Venue Review: Webster Theater "The Good Kind of Sh*t Hole"

The Webster Theater and the Webster Underground
31 Webster Street. Hartford, CT
Capacity: Approx. 1200
www.webstertheater.com


First before we get under way with this review let it be known that the Webster was the location of my first live concert (Dexter Freebish and Everlast) so I may be slightly biased, but on we go.

A little History
The Webster Theater first opened back in the late 1930's making it one old ass building. Back then it was a movie theater for the surrounding community. It was popular until TV became popular and living in Hartford was not. By the 1970's the Webster had turned into was most non-multiplex cinemas across the country had turned into: A movie theater for porn. By the mid 80's the theater was refurbished and converted back into a regular theater, but when that didn't work out some guy decided "lets show concerts here instead." So they ripped out the seats and the Webster Theater as we know it more or less was born.

The Bad
First off the Webster is in Hartford. But I know what you may be thinking. "That's not fair, there's a lot of good bars and clubs in Hartford that are fine to go to." True, but they're all downtown. The Webster is located on the South end of the city straight up in the middle of the ghetto. There's a reason why they have paid parking and attendants right next to it. Parking on the street is at your own risk. And while 98% of people can say they've never had problems with the neighborhood, some people can. I myself, with a friend, while walking to the venue (we had parked on the street to save $5) were approached by some guy asking if we wanted to buy weed. Not that weird. When we declined he threatened to stab us if we didn't buy some the next time we came back....needless to say we walked around that area on the way back.

And while the venue from the outside looks nice and new, you gotta remember the building is from the 30's. It's old and thousands of people have been there. The place inside looks worn out. The floor is still in explicitly sticky (soda? butter? seamen?)and the hallway from the lobby to the theater itself fits 2 people across.

The last thing that sucks is when you walk in the theater you see two signs on either side of the stage. "No Moshing. No Crowd Surfing." Story is some dumb chick got dropped during crowd surfing, broke her hip and sued the venue. After that fun got killed. Now moshing is pretty hard to stop but if it gets out of hand security will break it up. If you crowd surf, security will pluck you from the crowd in front of the stage and show your ass the door. Most of the time people save crowd surfing for the last song that way they dont care if they get the boot.


The Good
Hartford and odd sticky floor aside the Webster does have some good to it, otherwise no one would go. Like other small venues its a great place to see bands up close. Unlike other small venues however, the floor isn't just flat. Because its a former theater, its inclined. Meaning even if you 5'5" you can still see the band from the back.

Oh I'm a midget but I can still see!

Also the bar area is in the back so even if you're getting sloshed it's a good view.

The sound and light shows at the Webster are pretty good for the headlining bands. They don't really take the time however for some of the smaller opening acts however and that makes them sound as crappy as they actually are.

The Webster also has some side goodies. They have a concession stand in the lobby where you can get (albeit bad) food and non-alcoholic drinks. They also have a second stage/room known as the Webster Underground. On most nights it acts as its own venue for small bands and crowds up to like 100. On large shows it acts as a second stage and it is opened up to be accessible from the lobby. The Webster also has a VIP lounge called the Lizard Lounge (a rip off of Toad's Lilly Pad?) where 25 people can rent out the room with a waitress and bar staff, private bathroom, private parking and a sweet 2nd floor view of the crowd and stage.

I'm an elitist prick!


Probably the most important part of being a concert hall is it's ability to draw in good bands to play which it has done. It also has a wide range of bands from Disney groups to Gwar. And as a huge plus tickets are usually cheap. Rarely have I seen tickets at the Webster over $25 (before charges that make you want to rip your hair out).

The Wrap Up
So ultimately the Webster holds a special, dirty place in my heart as it broke my concert going cherry. And while it does have it's faults, when it comes down to being a place to see great bands without breaking the bank, and being able to hear them it's top notch. Just don't leave your car windows open. Better yet make sure they can't get smashed in.