Live Music: Why Don't People Go Out More? [Archive]

Documad

07-06-2005, 12:16 AM

My friend and I were at a club tonight and as she was bopping up and down behind me she screamed "how can people dislike live music?--some people do you know." I haven't thought about it much, but I have a lot of friends with great taste in music who never go out anymore--to clubs, arenas, or stadiums.

I almost always enjoy hearing live music. Even if I'm not a big fan of the band. I don't think I'm easily pleased. I almost never enjoy movies anymore (I enjoyed the Enron one this weekend though).

I know it can be a matter of money for some. But some really top notch acts are playing for $12-15 a ticket. And some people don't get great bands in their towns. But what about the rest? What's their story? Do you lose interest after you turn 25?

DroppinScience

07-06-2005, 12:43 AM

I dunno. There's always some bands I wouldn't mind seeing live but sometimes I lack the motivation of seeing them. Every now and then I need a kick to the pants to see some bands.

Money is partially an issue. Even if they're decently priced (around $15), that can add up if you see EVERYBODY. Especially if you have some liquor and get something from the merch booth.

And unfortunately... laziness is a bit of a factor for me, too. Sad to say, but sometimes I'd rather just sit at home and listen to their records than deal with some yahoos at their shows.

However, I'm downright PISSED that Ryan Adams AND Foo Fighters are playing on the same night in Edmonton.

I'm seeing Ryan Adams (I'm a HUGE fan), since this is his first ever Edmonton gig. He may never come back for YEARS. And the Foos have been here at least 2 or 3 times before. They'll be back. But still, I'm mighty heartbroken over this fact. :(

Medellia

07-06-2005, 12:44 AM

I'm going to see The Killers with a friend of mine next month. And possibly Green Day a couple of days after that. I don't particullarly want to go to either, but I'm being dragged and, hey, at least I'm not paying for the tickets. Hopefully I'll get to see 311 soon, because I want to see them at least once and I heard their coming to Oklahoma. And the Foo Fighters are rumoured to be playing at OSU's Orange Peel. I'm going to that for sure. If they can't get the Foos, Lewis Black will probably be the opening act. If they do book the band and can't afford Lewis, then it will be Dane Cook. I'm going either way. (y)

midzi

07-06-2005, 01:10 AM

And some people don't get great bands in their towns.

or in their countries :(

I enjoy seeing bands live. All the concerts I attended were probably the greatest moments in my life.

However most people I know never go to concerts. They think it's waste of money. They don't have great interest in music either. They don't buy records and don't have favourite bands/artists. Their only contact with music is when they listen to radio. It's sad. (n)

It's hard for me to understand that because music is very important part of my life.

enree erzweglle

07-06-2005, 06:15 AM

I go to hear live music only for certain types of acts and usually that means to hear people like Bill Frisell, Richard Thompson, Robben Ford, Leo Kottke, Clive Gregson, & Eric Johnson.

When I was in California, the choices for music--amazing. You didn't have to plan it, really. You could just wander out and let whatever was out there find you. I miss that a lot.

There aren't many smaller shows to choose from here. That's mostly because a few years ago, the city raised entertainment taxes exorbitantly and that's kept a lot of the smaller acts out or it's kept them from returning as frequently. Most of the intimate clubs have had to close although a couple remain, so occasionally, I'll get a chance to see these people locally. Usually, though, it means driving to Virginia (the Birchmere) or trying to time it with when I'm travelling.

About arena shows, they're usually too crowded & too smokey, and the show you get feels cookie-cutterish such that maybe you could have listened to the music at home and gotten nearly the same experience--maybe it's even worse because the sound in arenas is usually horrible.

The only big-name/arena act I want to see, really, is the Beasties and I want to see them for the whole package--hearing & watching them play live and just having the experience of that and of seeing the weave. Determined to see the weave in person some day.

