10 Things That Need To Change To Save Independent Venues

[BigRedX]

I was going to quote a whole load of previous posts, but hopefully these comments will stand on their own instead.

Places where live music is there for the purpose of allowing people to dance and the band is there to be heard not listened to has never gone away. IMO most covers and function bands fill this role these days.

I'm also getting rather tired of the endless "sky is falling", live music venues are disappearing moans that crop up every time this subject is raised. From where I'm stood it has never been easier to get a good paying gig (provided that your band is actually doing something that people want to see/hear). It probably helps that my band fits into a couple of identifiable genres that have a ready made audience of people prepared to go and see live music, and that we have a charismatic front man who strips down to his underwear and interacts with the audience, but if there wasn't some decent music there to back it up we would be getting repeat bookings and building up a following and reputation as a band.

I certainly wouldn't want to go back to situation of only 10 years ago (and going all the way back to the early 80s when I started gigging) where weekend gigs for bands playing their own music were virtually non-existent and even getting the few mid-week slots available involved getting on a waiting list so longer you sometimes wondered if your band would still be going by the time the gig came round.

[Happy Jack]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1390990875' post='2351947']
... we have a charismatic front man who strips down to his underwear and interacts with the audience,
[/quote]

I tried that at our last gig.

My case comes up next week.

[skankdelvar]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1390990875' post='2351947']
Places where live music is there for the purpose of allowing people to dance and the band is there to be heard not listened to has never gone away. IMO most covers and function bands fill this role these days.
[/quote]

I suppose it depends how one defines dancing. To my mind that's hundreds of people lindy-hopping in a 40's ballroom or a club full of mad-for-it youth. The focus there is on the communal act of dancing, as opposed to gazing at a band through one's phone, listening [i]very[/i] hard, telling off people who speak above a whisper and moving around entirely independently of others.

Function bands in function venues certainly fulfil the 'I came to dance' criteria. Venture onto the floor and you'll be trampled underfoot by plump matrons in diaphonous frocks. Covers bands in general-purpose pubs, well, not so much in my experience. Mostly punters sit around the edges, nodding gently and listening (if one is lucky), apart from the local drunken mentalist lurching around the square metre of lino in front of the band.

I'd have to stand by my original contention that most bands in 'Independent Venues' aren't really about sitting well back and getting the audience dancing. For myself, I'd rather remain anonymous and get a room moving than have a pack of gobbins staring open-mouthed at the stage, muttering 'How insightful - and such musicianship'.


[size=3]Desirable outcome and no bass solos[/size]

[Zenitram]

Look at them all. Tripping their nuts off.

[flyfisher]

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1390925078' post='2351365']
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7iXpTJk15s[/media]
[/quote]


That video seemed to concentrate on the curvaceousness of female posterior (no bad thing of course) whereas a more contemporary example would likely feature stick-thin models and concentrate on surgically enhanced cleavage.

Interesting how times change.

[Happy Jack]

At least there's no sign of a bear saying "could I have a cookie?"

[b]Disclaimer[/b]: That comment will mean [i][b]absolutely nothing[/b][/i] to you if you are under the age of 50.

[flyfisher]

Oh dear, I remember that bear.