Students not listening to performances in their city

[ctman987]

A recent article in the Trinity College newspaper shows that students do not attend concerts in the capital city all that much...not because of safety, there dislike for Hartford, there pro suburban attitudes but merely because besides the Webster there is no place to go. Since students at Trinity can have cars they travel down to New Haven, up to Northhampton and even all the way over to Providence.

With the news that Hartford couldve had a Toads Place this venue wouldve drawn students downtown because they will go there if they can get music.

http://www.trinitytripod.com/media/storage...initytripod.com

[LItoCT]

Hi...I am opinions editor of the Trinity Tripod and I do recall that article. I have always been a pro Hartford guy on the paper (I'm on this site, aren't I) and have written articles about things as wide ranging as reopening the park river. There is such animosity towards hartford at Trinity however. It would be very cool to get a real Hartford resident to write a letter to the editor (100 to 300 words approx.) responding to the article and saying why Trin students should go out into Hartford etc. If anyone is up to the challenge please email me at [email protected]. Thanks.

[ctman987]

Hi...I am opinions editor of the Trinity Tripod and I do recall that article. I have always been a pro Hartford guy on the paper (I'm on this site, aren't I) and have written articles about things as wide ranging as reopening the park river. There is such animosity towards hartford at Trinity however. It would be very cool to get a real Hartford resident to write a letter to the editor (100 to 300 words approx.) responding to the article and saying why Trin students should go out into Hartford etc. If anyone is up to the challenge please email me at [email protected]. Thanks.

I am not a Hartford resident....I am a student at Manhattan College where I am actually on the newspaper there. I did grow up in the Hartford area and most of my family is from Hartford. I personally love Hartford and want to see the best for it. Ill send you an email about a letter maybe.

[runawayjim]

Hi...I am opinions editor of the Trinity Tripod and I do recall that article. I have always been a pro Hartford guy on the paper (I'm on this site, aren't I) and have written articles about things as wide ranging as reopening the park river. There is such animosity towards hartford at Trinity however. It would be very cool to get a real Hartford resident to write a letter to the editor (100 to 300 words approx.) responding to the article and saying why Trin students should go out into Hartford etc. If anyone is up to the challenge please email me at [email protected]. Thanks.

i suggest that any hartford residents, especially those who might be college aged, take LItoCT up on this offer.

that being said, do you know the reasons for the animosity?

i wish providence got some of the shows the webster gets.

[ctman987]

Being a college aged student and after reading this article I can atest for the fact that students will go to Hartford if there is something there for them

I go to school at Manhattan College which is actually in the Riverdale section of the Bronx. Riverdale is the nicest section of the bronx but there are bad areas by the school and everyone knows about safety in the bronx. With this said students frequent area bars in the bronx. Students also take the subway into the city for almost anything...school work, museums, dinners, clubs, theater, movies, clothes, cd's, etc. A $2.00 subway fee lets students go anywhere in the city.

And the article says students are willing to travel to cities like Providence and New Haven and so they would travel to Hartford if Hartford had what they were looking for...so lets get it

[runawayjim]

Being a college aged student and after reading this article I can atest for the fact that students will go to Hartford if there is something there for them

I go to school at Manhattan College which is actually in the Riverdale section of the Bronx. Riverdale is the nicest section of the bronx but there are bad areas by the school and everyone knows about safety in the bronx. With this said students frequent area bars in the bronx. Students also take the subway into the city for almost anything...school work, museums, dinners, clubs, theater, movies, clothes, cd's, etc. A $2.00 subway fee lets students go anywhere in the city.

And the article says students are willing to travel to cities like Providence and New Haven and so they would travel to Hartford if Hartford had what they were looking for...so lets get it

it's an interesting point you make... when i was at uconn, hartford wasn't terrible... but it wasn't great either. it had most of the bars adn clubs it has today, but we never went there. i know people who went to bars and clubs a lot, but they always stayed around uconn, even if they had to drive to get there, and hartford was only about half an hour away (similar to URI and providence, but URI students all go to providence for bars and clubs).

[drc72]

Toad's Place would do wonders for Hartford's music scene. I've seen a few big name shows at the Webster theater awhile back.

[MadVlad]

That's funny, about 5 years ago Hartford had a great Rave type scene that people from all over New England would come to enjoy. Then people started to OD on stupid designer drugs and most of the Clubs changed or closed.

[runawayjim]

Toad's Place would do wonders for Hartford's music scene. I've seen a few big name shows at the Webster theater awhile back.

webster used to get a bunch of big name shows... not sure if they still do. i think toad's has the name recognition that gives it more draw though. i doubt toad's would open a second place to compete with the first.

That's funny, about 5 years ago Hartford had a great Rave type scene that people from all over New England would come to enjoy. Then people started to OD on stupid designer drugs and most of the Clubs changed or closed.

those types of raves aren't cool... the ones where good dj's show their stuff are. i think they still happen in new york, but they've gone back underground because of all the drug problems bringing them into the spotlight (for both cops and kids looking to get high).

