Toad's Place closes, Lady Gaga concert postponed

During the past few weeks, rumors have been flying around University of Richmond's campus that the well-known music venue and club, Toad's Place, in Richmond's Shockoe Slip, has been closed down. Soon after, those rumors raised questions about the widely promoted Lady Gaga concert scheduled for Friday, April 3.

The Collegian is here to set the record straight.

Fans of Toad's Place get the bad news. On March 9, notices were posted outside of the locked building explaining that the venue was closed because of a "serious default in rental payment and other obligations," according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Operators of Toad's Place were leasing the space from Fulton Hill Properties, whose managing agents, Kiniry and Co., posted the notices.

But, with a little patience, Richmond students might find themselves heading downtown to the historic Lady Byrd Hat Building, the building where Toad's Place was located, for live concerts and parties again.

The venue won't be called Toad's Place anymore, but Kristen Heckman, Fulton Hill Properties' project manager, said, "We are dedicated to entertainment and dining on the Canal and there is an overwhelming interest of local and national operators that would like to take over the venue."

For the die-hard fans of Toad's Place, there is something to soften the blow. Toad's Place Richmond was actually a sister location to the original Toad's Place, in New Haven, Conn. The original location has been open since 1975, seen such rock stars and legends as U2, The Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan and is still alive and well.

Those worried about that ticket they bought for Lady Gaga to perform at Toad's Place, hold onto your ticket.

The show will go on for Lady Gaga and her "Fame Ball" tour, with performances by Chester French and the White Tie Affair, after a quick change to another well-known Richmond venue, The National.

The announcement posted on Toad's Place's Web site late last week read: "New status of certain [the following] shows moved to The National: Lady Gaga, Neko Case, The AP Tour and Dinosaur Jr.

"For ONLY these shows listed above, The National has indicated on their Web site that they will honor all tickets purchased at Etix, Plan 9 and BK Music the night of the show."

The date for Lady Gaga's show has been postponed, according to The National's website. "Due to her West Coast American Idol appearance April 1 and her exhaustive schedule, the Lady Gaga show scheduled for THIS Friday April 3 has been postponed. The new date will be announced soon," the Web site said.

When the news of the venue change started circulating, another rumor flourished that the show was no longer sold out. This rumor was true, but only for a little while.

The National is a larger location so when the venue changed, new tickets were made available. But, by the beginning of last week, Lady Gaga's show sold out for a second time.

The Official Lady Gaga After Party at Club Rendesvous has been canceled.

For more information, please refer to The National's Web site, http://www.thenationalva.com.

Contact reporter Amelie LeBreton at amelie.lebreton@richmond.edu