The Beaumont Club in Westport hasn't officially shuttered itself and declared itself closed, but the end is likely impending. Promoters have already moved one show on its schedule to another venue: The Jan. 16 Take Action Tour, featuring the Used, has been moved to the Granada in Lawrence. Three more shows are still listed at its web site, but those will most likely be moved, too. An official statement is still pending.
The place was far from perfect as a live music venue. If it was too crowded the sight lines were poor; if it was under-populated the sight lines were good but the sound usually suffered and the place looked and felt half-full. In July, after a Sleigh Bells show in which the sound was brutally offensive, a score of local sound engineers weighed-in on the room and its issues. (Go here.)
Under the right conditions, the sound guys could get it right. This is from a review of the Missy Higgins show in September, by our reviewer Joel Francis: "The sound in the Beaumont Club — a venue long notorious for muddy mixes and inaudible vocals — was pristine. Each instrument was both audible and in perfect balance in the mix."
But the place faced issues bigger than sound. The Beaumont is one of three local venues built to draw crowds in the 1,500-plus range. The others: the Uptown Theater; and the Midland, managed by entertainment titan AEG Live. Over the past several years, the three have been competing fiercely for shows in an economy that is static at best. On top of that, the Beaumont, which has been the haven for live country music, has had to compete with the free Hot Country Nights series on the Kansas City Live stage in the Power and Light District. Another blow: it was limited in its ability to book events in its outoor space, the Back Yard, so it suffered in the summer months, when most bands want to play outdoors.
Still, the Beaumont could draw crowds and put on good shows. This year's Hammerween show drew about 1,200 hard-rock fans. And a Snow Patrol show in April drew about 1,600.
More than three years ago, the club closed temporarily and canceled some shows (read here) as it went through some management restructuring. But it eventually reopened. Unless someone swoops in to takeover or the place gets an 11-hour reprieve, that's not likely to happen soon.
| Timothy Finn, The Star
Good. Out of a dozen shows that I saw there only one or two had good sound, with the rest being muddled and echoing. Couple that with terrible sight lines and feeling like being stuck in a sardine can, and I can't say that I'm surprised. Hopefully this means more shows will be at the Uptown, where I've had vastly better experiences.
Posted by: Evan | January 02, 2013 at 10:15 AM
It's sad to see people lose their jobs and to see anyone fail, but from my experience, there are better venues with better sound and a better live experience. The closing may affect other venues in Westport and force a change and restructuring but at least we have several other venues like, Czar, Riot Room, The Uptown,midland etc. to take up the slack. Someone should re open the Grand Emporium!
Posted by: Mike Borgia | January 02, 2013 at 10:31 AM
Far, far from my favorite venue because of all the reasons listed. But I'm wondering what this does to the Middle of the Map Fest this spring as Beaumont was the largest venue that could host the headlining acts. I'm afraid moving those to the Uptown is logistically prohibitive.
Posted by: Bob L. | January 02, 2013 at 11:06 AM
Have mixed feelings about it. Saw a lot of great shows there, but the sound ruined some others, especially the non-existent vocals. But it did book metal bands quite often, unlike a lot of other venues. I'm afraid the Uptown and Midland are too expensive for promoters of more undergound type metal bands that may have outgrown the Riot Room. Would rather not have to drive to Lawrence to the Granada, which seems to be the most viable venue for metal shows.
Posted by: CH | January 02, 2013 at 11:12 AM
Saw some great shows there, but it was certainly flawed. Sound was hit and miss at best and the bar service was TERRIBLE. Regardless, one less place to see live music. #Bummer
Posted by: Sin City Disciple | January 02, 2013 at 11:17 AM
Good riddance.
Posted by: james | January 02, 2013 at 11:20 AM
No love loss here either. In addition to the sound/sightline issues, it was also a pretty cheezy place. Not sure how many jobs were lost since it was only open occassionally for events and shows. My guess is Stu Solomon staffed it with employees from his other establishments when they wanted to make extra money on off nights.
My once concern is this is yet another void in a dying entertainmetn disctrict. Westport doesn't need to loose any more businesses.
Posted by: NEW | January 02, 2013 at 11:32 AM
I enjoyed Steve Earle and the Dukes and the Wilco "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" shows at the Beaumont. A lot.
Hopefully the next live venue in Westport will come soon, and have better sight lines and acoustics.
Cheers.
