There’s been a lot of hype surrounding Vertical Search Lately. Search engine marketing guru Danny Sullivan claimed at the SES, “I can’t say it enough. Vertical search is going to take over.” Visionary Tom Evslin first disagreed saying that “’Vertical search engine’ is an oxymoron” and then hedged his comments a bit.

The right answer is somewhere in between these strong opinions. In a future blog, I will comment on what I think vertical search means, its importance/relevance, and where it is going.

But for now, I want to highlight my new favorite vertical search site – EVDB, a search engine for local events and venues. After signing up in the past for notification when the site went live, I received an e-mail yesterday announcing the beta launch.

Has the company bitten off more than they can chew? It is a tall order to database a set of local events and venues with the a critical mass that’s beneficial for the user. As opposed to other vertical engines with a handful, or even dozens, of sites needed to draw information, EVDB has to aggregate events from thousands of disparate sources. But, if it can be done, it will be a truly powerful proposition. It’s an interesting angle to the “local” play, in contrast to most local content/search sites centered around the location of businesses. I am looking forward to the day when I can set up an RSS feed of my favorite independent-label musicians, and have EVDB notify me when they are coming to town at a small local venue. Very powerful.

So when EVDB does place themselves on A9’s Open Search?