Baton Rouge and national live bands: WTF?

Assuming its touring economics.

I grew up in Birmingham and when i was a kid, we got all the major acts. Anyone who was anyone on tour came through town and sold out with rabid audiences. Big name established rock bands and cutting edge new bands

Nowadays, Birmingham just doesn't seem to get that anymore. It seems like the get bypassed for Atlanta, Nashville, etc.

If you're talking about casinos, the guy who books for Lauberge used to be at the Varsity. He's the one who books all the cover bands and lame rock acts 10 years past their prime. They've got both Candlebox and BTE coming in the next few weeks after they've both played the Varsity many many times.

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Big acts do not want a crowd that has to wait 45 minutes for drink or who are sober as hell.

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I really don't think the acts give 2 shits if the crowd has to wait for a drink.

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but Baton Rouge venues would never even get in the ballpark of booking anybody like that

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Elton John was in Baton Rouge like a year ago.

Culturally, since the heydays of that bygone Rock n Roll era, it all boils down to what Baton Rouge people expect out of a night out. Baton Rouge is a tailgate town. People go out to socialize, not listen. A rock show at a venue is just a backdrop for socializing, just as LSU's campus is the backdrop for a tailgate party. The music, and in many cases, the game, is just a backdrop. That culture is slowly changing as places like the Red Dragon and Chelsea's are focusing more on having music, rather than drunkin' fraternizing as the focus. This is in an attempt to revive the spirit of the 60s-80s, when br was a rock city.

In the 70's and 80's, Baton Rouge was a rock n roll destination, seen as THE place to launch a tour because it guaranteed a sold out, rowdy crowd at the PMAC or Riverside Centroplex (now Rivercenter). The rollin' stones, zeppelin, the beatles, the who, motley krue, van halen, elton john, the eagles, ect all played here.

Unfortunately, Baton Rouge's socially conservative government wanted to profit off of the concerts and began taxing them more heavily. After a teenager died, being trampled to death at a concert, stricter regulations were placed on concerts and alcohol sales. With the raising of the drinking age to 21, the state really cracked on the now underage drinking population that made those shows successful. LSU also stopped booking concerts at the PMAC with alcohol.

This all happened to coincide with the construction of UNO's Lakefront Arena and Lafayette's Cajun Dome. To avoid the burdensome taxes, the anti drinking culture, and the new regulations, tours opted for these newer venues, bypassing Baton Rouge completely. The music scene was forever destroyed in the early 90's, never to be seen again.

In the days before the 'net, a buddy at Ticketmaster always made sure we got tix @ the PMAC. Between '87 and '92 I saw U2, Sting, Def Leppard (w/Queensryche), and others I cant remember. Sting played both UNO and LSU that year.

The Reveille had an article on the decline a few years back.

Glory days

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the Varsity has stepped up its game in BR

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I've only been outta BR for 5ish years, and it definitely seems that way to me when I hear about the bands going through there.

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The Reveille had an article on the decline a few years back.

Glory days

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Chesteen called the 1975 Rolling Stones concert "a quintessential rock n' roll" event. "I was still in high school at the time, but I'll never forget seeing Mick Jagger ride out on a giant, glowing 40-foot penis into the crowd," Chesteen said

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Ah, the carefree pleasures of a more innocent age...