Agreed. I go to small gigs with max 200 people. I don't miss the overpriced crap beer, half a kilometre from the stage. I like the fact you can talk to the band after.
Agreed as well. It's a bit easier for me that my city is out of the way and generally doesn't get national touring acts (at least mainstream ones, we get plenty of (inter)national punk) and when we do the cheapest tickets are incredibly pricey and I'm paying at least $6 for a PBR.