It’s “Venues” rather than “Clubs” because clubs are only part of a story about where bands play. It’s a story that includes bars, clubs, restaurants like Speisekammer in Alameda, auditoriums like Freight & Salvage in Berkeley, and Amoeba, the music retailer in SF and Berkeley that presents free live shows.
The new Venues page can work together with the new Bands page for fans who find a band they don’t know playing at a place they don’t know. Simply read their respective descriptions to get a general idea about “who” and “where,” then follow the links to learn more. There are choices of links to follow from the Bands page (Facebook, MySpace, videos, etc.), but the one link for each entry on the Venue’s page goes directly to the venue’s calendar. This will be handy when looking for bands whose musical styles are outside of what HWS traditionally covers.
The bands themselves have always used the Venues page to troll for gigs which will be easier now that each description contains information about the types of bands that have played a particular venue. Plus a new gig-trolling feature has been added at the end of the Venues page. It is a list of places that don’t book roots Americana, but probably would if somebody would get in touch. This feature is about getting venues like Beale Street in SF and St. James Gate in Belmont on a band’s radar.
Future plans are to build a list of venues beyond of the greater Bay Area; like The Palms in Winters, the Cow Track in Oakdale or the Caspar Inn just north of Mendocino. There really is no need to think nationally for touring. The Venues page lists about 50 places within a 2-hour drive of SF and there are plenty more, as we hope to show, within a 2-4 hour drive. Playing to new faces is what this upcoming feature will be about.