I love small venues. There are two great theaters downtown Detroit, the Fox and State (now called Fillmore). They arent tinyt but by far the best place to see a show. Audioslave blew my face off in both buildings.
My favourite small venue. the Kee to Bala on lake Muskoka. Originally
built in the 40's as Dunn's Dance Pavillion, it has hosted bands from Benny Goodman to BB King to Rush and the Tragically Hip. Still going strong after almost 70 yrs. All wood, inside and out. Amazing sound quality in the place and you can't possibly get more than about 50 feet from the stage.
Just found this. This was a kickin show. We used to say summer officially started when Kim Mitchel played the Kee. In 89, the CBC made a live music special of this show and we rocked the rafters that night. You could feel the floors moving up and down to the music from the crowd and the old wood construction
live concerts, working in the Uk in the early 80's, a friend who was a contractor was responsible for setting up the buildings for Queens 1982 Milton Keynes concert.
End result, front row tickects for what was arguably their best concert ever.