<< Neal, I've heard so many bad anecdotes about playing the Viper Club that I
wonder if it's just not a very artist-friendly venue.... Any truth in
that, from your perspective?
>>
Artist-friendly? Hard to say. On one hand it's great for a band because a gig
there suggests some sort of buzz status. Plus, it's also a really nice,
intimate room with excellent sound and a groovy-ass DJ. I don't know if it's
any worse than the other clubs with a high weasel content and I have seen some
really great shows there. In fact, it's the high-weasel content that does
yield moments that might not happen elsewhere, like Springsteen joining Joe
Ely on stage for a few songs. But the biggest problem with the Viper, I think,
is that it's a place to be seen (scene). Thus, you get folks going for the
wrong reason. Add to that the fish-out-of-water scenario of a twang band and a
night that would conclude with Booty Quake (one of the several kitsch 70's
cover bands making a *really* good living these days) and it's just asking for
trouble.
NW
