walsh, my question is this~ if i live in va and know that the webster is one of the worst venues around, then obviously local folks know it too. so, why would you want to book gigs at a place that people don\'t want to go to? i think i read somewhere that they get paid well to play there, so that\'s one (good) reason, but beyond that??? i mean, if tB were playing, say, a rented out theatre or a slightly smaller than toads type club, don\'t you think more folks would be inclined to go to the show? maybe the reason that most of the recent webster shows have had such crappy attendance is that no one wants to go through the hassle?
now, maybe i\'m clueless and the webster fills up all the time with other acts. but, personally, i find that hard to believe. i wouldn\'t go back there for any band, frankly. and i certainly wouldn\'t come up for nye there (or halloween, for that matter), even though i really want to see the boys. i mean, if it were work-possible, i\'d be at the beardslee show and then drive home. and i didn\'t even get searched that tough at the webster. but the room wasn\'t built for sound, hasn\'t been modified for sound and has the complete wrong soundsystem/pa for shows based on the size/shape of the room. maybe i\'m just a snob, but that\'s three strikes, to me....
i dunno where they should play, but are there any alternative venues that maybe aren\'t always/usually music venues that they could play? somewhere where fans could get n early and party decorate the place into a psychedelic wonderland? someplace that the location alone would induce people to go rather than hinder them?