re: When will south Louisiana get a first-class amphitheater??

Because of rap making such huge inroads in the rock market in the last 20 years the potential audience for rock acts has decreased considerably. Add to this that mid-level touring acts have always had the most difficulty finding suitable venues (unknowns play whatever shithole they can get; superstars play the top of the line places).

During the golden age BR got national acts thanks to LSU and the 5% entertainment tax in NO (some acts would even play the MS Gulf Coast to avoid the latter). Those days are gone though.

As I've said before in my legendary Silos story (even more legendary than my Better Than Ezra story), the aforementioned Silos -- one of the greatest bands of the last 25 years -- played the Red Star (a stopover on their way to Austin, of course) and barely 50 people showed up. And at least 45 of them spent the entire evening at the bar never glancing at the stage.