Big Bands in Small Venues
As we gear up for 2007's tours and album releases, the opportunities to see big bands in small venues is overwhelming at the beginning of the year. Summer is the only better season for shows when there is a free concert, usually outdoors, every few days. But seeing bands like The Hold Steady at Northsix or Clap Your Hands Say Yeah at Mercury Lounge is pretty hard to top. Granted getting tickets to these types of shows have begun to require a strategy for even buying them online the second they go on sale, which might be at midnight or unexpectedly during lunch.
Shows like Cold War Kids at the Mercury or Union Hall - tired of them, Peter, Bjorn, & John at Mercury or Union Hall - not that interested, Arcade Fire at Judson Memorial Church - got shut out buying tickets, Bright Eyes at Bowery Ballroom - ok, I will be at that one, or LCD Soundsystem at Bowery Ballroom -and that one, all sold out instantly. You also have shows like Clipse at Bowery Ballroom that got moved down on the monopoly board of Bowery Presents venues to a smaller club (they were supposed to be at Webster Hall) because of poor advance ticket sales. This was great for the fans but bad for the artists who surely got a smaller check. Regardless, these small venue shows are the holy grail of concerts.
The crowd is full of extreme fans, no not the ones that slam Mountain Dews while kayaking in a convenience store (I am watching Harold & Kumar as I type this) but the ones that know the songs and will do anything for tickets. These are the people you want pumping their fist next to you in the crowd. The band is also usually more excited to be playing a smaller venue - just like the good ol' days, however long ago that might have been.
Here are some pics of the ones I have been to so far this year. The Hold Steady has been my favorite; the double encore with "Knuckles" and "Killer Parties" sealed the deal. That and Northsix is the same place where they played their first show ever as The Hold Steady a few years ago and the venue is closing at the end of the month.
CLIPSE (AND THE RE-UP GANG) AT BOWERY BALLROOM, JANUARY 24, 2007
CLAP YOUR HANDS AT MERCURY LOUNGE (LATE SHOW), JANUARY 24, 2007
THE HOLD STEADY AT NORTHSIX, JANUARY 24, 2007
Comments
wait, are you already giving some backlash to peter bjorn and john even though their record isn't out here? are you completely retarded?
Posted by: claire | January 29, 2007 03:04 AM
No backlash here. I think the show would be awesome if you like the record. I am saying that I was not interested enough to make the extra effort to get tickets. Maybe I should have tried though since I have never seen them.
Posted by: 3xWes | January 30, 2007 01:25 AM
From one Hold Steady fan to another. Watch some videos of the Hold Steady here.
http://scheduletwo.com/video/the_hold_steady
Posted by: Schedule Two | February 1, 2007 11:10 PM