re: Was early 2000’s the greatest era of local band scene in BR?

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Incubus used to make regular stops at the Chimes.

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Incubus played at The Varsity, not The Chimes.

As the popularity of the food at The Chimes blossomed in the late 80s, when a crew of former Mike Anderson's guys bought it, live music would cost them restaurant revenue when they had to shut down most of the seating to make room for the band and audience, so they bought The Varsity next door (which someone had tried to convert from a movie theater into an Alamo Draft House/Suds N Cinema type "movies with food and beer" thing that didn't work (probably because the only movie they had for months and months on end was "Pet Semetary," which was not good for food sales...) and then tried to make it into a music venue, but the guy was so in debt and short on cash it didn't work for him... That Pixies show, their road manager had been warned by the road manager of an act that had played there the week before that no matter how packed the show was they would be shorted on money... so they refused to go onstage until they were at least paid the guarantee and shown the receipts for ticket sales... which held up the show for probably an hour after the touring opener played before their set, while the Varsity owner at the time ran around town scrounging together the money...

Anyway, the Chimes guys bought the Varsity, renovated it, and moved live music there so the Chimes could concentrate on being a restaurant. That was done by '91?