No Joy at the Lobster Pound

Weirs Beach, NH

The Lobster Pound prides itself as THE venue for the Lakes region of New Hampshire due to its strategic placement to Laconia and Weirs Beach. This is a great venue to eat, drink, see and be seen, but NOT to see a live band. This venue is not band friendly.

We'll start with the setup. There is no stage, and not enough space in the playing area for four band members to stand together during the gig. This is disharmonious at best. To further complicate matters, the entire room is wood and the sound bounces off the walls. The bar is at the front of the restaurant and the amps are directed towards the patrons at the bar, who complained about the volume.

Too loud?Seriously? I thought this was Memorial Day weekend in the Lakes Region, known for its infamous BIKE WEEK. (June 13-21).

The band's back is to the patron's backs in the restaurant part of the bar. The band(who will not be named) was rockin, and I believe it was a good fit for the venue due to the diverse mixture of patrons young and old, biker and professional. Unfortunately they did not even receive free sodas during the gig, and were treated coldly in other ways. They do not believe the room was supportive and are convinced they won't be invited back. Which is really too bad, because It's a great band, and still think they should get a second chance. We're not talking unseasoned rookies here - this band gets around up and down the East Coast, and have even played in Nashville.

Genres covered include country, rockabilly, classic rock, blues, etc. This crowd likes to have fun, and don't need a lot of encouragement to loosen up.

There were a handful of people that liked the band, and showed their appreciation.

It's a tough break to be a travelling musician these days. The lead guitarist has over 300,000 miles on his car. Let's hope the Lobster Pound's check clears.