Breaking the Bar-Gig Paradigm...alternative way to see music

[trace]

I hate bars. Probably because I don't drink, but I feel like I would still hate bars even if I did. I only go to bars because that's where the cool bands end up playing
Art galleries sometimes do some cool shows around here, but it seems hard to draw people out if you don't have... a bar. There aren't enough people who can enjoy the music by itself it seems. What's the point if you can't drink/mack on scene chicks?

[sonidero]

I'd be down for that. I can do a 4 hour Brian EnO ))) type set of ambient/drone.

I am in Austin and it's SXSW and there are shows everywhere so I can't comment...

Even if a show is somewhere besides a bar they still serve so I'm jaded or something...

[oldangelmidnight]

For a couple of years I've had in mind to work up a routine for bdsm spaces. I'd think that would have to be all about mood-setting, though, not about highlighting the music.

[louderthangod]

I'm just imagining an environment where people can list to the piece quietly on their own or if they move around the room, the sound will change as they move in relation to the musicians. Like viewing paintings in a museum where the the thoughts of the other paintings still linger in your mind as you look at something else. When you take away the vocals and remove verses and choruses and typical song structure, the listener should be allowed to determine what to focus on rather than vocals and solos drawing your attention. As musicians, most of us can listen to an album and just fixate on details like a bassline or the hi-hats but a lot of non-musicians can't do this very well. I also think that getting people to look at music in a different way is important and I'd be excited to play something like this because it would break my own habits. Maybe this is my musical mid-life crisis where I'm thinking back to my delusions of grandeur in my 20's and trying some of those ideas that I dismissed back then.

[lefchr]

I don't know about Toronto, but there are usually some small city art galleries around that might be interested.

Oh you're loud? No thanks. It's supposed to be about the art

My experience is everyone wants a gentle jazz trio, not a bunch of loud assholes with loud amps.....

The studio could have the band in one room being loud assholes, and any one who wanted to see them could go into that room. The rest of the studio could have the music playing through a pa so the loud assholes are quiet in the rest of the studio. Just a idea although the room that had the band would have to be isolated from the rest of the building pretty well. For the record I love being a loud asshole.

[jfrey]

I want to someday open up a venue that would be large and super nice, and instead of a standing area there would be small dining tables, where you would sit and order serious food and drinks. Waiters would come around in between songs. There's a dress code - button down shirt, etc. And there's no applause or cheering or any of that. Each table gets a small paddle (one for the table) like you would get at an auction, which you can hold up in between songs to show your appreciation. There's no nonsense drinks either. The wait staff will be required to have never heard of such things as Pabst, Narragansett, Light "beers", Yellow tail, etc. No meats can be ordered well done. The shows would start at the exact time posted, and there would be an intermission halfway through when guests can get up and talk quietly in an adjoining lounge.

I want to see shows in style. I don't understand why I should have to go to some dank, cramped, poorly lit hole, just because I want to see a band like Ulcerate or something.

[D.o.S.]

You could call it JFrey's Douche Lounge, and your menus could be in Helvetica.

[jfrey]

I'm a fan of Frutiger.

[D.o.S.]

Also you could totally sell PBR, it would just have to be Pabst Blue Ribbon 1844:
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profil ... a=tai4ji2x

[jfrey]

Lol.

Seriously though, I was thinking about this at one of the recent shows I was at. It was packed to the point where you couldn't even move, and I was standing there thinking: 'Know what would be sweet? If there wasn't a busted pipe leaking water on me right now.' It doesn't add anything to the experience for me. There is a significant difference between a place having charm or character, and a place just being a run down shit hole. And, I feel like that bands are expected to play in places like that shows an implicit disrespect for musicians as professionals, and the countless hours of practice, and rehearsal, and composition. To me, it's like hanging fine art in a janitors closet.

[louderthangod]

So nice jazz clubs that didn't necessarily play jazz? Why would you want to eat while watching a band? Too distracting. I also hate dress codes which is just one of the reasons I like west coast dining over NYC. I can eat at a 3-Michelin star restaurant in a t-shirt and jeans out here and focus on the food rather than some homogenous suit.

[andtheLiquidmen]

I just really wish bands that had a clear artistic vision could present their music in a reasonably controlled environment of their choosing and control. Bands like Neurosis, Boris, Anamanaguchi, etc that have a very distinct visual element to their music could really elevate the performance aspect to a much better level. To be able to control multiple projections/fog/whatever, lighting, general decor, on top of a great sound guy/great sound system would be a pretty huge step in artistic control of the performance.

As much as I hate eating/sitting while at most shows, I have to agree with jfrey to a certain degree. Sometimes it's fun to stand in a dingy basement. Other times, it really gets exhausting to hear a garbled/distorted mess under a leaky pipe while standing on a sticky floor surrounded by stinky people smoking cigarettes in your face.

As far as dress code discussion, I'm in the middle. For shows, it would be an interesting contrast depending on the artist performing. For dining, I'm definitely of the opinion that really good food in a really great environment is worth the effort of dressing up. That isn't to say you can't get out of this world food outside of fine dining. It's just nice to put a little effort into dressing up for a meal that isn't something you would be eating every day. It's not a whole lot of effort, but the same passive/active experience that we equate with the arts can definitely also be assigned to food/dining.

[jfrey]

I also hate dress codes which is just one of the reasons I like west coast dining over NYC. I can eat at a 3-Michelin star restaurant in a t-shirt and jeans out here and focus on the food rather than some homogenous suit.

Well, I grew up in NY, not far from the city out on the island, so that probably has something to do with it. Also, when I was younger and working construction and demolition I had mad respect for these guys from Trinidad on the crew that showed up to work every day in clean button down shirts. I think that men lost something when the shirt and tie got the badge of an annoyance or conformity and lost its mark as a sign of professionalism.

Really my thing is I want people to think of guys like Kevin Hufnagel, or Hannes Grossmann, or Steven Wilson, in the same way that they think of classical composers/conductors/soloists/etc. As brilliant musicians that are a privilege to see perform. And that goes for any style of music - there is good music in just about any genre. An incredible artist is an incredible artist regardless of the medium.

[D.o.S.]

Yeah, all that shit is wicked lame.

I would go to many many more classical gigs if I could pay $5 at the door and collapse in a heap of empty PBR cans halfway through the second movement.

[D.o.S.]

Also Neurosis ditched the projectors like two years ago.

And Boris and Neurosis were definitely birthed from antithetical scenes to the situation you've just described.

There is definitely an irritation factor to the mookiness of some venues and scenes, but it's equally as obnoxious in the suit-and-tie crowd. They just pay more.