IRememberDBoon Posted December 5, 2007 Share Posted December 5, 2007 There is a new venue opening here that would be perfect for you. Its called the national. There is also the second Toads Place and it would also be a doable venue. I'll take you guys to dinner. Please! There is still room to do it in late february! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
you ever seen a ghost? Posted December 5, 2007 Share Posted December 5, 2007 I Remember D. Boon...I Remember You From The C-Ville Show (line for the bathroom). Are you located here in Richmond? I actually live about a block from Toad's Place Richmond, but I've heard that The National might be one of the top small venues in the nation with the history, acoustics, etc. Plus, the NorVa is going to be booking it, so any NorVa shows should be coming there. No more driving to lame-ass Hapton Roads for shows any longer (C-ville is alright!) -justin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
IRememberDBoon Posted December 5, 2007 Author Share Posted December 5, 2007 I Remember D. Boon...I Remember You From The C-Ville Show (line for the bathroom). Are you located here in Richmond? I actually live about a block from Toad's Place Richmond, but I've heard that The National might be one of the top small venues in the nation with the history, acoustics, etc. Plus, the NorVa is going to be booking it, so any NorVa shows should be coming there. No more driving to lame-ass Hapton Roads for shows any longer (C-ville is alright!) -justin I am here. Came back from DC a bit ago. Between Toads and The National being here its become a great place to live. And Helen's too Quote Link to post Share on other sites
you ever seen a ghost? Posted December 6, 2007 Share Posted December 6, 2007 ...and the Commerical Taphouse. -justin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
IRememberDBoon Posted December 6, 2007 Author Share Posted December 6, 2007 ...and the Commerical Taphouse. -justin I was at Avalon last night You ever go to Accapella?? Love that place. Where do you live so close to Toads?? Ive been wondering what the places in Vista on The James are like. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
you ever seen a ghost? Posted December 6, 2007 Share Posted December 6, 2007 Avalon! i was actually at the Taphouse last night, so only a few blocks away! I've never been to Accapella...where is that at? I live between 14th and 15th on Cary St., in some apartments above the bars/restaurants there. I work downtown, so no driving to the office for me in the mornings! it's funny that you mentioned Vistas on the James, because two friends and I were looking into a three-bedroom condo there. the only three-bedroom was the penthouse: $900,000! -justin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
IRememberDBoon Posted December 6, 2007 Author Share Posted December 6, 2007 Avalon! i was actually at the Taphouse last night, so only a few blocks away! I've never been to Accapella...where is that at? I live between 14th and 15th on Cary St., in some apartments above the bars/restaurants there. I work downtown, so no driving to the office for me in the mornings! it's funny that you mentioned Vistas on the James, because two friends and I were looking into a three-bedroom condo there. the only three-bedroom was the penthouse: $900,000! -justin Acapella is in the basement of the Patrick Henry Inn in Church Hill. When I first moved back from DC I decided that was my favorite place in the city. LOVE IT! Its small but has a cool feel and they play great music and most importantly they have Wild Turkey 101 I bet the view from that Penthouse is phenomenal. Did you guys look at it? So you live above Hard Shell or something? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
you ever seen a ghost? Posted December 6, 2007 Share Posted December 6, 2007 above Cha-Cha's. :-) -justin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RainDogToo Posted December 6, 2007 Share Posted December 6, 2007 I Remember D. Boon...I Remember You From The C-Ville Show (line for the bathroom). Are you located here in Richmond? I actually live about a block from Toad's Place Richmond, but I've heard that The National might be one of the top small venues in the nation with the history, acoustics, etc. Plus, the NorVa is going to be booking it, so any NorVa shows should be coming there. No more driving to lame-ass Hapton Roads for shows any longer (C-ville is alright!) -justin Hampton Roads is a lame ass place- I hate it here! The only one reason I like it is because if I hadn't moved here 4 years ago for PA I would've never been able to see both Wilco or Bob Dylan- who I saw this past September! So, yeah, it pretty much sucks here. Still I hope Wilco or Jeff come back to play The NorVa! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
you ever seen a ghost? Posted December 6, 2007 Share Posted December 6, 2007 move to Richmond or DC...maybe Charlotte. those are your only real choices as i see it. -justin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Alisa Posted December 6, 2007 Share Posted December 6, 2007 I would love for them to play in Richmond. For some reason I still haven't caught them Live (in California or Florada) Hopefully Virginia will be the first. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Coltrane Posted December 14, 2007 Share Posted December 14, 2007 Anyone know when the National is going to open here in Richmond? Drive By Truckers announced some 2008 tour dates and they are listed as playing there on 3/28/08. Paul Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Golfishin Posted December 17, 2007 Share Posted December 17, 2007 Anyone know when the National is going to open here in Richmond? Drive By Truckers announced some 2008 tour dates and they are listed as playing there on 3/28/08. Paul Pollstar has some dates up.The announcement is Tuesday 18th at noon.They should open up in Feb. Possibly sooner. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LouisvilleGreg Posted December 17, 2007 Share Posted December 17, 2007 I've been very, very underwhelmed by the slate of shows at Toad's so far. I saw the Avett Bros and a Springsteen cover band, but that's about all I've been inclined to see. I hope the National will bring a higher quality of shows. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
