In April 2014 I saw my first show at Toad’s Place in New Haven, CT (website)… a double bill featuring The Hold Steady and Deer Tick. I got lost in the music, and eventually found and lost again in the iconic mystical club’s lounge. My friend Rich, a native to New Haven during his college days, brought me and filled my mental note cards with stories of yesteryear and tales of beer swinging rock and rock nights. (Click here for that story.)

In his Music People Project interview, Rich shares a few great Toad’s stories with us (click here to watch).  As a thank you for Rich, I bought him a copy of the Toad’s Place history book. It is chock full of wild stories and documents an important mile marker on the rock and roll highway showcasing a diverse list of bands for over four decades. I’ve grown quite fond of these type of venues and am beginning to curate a nice list of America’s best rock and roll clubs to share with friends and readers. Places like Tipitina’s in New Orleans (story here), The Falcon in Marlboro, NY (story here), and The National in Richmond, VA (story here) all come to mind. Like the great many waterholes that fueled stories that last for generations, these clubs are slowly fading away and almost killed by COVID.

I deliberately waited to read The Toad’s Place book (available to buy on their website and Amazon) until my long awaited first trip to Jazz Fest (click here for that story). It was a great way to pre-coat my mind for the intense musical meal that awaited me in Nola.

I’m not going to retell you the stories here, as you should buy the book (1. you will be supporting the club and 2. it will make you put down the smart phone), but I will share a bunch of the items I highlighted as I gobbled up stories of an insane amount of bands that entertained fans from its hallowed stage.

Starting with Meatloaf, Talking Heads, Bob Seger, and a very drunk Tom Waits in the late 70s just as they released their big first albums. Being there for these shows in this intimate and authentic rock volcano was a treat beyond treats… like “catching lightning in a bottle” (a phrase I love to use when all the stars align — see the The Budos Band story from Asbury Park from August 2022).

U2, Billy Joel, REM, Stevie Ray Vaughan led a brigade of legendary appearances during the 80s as Toad’s produced great music every night. Greg Allman (like many stars) loved Toad’s Place and performed often on his travels up the eastern corridor from NY to Boston. 

Music fans working or going to school in the New Haven, CT area during this time had a music goldmine in their backyard where they could easily find huge nugs on any given day. Before the casinos were planted in CT during the 90s, this was the place to be. The acts started to get big bucks down the block at Foxwoods (1992) and Mohegan Sun (1996) and couldn’t afford to waste an evening on the road making a fraction from these new mega halls. MTV and the change in drinking age from 18 to 21 years of age also demented Toad’s popularity, but the club raged on even as the music changed from pop to punk to metal to rap.

The most well known story about Toad’s told in great detail in the book is when The Rolling Stones played a secret show in the summer of 1989 as a warm up for their massive Steel Wheels tour. The 11 song set is etched in stone for the 750 people that fit in the place. Hearing from the local band “Sons of Bob” that opened up for them was a great way to bring readers into the scene and backstage.

My favorite Toad’s story is when the super weird and unpredictable Bob Dylan played a 50 song set (yes that’s “five-oh”) in 1990 that evoked the very best of this music god.

In the 90s, jam band acts like Phish, Black Crowes mixed in with a large rap following and even boy bands like New Kids on the Block.

Although Toad’s concert calendar is not filled with the gems it once once, there is still lots of great nuggets and live music every night.

As the song says… Go Out and Catch the Show. There will be saints and sinners, losers and winners, all kinds of people you would want to know.

Long live Toad’s Place.