Gareth

07-06-2005, 06:43 AM

cos i can sit at home and download all the shit for free anyway.

enree erzweglle

07-06-2005, 06:55 AM

cos i can sit at home and download all the shit for free anyway.
For those big shows (arena shows), to me, it usually feels like you're listening to the CD anyway. There's not often much deviation from either the way they perform it in each of the live shows or from the recorded version.

Some of those shows are nearly scripted. If you read a review of one, you've pretty much seen the others and can maybe almost mime out the in-between-songs jokes and antics.

If you've ever seen Leo Kottke in person, what a treat. He tells little stories in between the songs and no two shows are ever the same. He just gets up there with his guitar and does what he wants to do.

Richard Thompson is the same way when he's doing acoustic shows without the band...he engages the crowd and often just stops to talk to individual people right in the middle of the show. He's done that with me several times...and he remembered me from one show to the next.

Same with Robben Ford--he makes eye contact throughout the show--he really seems to enjoy watching us watch him. He stops to talk too.

THAT, to me, is what really heightens a concert experience and it's why I tend to avoid arena shows. The chances of things like that happening at those big shows are pretty slim.

EN[i]GMA

07-06-2005, 07:41 AM

I would kill to go to Buck 65 live show.

I've watched a few on the internet and he seems to be a great entertainer.

milleson

07-06-2005, 08:49 AM

Kids. Having kids changes everything. Add babysitters to ticket prices (and gas prices) and going out quickly gets expensive.

wavin_goodbye

07-06-2005, 10:04 AM

i still go to live shows as much as i can.. but the costs (they seem to be constantly on the increase) could always be something that turns people off. the way i see it, whenever i'm on the edge, i just think to myself that i've regretted not going to certain shows before, and it's not worth missing out on something that i know i would really love..

WhoMoi?

07-06-2005, 11:11 AM

For those big shows (arena shows), to me, it usually feels like you're listening to the CD anyway. There's not often much deviation from either the way they perform it in each of the live shows or from the recorded version.

I don't think it's necessarily all arena shows; it kind of depends on the act. But I know what you're saying, and I guess the musicians that make you feel like you're listening to the CD when you're seeing them live are the ones that most often do arena shows rather than smaller venues.

I recently saw Sarah McLachlan, and though I think she's an amazing and talented songwriter, singer and overall musician, I couldn't decide throughout the show why I wasn't totally bowled away. Her voice sounded exactly like it does recorded, which is quite remarkable. But she had like 10 other musicians on stage with her, which made the songs sound almost exactly the same as they do on CD. Although they were all really, really great and I knew I was witnessing some amazing talent that came together flawlessly, I just wasn't moved or emotional about it. I think it's because it all sounded too much like her recorded stuff.

Often I get chills and am moved to tears when I see live acts. When I've seen Tori Amos, I nearly always tear up, not only because of her amazing voice and piano playing, but because she shows it through improvising live a lot, rather than just sticking to exactly what her recording sounds like. And on the tour she just did, she was by herself; although this means omitting some of the instruments found on many of her recorded pieces, it also showed how she alone could still do the songs amazingly.

Same with Beastie Boys...they really kick ass live. Not that I teared up at their show... :D ...but I did get chills and just felt undescribably psyched and happy to be there. They switch things up a lot when they're live. I guess seeing people's talent through their doing some things differently live (as opposed to what their recordings sound like) just really drives it home that you're actually witnessing their talent live and in person, and improvisation/versatility just shows even more of their musical abilities...if that makes any sense.

adam_f

07-06-2005, 11:14 AM

I dislike most people.

enree erzweglle

07-06-2005, 11:24 AM

I don't think it's necessarily all arena shows; it kind of depends on the act. But I know what you're saying, and I guess the musicians that make you feel like you're listening to the CD when you're seeing them live are the ones that most often do arena shows rather than smaller venues.

