mercury lounge
pianos
southpaw
bowery ballroom-sometimes.

schuba's by a country mile

I, too, saw many a show at the old 9:30 club....the unforgettable smell and the long, long front-entry hallway. Still, my first shows (and most recent) were at First Avenue, and this is the yardstick by which all other clubs are measured. Ray Charles played there. So did The Cure. And U2. And James Brown. And the Pixies. And The Replacements. And, of course, Prince. And just about anyone who ever played Minneapolis.

http://www.first-avenue.com/

First Ave has dynamite sound and a colorful history, but I love that dive 400 Club. Artists practically perform on your lap and Bell's is on tap. Uncle!

Lawrence, KS - Bottleneck or The Outhouse

i mentioned spaceland also. it's still free on mondays. my friend's band is doing a residency there this month.

but i said spaceland SUCKS when it's crowded. i cannot stand it.

Shockingly, I don't think I've ever been to a show at Spaceland. I've been to the Echo tons and even that weird one "below" the echo, but never spaceland. I did see Serena Maneesh for free at the echo, though, which was pretty awesome.

I've always liked the Metro in Chicago and Bogart's in Cinci (when they used to get decent shows).

For Indianapolis venues, Birdy's is my favorite followed by The Vogue, Melody Inn, then Emerson Theater. The only one that gets more than one good show a year is The Vogue, though.

Portland's weird... I have yet to find a favorite place to see a show, but Mississippi Studios is damn near perfect. I've only been there once.

Crystal Ballroom is good if there's no kiddies (under 21) there, because otherwise, they put all the old fuckers in the back where they can drink.

Doug Fir is great, smoke-free, but has a very strange layout, which makes it hard to find a good place to see everything.

I've only been to Wonder Ballroom once, and it was cool.

I've seen a lot of great shows at the Roseland, but it's in a not so nice part of town... perhaps Radcliffe's wife's boss should lease a place in that neighborhood.

Might be in the minority, but I never saw a bad show (3) at Berbati's Pan.

Yeah, it's a good place too, as is Dante's. Prior to Berbati's implementing a non-smoking policy, it could be hard to breathe in there at times. That's where I saw Scissor Sisters in 105 degree heat. It was a great show!

i hear ya. i like that you can video tape there. i guess the nyc equivalent to spaceland is the mercury lounge.

Ryman
40 Watt
Georgia Theatre
Bowery Ballroom
I liked Headliner's in Louisville when I saw MMJ there a couple of years ago.

In Boston I like TT's, The Middle East (I kind of like the upstairs more than the downstairs though downstairs is bigger), The Paradise and Bill's Bar.

Axis in Boston is definitely the worst.

I liked The Jackalope, Beerland and Emo's IV most when I was in Austin. Mrs. Bea's was kind of neat too.

the aladdin is cool - you ever go there. very nice venue for shows.

are you SERIOUS?! dude, spaceland is the mecca of indie rock in la!

well, never fear, there are a couple of good shows @ spaceland coming up:

6/10- the constantines
6/11- spank rock (hopefully ishy will be able to make the la show!)

but the echo has a LOT of good shows coming up too:
5/1: sunset rubdown (call me crazy, but i'm going to this after coachella)
5/5: frausdots
5/19: the little ones (my friends' band, they are GREAT)
5/20: i love you but i've chosen darkness
6/9: film school
6/16: cold war kids & tapes 'n tapes
6/30: band of horses

i love la. so many shows to choose from.

Schuba's
My friend Pete's basement (during the high school years)
The High Dive
The Blind Pig (RIP)

i like the 9:30 club. most of the concerts i attend are at that venue.
satellite ballroom in charlottesville is really cute, i only saw one concert there.