I realize that M2S2 was over a week ago, and it might seem on the surface to be a little late to discuss the event. However, there was one major problem with the festival that I feel cannot go unmentioned. The problem wasn’t with the great Ear Candy exhibit; I enjoyed seeing all the photography and works of art. It wasn’t the sets I saw by Something in the Wheel or Nicholas Altobelli in the Mokah Lounge. Mr. Altobelli never fails to deliver a good set, and SITW proved that the good MySpace recordings are no fluke and that they are poised to become a significant force in the local music scene. The problem was neither The Orbans (who seem to be on the verge of being ready for national success) nor Jonathan Tyler & Northern Lights (who I’m convinced are going to become humongous before the end of the year). The problem wasn’t even when Ryan Thomas Becker’s amp (from RTB2) died on him; Grady Sandlin’s drum solo kept the audience entertained nicely until the technical difficulties were resolved. No, the problem was not with any of the musical acts.
The problem is quite simple: not enough people showed up. Perhaps this is an overreaction on my part, but this has me more nervous about the state of the local music scene than I’ve been since the first day I started the blog. There are many reasons for my concern. First of all, the level of talent on the lineup should have brought far more people out. Both JT&NL and The Crash That Took Me have proven their ability to fill up Granada Theater, which is no small feat. Throw in other major players in the scene such as The O’s, The Orbans, and RTB2, and you have an event that should have had Life in Deep Ellum near capacity, if not bursting at the seams. Yet the main auditorium seemed rather vacant. What makes this even more disturbing is the fact that those who chose to RSVP were admitted into the event free of charge. Normally any one of these acts alone could easily expect $8-10 cover charge just as a headliner. The fact that more people could not be bothered to attend the event suggests an underlying apathy towards the local music scene.
I’ve tried to figure out reasons for why so few people showed up. I would not think that publicity would be the problem, as all the bands did a good job of promoting the event, as did many local blogs (including this one). I wondered if some people might have had an issue with the venue, since Life in Deep Ellum does not normally sell alcoholic beverages. It was widely made known, however, that the fine folks at Double-Wide would be on hand to sell alcoholic beverages. The only other thing I could imagine is that maybe some individuals stayed home because of the Swine Flu hysteria. Whichever scenario you look at, it still does not seem to justify such a low attendance. Life in Deep Ellum is a nice venue with an excellent sound system in the main auditorium, and the Mokah Coffee House has a charming, cozy ambience to it.
I want some input from my readers. No, scratch that. I am in NEED of input from my readers. What does it take to get people off their asses and to shows? If a free event of this magnitude does not bring out the fans, what will? And what does it take to bring new fans and new blood into the scene?
I know what the problem is not. As I have said before, the problem is not a lack of talent within the scene. Every act I saw at M2S2 I would classify as grade A entertainment, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg of what our metroplex can offer. I could go on for days about the talent in the area: THe BAcksliders, Rahim Quazi, the cut*off, Macon Greyson, Lovie, Winslow Bright, Airline, Dove Hunter, Salim Nourallah, The Felons, Little Black Dress, Doug Burr, Menkena, The Drams, Somebody’s Darling, Sarah Jaffe, Camille Cortinas, and the list could go on and on. And while the economy may be a factor for many disappointing turnouts, it doesn’t get cheaper than free, and that was the cover charge for those who decided to RSVP. Therefore, money was not an issue in this case. So tell me, what is the problem? And from there, what can I as a blogger do? And while I’m asking questions, I have one for my readers: what can you be doing to strengthen the local music scene? Come on readers, help me help you.
12 comments:
well this is something that i have noticed for as long as you have really, or for as long as ive known you. yes im guilty of too many guilty pleasures, i dont deny that. both you and i know that i have the best and worst of tastes.
i think its a simple product of an over-saturation of media. even the worst of bands can *and DO* over advertise and weve become desensitized.
deep ellum has become a ghost town. and well i know a lot of people, myself included are just saddened by the sight of it.
i never thought id see the day where i was slacking in the music scene, but im afraid that it may have come, or is approaching.
its tragic that even in an era (which im convinced that we are indeed in) where a good or at least 'decent' album is no longer necessary due to the itunes and youtube boom, which has made it acceptable for bands to make it on merely just a catchy chorus, not even a hit- much less a solid album- that when a band that CAN produce more than 2-4 min of talent comes around... well, many find it hard to care, or are at least downtrodden from all of the false leads weve been tricked into in the past
a good band now is somewhat akin to a grammatically sane sentence from me. do they happen? yes. more than realized? probably. but its my run on sentences that make ppl lose interest
~backstage bitch
wasn't this the same day as the oakcliff art crawl? it seems to me there was a lot going on that weekend ...
i wish i knew! maybe people didnt know what Mokah was like as a venue. Maybe Deep Ellum needs some kind of media campaign "Come back to Deep Ellum!"