There are some shows out there--some big acts where they try to deliver. I hear DMB and Coldplay do this but I can't say for sure (never been to one of their shows) but I hear that they involve the audience/just shake it up, like you said. I wouldn't mind taking in shows like that just because there's a chance that they'll be different and engaging. But I hate to take the chance (particularly when tickets cost so much).

Where I live, there's an outdoor pavilion-style place where most of the big summertime shows wind up showing. You have to drive a little over an hour to get there and the parking is bad. It's abundant, but it's hard to get out after the show. Jammed up. So most people wind up leaving before the encores just to beat the crowds. You go there and you probably won't get home until 2-3am. I saw Bob Dylan there--about half the crowd left before he came on (!) (they were there mostly to see the opening act). Of the remaining half, about maybe 1/4 of them left before the encore and I seem to remember thinking that they missed some of the best parts of the night by doing that.

cosmo105

07-06-2005, 01:13 PM

enree erzweglle

07-06-2005, 01:19 PM

enree's right - that's one of the best things about living here. i live right down the street from one of the best venues, around, and there's a show every weekend, and a lot of weeknights too. if i was bored, i'd just have to drive into hollywood or anaheim and i'd definitely find something. i love going to live shows. i used to every weekend when i was in high school, whether i knew the band or not. i was such a scene kid, and i knew all the bands. i don't go as often now...but it'll always be a part of me.

I wanna be there.

I promised a friend of mine that within the next 5 years, I'd move out west. Maybe really far out west but certainly more westerly than I am now. I made that promise about 8 years ago and I think I'm sticking to it. Going for the music and the weather and the people and the fact that you can exercise outside all year long. I could cry it's so gorgeous there.

I'm glad you appreciate it. I've got other friends who live in Southern CA who more or less complain about it at every turn. I think, how could you possibly complain about something so gorgeous and about being in a place that's just so like that.

cosmo105

07-06-2005, 01:46 PM

it seems like every band out of Seattle bitches about having to move to LA to make it in the business. what's wrong, can't handle some sunshine and traffic? ;)

yeah, i definitely appreciate it. i love living here.

hpdrifter

07-06-2005, 02:15 PM

It seems like a lot of posts in this thread are about big name national acts. What about your local bands? I like going to see local bands better than national acts. Tickets are cheaper, you get closer, you can drink during the show, you can meet the band... The benefits are many. And varied.

zippo

07-06-2005, 02:19 PM

Do you lose interest after you turn 25?

hey hey hey now, how about we move that limit up to 30, id say that would be more precise...anyways, i dont know about how it is up there (no shit!) but down here the live music scene is unstoppable, its what i do basically every 2 weeks and it gets alot of attention in general. maybe its cuz ive got alot of friends in bands, or maybe the music scene here is larger than i thought. im even involved in writing music and considering doing something about it soon. this thread made me think how theres such a rich musical scene here and its just fkin great. but im sure its like this in alot parts of the states, especially in CA at least...(hey ill make some publicity for Deadfall why not, go see them).

now as for the real moneymaking or more famous bands, i seriously get momentarily depressed when i see how much bands i miss out on that always just go to places like NY or DC or rome, paris, etc etc and never come to southamerica...you guys are so lucky to get to see those bands, and it kills me that i probably wont ever get to see bands like Muse (fine its the last time ill mention them this week), Beck, Coldplay, and oh yes...the Beastie Boys, among many others. it honestly fukin breaks my heart, but hey, thats life, im usually over it the next day anyways.

anyways....theres nothing like rocking out to a live band...music....music.

DroppinScience

07-06-2005, 02:31 PM

now as for the real moneymaking or more famous bands, i seriously get momentarily depressed when i see how much bands i miss out on that always just go to places like NY or DC or rome, paris, etc etc and never come to southamerica...you guys are so lucky to get to see those bands, and it kills me that i probably wont ever get to see bands like Muse (fine its the last time ill mention them this week), Beck, Coldplay, and oh yes...the Beastie Boys, among many others. it honestly fukin breaks my heart, but hey, thats life, im usually over it the next day anyways.