Posted by: Padraig | January 02, 2013 at 11:46 AM
It's disappointing to see venues not be able to compete with the hand picked winners our local government chooses to back. While I agree with a lot of the issues folks have with the Beaumont Club I don't agree that they should have had to play the game against a stacked deck. Our Government was nice enough to provide all kinds of tax breaks for The Midland & Uptown, which they used to subsidize their business (sound systems, venue repairs, etc..), while the worn down Beaumont scraped out a living. This leaves a huge hole in the Live Music Venue space for KC whether you like it or not. It will have drastic consequences for all the locally owned businesses in Westport who will see thousands fewer patrons buying beers & meals in the area in the coming year. Now part of those dollars will get transferred downtown to the nationally chains around The P&L who's existence is subsidized also by our tax dollars. The problem with all this that while we get prettier facilities for all the pretty people we get less choice of acts, artists & venues, we get less local business income, which means less local tax revenue from local owners, less dollars spent at local establishments(more at national chains), less history, etc.. For all the folks who preach we should have a proactive government trying to make our city better, well this is what you get. This is "do something" government at it's core. It picks winners and losers and almost every time in the end the loser is all of us who live here, and the winner is the local person or out of town developer who has City Halls ear. I'm not saying this wouldn't have eventually happened anyway, I just wonder why we had to line other venue owners pockets just to speed up the process. Congrats AEG & UGA, LLC you won fair and square, with "our help".
Posted by: Tater | January 02, 2013 at 11:47 AM
Some venues that I think should be closed are Kemper Arena and Memorial Hall. They hardly get any shows now. I've read that Omaha is closing the Civic Arena in 2014 because of several newer arenas in the metro.
I read about the plan to raze Kemper Arena and build a smaller venue that better fits the American Royal. The city of KCMO is losing tons of money on Kemper Arena and should close it.
Posted by: Kurt | January 02, 2013 at 11:59 AM
Who cares? There's not a person on this blog who doesn't believe in free-market competition in some form. All I see are complaints about how crummy the Beaumont was. And it was crummy. Local business...blah, blah. How many times have I seen that one used as cover for doing bad business?
Good riddance to bad trash. Rude bartenders, dirty bathrooms, bad sound... Better dead than sputtering along in misery.
Posted by: Sophia Genova | January 02, 2013 at 12:12 PM
Never liked that joint for most of the same oft-stated reasons, but I did enjoy a few shows there over the years...Cracker, Vince Neil and the Reverend to name a few. No great loss to me as I hadn't even been there since the revamp.
Posted by: pellboy | January 02, 2013 at 12:24 PM
Yeah... and meanwhile that money grubbing scumbag running that craphole Crossroads KC are expanding, thanks to all the morons who shovel money their way. Nice work morons.
Here is to hoping slick chokes on his roadkill show.
Bad as beaumont was, they at least had clean bathrooms, a roof, a real floor, HVAC etc etc, unlike that dump of a venue Crossroads KC.... so have fun pissing in a bucket again this summer all you morons who are happy to throw money at slick the dick.
Posted by: DT | January 02, 2013 at 03:13 PM
I'd rather piss in a bucket than piss in the bathroom at the Beaumont.
Posted by: james | January 02, 2013 at 03:31 PM
They should close Sandstone or, whatever it's called now and it's been Verizon Wireless Amp, Capitol Federal Park and Cricket Wireless Amp.
Posted by: Kurt | January 02, 2013 at 03:38 PM
"unlike that dump of a venue Crossroads KC...."
Posted by: DT
It's weird that so many of the people who defend CrossroadsKC are bashing The Beaumont.
Posted by: LiveMusicFan | January 02, 2013 at 03:46 PM
Good riddance. Let's get rid of Knuckleheads next. That place is as much of a dump as the Beaumont was. I wish all the local venues were as good as the recordBar. That's the only venue in KC that does right by their customers.
Posted by: btr | January 02, 2013 at 04:07 PM
Any word on where The Darkness show will be moved to? PLEASE don't say Lawrence....
Posted by: Ashley | January 02, 2013 at 04:18 PM
"I wish all the local venues were as good as the recordBar."
Posted by: btr
The recordBar brings in some great bands, but I absolutely hate the interior layout. Unless you're in front of the soundboard your view is obstructed. I'd love it if they remodeled and moved the stage between where it is now and where the bathrooms are.
Posted by: LiveMusicFan | January 02, 2013 at 04:20 PM
...and for them to move the soundboard to the back of the room.
Posted by: LiveMusicFan | January 02, 2013 at 04:21 PM
""I'd rather piss in a bucket than piss in the bathroom at the Beaumont.""
Uh Huh,
As she said last week, there are way too many Jethros in KC, bunch of hillbilly losers.
Posted by: Sam | January 02, 2013 at 05:35 PM
I am such a fan of live music that the shortcomings of the venue rarely bother me. I like to get to shows early so I can get close to the front (and avoid the sight line issues), I don't drink a lot (to avoid the bathrooms) and if the band is good enough, I will stand on woodchips or broken glass or whatever for a couple hours in my steel toe boots. There's really just two factors I worry about -- how good the band is, and how the crowd acts. If people are overly chatty or trample me to get to front of the stage, then yes, it does distract me from the show. But I also realize that I am not at a spa or a ballet.
