Say it ain’t so! I went to see Switches and The Bravery last night at The Roxy after hitting up the Attractive Eighties Women in-store at Criminal Records. Five minutes after I walked in the door, I hear the news. LiveNation (aka Clear Channel) is shutting down The Roxy.

The Roxy can be found at 3110 Roswell road in the middle of Buckhead, right at the Peachtree Rd / Roswell Rd split. The old theater turned concert hall holds 1000 people between the downstairs standing room area and the upstairs seated balcony. With the closing of the Cotton Club, The Roxy has been offering 1/2 show set ups for smaller bands wishing to play in front of 600-700 people.

Upcoming Shows:
Mon, 02/11/08 Serj Tankian
Wed, 02/13/08 From the Jam
Thu, 02/14/08 Edwin McCain
Wed, 02/27/08 Gavin Degraw
Wed, 03/05/08 Wailers
Sat, 03/08/08 Jim Norton
Wed, 03/12/08 Bone Thugs-N-Harmony
Mon, 03/17/08 Banff Mountain Film Festival
Fri, 03/21/08 The Gutter Twins

But why?
LiveNation has been progressively closing their small to mid-sized venues over the past five years or so. (Remember the Cotton Club? Now serving as The Tabernacle’s smoking section and a rental location.) For huge companies like LiveNation, it just isn’t as profitable for them to host smaller shows as it is for the larger shows. The more people they can fit in a room, the more opportunity for incremental profit.

How will this affect the Atlanta music scene?
For local artists, the only impact you will feel will be the increased demand by larger touring acts at your staple smaller venues. This could mean less opportunity for shows depending on the booking agent or inversely, it could offer you more opportunities for greater exposure by opening for these larger acts.

For touring artists, the market is going to be smaller and more competitive. Atlanta will likely see an even further decrease in touring artists coming through the city. Markets like Nashville and Charlotte could take the larger acts touring through the South on limited dates tours. The next size-comparable venues are The Loft and Variety Playhouse (and potentially Vinyl). They will feel the impact of this the most.

Big business trying to adapt and float. I would be curious to see what Clear Channel and LiveNation are doing to attempt to maintain relevant and dominant during the recent shifts in the music industry. Touring isn’t down nor are concert sales. I hate to see The Roxy closing. It was never my favorite venue in Atlanta but it is definitely one I was always remember when thinking of Atlanta. I have attended some absolutely fantastic shows there. Peter Conlon has been using the upstairs of The Roxy as an office for some time. I expect they will either try to sell the building or use it for rentals as well. This is pretty disappointing.

Here’s Louis XIV “Finding Out True Love” from The Roxy last month:

[mp3] Switches – Every Second Counts
[mp3] The Bravery – Believe
[mp3] Attractive Eighties Women – Pandemonium
[mp3] Louis XIV – Guilt By Association