An open call to other venue owners in Canada...

I have been talking about this for a while.
A collaboration.
But there are physical barriers.
So I'm using this to reach you...venue owners!
Especially those who fell into the CBC Radio 3 Searchlight contest for their special attention to live music hosting.

Here I am, on a Wednesday night, in the winter, with nothing booked.
That means it's usually quiet in the early evening, picking up in the last half-hour.
But I know something's going on somewhere else in the country tonight.

I would LOVE to start showing LIVE broadcasts of bands playing in other venues, cities, provinces. Phog has been live-streaming shows, on and off, for a good while now. We just need an internet connection, a camera of some kind that will connect to your computer (I use a FireWire to a Sony Handycam circa. 1995). Then you need an external microphone with a USB connection to your computer. Ustream.com and other streaming sites make it pretty easy to set-up the video and audio...and then once you've got your settings...you keep them the same and simply adjust audio for volume.

I wish, wish, wish that another venue was willing to broadcast some stuff, so that I could PROJECT it onto our big screen on the nights when we don't have something booked.
I'd actually put it in the listing as something people could come and watch LIVE.
Touring bands could hit two audiences at once.

Is this a pipe dream, or is there someone out there willing to get the ball rolling by trying it out with one show?

If you're reading this and you have contact with a venue owner who might be open to this, send them to this post, or have them e-mail me at phoglounge@gmail.com.

It'd be killer to catch Said The Whale or Joel Plaskett or Jill Barber playing some other venue in Canada, knowing that they were playing to two audiences.

What do you think of this idea?