2009.02.23
Question of the week: Deadest show ever?
On Sunday night, I went to hear an amazing act, Bobby Lee Rodgers/Jeff Sipe Project. Aside from people working the show and myself, there was one person there -- that was rapper Toni Blackman, who just arrived in Roanoke for some Jefferson Center stuff. The band played a set anyway, and killed it.
I wrote a column that we'll publish later in the week, in which I go over a few of the likely reasons for the pathetic attendance. But for now, let's do the question of the week:
What was the saddest turnout you've ever seen for the most deserving band?
As far as national acts, I've only been able to attend the shows that reached their quota in ticket sales. Local bands, however, get the shaft quite frequently and sometimes for reasons other than the music they perform.
- cover charges
- too long of a wait for drinks (bar tender to patron ratio)
- other acts performing in the area
- other acts performing in the area with a cheaper cover charge
- i've even known heavy rain to stop people from attending
- ABC busting up the joint and making people fear yet another raid
- poor advertisement of the event (that's a big one)
- school night (sunday-thursday show)
- alcohol prices
I could go on...who knows, i might just chime in again with some more stuff...
It honestly hurts my heart when this happens to bands. I've been one of seven in an "audience" before. I hope the bands that have had this happen to them, see it as "a paid practice" instead of a sign of what's to come. I have a DVD of Stevie Ray Vaughn Live from Austin, and he and his band get booed as they exit the stage. By the way, if I would have been there, I would have torn through that audience like the Incredible Hulk, swingin' at every boo'er I could reach with my huge green fists. But, the point of that Incredible Hulk thing, was, I'm glad he and his band didn't take it personally.
Comment by Jeri — February 23, 2009 @ 6:45 pm
Saw Brian Henneman and the Bottle Rockets at the Third Floor of the Flood Zone on Richmond. Counting my brother and myself, there were approximately 8 people there. Brian actually stopped the show (we were about 10 minutes late) and asked us to introduce ourselves... I told him my name and my brother's. He then went around the room and said, "Brooks, Ryan... thanks for coming out, we'll let you by for the tardiness, this is..." he pointed at each person in the audience and named them by their first name, "and I'm Brian, these cats are Mark, Tom, and Tom... we're gonna go ahead and play if that's cool." It was hysterical, and they played for us like they were playing Madison Square Garden... one of the best shows I ever saw saved from the depths of deadness by a sense of humor.
Comment by Brooks — February 23, 2009 @ 8:38 pm
I think that would have to be Darling Machine out of Atlanta at the Pilot Light in Knoxville. They were really good. By the end of the set, there was only a handful of us left, and we gathered around the stage and they played their hearts out. It was awesome. I've been to dozens of shows all over the country, and nothing has topped that energy the room had that night. It's been back in 2001 I think. Now you can check out The Julia Dream in case anyone is interested in these guys, btw.
Comment by KnoxvilleGirl — February 23, 2009 @ 9:01 pm
This wasn't anything like your one person show. But Allison Krauss / Robert Plant not selling out the relatively small Roanoke Civic Center blew me away. Biggest bluegrass singer in the world. Led Zep lead singer. Grammy winning album. Plenty of empty seats.
Comment by Glenn Ramsey — February 23, 2009 @ 10:47 pm
U-Melt played the back room at 202 Market one night. There may have been 30 people there, but this was a band that deserved better. The back room at 202 was a little experiment. Plenty big but probably not a good place for a fine band like that.
Comment by Yah — February 24, 2009 @ 2:55 am
Last year when guitarist Greg Ginn came to town at 202 Market Street.
Greg Ginn, ex Black Flag guitarist,easily one of the most influential punk guitarists of all time.
He played to a total of 4 people at 202 Market Street.
Granted he plays noodley jam band music now and it wasn't my kind of music either. To be honest I found the music boring(sorry,Greg!!!), but I actually admire the guy for playing what he wants and not catering to an easy paycheck. Though he wouldn't be making Led Zeppelin reunion money by any means, he could hit the road with some old Black Flag members and make some quick dough playing diluted,going-through-the-motions versions of his old band's music if he wanted.Most other older punk bands have done so with varying degrees of success.
But yeah, I thought a few more guys in the 35-45 age range might've shown up to see Greg Ginn, just to see this guy they used to go ballistic to about 20-25 years or so ago.