Maybe I overly romanticize the concert-going experience. Yeah, porta-potties aren't fun, but I only spend 30 seconds in there because I am trying not to miss the band. I met my future wife at The Hurricane. It sucked when it wasn't The Hurricane anymore because I am a sentimental person. So I won't cheer The Beaumont's closing, because people have memories of that place - bands they saw and people they met. Maybe some only remember the shitty bathroom or that the vocal mix sucked. I feel sorry for those people. Stay home and watch a DVD of your favorite band, I guess. Some of the bands drive 12 hours in a rattletrap van to play for 40 minutes; I can forgive the shortcomings of the venue.
I loved the Middle of the Map Fest because I walked a few blocks and got to see five totally different acts in one night. There's some cities where that happens every night. I am disappointed The Beaumont has to close and hope the other Westport venues hang in there.
Posted by: Dave | January 02, 2013 at 07:18 PM
Tater and Dave are spot on correct in my eyes...thanks for telling it like it is....I saw some great shows at that venue,Robin Trower,Todd Rundgren,Eric Johnson,Drive-By-Truckers...let's hope they re-open at some point...
Posted by: Stormin' Norman | January 02, 2013 at 08:21 PM
The place was at it's best when it was no more than 2/3rds full. Yeah the sight lines weren't always the best and the sound, like a lot of places, could be hit or miss but there have been lots of memorable shows there: Merle Haggard, Lucinda Williams, Rev. Horton Heat w/Detroit Cobras & Split Lip Rayfield, the Jayhawks, Psychodelic Furs, Peter Murphy, They Might Be Giants, Dwight Yoakum, Black Lips, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Hank III, Little Big Town, Social Distortion. Hell I remember stumbling in there years ago and seeing some guy I'd never heard of before, Keith Urban. The craziest show I remember was Mudvayne about 10 years ago. One hell of a mosh pit - I must have pulled 3 people out who were being crushed. Hopefully someone else will come along and make a go of it. Its a great venue for the 500 to 900 person range.
Posted by: Country Jesus | January 03, 2013 at 12:33 AM
Ah, Robin Trower, forgot about that one, Stormin'.
Posted by: pellboy | January 03, 2013 at 07:32 AM
I agree with most of the expressed opinions about the Beaumont's sound & setup, but I know too they sure booked some great music over the years.
As I am a huge Todd Rundgren fan, it's been a great place to be able to see him & his band.
While his last outing was an especially poorly attended show of Robert Johnson covers mixed with his own tunes (he'd actually been contracted to do a whole album of them,called 'Todd Rundgren's Johnson' No kidding!) that drew I'm certain less than 300, it was still a show I was thrilled to see.
As his reinterpretations of the famous Robert Johnson tunes are styled ala British invasion style, I highly recommend that album still.
And the full production of Todd's 'Liars' show the Beaumont hosted, with it's own unique staging & the nations first appearance of LED stage lighting, was simply amazing.
Like the many faithful TR fans that packed the room (folks traveled from 6 or more states, I'm told) that was a legendary show for me...
I wish I had a better memory, for the other bands I'd caught there.
I know that I caught a great set by Cheap Trick (just one?) as well as a number of sets by friend's bands. I know I'm forgetting lots.
But for those Todd sets alone, I'd sure like to say: Thanks much, Beaumont. It's been a great time.
Posted by: corky | January 03, 2013 at 09:14 PM
I saw the Dropkick Murphys there about three years ago. Loved the band, hatedd the venue. I said I'd go back...the day they raze that dump.
Posted by: riptrack | January 04, 2013 at 11:12 AM
Amen on the Todd thing. Also, saw the (sweltering) Cheap Trick show. Concrete Blond, DBT, Better Than Ezra, Tesla, Setzer and Cowboy Junkies come to mind.
Posted by: RogerWilco | January 04, 2013 at 12:59 PM
Man, that Liars show is making me jealous. Haven't seen Todd since he toured The Individualist. That show (in OKC) was right after KC's and I met at least TR fan that was following the tour.
Wish I'd seen him last time he swung through here when he had one of the Haden daughters on bass.
Posted by: bewlay | January 04, 2013 at 02:38 PM
James, as for the men's room at the Beaumont Club, it usually isn't that bad. Ever try to take a number two at the Riot Room? Upside of course is that the Riot Room has re-entry so you're permitted to leave and find someplace more manageable. Main issue I have with the Beaumont is that unless the crowd is of a size of under 400, it's hard to see. At a capacity gig at the Beaumont, I will simply pass - with VERY FEW exceptions. Bubba said it.
