In rural areas I think BJ has exposed one problem. Trying to provide a financially viable venue, especially on short notice, would be difficult to impossible. Whereas getting a few people together at a house concert for a pass the hat and buy a CD party would be possible.

I agree completely with Leeneia that the life of a musician is hard and can use all the help going. But I find I am vaguely uncomfortable with the idea, not from the "closed community" aspect but because long familiarity breeds not only interest, a sense of fitness, but also the issue of safety, if one is offering a home, for concert or overnight.

Hanging out on Mudcat for nearly 2 years now, I feel I "know" a lot of people here that I will probably never meet in person, but for many, if they needed a place to stay or play I'd be happy to accomodate. Not so with strangers, rightly or wrongly. Nor might I feel comfortable about urging someone else in my community to provide for them. Of course, this is more of a problem also, in rural areas, where there are not a lot of commercial venues on tap.