We're gonna have to retire this one soon, too. A favorite with hardcore music snobs and pedestrian concert fans alike, Jannus is big enough to attract hot, up-and-coming national artists, and small enough to make even a sold-out show feel like an intimate, communal experience. You can be at the back of the courtyard, by the deck and the entrance to adjacent bar/nightclub The Green Room (or whatever the hell it's called this week), and still see, hear and feel whoever happens to be treading the large, tented stage like you were in the front row, crushed up against the barricade. In the spring, fall and winter, its open-air layout provides a balmy atmosphere that far surpasses any crowded indoor venue's unavoidable sense of smoky, humid stuffiness, and the place features styles that run the gamut — we've been provided memorable, somehow personal shows of every style from death metal to reggae. Sure, the drink prices seem a little steep for a mid-size concert hall, and we could do without the seemingly endless parade of nostalgia and tribute acts. But when the band you've waited forever to see gets booked into Jannus, you feel a bit like you yourself got lucky, because you know there's really no better place in the Bay area to see 'em.
Jannus Landing, 16 Second St. N., St. Petersburg, 727-896-1244 or www.jannuslanding.net.
This article appears in Sep 25 – Oct 1, 2003.