[MadVlad]

webster used to get a bunch of big name shows... not sure if they still do.

I'm going to the Webster Oct 15th to see the Suicide Girls Burlesque Show, they still get great acts...

[ctman987]

i doubt toad's would open a second place to compete with the first.

Toad's actually is. They are bringing one to Richmond, VA and to a new mixed use complex similar to Front Street in Trenton, NJ. They wanted really bad to actually come to Hartford but have had some complications trying to because they want to be at Front Street which is a long long story

UHART, Trinity, UCONN Hartford at West Hartford and St Josephs College may be the only colleges with students living at them in Metro Hartford. This may not be the # of students living in New Haven or Providence but this still is a large number and we should be trying to get these students into the city. I know students where I am do not think twice about going into the city....even though its NYC we are in the Bronx and students also frequent numerous locations in the Bronx.

[runawayjim]

Toad's actually is. They are bringing one to Richmond, VA and to a new mixed use complex similar to Front Street in Trenton, NJ. They wanted really bad to actually come to Hartford but have had some complications trying to because they want to be at Front Street which is a long long story

UHART, Trinity, UCONN Hartford at West Hartford and St Josephs College may be the only colleges with students living at them in Metro Hartford. This may not be the # of students living in New Haven or Providence but this still is a large number and we should be trying to get these students into the city. I know students where I am do not think twice about going into the city....even though its NYC we are in the Bronx and students also frequent numerous locations in the Bronx.

a toad's in hartford would be serious competition for the original. VA and NJ don't compete with new haven's market.

you're forgetting uconn storrs in the hartford metro. while willimantic is definitely closer, hartford has a lot more to offer.

also, by saying students in the bronx don't think twice about going into the city... you're talking the most populated city in the country with the most music, arts, entertainment, nightlife, etc. you can't really compare that to hartford.

[MadVlad]

a toad's in hartford would be serious competition for the original. VA and NJ don't compete with new haven's market.

you're forgetting uconn storrs in the hartford metro. while willimantic is definitely closer, hartford has a lot more to offer.

also, by saying students in the bronx don't think twice about going into the city... you're talking the most populated city in the country with the most music, arts, entertainment, nightlife, etc. you can't really compare that to hartford.

Toad's wanted to do it, it's already a fact. To say they don't want to is erroneous....

[ctman987]

a toad's in hartford would be serious competition for the original. VA and NJ don't compete with new haven's market.

An article just came out a few days agot that Toad's really wanted a Hartford location but due to problems at Front Street turned to Trenton. This would have been great for Hartford. Students in Hartford may not have traveled to New Haven anymore but students in Hartford would travel to Hartford as well as student from Storres, Northampton, Springfield, etc.

also, by saying students in the bronx don't think twice about going into the city... you're talking the most populated city in the country with the most music, arts, entertainment, nightlife, etc. you can't really compare that to hartford.

Youd be suprised....Schools that have public transportation into the city or are located in the city are the schools that have there students in the city 24/7. NYU, Fordham Lincoln Center, Columbia, FIT, etc. are in the Manhattan. Manhattan College, CMSV, Fordham Rose Hill have subway access into the city. Schools past these points have to take more extensive route which include trains to subways to get into the city which is more expensive and since there campus is outside of the city they probably have cars and so travel to places in Westchester County and going into the city a few times

[runawayjim]

Toad's wanted to do it, it's already a fact. To say they don't want to is erroneous....

but they didn't. i'm sure competition had something to do with it.

Youd be suprised....Schools that have public transportation into the city or are located in the city are the schools that have there students in the city 24/7. NYU, Fordham Lincoln Center, Columbia, FIT, etc. are in the Manhattan. Manhattan College, CMSV, Fordham Rose Hill have subway access into the city. Schools past these points have to take more extensive route which include trains to subways to get into the city which is more expensive and since there campus is outside of the city they probably have cars and so travel to places in Westchester County and going into the city a few times

i find it ironic that manhattan college is not in manhattan... of course the university of new haven is also not in new haven...

but back to the point. the colleges that are outside of the 5 boroughs probably have plenty of nightlife surrounding them. westchester is not lacking smaller cities that might be easier for those outside the 5 boroughs to get to (nevermind cheaper since college students tend to not have money anyways).

i really do find it strange that hartford students travel outside of hartford for entertainment. that speaks volumes about hartford. if they can't keep the college students local, then there's a problem. college students tend to prefer to stay local than travel for entertainment.

[HartfordTycoon]

I think that one distinction that should be made is that Hartford is a young professional city and not a college town. We have comparatively small numbers of students in comparison with all of these other cities you bring up. With the amount of entry level jobs at our corporations in Greater Hartford, I would almost guarantee that we have way more young professionals than New Haven or Northampton. PVD may have some Boston commuters, but still I would guess we have a much larger proportion of young professionals here.

