Beerland Boycott
I really punished myself Tuesday night. I was still at a bar listening to a band at 2 am! The rest of the week was spent wishing for more sleep.
Tuesday I went to Beerland to see The Carrots before they embarked on their coast-to-coast tour. With four bands on the bill and an start time of 8pm (listed on some websites but not all), I figured getting down there after 10 I would've missed one band at least. It turns out I got there just as the first band was starting! I really didn't realize this right away since I didn't know the band order or which band was which.
The first band turned out to be Bear Claw, and I liked their sound. They consisted of guy singing on acoustic guitar, guy drummer, and girl on a bunch of stuff: melodica, bass, shaker, wood block, etc. They had lots of unison female/male vocals, which I like. The vocals were very echoey which I usually don't like but I thought worked really well for this band. The first song featured melodica, and so did the last song which I wrote down as sounding very "friendly sounding." There was one song where the rhythm was quite challenging to figure out--it turned out to be an 8 count separated into a waltzy 3 and then the 5. I appreciated that song for taking me awhile to figure out. They had to quit during one song due to at least four unbearable seconds of excruciating feedback. Remember the last time I wrote about Beerland? That sound guy needs to wake up!
Follow that Bird was next, an all chick trio (bass/drums/guitar). The lead singer sounded a lot like Chrissy Hynde to me. She used a lot of vibrato in her singing. Their sound check was misleading to me, at times it sounded like they had started their set but they really hadn't. They had a longish break in the middle of their short set but I don't know why. I wrote "loose" in my notes, and I don't know what that means. Did they sound "loose?" If they did, I meant it in a good way. I need to write these things up sooner.
Somewhere around here I realized that only two bands had played so far and the predicament I was in. It's a work night and I'm going to be here LATE! I got it in my mind that I would be able to recharge at LJ's where I could sit and veg for a bit before the Carrots. I waited for Strange Boys to start and listened to a few songs. At times they had a kinda surf music feel, and the lead vocals seemed very Dillonesque in their pitch. I put it in my head that I didn't like the Dillonesque vocals too much and left for LJ's with a clear conscience.
Apparently I wasn't the only one with this idea, because at LJ's I ended up talking to a few people who were also at the show, and were also headed back to the show after a bit. I told them about how I was pissed off at the sound guy/venue, from the feedback of the first set and the last time I was there. They guy I mentioned this to said I really shouldn't blame the sound guy and that the place didn't have very good equipment or something.
I made it back in time for a 1 am start of The Carrots, and this is when all of my doubts about this place are confirmed. The band was on stage but it took forever to get going, and I'm blaming the sound guy/venue again. The Carrots obviously remembered the last time they played there because they told the sound guy they would just switch microphones when the lead singer switched instead of relying on him to figure out who was singing what. So I guess they think he's incompetent, too. Occasionally we would get some really loud crackling or feedback as the sg futzed with stuff on stage--not cool. The band apologized for having a difficult set-up, but really the only difference is a few more vocal mics, which doesn't sound like a big deal to me. After I don't know how much futzing around, the bass player, although not visibly pissed, had to vent and said such things through the mic as "we're just seeing how long you all will stand around" and "we've been rehearsing with this sound guy for weeks" to get that optimum level of audience annoyance. I gotta say, they got it. So, more futzing. Finally, at around 1:20, someone in the band (probably the bass player again) realized if they waited any longer they wouldn't have any time to play, and said "screw it lets start playing" and off they went. After the first song the lead singer commented that "The levels are f'ed up on everything." Maybe the monitors were, but at least the audience levels weren't TOO bad. I had a good time once they got going, dancing to the numbers that I recognize after seeing them twice before.
I wish I could devote more space to commenting on the music, but that setup situation was just intolerable. Thinking back to my conversation at LJ's, it doesn't matter if its the sound guy or the equipment or the acoustics or whatever--the bottom line is that this place has sucked for me for music, and not because of the bands. I don't think I feel safe in there without earplugs due to the sound guy's lack of attention or bad equipment popping or whatever. So that's why I didn't go there last night, and won't again until I see evidence that they've straightened up their act.
Tuesday I went to Beerland to see The Carrots before they embarked on their coast-to-coast tour. With four bands on the bill and an start time of 8pm (listed on some websites but not all), I figured getting down there after 10 I would've missed one band at least. It turns out I got there just as the first band was starting! I really didn't realize this right away since I didn't know the band order or which band was which.
