s especially and in New Haven is on a decline (I think someone mentioned that earlier).  It makes promotion ten times harder.  Also, Yalies are gone.  Colleges are gone.  A big base of younger folks to tap in to are nowhere to be found.  I think we can hope for the best and see what happens with the shows at Daniel Street for the rest of the month.  Really try to spread the word of mouth for those local shows and pack that place (though smaller).  

In any case,what they do IS an accomplishment.   And it can be agreed we all love the band.  We all want the band to succeed.  We all make the shows when we can.  We are all fans with huge hearts.

[freddiewaht]

not to mention,there was probably 75-100 folks on the guestlist..
"i know the guys from highschool"
"our families are friends"
"i take pics of the band"
"my sisters cousin is the cousin of one of the bandmembers"
its bullshit

[bdfreetuna]

^^Truth

That one year I spent going to 35 shows or whatever is never going to happen again. These days if I can make 50% of the shows I check off attendance for, I\'m doing pretty good.

At some point in most lives, responsibilities and priorities shift.

Going to see The Breakfast is still one of my favorite of all things to do. But I can\'t travel as far or nearly as often as I forced myself to in my heavy soul-searching years.

With gas prices on the rise and the inevitable and near infrastructure and economic readjustments I have found myself preparing by #1 saving as much as I possibly can while I still can, and #2 not going to as many shows, but instead choosing to go to Vibes and Up North. My decision to go to Up North was influenced by the fact that Breakfast is playing there, as well as Ratdog, and the fact that I\'d love to watch the white mountains melt into the sunset.

I understand why people get upset at weak turnouts. Just keep in mind there are plenty of people who couldn\'t make it, who love the band just as much as you.

[Klout]

your right freddy the redic 50+ person guest lists are bullshit.

everyone here can afford the additional 7-10 bucks for admission. No reason to take that out of the band or venues pocket.

I used to ask to be on every time till I realized how idiotic and selfish it was.

gl should be strictly limited to girlfriends and family members.

if you think your owed it maybe you are, I am not saying you are not, but paying would still help the band and their impression they make on venues so why not just bite the bullet and throw down. If your really hurting for money skip a drink or two at the bar and just enjoy what you are there for...the tunes.

someone should really put their foot down on this.

-end rant

-mods feel free to merge this into the .info armchair management thread heh

[freddiewaht]

your right freddy the redic 50+ person guest lists are bullshit.

everyone here can afford the additional 7-10 bucks for admission. No reason to take that out of the band or venues pocket.

I used to ask to be on every time till I realized how idiotic and selfish it was.

gl should be strictly limited to girlfriends and family members.

if you think your owed it maybe you are, I am not saying you are not, but paying would still help the band and their impression they make on venues so why not just bite the bullet and throw down. If your really hurting for money skip a drink or two at the bar and just enjoy what you are there for...the tunes.

someone should really put their foot down on this.

-end rant

-mods feel free to merge this into the .info armchair management thread heh

i dont wanna be on a guestlist unless i actually do something to help the band for that particular show.to me,thats justified.just because you know the guys and have nothing better to do with your life but go see them as often as possible,to me,dosent justify a guestlist spot.

[Yoda]

It\'s up to the band to decide who they put on the guest list.  If it\'s that much of an issue to them, they need to learn how to say no to people.  I don\'t ever remember asking to be on the guest list, but I do remember lugging Jordan\'s organ in and not being asked to pay.

[postom]

maybe they need to, as much as it would hurt us, re-locate to a place where people aren\'t miserable fucks, like the midwest or cali or something, anything\'s better than wasting away here on the shitty mostly miserable, eternally pessimistic east coast, they deserve better, they are better. better than most.

sorry.

first of all, that\'s a POSITIVE thing about the east coast.  we\'re not all miserable fucks.  it\'s called THE TRUTH.  i\'ll take a little negativity and pessimism because it\'s REAL and HONEST.  it should push you to create change.

way better than lovey dovey sugar coated bullshit fluffing that you\'d get from some people from other areas of the country.  people need to be honest.

i wasn\'t there but it\'s true, we gotta find a way to get more people to go to shows.  

instead of bitching no one\'s there go do promo to people you\'ve never met before.

take what you don\'t like and fucking do something to change it.



wake up

[Todd]

Just an fyi- the guest list is VERY short these days.

[Ren]

tsk tsk tsk...

[leith]

maybe they need to, as much as it would hurt us, re-locate to a place where people aren\'t miserable fucks, like the midwest or cali or something, anything\'s better than wasting away here on the shitty mostly miserable, eternally pessimistic east coast, they deserve better, they are better. better than most.

sorry.

first of all, that\'s a POSITIVE thing about the east coast.  we\'re not all miserable fucks.  it\'s called THE TRUTH.  i\'ll take a little negativity and pessimism because it\'s REAL and HONEST.  it should push you to create change.

way better than lovey dovey sugar coated bullshit fluffing that you\'d get from some people from other areas of the country.  people need to be honest.

i wasn\'t there but it\'s true, we gotta find a way to get more people to go to shows.  

instead of bitching no one\'s there go do promo to people you\'ve never met before.

take what you don\'t like and fucking do something to change it.



wake up

First of all, if you\'re going to use first of all you should follow it w/ at least a second.
Second of all, you can be honest w/o being a pessimistic miserable fuck. You seem to be trying to justify the east coast\'s shitty attitude in general for honesty when it\'s actually just frustration at living in a shitty part of the country with way to many people in too small an area.
Third of all, you can be a fluffer and all lovey dovey and still be honest about it. Really you can.
Fourth of all, please take the above 3 with as much seriousness as a really good clown could muster.

Oh and yeah promo or no, sometimes a crowd is just not there in New Haven it seems.

[psychjosh]

Looks like a very ser set ( Rush cover= the Heat I\'m sure ) and over 300 paid?
That is a great fucking night for this band and if you think not you expect way too much.

That is definitely NOT an acceptable number for this band at Toads Place. Call a spade a spade. 500 should be the standard and to be honest.. 10 years in I expect even more.
That being said the played brilliantly and vocally have never sounded better.
IMO they should limit CT appearance to 4 per year..period..maye then folks woud take these shows more seriously.
Absence makes the heart grow fonder!

Why would you expect a bigger crowd? They have a poor record at Toad\'s and I am sure that being a holiday weekend a bunch of kids may be at home away from New Haven.
300 paid without a built in crowd is great.

You would expect more and as luck has it you are probably one of the few people that can do something about it. Please do.

Yeah play CT. 4 times a year for an extra 200 or so people for those shows. What?

This band used to pull at least 500 at Toads. There were more than a few occasions that saw them doing 750 plus which is a "sell out"
Reasons for the decline in heads are vast. To sit here and tear up the band or fans is pointless. Hopefully they deal with things and get it back on track (in a business sense)
The east coast is such a condensed market that with 4 CT plays and the same types of numbers in immediate surrounding markets... that would make people attend their home shows and even travel more because the band would be "in demand" at that point. Add 200 people to each of the shows they play and I bet 1000 bucks they\'d be on Vibes and a dozen other fests. as well as increasing their net worth in those markets and cash in their pockets!!

And for what it\'s worth.. I\'d be a miserable fuck in the midwest also.