What about The White Stripes? Weren't they actually going throughout South America and playing some intimate gigs there (and defiantly avoiding North America and Europe for "Get Behind Me, Satan")? That'd have been pretty sweet. Oh those iconoclasts!

zippo

07-06-2005, 03:16 PM

What about The White Stripes? Weren't they actually going throughout South America and playing some intimate gigs there (and defiantly avoiding North America and Europe for "Get Behind Me, Satan")? That'd have been pretty sweet. Oh those iconoclasts!

yea sure, the White Stripes were in Brazil i think it was? oh and Argentina. but them coming down here is whats called an exception to the rule.

b-grrrlie

07-06-2005, 04:19 PM

I haven't been to gigs as much as I used to, but I have to put in down on the money, or rather lack of it. I used to go to gigs at least once a week (when I lived in London I went to 3-4 gigs a week, well there was more to choose from ;) ) so a fortnight's break was unthinkable.
Nowadays it's much less, I just counted I've only been to 13 gigs this year, and one free three-day festival. I am going to Accelerator Big One (http://www.luger.se/accelerator/) tomorrow tho', Sonic Youth, Teenage Fanclub, Devendra Banhart, Bloc Party and a dozen others, and on Friday I'm going to see Mattias Alkberg BD again. .

yeahwho

07-06-2005, 09:17 PM

I use to to 3-4 shows a week, mostly clubs in downtown Seattle, I knew most the usual suspects and really enjoyed the shows. The difference between now and about 6 years ago is a 7 mile drive, one way. I'm in the burbs. I grew up just about smack in the middle of downtown Seattle. It use to be easy, almost natural to be at a show every night.

I still go, but it's more like once a month. Maybe more if it's hopping. Today I read that the White Stripes and Bruce Springsteen are coming to Seattle, but they're playing 15,000 plus size arenas...Nope, not gonna do it. Now if Bruce get's the E Street Band involved I'll do it, but a solo show in an NBA Arena? FUCK!?! Nope. Let the amatuers check it out, the Stripes are playing in some freweaking gigantic outdoor park and I have no interest in parking my car more than 80 ft. from the door of a show nowadays.

These dudes are going to go the way of Hollywood if they don't watch it.

OK, that's why.

Documad

07-06-2005, 09:48 PM

Nowadays it's much less, I just counted I've only been to 13 gigs this year, and one free three-day festival. I am going to Accelerator Big One (http://www.luger.se/accelerator/) tomorrow tho', Sonic Youth, Teenage Fanclub, Devendra Banhart, Bloc Party and a dozen others, and on Friday I'm going to see Mattias Alkberg BD again. .
I love you! You're my role model, I swear.
I still go, but it's more like once a month. Maybe more if it's hopping. Today I read that the White Stripes and Bruce Springsteen are coming to Seattle, but they're playing 15,000 plus size arenas...Nope, not gonna do it. Now if Bruce get's the E Street Band involved I'll do it, but a solo show in an NBA Arena? FUCK!?! Nope. Let the amatuers check it out, the Stripes are playing in some freweaking gigantic outdoor park and I have no interest in parking my car more than 80 ft. from the door of a show nowadays.
That's still a lot more often than most so-called music fans hear live music. We were lucky that White Stripes did two nights at a smaller nice venue here. And Bruce was an expensive show but I enjoyed it. It was in our big arena with the stage in the middle so that half the arena wasn't used. That arena has the best acoustics of any large venue. Still, if I had to chose between one Bruce show and say 6-8 shows at my favorite club, I'd pick the club.
If you've ever seen Leo Kottke in person, what a treat. He tells little stories in between the songs and no two shows are ever the same. He just gets up there with his guitar and does what he wants to do.