The first band turned out to be Bear Claw, and I liked their sound. They consisted of guy singing on acoustic guitar, guy drummer, and girl on a bunch of stuff: melodica, bass, shaker, wood block, etc. They had lots of unison female/male vocals, which I like. The vocals were very echoey which I usually don't like but I thought worked really well for this band. The first song featured melodica, and so did the last song which I wrote down as sounding very "friendly sounding." There was one song where the rhythm was quite challenging to figure out--it turned out to be an 8 count separated into a waltzy 3 and then the 5. I appreciated that song for taking me awhile to figure out. They had to quit during one song due to at least four unbearable seconds of excruciating feedback. Remember the last time I wrote about Beerland? That sound guy needs to wake up!
Follow that Bird was next, an all chick trio (bass/drums/guitar). The lead singer sounded a lot like Chrissy Hynde to me. She used a lot of vibrato in her singing. Their sound check was misleading to me, at times it sounded like they had started their set but they really hadn't. They had a longish break in the middle of their short set but I don't know why. I wrote "loose" in my notes, and I don't know what that means. Did they sound "loose?" If they did, I meant it in a good way. I need to write these things up sooner.
Somewhere around here I realized that only two bands had played so far and the predicament I was in. It's a work night and I'm going to be here LATE! I got it in my mind that I would be able to recharge at LJ's where I could sit and veg for a bit before the Carrots. I waited for Strange Boys to start and listened to a few songs. At times they had a kinda surf music feel, and the lead vocals seemed very Dillonesque in their pitch. I put it in my head that I didn't like the Dillonesque vocals too much and left for LJ's with a clear conscience.
Apparently I wasn't the only one with this idea, because at LJ's I ended up talking to a few people who were also at the show, and were also headed back to the show after a bit. I told them about how I was pissed off at the sound guy/venue, from the feedback of the first set and the last time I was there. They guy I mentioned this to said I really shouldn't blame the sound guy and that the place didn't have very good equipment or something.
I made it back in time for a 1 am start of The Carrots, and this is when all of my doubts about this place are confirmed. The band was on stage but it took forever to get going, and I'm blaming the sound guy/venue again. The Carrots obviously remembered the last time they played there because they told the sound guy they would just switch microphones when the lead singer switched instead of relying on him to figure out who was singing what. So I guess they think he's incompetent, too. Occasionally we would get some really loud crackling or feedback as the sg futzed with stuff on stage--not cool. The band apologized for having a difficult set-up, but really the only difference is a few more vocal mics, which doesn't sound like a big deal to me. After I don't know how much futzing around, the bass player, although not visibly pissed, had to vent and said such things through the mic as "we're just seeing how long you all will stand around" and "we've been rehearsing with this sound guy for weeks" to get that optimum level of audience annoyance. I gotta say, they got it. So, more futzing. Finally, at around 1:20, someone in the band (probably the bass player again) realized if they waited any longer they wouldn't have any time to play, and said "screw it lets start playing" and off they went. After the first song the lead singer commented that "The levels are f'ed up on everything." Maybe the monitors were, but at least the audience levels weren't TOO bad. I had a good time once they got going, dancing to the numbers that I recognize after seeing them twice before.
I wish I could devote more space to commenting on the music, but that setup situation was just intolerable. Thinking back to my conversation at LJ's, it doesn't matter if its the sound guy or the equipment or the acoustics or whatever--the bottom line is that this place has sucked for me for music, and not because of the bands. I don't think I feel safe in there without earplugs due to the sound guy's lack of attention or bad equipment popping or whatever. So that's why I didn't go there last night, and won't again until I see evidence that they've straightened up their act.
Labels: music
posted by PlaysByEar at 7:13 PM
3 Comments:
What will you count as evidence of improvement? I mean, if you're boycotting it, won't it be hard to know if it ever becomes better? Just sayin'.
Hmmm ... Once is an accident. Twice is a coincidence. The third time, ... ,, . is downright imcompetence. Which means, if he has been there 3 times and nothing has improved, then, they really need to fire the meth-head buddy of someone who works at/co-owns the place and hire a competent sound man. Just sayin'.
I expect them to find my blog, fix their problem, and post a note inviting me back.
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