BARRYTHUNDERWOOD t1_j97a7fx wrote on February 19, 2023 at 8:17 PM

It’s just one small aspect of many, but if we talk music venues, there are basically none anywhere between “dude in the corner at 100 cap bar/brewery” and “giant 5k people concert”. Portland has the State, as well as a bunch of other great smaller venues (PHOME, One Longfellow, etc). Those kind of places help build culture and vitality, and no one has taken a chance in the greater Bangor area to really make one (Bangor arts exchange has a super spotty schedule and sound is never good and it usually feels feels like cheap wedding reception, and the new Gforce thing theyve tried at the mall is sketchy and temporary).

AllstarGaming617 t1_j97sr9h wrote on February 19, 2023 at 10:27 PM

The new Maine savings amphitheater is going to be a big draw for Bangor. I’m over in New Hampshire and also lived on the north shore of mass for a long time. I would only ever visit Bangor as a stop over in or out of bar harbor. Then phish started playing the waterfront concert series. So I went up for a couple shows and apart from my favorite band the experience was underwhelming because it was just a park fenced off with a temporary stage built for the summer. Nothing to write home about or make me want to drive up for other major touring bands. When I went up last summer for phish again during the renovations by Maine savings bank, I was blown away. As someone who works in live music production I can speak to what a world class music venue can do for a small city. The shows I saw last summer were a shit show. They really shouldn’t have been doing shows, they weren’t ready. It was only half built and there was no organization what so ever, but what was cool to see is the vision. If that venue ends up looking like and operating like I think it’s going to Bangor is about to have the most sought after booking north of Boston. They were already attracting some big acts but the venue wasn’t worth the drive. Even just seeing the shell of what it’s going to be last summer, unless they royally screw or up, there’s going to be a national marquee music venue in town that will have people traveling from all over the country.

BARRYTHUNDERWOOD t1_j98nyge wrote on February 20, 2023 at 2:29 AM

I don’t think you’re wrong - maybe my comment was a little vague, but I am really talking about a room with like 200-800capacity.

Sure, we will get Stapleton or Aerosmith to show up at the waterfront, and that will bring in folks from all over for a night, but if you are a band with a 500 person draw, there is absolutely no reason to ever travel north of Portland. That kind of venue could operate year round, with a much fuller schedule, and would give the people who already live in Bangor a reason to go have a nice night out (as opposed to people from hours away spending hundreds of dollars on tickets and parking once or twice a year).

If we’re talking about abstract concepts like vitality and culture, IMO those sort of smaller venues have much more impact than the waterfront ever could.

Obviously if we take the longgggg view, maybe waterfront brings in cash, that cash somehow magically creates a city more likely to support those sorts of smaller venues, who knows. I’m skeptical, as the waterfronts and casino have been doing their thing for years now, and I haven’t seen the slightest change for the average resident.