Richard Thompson is the same way when he's doing acoustic shows without the band...he engages the crowd and often just stops to talk to individual people right in the middle of the show. He's done that with me several times...and he remembered me from one show to the next.

Same with Robben Ford--he makes eye contact throughout the show--he really seems to enjoy watching us watch him. He stops to talk too.

THAT, to me, is what really heightens a concert experience and it's why I tend to avoid arena shows. The chances of things like that happening at those big shows are pretty slim.
I agree completely. I was a huge Richard Thompson fan for years before seeing him live. When I saw him live he was hilarious, with a lovely dry wit. And his shows are completely different every time. Same with most of the people who can really sing and play and who frequent the smaller theaters. You never experience this if you don't see live music.

Documad

07-06-2005, 10:47 PM

I think many people think live music is about going to a big name arena show. They see one concert a year, pay $80 per ticket, pay $10 to park and $40 for the t-shirt, and $20 for a gin and tonic. I suspect they go away thinking it wasn't worth it and so they don't want to see live music again. But sometimes an arena show is worth it (Van Halen :D Prince).

Most of my friends over 30 look at me like I'm crazy when I suggest going to see a newer act at a club. Even if it's an acclaimed band. They say they don't want to stand on concrete for 3 hours and get sweaty with the young people. I guess they feel out of their element there. I got over that a long time ago. Plus the kids are usually quite nice. My favorite part is that you don't have to pay Ticketmaster a dime. Plus even when I'm not in the mood to go out (like last night with Violent Femmes), I usually rouse in time and if I don't it only cost $15.

Today I got an email saying Rickie Lee Jones is coming again. To a fine old theater with marvelous acoustics. For $25. Last time I saw her I felt like she was staring at me the whole time. I have a freakishly large head. Richard Thompson has never looked at me. I'm really jealous of enree.

jennyb

07-06-2005, 11:01 PM

Oh my, going to see live music is what keeps me alive! When I first moved to this big city I was a glutton for going to the clubs. I used to go to spaceland in la with some friends randomly. Even if the music sucked, it was still a good night. I did get to see bands like The White Stripes and the Polyphonic Spree in a room with a handful of others before they took off. Seriously thee reason I embrace the city I now call home. The first night I moved here, we just dumped the boxes, didn't unpack a thing and took off to see Nerf Herder!

One show I'm really looking forward to is seeing Liz Phair acoustic in August. (y) at the Troubador (my favorite venue ever)... I'm going to see Tiger Army with my friend soon. She's way more into em than I, but I just really enjoy going, so I'm there. I'll probably be seeing other live acts than that, they'll just be randomly throughout the summer and beyond. Oh, and BECK (with LeTigre) the end of this month! Whoo Hoo! :D

DroppinScience

07-06-2005, 11:03 PM

I'd go to more gigs if I had more cool people like Documad to see the bands with. :D

P.S. - I gotta admit there is a great pleasure in seeing local acts or smaller, more underground acts. It's always great to go up to the band and tell them they put on a great show. They're always really nice and appreciative. (y)

yeahwho

07-07-2005, 12:11 AM

DroppinScience

07-07-2005, 12:27 AM

Documad

07-07-2005, 12:33 AM

Droppin, you would be the perfect guest to take to a Wilco show. Have you ever seen them live? They play perfect. Like that werewolves hair at Trader Vic's drinking a pina colada. Perfect.

One of the best live show experiences I've had this past decade.

I'd take Documad to a Elvis Costello show.
Thanks!

Both Wilco and Paul Westerberg had concerts here when I was out of state for a week. :mad:

DS you can go to concerts alone. I do it a lot. It feels funny the first couple of times but you get over it. Sometimes people try to befriend you. If you buy a single ticket sometimes you get the best seat! After I started telling people how much fun I was having, some of my friends started to come along.

synch

07-07-2005, 01:30 AM

Most of my friends over 30 look at me like I'm crazy when I suggest going to see a newer act at a club. Even if it's an acclaimed band. They say they don't want to stand on concrete for 3 hours and get sweaty with the young people. I guess they feel out of their element there. I got over that a long time ago. Plus the kids are usually quite nice. My favorite part is that you don't have to pay Ticketmaster a dime. Plus even when I'm not in the mood to go out (like last night with Violent Femmes), I usually rouse in time and if I don't it only cost $15.
Damn kids are getting younger and younger.