Young professionals, at least at my job and companies where I know people, care about live music and stuff a little bit, but it's mostly about the happy hour. Hartford and it's burbs have some great happy hour spots and they are always packed. Half Door, First and Last, Wood n Tap, The Russell, City Steam, BarCelona, etc. So we should continue to build on that strength while also creating a more vibrant scene for college kids including underclassmen who can't legally drink. To me this means juice bars, coffee houses, internet cafe's, etc.

We do need a new live music venue in the city, however our other music scene, Hip Hop is very vibrant and profitable and may pretty much takeover anything built in the city for live shows due to shear economics. I still think that rock or whatever the music you guys like is called can find a home in the city, it will just take the right combination of people to make it happen. I would love to help, but wouldn't know where to even begin with the type of music you're talking about. I've never heard of anyone that you guys have mentioned, so this is pretty much all I can add to this discussion. If I ever do open up a venue I would happily have some nights aimed at attracting this crowd, though I would need to have more than one venue before I would consider having one for this purpose full time.

[runawayjim]

while hartford might have a lot of young professionals, there's also about 30,000 undergraduates in or not far from hartford between the colleges actually in hartford and uconn's main campus, with over 16,000 undergrads. these numbers don't include grad students either.

while you might be somewhat correct that young professionals prefer happy hour instead of live music, that's not entirely accurate. i like music a lot, and i belong to several lists and forums regarding music. very few of the people on those lists are under 23-25. many of them are in their 30's. while this might not be your average group of people, those young professionals you mention are interested in music if the right types and right bands come around. is the webster the only place for decent live music? i know there's that bar (can't think of the name of it) that has 3 floors and the top floor has live music (which was always some crappy band trying to sound like blink 182 everytime i went there, note: there were different bands each time i've been there). but is there anything else?

new haven has toad's and some other smaller places on the outskirts. providence has a couple places as well (although recently, many have closed in both new haven and providence). but having been a live music fan since i was in college (spent 4.5 years at uconn in storrs, went to husky blues for live music before they changed hands and then closed), i never heard of much coming to hartford other than the webster when it opened.

[HartfordTycoon]

while hartford might have a lot of young professionals, there's also about 30,000 undergraduates in or not far from hartford between the colleges actually in hartford and uconn's main campus, with over 16,000 undergrads. these numbers don't include grad students either.

while you might be somewhat correct that young professionals prefer happy hour instead of live music, that's not entirely accurate. i like music a lot, and i belong to several lists and forums regarding music. very few of the people on those lists are under 23-25. many of them are in their 30's. while this might not be your average group of people, those young professionals you mention are interested in music if the right types and right bands come around. is the webster the only place for decent live music? i know there's that bar (can't think of the name of it) that has 3 floors and the top floor has live music (which was always some crappy band trying to sound like blink 182 everytime i went there, note: there were different bands each time i've been there). but is there anything else?

new haven has toad's and some other smaller places on the outskirts. providence has a couple places as well (although recently, many have closed in both new haven and providence). but having been a live music fan since i was in college (spent 4.5 years at uconn in storrs, went to husky blues for live music before they changed hands and then closed), i never heard of much coming to hartford other than the webster when it opened.

Truthfully I am not all that sure what other venues are around for these types of shows. We have plenty of places as you know for large concerts, but these sort of just any given night type of bands I just don't know about. I know there's not anything in Hartford. There might be some stuff in the suburbs. I'm just not familiar enough with the scene, I've never even been to the type of place you're describing. I know we have plenty of techno/dance clubs, a decent amount of Hip Hop clubs, and plenty of Bar/Lounges. I know for a fact that many college students do frequent city nightclubs, and many of the black students throw parties and go to the local clubs regularly. So it's just a matter of getting someone with a passion for this type of venue and music to make it happen. Who that person may be don't ask me, because I don't know him/her! Maybe someone here on UP can answer the call more live music in Hartford. But if there is no one in our area with the passion and the means, I'm affraid that this particular scene will simply will never take root in Hartford.

[MadVlad]

but they didn't. i'm sure competition had something to do with it.

No, it didn't. Front Street went to someone else, and it's taken too long, Toad's competing with Toad's had nothing to do with it...

[HartfordTycoon]

No, it didn't. Front Street went to someone else, and it's taken too long, Toad's competing with Toad's had nothing to do with it...

I don't think it was competition either. I thinks it's just the rest of the mess like you said. Toad's would love to have locations in both cities. I think a lot of acts would do a show in NH one night and Hartford the next if both venues were under the same management.

[drc72]

No, it didn't. Front Street went to someone else, and it's taken too long, Toad's competing with Toad's had nothing to do with it...

I agree, the uncertainty with Front Street most likely killed it.

[blackstone]

I agree, the uncertainty with Front Street most likely killed it.

i think Toad's will come if front street happens. no one should expect them to just wait and do nothing else.