Comment by Dylan — February 24, 2009 @ 11:34 am
I think music events at the Rke Civic Center have been marketed poorly for years. Some hardly seem to be publicized. I check their web site often just to see what's coming up. John Prine was a good example. I saw an add in the paper back in early January and then nothing until a couple of days before the show. When I mentioned it to some friends, they knew nothing about it.
There are only a couple of local bands I go see at smaller venues and they are always well attended. I admire the bands mentioned earlier that put on a good show for a small turnout. That is now a band I would go see.
Comment by Justafan — February 24, 2009 @ 3:27 pm
I really wanted to go see Rogers and Sipe as I really enjoyed them when they played with Jimmy Herring and MArk (?) Fountain in Floyd about a year ago. They killed it then as well-Fountain is a great bass player and Herring is----well--Herring. The hour plus drive each way, work early the next morning, and the ever popular lack of funds led me to stay home. I hate it when guys with this much talent don't draw a crowd, but it is partly my fault for not sucking it up and going.
Deadest show would probably be punk icons DOA at what was once the Iroquois (I have no idea what it was called at the time of that show). There were probably less than 20 people there. The band had put flyers all over about "pit safety" warning not to hurt others slam dancing or moshing. It wasn't a problem that night!
Comment by will — February 24, 2009 @ 7:19 pm
I wanted to see the Reverend Billy C Wirtz show on the 14th at the Kirk Ave Music Hall but unfortunately had other plans. Did any of you folks go? It's always a great show but doesn't often draw a big crowd. Some people must think it's a revival. He doesn't get to this area very often anymore.
Comment by Justafan — February 24, 2009 @ 9:04 pm
I played with one of the bands that opened up for DOA at that Iroquois show.
I think there were a few more than 20 people there, but you are right that it was pretty much a poor turnout considering who was playing.
Sadly, another veteran punk band, Agent Orange(still together and touring these days), got a similar but slightly better turnout a year or two later in the same venue. Should have been twice the number of people there.
Those guys were champs though, played their hearts out and were a blast to party with after the show!
Comment by Dylan — February 25, 2009 @ 11:06 am
I think a better question would be "when was there NOT a pathetic turnout?" Maybe people in Roanoke just don't like going to see live music? That would be my guess.
Comment by daine — February 25, 2009 @ 3:20 pm
It's not always so bad, Daine. My feeling is that on this night, there was just too much going on in Roanoke, and on Sunday night, people were out of money and mustard. I reckon every Austin show sells out!
Dylan, I remember that a couple of my colleagues here had been way into Black Flag, and they wanted to hear the Ginn stuff. Both just had awful responses to it. I thought it was OK, though a little noodly given the instrumental talent on the record. But they were just disgusted, and didn't have any interest in going.
I guess you have to keep being that one thing that people like, or they don't want to support you. And I understand that -- it's market-based stuff. But I had to hand it to Ginn for doing something so non-punk rock that it kind of was punk rock. That said, I was one of the many people who missed that show.
Glen, after the Plant/Krauss show, we looked at ticket sales in the other towns they'd played. The Roanoke show sold a better or comparable amount of tickets, in relation to the other towns. But since the civic center had the full hall open, it looked pretty empty. Staff there could've made it a "half-hall," with the curtains and whatnot, and it would've felt better in there.
I was unable to make the Wirtz show, justafan, but I hear plenty of people came and that he sounded better than he has in years.
Comment by Tad — February 25, 2009 @ 5:15 pm
I've played for 10 people at clubs in Washington D.C., Nags Head,N.C., Knoxville,TN., Spartanburg,SC and a bunch of other places.
Crappy turnouts for small club,local band shows can be universal I've learned.
There are times it feels like Roanoke excels at this more than other cities but there are also lots of shows here that get really good turnouts, are a lot of fun, and just don't get heard of/talked about as much as the low turnout shows.
Oh, another show here that get a REALLY bad turnout was Kid Rock's first appearance here, back in.......1998, I think.
He played at the old Iroquois club when his 'Devil Without a Cause' CD first came out, a couple months before the 'Bawitaba' song blew him up.
A friend of mine went and said there were 10 people in the club and Kid Rock was ticked off at the end of the show,saying he wouldn't play here again.
Fast forward a couple years later and he's selling out the civic center.
