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Your Local Bar or a 50,000 seat Arena?

© David Reid

This week I have a few reasons to check out music in your local pub. First, the key difference you'll notice right off the bat is the price. At an arena concert tickets will run from $25 to at times $100. In addition, you get the unique pleasure of sitting a mile and a half (well a long way) from the stage. Bring your binnoculars!

Instead, why not stop by your local pub, dish out a few bucks and sit right up front -- with but a couple feet between you and the stage. True, Pearl Jam doesn't do many bars anymore, but the next Pearl Jam is hard at work playing in a local bar near you.

Recently I had the chance to see the Gufs at a local bar here in Ames and it ranked up there as one of the best performances I've ever seen. Afterwards I was happy to speak for a moment with the drummer -- something not possible with your $50 ticket for the arena show. Soon enough you'll be hearing the Gufs on a commercial station near you and eventually they'll be doing large venues. Wouldn't it be nice to see them for a great price when they really need the fans.

I'm not just saying check out the Gufs, though I would suggest it. Stop by your local bar fairly regularly and see who's playing. For the price of one arena show you can spend many a night in your local bar listening to some great new music. Who knows, maybe you'll be listening to the next big band.

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