you ever seen a ghost? Posted December 17, 2007 Share Posted December 17, 2007 my friends and I joke on the Toad's Place sign every time we pass it (every day). It says "where the legends come to play." our take on it is "where the legends go to die." also, as exciting a name as their new restaurant (High Water) has, i ate lunch there on Friday with some co-workers. terrible. absolutely terrible. -justin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
thunderstorm654pm Posted December 18, 2007 Share Posted December 18, 2007 I've been very, very underwhelmed by the slate of shows at Toad's so far. I saw the Avett Bros and a Springsteen cover band, but that's about all I've been inclined to see. I hope the National will bring a higher quality of shows. I am loving all this Richmond luv on here! Toads is pretty cool, and while the slate of shows hasn;'t been staggerring I 'd say it is pretty darn good. Hold Steady, moe, the Mule, Avetts, Mofro, I mean it could be worse. I am not a huge fan of the layout of the place, I don't like how the stage is so wide open. I really prefer the proscenium style that the 930 has and the Nat will have. I simply cannot believe that Richmond is going to be home to the one of, if not the, best live music clubs on the East coast. It is just insane, but the Nat is going to be AMAZING. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
thunderstorm654pm Posted December 18, 2007 Share Posted December 18, 2007 move to Charlotte. -justin ewwwwww. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
IRememberDBoon Posted December 19, 2007 Author Share Posted December 19, 2007 The 28th is open for Wilco and The National!!! PLEASE BRING IT!!! Puddle of Mudd: Feb. 26 Dickey Betts: Feb. 27 The Wailers: March 1 Flogging Molly: March 2 311: March 4 Blind Melon: March 5 Neville Brothers: March 7 Emery: March 8 Three Days Grace: March 9 Little Feat: March 10 Throwdown: March 12 Willie Nelson: March 18 Clutch: March 21 Drive By Truckers: March 28 Jorma Kaukonen of Hot Tuna: April 4 Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo: April 15 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LouisvilleGreg Posted December 19, 2007 Share Posted December 19, 2007 Here's a cover story in today's RTD about the venue. The first list of shows is a little so so to me, but I could see attending one or two of them, Greg By MELISSA RUGGIERITIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITERThough rooted in the past, The National is very much about the future. The architecturally ornate building on East Broad Street between Seventh and Eighth streets, closed since 1983, will reopen Feb. 9 as a 1,600-capacity music venue. Initial acts scheduled to perform include rockers Puddle of Mudd and Flogging Molly, classic names such as Little Feat and Willie Nelson, and'80s hitmaker Pat Benatar. At a news conference yesterday to announce the relaunch of the theater, which opened in 1923 as a setting for touring vaudeville acts, silent movies and live music, Mayor L. Douglas Wilder spoke about the building and downtown Richmond having new life breathed into it. "When you go into these buildings [downtown], you feel something -- a rebirth," Wilder said. "Though it may appear to some to be bricks and mortar . . . when you hear the applause for the people who will per form, it will be more than just for them." Wilder was referencing the Historic Richmond Foundation, which purchased the building in 1984 to save it from demolition, and also RIC Capital Ventures, the Virginia-based development company that bought The National from the foundation in 2006 for $1.6 million. The renovations have cost an estimated $15 million. RIC Capital Ventures is the combination project of James River Entertainment -- local concert promoters Brad Wells and Laurin Willis -- and Rising Tide Productions of Norfolk, which runs The NorVa music club and constitutes longtime promoter Bill Reid, talent buyer Rick Mersel and financial specialist Scott Benton. Mersel also will handle much of the booking for The National and says that shows will piggyback with The NorVa "probably 95 percent of the time." Amenities at The National include more than 300 fixed, padded seats in the balcony, which will be available to concert-goers on a first-come, first-served basis. About 100 of those seats will be reserved for VIP purchases -- $5,000 a pair for 12 months. The rest of the non-smoking venue will be general admission, including a slightly sloped floor on the orchestra level to promote open views of the "floating" stage, designed to isolate sound and enhance its quality. Additionally, a neighboring, two-level restaurant named Gibson's will be run by Johnny Giavos (Three Monkeys, Kitchen 64), and allow pre-show concert-goers early admission into the venue. Reid noted that The National, much like The NorVa, will cater to artists by providing them with top-of-the-line conveniences, including private dressing rooms with a Jacuzzi and steam shower, a recreational room with pool and ping-pong tables and a media room to view movies. "Having played most of them, I can honestly say there aren't many venues like this in the country," said David Peterson, the Fighting Gravity bassist who is also the general manager for The National. "Richmond is incredibly lucky." As a concert promoter since the early'80s, Reid has witnessed a deluge of changes in the concert industry. He believes that venues the size of The National represent the future of live music. "There are more bands than ever touring, but there are fewer arena bands like Dave Matthews," Reid said. "There are places across the country where bands want to play, but they can't fill arenas. The National is the answer to that." Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.