Here are 5 Places Bangor Could Have an Awesome Midsize Concert Venue

I miss smaller rock shows.

There isn't much I miss about living in Southern Maine. Sure, sometimes I miss the food options, because there are so many. But if I had to pinpoint one thing I miss, it's seeing smaller touring bands in a midsize club. Like, I love seeing bands in a place like Aura in Portland. It even makes me miss the old Ushuaia days up in Ororno. But that seems like a life time ago.

The thing is, we're pretty close to Boston and Canada. We're the perfect spot. If you played in Boston last night, Portland would be too close. But Bangor wouldn't be, while you're on your way to Canada. And Bangor already has a bunch of spots that could easily be converted to a killer show spot. Let's have a peek...

The old Damon's location on Washington Street in Bangor.

This would actually be an awesome spot. Take all the walls out and expand wherever possible, you could easily make a room that could hold 500-600 people. think of all the rad bands we could see in a venue that size.

Somewhere in the Airport Mall.

This could be another rad place that has everything you'd need. Plenty of parking, lots of space, and not a lot around it to disturb. Lord knows the Bangor Police Dept. gets pummeled with calls every summer for noise complaints from the waterfront. Although ironically, no on ever seems to complain about the country shows, hahaha.

The big empty space by Bob's Discount Furniture.

This is the spot usually taken up by the Spirit of Halloween store the last few falls. This would be a near-perfect spot for this sort of thing. It's big, has tall ceilings, big load-in areas, lots of parking, and nowhere near anyone that would be disturbed. well, maybe the hotels, but maybe it wouldn't be that bad.

The former Kmart space.

Last I heard, this spot was being used for storage and that it's technically not empty.  Just the same, not unlike the spot I just previously mentioned, it's perfect with ample parking and ease of location. It wouldn't be hard for anybody to find these locations. Even if you're not from here.

Any of the empty Bangor Mall spaces.

Now, this isn't to take away from G-Force Entertainment in the mall. In fact, they just had a killer show featuring Kip Winger. But maybe a place that holds a few more people, bringing in contemporary acts as well. The mall needs some new life breathed into it, and this could be a perfect solution.

To be fair, there are some spots that come close...

Now, there are some comparable spots that get close to what we're talking about here, like the Collins Center. But that place is too nice for down and dirty rock shows. The Bangor Arts Exchange also comes to mind, for sure. It's another great venue for shows. But again, a little more space with a focus on national acts would be amazing.

Maybe someday it will happen. In the meantime, we do have the Maine Savings Amphitheater and the Cross Insurance Center to bring the nationals, but maybe a slightly smaller spot to attract even more, would be absolutely awesome for the Bangor area. Any takers?

Did you go to any of these shows back in the day?