Taller too, I've been stuck behind a pile of growth hormones more often than I'd like to admit and it's not like I'm tiny or anything. Honest :(

I still love going to gigs but I have been going less and less. It's a money thing more than anything but the fact that most of my friends have dayjobs, relationships or both kind of kills part of it as well.

I'm well pissed off that I'll be out of the country for the George Clinton and Autechre gigs. I always miss concerts when I'm away :(

On the plus side I've got tickets to see Me First and the Gimme Gimme's in september!

b-grrrlie

07-07-2005, 04:37 AM

I go to the gigs 99.9% alone.
The only big gig this year has been REM and that's because one of my best friends is a huge fan, also I went to see Kent with my sister cause she's a bigger fan than I am. I did enjoy both the gig enormously.
My sister followed me to the Popaganda festival, but she slagged two of my favourite acts (the Nomads and Mattias Alkberg DB) totally so I thought I ain't gonna take her along anymore! :mad:

Usually I go to this club called Debaser (http://www.debaser.nu/), they have the best gigs ever! Sometimes I bump into old friends there, but mostly I get to concentrate what happens on stage alone.

beastieangel01

07-07-2005, 09:57 AM

I love live music, tons. I just can't always afford it.

bigblu89

07-07-2005, 10:55 AM

My main problem is none of my friends (including for the most part my wife as well) don't have the same taste in music that I do.

There's a reall good local "rock club" that has some pretty decent and sometime well known acts play for cheap, but I can never get anyone to go with me.

Vladimir

07-07-2005, 11:19 AM

I love live music. Seeing live music is one of my favorite things to do other than play live music. It is ridiculously expensive though. One weekend in May I went to a Jurassic 5 concert on a Friday and a Mars Volta concert on the following Saturday, and blew like 150 bucks at least. But I consider it worth it because it gives me a whole new understanding of my favorite musicians and their music. I like club/theatre shows with like a few thousand max as opposed to the huge arena shows; the intimacy is sort of missing in the huge shows.

The Notorious LOL

07-07-2005, 11:22 AM

some musicians are better live performers than they are on a recording.

for example prefuse 73 is fucking sick live, but on record hes pretty boring.

had I heard his album before seeing him live I would have never bothered going to see him.

cosmo105

07-07-2005, 05:09 PM

i used to go to gigs alone when i couldn't get anyone to pony up the $ to go with me. i like it. i enjoy the music a lot more that way.

i saw Wilco live at Coachella this year.

i'm still recovering. (y)

Documad

07-07-2005, 09:02 PM

I all but stopped going to live music in the late 90s. I saw the big shows my friends liked and lots of local music in bars, but that's it. My friends had completely different taste and I felt old and out of place.

I can't remember which artist made me start going alone. Richard Thompson was an early one because I had adored him since high school and my friends only knew his crap singles that played on the radio here. I had doubted you could even buy a single ticket to a seated show (you can't from most brokers) but I tried and got an excellent seat. It did it over and over again, always got great seats, and stopped even asking friends. I was old and out of place sometimes, and young and out of place other times. My good friends thought I was insane, but lots of the younger people at work said they wished they could have gone with me so I started having people to go with again. Sometimes I wish I was still going alone. I recently bought some solo tickets again without telling anyone. :D

And people should stop saying that Wilco was so great. Because I didn't go damnit. :mad:

Documad

07-08-2005, 03:28 PM

Documad

07-09-2005, 11:05 PM

I think it's funny that my friends who are my age all give me shit about going to clubs but they all think it's super cool that I paid a pile of money to see the Stones at an arena.

