Topic: Port City Music Hall, 504 Congress St.

Capacity 715+/-, McCauley line array, midas 48 channel FOH, 8 mix + cue stage monitor system w/ EQ, full FOH racks w/ 8 comps, 8 gates, EQ, multiple reverbs, etc. Full pro set-up designed by respected pro audio team.

18+ only, no all ages. Temp booking contact rob@championsoundworks.com

Thanks for the interest.

great, what portland needs, another non-all ages venue, heh. ive read about this front lounge thats connected to the venue, why not have the drinkers go there to drink, and then have all ages in the main performance area? i love drinking and all, and i understand venues make a lot of their money from alcohol sales, but i think only catering to that crowd is a big mistake. there are so many bands that will not play anything other than all ages shows, so not even at least doing them occasionally will prevent some great bands from playing maine.

as for bands i would like to see there, pretty much any well known, mid level bands out there touring now, bands that would be hitting up the state theater if it was still active. none of these has-beens that seem to dominate a certain other venue in the area. i also would like to see REAL tours there, none of this getting a bigger band to tag on a show after their actual tour is over, and then throwing on a bunch of shitty locals no one wants to see, and calling that a show. mainers deserves more than that.

but just to throw some names out there: metric, queens of the stone age, chimaira, mastodon, converge, tegan and sara, isis, trail of dead, torche, eisley, stars, broken social scene, mogwai, thrice, against me, unearth, rilo kiley, melvins, anything involving mike patton, minus the bear, the dresden dolls, down... i could go on all day.

got a little nostalgic there and missed the point of this topic.

I'm just really excited to see another really good room in a cool location who will be able to get good shows to that age group.

i too saw many great shows at the asylum in high school, and it killed me when the place went 21+ only (especially since i was about 20 at the time and was forced to miss some of my favorite bands). i could probably count the number of great shows that have happened since then on two hands, while on the other hand id need a supercomputer or something to count the number of goth dance nights or whatever. at least it seems they have gotten a little better as of late, with more well known names (though still a little footed in the past, *cough*everlast*cough*) and some all ages shows, so maybe this is the beginning of the asylum stepping back up to help fill this larger venue void we've had since the fall of the state.

back to port city though, i guess on the bright side of the ages debate, is that its 18+ and not 21. hell, the middle east in boston is 18+ 99% of the time, and it books practically every small to mid level band in existence, and has something going on almost every night of the week. i pray someday portland can sustain a venue of that caliber.

Thanks for all the thoughtful feedback. It is great to see that this is the most popular thread on the forum! I hope the interest continues and translates into sold out shows once we get the doors open. While we can't please all the people all of the time, it is our goal to please most of the people most of the time. Input from the community as things move forward will only help us achieve this goal. Stay tuned to the website FMI.

FYI-The best contact FMI about the new venue/booking is now info@portcitymusichall.com.

Later

detuned has is right, all ages venues with a 21+ section is the only formula for success for any venue within maine. we are such a small market if a show doesnt sell out touring artist are going to wonder why is it worth coming here if the room can't even be half full.

dbodoff i believe atmosphere is at the station which is all ages and 21+. its too bad that the station is disgusting whereas if my grandfather was sully in godsmack i wouldn't suggest he piss on the stage for fear of catching some terminal illness.

venues please figure out how to make the change = more success for maine music scene.

just got an email from port city, they have launched a blog with some pictures of the renovation. good to see progress, stage looks a little small to me though...

http://portcitymusichall.blogspot.com

i thought it was hard to tell at first too, but then i looked at those guitar stands and boxes on the stage to give some vague scale, and well, it definitely looks a little small, especially for a place that supposedly aims to fill the void the state theater left. im sure itll be be fine for smaller/low level bands, but does it even have enough room for a larger headliner to leave all their gear set up during a show?

FYI stage specs 27'6" wide, 16' deep, 30" high, and trim 14'0" Large enough for most club level touring act rider requirements, including large acts like Wu-Tang, Derek Trucks etc. I wouldn't consider either small/low level bands. I'm pretty sure they're headliners. It's actually a larger stage than many of the "Pollstar top 100 club venues". Remember its a club, not a theatre.

and the first annnounced show isssss...

http://portcitymusichall.blogspot.com/2008/12/pcmh-is-pleased-to-announce-derek.html

ha, I wonder if Wu-Tang is next... ;-)

Please book They Might Be Giants. I beg you! I travel 2 to 3 hours every time they come to Massachusetts, and I'd love it if for once they'd be playing in my backyard. Plus it's been a very long time since they've played Portland. I think last time was 1994 at Zoots.

I think they'd be perfect for the venue too. They typically play venues that fit 700 to 900 people.

while derek trucks isnt something id really be interested in going to, im so glad to see a show finally get announced. man, if wu-tang played there, that sure would be something, haha.

i suggested them above, but i just saw trail of dead is doing a tour in feb/march, and they seem to have some open days after their cambridge show *COUGHCOUGH* :)