Toad's Place leapfrogs towards success

You might expect a band as big as Live to play the
New Haven Coliseum. But then, you'd probably have expected that of Billy Joel, "Weird Al" Yankovic, and Weezer as well.

If you were one of the lucky few able to snag tickets to Live's unpublicized concert last Wednesday, you know that Toad's Place, which holds a mere 750, is the kind of place where you practically sit in the bass player's lap. It's more likely, however, that you were one of the hundreds thwarted by "sold out" signs only a day after word of the show leaked out. Toad's size makes it seem improbable that groups like Morphine, Porno for Pyros, and Live would choose the club for their gigs, but Stephanie Panico, Toad's director of booking and promotions, said that a club's reputation is more important than its size. That modest size, however, will soon swell, as Toad's hopes to franchise nationwide starting this summer. While its plans have not yet been formalized, the club has been approached by venues across the country seeking their own piece of trademark Toad's Place prestige.

Luckily, Toad's enjoys a reputation that should make its expansion possible. "The image of a club is usually based on how many years you've been in the business and how bands are treated," Panico explained. And Toad's has a history that makes it extremely well-respected throughout today's music industry.

Lach Buchanan of the Premier Talent booking agency has worked with Toad's for over 10 years. Like many booking agents across the country, Buchanan consistently returns to the venue in efforts to book clients. He commended the club's reliability. "Toad's is good to deal with. As an agent, you want to get offers in a timely fashion, and you want deals to be honest. They live up to that expectation," he said.

It's not just booking agents who are familiar with Toad's; nationally famous bands like Live sometimes "pretty much choose us," Panico said, making things that much easier for him and his staff. "Live's playing in York, Pennsylvania--their hometown--and then in New Hampshire. We're right in the middle and they didn't want to play in a big city with lots of spotlights. Connecticut's off the beaten path. They really want to rehearse and get their show tight. We were very excited to get them."

Toad's has long been committed to bringing the best to New Haven, including, surprisingly, the best cuisine. The Toad's logo, "the strutting toad that adds to the friendly image" of the club, according to part owner and Vice President Brian Phelps, wasn't always a symbol of univeral goodwill. When Toad's Place first opened in 1975, it was actually a French restaurant and bar that served frog's legs on a platter. The original restaurant was only one-third the size of the current Toad's establishment.

"As the restaurant lost money and was spiraling downward, live entertainment was brought in," said Phelps. "Soon there were 25-cent drafts and bluegrass music performances every Tuesday night. It was a big hit. The drinking age was then only 18, and Toad's was a place that few Yalies hesitated to frequent. More live entertainment was brought in and the restaurant idea was dropped."

The club continues to do its best to adapt to the interests and needs of the community. "No matter what your age, sex or racial background," Phelps claimed, "Toad's will try to accommodate you. We have always tried to bring forth the hottest, coolest bands available. No matter what style of music you like, Toad's will cater to you. Total entertainment along with totally diverse groups of people makes Toad's what it is."

This eagerness to cater to Yalies is important to a club with Sterling Memorial Library across the street and Morse College bringing up the rear. Over the years, Yale and Toad's have worked together frequently; University President Richard Levin, GRD '74, has used the club for honors and awards ceremonies, for example. The football team photo has hung over the bar for the past seven years as well. Furthermore, Phelps said, "The biannual Harvard weekend at Toad's can easily be called the weekend of the year."

Having Mory's next door is another way that Toad's interacts with the University--not always, however, with the best results. "Cyndi Lauper and her band went to Mory's for dinner before a Toad's Place performance dressed in their standard motorcycle riding jackets," Phelps said. Also at Mory's that night, "A group of Secret Service agents was [there]guarding a royal visitor from another country. The SS was very alarmed by the leather jacket group coming in, until they found out who it was."

Lauper turned out to be a tamer dinner guest than the feds feared. "During dinner, the Whiffenpoofs sang one of Cyndi's songs to her, "Time After Time," and tears came to her eyes. She returned the compliment by inviting them onstage with her at Toad's to sing the song with her for a sold-out show."

Scheduling numerous acts at a popular and diverse venue consistently proves a challenge. Panico's calendar for April already lists several names for each day. "Everything gets penciled in" as she keeps all options open. "A lot of it can get erased. Friday nights are good and Thursdays are pretty good, so you always try to get a big band or a local band. On Monday or Tuesday, unless it's a big band, we pretty much close. If it's a quality thing that you can make money on, then you're open. If it's not, it's not worth pulling something together at the last minute. It takes so much money just to open the doors, so to speak," she said.

"It's really a juggling act. It depends on what's available, what makes money," Panico explained. We tend to do best here with the alternative bands. We're doing all right with some of the big reggae bands. Blues works well too. You go for what works best, what you can get and what they'll give you," she said.

Fans of the diverse crop of groups that Panico books can take heart in knowing that most of them will be back for repeat performances. "A lot of people really want to come back because they were taken care of, everything was set up and they've enjoyed their stay," Panico said. With the current expansion proposals, Yalies all over the country will remember the York Street club long after their undergraduate years are over.

"We've had a lot of letters from New York and Boston, and as far south as North Carolina and Florida. Hopefully, that'll work out and we'll continue to expand on the Toad's Place tradition."

Graphic by Carlos Mena.

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