Like Ames with Des Moines, Lawrence's music scene has been affected by the revitalization of Kansas City's downtown. With the opening of several new venues like the Madrid, Truman, Kauffman Center and Record Bar's new location, the Lawrence stand-by venues get less shows now. With that said, the overall amount of shows coming to the area has never been greater. It is hard to choose what shows to hit and which ones to pass on.
In terms of food, Lawrence blows Ames out of the water and it isn't even close. Lawrence has an excellent food scene and it is one of my favorite things about living here. To be fair, Lawrence also has about 30,000 more people than Ames, so that has to make a difference.