Posted by: Bubba Brown | January 04, 2013 at 02:54 PM
I saw a number of good shows at the Beumont over the years - Rock, punk, country, a few boxing bouts and even a rap show. Only remember one show where the sound quality was noticably off. And the moshing at those Dropkich shows was the way moshing is supposed to be.
Becaus of its crowd capcity, the Beaumont has been able to host a number of good up-and-coming national acts, and I hope the Beumont can find a way to survive. If not, hopefully CrossRoads can pick up some of the slack as opposed to Lawrence.
Posted by: hamster | January 05, 2013 at 09:05 AM
Maybe it's a coincidence, but Australian bands seemed to have good shows there. Wolfmother performed a well-received show there a few years ago and years before that Midnight Oil played a decent set before finally hanging it up altogether.
Hope someone can eventually salvage the place. The building and its location are too valuable to leave empty for years.
Posted by: Rick | January 05, 2013 at 01:41 PM
Bottom line is bad times in America and less money being spent. Plus when you have no frills venues like Crossroads KC which have low over head (due to nothing over head, no air conditioning or heating, not even a floor etc etc) so they can pay a band more. It makes for a crappy concert times, but if people dont care we will see of this.
Posted by: Ralph | January 05, 2013 at 02:35 PM
I must admit that the rhetorical question "Have you ever tried to take a number two in the Riot Room?" made me laugh. That would have to be a very desparate 'code brown' time. Reminds me of the scene with the toilet in Trainspotting. My least favorite Beaumont memory is GIVING my Queens of the Stone Age tickets to my nephew. The show poster for that show is one of the coolest I've ever seen. It's printed on X-ray film. Yeah, I still regret not going to that show. I also loved the Battle of the Bands they had there. I have a Snake Eater shirt from a few years back when I went there to see some of my students playing. But no, never dropped a deuce there or any ANY bar ever.
Posted by: Dave | January 05, 2013 at 08:31 PM
Dave, as for taking a number two at the Riot Room [might actually make a good punk song title], I had to do just that recently. The door on the men's room stall sort of swung open when I was doing my business in there. If it would have stayed open (for even a minute), the female patrons entering the ladies room right across that particular area of the bar and seen me. Plus their toilet paper dispenser was tough to deal with. Ha-ha-ha! I know - there are bigger problems in the world today.
Ralph, I HATE - the Crossroads venue!!
Posted by: Bubba Brown | January 05, 2013 at 10:10 PM
Nice post! I never knew before that it was like that, at least now that I do I will keep an eye out for it. Interesting bathroom I must say. Thanks for the post!
Posted by: bathroom light fixtures | January 10, 2013 at 10:26 PM
Comparing Beaumont to Midland and Uptown as competition isn't a good comparision, big size difference. Crossroads and Voo Doo seem would compete for similar acts.
Wasn't a huge fan of the Beaumont but did enjoy a lot of show there, don't how many times I saw artists get visually frustrated with sound and equipment on stage. There was something sort of raw and down to earth about the shows, not that everything was going to be perfect.
Posted by: Sid Tripp | January 11, 2013 at 10:37 AM
I think Beaumont and Uptown are closer than you'd think. Tim could probably correct me but Uptown is ~1800 and Beaumont is around ~1600.
Posted by: Endtro | January 11, 2013 at 11:12 AM
actually, I can't find consistent capacity for Uptown. some say up to 2400, some say 1700
Posted by: Endtro | January 11, 2013 at 11:19 AM
Capacities aside, theatre vs. club though, hard to compare.
Posted by: pellboy | January 11, 2013 at 11:46 AM
Do bands take into account whether it's a theater vs. club when booking shows? I honestly don't know if they do so when talking about competition between venues I would think size would be a major factor.
Posted by: Endtro | January 11, 2013 at 12:51 PM
Well, that's probably true. I was strictly speaking from a fans/concertgoer's perspective, in that seeing an act at The Uptown/Midland would in most cases be preferable to The Beaumont. As far as bookings go, I guess there were some similarities there.
Posted by: pellboy | January 11, 2013 at 01:05 PM
yeah, I thought Sid was referring to the venues being sized so differently that they don't compete with each other. I'm with you though, I look at the venue type for sure. I've skipped Beaumont shows because of the venue.
Posted by: Endtro | January 11, 2013 at 01:22 PM
I disliked the place. While the upgraded bathrooms helped, it was just not good for full shows like Owl City and Queens of the Stone Age. Best concert I saw their was Wolfmother, probably because it was half full. Same with Chemical Brothers.
Posted by: Steve J | January 11, 2013 at 01:22 PM