Cover me. I'm goin' in.

Last night Dan, a few of our east coast friends, and I ventured into Penuche's, an underground "dive" bar in Concord, NH.  I feel I should be honest and tell you that it was for the third time this week.  Last night when we got to the bottom of the stairs we were told there was a $3 cover.  This launched a series of word bubbles in my head straight out of SNL's Really!?! with Seth and Amy.  $3 is not bad, but I thought I had left cover charges behind in LA. 

Too many bars in LA charge a cover at the door simply for the privilege of spending your money inside - no entertainment, no nuthin'.  Many times when you are paying a cover to see a band, the bar or club keeps all or most of the money made at the door. Often when I play shows with my band, there is a cover - usually around $10 - but my band and I see none of it.  The music scene is so vast and competitive that if you are not amenable to the terms offered by a venue, they will easily and speedily find someone who is.

Last night I could hear that a band was playing inside, so I silently hoped at least some of the cover would go to them and paid up.  A little while later I was voicing my umbrage at the cover to one of Dan's friends who lives in the area and she delivered the refreshing news that the guy taking money at the door told her all the money goes to the band.  How refreshing!  Good for the band and good for Penuche's.

P.S.  I know it's a blogger's obligation to bring a camera everywhere to document everything.  I have no problem complying with this during the day; however, for some reason when night falls and I have a drink in my hand, my lens cap stays on.  After 3 nights at Penuche's, this is the only photo I can produce:
 
I'll work on that.