I'm a bit embarrassed about the Stones thing myself.

jennyb

07-09-2005, 11:30 PM

Hey Documad! Is 1st ave still around? I saw Luscious Jackson there way back when. (amongst other acts) It was quite a nice venue.

Mido

07-09-2005, 11:34 PM

i go to shows usually a few times a month. we get a lot of good shows here in london, and they're usually pretty cheap. and every couple months i'll take a trip to toronto for shows that wouldn't come here. i love my live music. like a lot.

zorra_chiflada

07-10-2005, 12:27 AM

we don't get anything down here in our little country town.
there's plenty of live acts, but they're all local and shit.

Medellia

07-10-2005, 12:43 AM

Bah! I just found out that the closest Paul Weller is coming is Chicago. They might announce more dates so it's possible he could come closer, but I doubt it. :(

DroppinScience

07-10-2005, 02:48 AM

Tonight I got up off my ass and went to see some LIVE MUSIC. 100% local acts, 100% good. Excellent synth/new wave/dance-type stuff and a top-knotch rapper (who went to high school with my brother), Cadence Weapon (http://www.cadenceweapon.com) -- Enigma digs his stuff! (y)

So yeah, it's always nice to see some concerts... especially the local scene because you just feel more involved, more than an arena show.

b-grrrlie

07-10-2005, 07:23 AM

I was thinking today that if I lived on one of the coasts, and had more opportunities to hear good stuff, I would go out every night and be living in a refrigerator box or something.

Oh, and I just learned that b-grrrlie's favorite artist is coming in September. :)

I do wish I'd win the lottery so I could follow that whole tour! I would love to see them in their hometown SF, and LA and NY wouldn't be so bad either! They were in the UK in June, but couldn't afford this time, there was loads of people from their forum following them, from Berlin, Toronto, Belfast and all over Britain. They're playing a couple of festivals in August so I'm keeping my fingers crossed they'll come this way again.

btw if you wanna read and see some pics from Accelerator the Big One.... (http://www.brmc-forum.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=19&start=75)

Weezman

07-10-2005, 07:47 AM

My step daughter wants me to buy her tickets to "the Warped Tour '05". I already said id buy them, her dad vouched to go with her. So im buying both tickets..anyway! Anyone know about the tour? Is it worth 60 bucks of mine? I guess its worth every penny knowing that she'll be having a great time?! :rolleyes:

Documad

12-24-2005, 11:08 PM

Hey Documad! Is 1st ave still around? I saw Luscious Jackson there way back when. (amongst other acts) It was quite a nice venue.
I decided to bump this old thread in honor of the friend who caused me to start it in the first place. I hadn't noticed this post before. We were standing in almost the same place last night, and she said the same thing.

First Avenue went bankrupt in the fall of 2004 and closed for about a week but reopened under the same management with the same staff. It's better than ever because of Minneapolis's smoking ban, and I swear that they're getting better crowds and because everyone realized what was at stake if we lost it. Bands who could play bigger venues are playing there to support it. They have cool staff so I'm glad they all have jobs. (Would you believe that my old babysitter used to go there when it was a disco called Uncle Sam's?)

I saw that Soul Asylum was going to be playing for cheap and I bought some tickets but no one wanted to go. I pointed out that they recorded their soon to be released album in Minneapolis and no one records in Minneapolis anymore. I even pulled "the new bass player used to be in The Replacements" card. Only this one friend would come. On the way to the show, she asked me if she would know any of their songs. ??? I figured it would be half empty and depressing. It was sold out. The crowd was great. And Soul Asylum were really wonderful. All four played great and looked like they were having the best time. Tommy Stinson looks about 20 years old. Right before they came on, the girl standing on the rail said she was leaving and asked if I wanted her spot. You never know what you're going to get with live music.