Too many venues = more cover bands?

There was a recent discussion here on what the effects would be of more music venues in the region. Someone said it would result in higher ticket prices because all the venues would be competing against each other and thus upping prices.

I also wonder if additional music venues is leading to venues filling gaps by booking cover bands instead of ratcheting up bidding wars to pay for established bands. I ask because, aside from the audacity of Montgomery County paying Live Nation millions of dollars so Fillmore Silver Spring can host three cover bands a week, I've noticed more and more venues booking cover bands. Well, I guess it's just FSS aside from usual cover band venues like State Theater, but I thought it was worth mentioning.

I guess, in the end, this is just me being continually pissed that Mont Co passed over Seth and gave Live fucking Nation millions of dollars. For this, we get a wide variety of cover bands and almost washed up acts.

What do you guys think? Flame away!

FWIW, Led Zeppelin 2 is playing for free at Fillmore this Friday.  For the third year in a row.

Hard to believe the Fillmore has ended up being as lame as it has. Has to make Seth chuckle. I'd chuckle but as a county resident I ended up paying for it.

I think I've seen 3 shows there.

killsaly wrote:

Is that the wall of death from a Murphy's Law show?

No clue.  I searched for Pogo Dancing GIF and that was one of the results.  Here is another.

that first gif is epic…I assume that was a real event?!

I'm sure there were many chuckles had since it's opening
seems like the get 10-15 shows a year that seth would have probably gotten
but ultimately Seth is getting the 300+ shows, so he's definitely having the last laugh

But I would imagine he is an anomaly in Live's business plan
The irony that it kinda started in this market (celler door) …but could never even take this market even with how big of a player and monopoly that Live has become in other markets


How much actual taxes do you think as a single household in MoCo paid?
It really is a quality venue, a time will come where Live will want to stop the bleeding and sell it a firesale prices…and it's second life may be different and we'll recall it's origin story

Sidehatch wrote:
a time will come where Live will want to stop the bleeding and sell it a firesale prices…and it's second life may be different and we'll recall it's origin story

I'm sure they had and have a long term business plan…you don't need a ton of shows to turn a profit if the county is subsidizing you..for all we know they hardly pay any taxes…..I don't recall the terms of the original deal but I think Silver Spring or Montgomery County included a lot of sweeteners..

but, yeah, the venue has been a big "dissapointment" for concertgoers, I would think, but I'm happy about it cause driving out to Silver Spring on the beltway… I'd rather get a root canal..

they never get anything I want to see.. I have stopped checking…I guess I have seen four shows there…

Ziggy Marley (not that great.. but I was really high and I got on this bad trip where I thought Ziggy was being fake.. maybe he was maybe he wasn't)
J Geils Band (this was a dream show.. so good.. but few people showed up…so much so they put out chairs on the floor to make it look like there were more people there.. Geils has not been back and I dont' think they will come back.. which is a shame)
The Specials (great show..I guess I caught them just in the nick of the time)
Frank Turner (really good despite the fact all they had to drink was like Bud light which was horrible…..but show itself was spot on..thanks Vas)

I guess i only paid for the Specials through a ticket revendor, below cost- which was weird- but even that one I ended up getting on the list.. so I sleep easy knowing I have hardly contributed a penny to this venue… I actually don't like the place… the beer selection is AWFUL.. the room is too long.. it has a very generic feel… also I think they stopped scanning IDs but that really pissed me off.. that is a line for me…


I do wonder if they regret the whole FIllmore thing.. Live Nation HAD a venue where they could have put on most of those shows .. the Warner.. now the Warner gets way fewer music shows and the Fillmore hardly gets anything.. doesn't seem like it worked out the way they planned…in addition, you have to wonder if Silver Spring was the best choice for a venue….in retrospect, with DCs booming economy maybe a venue in DC would have done better…

How to Destroy Angels was delightful.

jaded wrote:
How to Destroy Angels was delightful.

oooh delightful…sounds yummy

King Diamond for $3.48 on Stubhub at FSS could not be denied.

Those gifs reminded me of this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d56V-mmBoow
Oh humanity

I was immensely disappointed with the Fillmore.
I think we can only imagine the acts that I.M.P. would have brought out to Silver Spring.
It is a weird location in my opinion. Are there other cities with what could/should have been a prominent venue placed in the middle of what is essentially suburban outlying town center? Is Fillmore getting the acts that it deserves? Is the problem "vibe" ie. what late teen/twenty something thinks it's "cool" to trek out to downtown Silver Spring?
I've seen two and a half shows at Fillmore: Badfish (Sublime Covers), some showcase that a friend's band was in and RX bandits which is the only one of the shows that could have been a 9:30 show (but conceivably not worth booking at the club).
I think the venue looks nice, but generic. It's just another big-ish room. I wish it could have been better because I was living in Silver Spring when it first opened and there is a wealth of parking in the area.  
On the State Theatre side of things, I feel like it's always been a tribute, has-been (less than 4/4 of original band) type of venue outside of the genre shows.
What are people's opinion of Villain & Saint in Bethesda. I think it's quaint and remarkable for what it is (a small food revenue-centric place with a decent stage solid sound) and has a very good and at times very open mic.

Regarding FSS–

1) They get lame acts. Seth is kicking LN's ass every which way. For every six great acts Seth gets, FSS gets one.

2) The Red Line being a giant piece of shit has to play a big factor. People aren't going to take Metro all the way to SS when they can't count on getting home at a decent time.

3) SS is inconvenient to much of NO VA. Again, if Metro wasn't unreliable and bordering on worthless on weekends, this would be a different story.

Played 1 show there and seen 1 show there. If you're a performer, the staff is 100% amazing. By far the nicest staff I've ever encountered. The backstage area is huge compared to 930 Club's and the sound is absolutely insane. That being said, I had way more fun playing 930 Club and would 1000 times much rather see a show. If you can't get on the rails upstairs or close downstairs, the vantage points SUCK at the Fillmore.

Also 100% surprised to see how many cover bands they book. We should just call it State Theatre North.

So pissed that Babymetal is playing there and not somewhere in the city proper.

I live less than a couple miles from that dump and have only attended three shows in three years… two of the same band, one was Rancid… all times tickets were purchased from a 3rd party site for like $15 or less.

Plus side… pre show nando's or quarry house tavern.

I saw Skinny Puppy and How to Desrroy Angels there. Not really a fan of the place - upstairs by the railings was all VIP only.

hate the area around it.  there was a good restaurant right down the way though.  getting there is a traffic mess sometimes.  the hotels there, are not great.  but, I did like the venue, for it seems newer and fresher, and I did believe it was easier to get a beer there when it was a busy packed show.

/

Not worth showing fanboys facts…

DeathFromAbove1979 wrote:

Also 100% surprised to see how many cover bands they book. We should just call it State Theatre North.

oh thats good…