Comment by Dylan — February 26, 2009 @ 10:22 am
Last weekend the Pop Rivets played to a smaller than usual crowd at Awful Arthurs in Blacksburg. We treated it as a paid rehersal and blazed through some songs that we had not played in ages. We also worked on our Stage Banter, and the show was so fun and loose that we played some of our new songs that we are recording in the studio to a select lucky few.
I felt bad for the bar staff, for all I drank for the evening was water. In attempt for good karma, I did tip $25.00 for the 6 or 7 waters I had. It paid off in a nice turnout for our Awful Arthurs show downtown the next night.
Comment by poprivet — February 26, 2009 @ 8:47 pm
Pop Rivets wrote:
>I did tip $25.00 for the 6 or 7 waters I had.
I don't know which Pop Rivet you are, but I have to say, that move was class. Hat's off.
Kid Rock at the Iriquois. I have to say, I'm not Rock's biggest fan, but I'll bet that was a killer show, back before all the fame and tabloids, when Bob Ritchie really had something to prove.
I wonder what the scene was like at the Waffle House after that show?
By the way, here's the column I wrote about that night -- http://www.roanoke.com/extra/wb/196000
Comment by Tad — February 27, 2009 @ 11:11 am
[...] Sunday night for a great band. We've already got a good conversation going about this topic at http://blogs.roanoke.com/rtblogs/cutnscratch/2009/02/23/question-of-the-week-deadest-show-ever/, so jump over there and tell us about killer shows that didn't get the audience they [...]
Pingback by cutNscratch - Roanoke.com » Columns: Poor Sunday turnout for great band; more on Buster B. Jones — February 27, 2009 @ 11:18 am
Thanks Tad,
I (Jason) provided the $25 Washington's and I'm sure Gary and Brian provided a 100% (or more tip as they always do. What comes around goes around.
Comment by poprivets — February 27, 2009 @ 12:30 pm
Jason, while you were at Arthur's Friday, some reporter came by here looking for you...he said it had to do with "pay to play", and how it was causing a big scandal up in Washington or Chicago or someplace. Well, then he asked me if I knew what "pay to play" meant. I didn't exactly, but I tried to remember what you always said about "goin' around and comin' around'"; so, I told him that whenever Gary and Brian come around, you go around with them, and that even when things are slow, you fellows still might go a round or seven, maybe even with a new stage banner, hanging out. Did I get that about right, dear?
Comment by Mom Rivets — February 27, 2009 @ 4:18 pm
Mom Rivets, may I have some of what you are consuming?
Jason, how's it going with Gary on the kit? Ted told me he is a monster, but I haven't had a chance to catch you guys yet.
Comment by Tad — February 27, 2009 @ 5:54 pm
I'm very new to the Roanoke music scene - traveling in and out buying a house in Grandin Village, but I'm a life when it comes to the music biz.
It seems to me that some of the reason for poor attendance, in addition to population vs. # of shows is that there are a limited # of outlets for people to discover the music that might becoming to town and then learn about the specific dates. People won;t pay to hear music they've never heard and they can;t go if the don;t know it happening...
With no malice intended to this fine paper particularly this columnist who is certainly a keeper of the flame, am I correct that there is no alternative paper and/or alternative/AAA radio station? Or did I miss something?
PS - Don't forget the current down economy.
Comment by Bruce Houghton — February 28, 2009 @ 5:00 am
I miss me some Chico! But Gary Is indeed a monster on the kit! albeit not as much of a monster as my mom rivet after she been tipp'n back three or four bottles of Vics 44D! I told her to stay locked up in the bathroom after she hit the sauce!
Comment by poprivet — March 1, 2009 @ 11:13 pm
Ah, so it's the Vics 44D that makes Mom Rivet so ku-rayzee!
Bruce, there is not a true alternative tabloid-size paper in Roanoke. There hasn't been one since I've been here, though others might correct me on that.
A few years back, there was a AAA station, but it failed. I mentioned the economy in the print column I wrote on this subject, but it's my feeling that the weekend in question was so packed with shows, that people just didn't come out in force on a work night, particularly with the Oscars and NASCAR racing on. Here's the column -- http://www.roanoke.com/entertainment/insideout/music/wb/196000
Comment by Tad — March 2, 2009 @ 12:01 pm