I'm not sure what the problem is... the venue is great and the acts were fantastic... and it was free... can't get much better than that...
I think the problem is the Dallas music scene... it's so hard getting people to come out to the scene and watch/listen to some fantastic local music... I guess they want established national acts...
Maybe it would be different in Denton or even Fort Worth... who knows...
To be honest... I wasn't that suprised that no one showed up...
All my best shows have been outside of Dallas... and it makes me sad cause I love the city...
-NA
You know I share your concern, Chris, as we have talked about this issue before.
The #1 response I get from my typically non-show going friends when I invite them out to Deep Ellum is "Oh no, we can't go there, it's too dangerous! There have been multiple shootings." The #2 response is that the shows I go to start too late. Of course, the latter was not the case with M2S2. Issue #3 for my friends is the need to save money, which I try to counteract by offering rides to and from venues.
I don't think there is anything else you can do as a blogger, Chris. You are doing an excellent job as it is, so please keep up the good work!
As for me, I will continue to promote shows for the bands I love while checking out new bands as well. I will also continue to take lots of photos so the people who stay at home can see what great times they are missing!
I'm always here to support you, Chris, so if you can think of a way to improve the scene please let me know!
~Michelle~
I don't think it takes much to deter the slackers in Dallas from coming out to shows - there's always a long list of excuses - late starts, parking problems, dilapidated venues, the shootings, etc. If I had to guess at the reasons this event was skipped, I'd say they went something like this:
1) "Life in Deep Ellum"?? Never heard of it. Is that a real venue? What's the neighborhood like? Is there parking nearby? What other clubs are around it? etc., etc.
2) You have to RSVP?? wtf??
3) Only beer and wine?? Please!
Not saying any of those are valid excuses, just saying those are the things that might've hurt - like I said, it doesn't take much.
If I had to pick one factor that made the most difference, tho, I'd say it was the venue/location. If this had been held at the Granada, I think it probably *would* have been packed.
Another possible factor - over-saturation. You can generally catch any one of those bands just about every weekend somewhere (and usually during the week as well). Sometimes I think it would be beneficial for bands to adopt a "less is more" philosophy.
Others have pretty well covered the bases (perception {semi-truth?} of Deep Ellum being dangerous, over-saturation {ANYONE can have a band -- whether it's good or not is immaterial), late starts...yeah maybe...but if you're "hip enough" to go see a band, can't you stay up past midnight, or do you need a note from mommy?).
One thing that hasn't been mentioned is that Dallas is a place where people go to work, then they leave & go play in the 'burbs, where they live. Who wants to drive from Bedford to Deep Ellum, especially on a soggy, stormy Saturday night (like last weekend). I have done it (I live in Gr. Prairie), but like many of you, I just love live local music. And I agree that there is SOOOO much talent in Dallas, there is no excuse for not going out & supporting the scene at least occasionally.
And I agree that Chris does a great job here of promoting the scene. I look here at least twice a week to check out his recommendations for the upcoming weekend. :)
Steve M -- yes, Life in Deep Ellum is a "real" venue, in fact one of the best stages/sound systems in Dallas...we're new, so it requires a little effort to learn about, but we have a web site with photos of the venue and location and there was a huge two-page article in Quick the week of the event talking about the place and what was going on...as for beer and wine only, sorry -- it is what it is and we think a lot of people can handle shows without hard liquor and prefer to not be around it when people decide to "imbibe" a lot...and, regarding the RSVP, it's a FREE concert for heaven's sake and it takes less than a minute to send an email (you'd rather pay the $10 we could have easily charged if you came?????)...we made it clear that it was to be used only for M2S2-related info as we try and build an annual event...it wasn't mandatory, but would have been used if capacity was an issue...it's always easy to identify what is "wrong" with something and wny things don't work...we're trying to find ways to help the music scene and build community while being positive about what "can" work...it's a process and were are trying to give to the community through the use of our building...I agree with your point on oversaturation and that a "name" venue would have drawn more just on familiarity alone...we had more than 800 people thru the venue for the entire day, so we're pleased with the progress of this event in its second year even if it was strange to see more people hanging out on the patio and in the coffee bar than actually watching bands in the venue space...it's just a very fickle and picky music scene and we want to hear the feedback regarding what can be done...thanks for adding your two cents!
Hey Mike,
Just want to make it clear - none of those excuses apply to me. I have no problem putting forth the tiny amount of effort it takes to research the venue, RSVP, etc. But I am a local live music fanatic, and there just aren't that many like me (or Chris) in this town. I was just pointing out what excuses the "fickle and picky" crowd might use to explain their absence. I think you need to make things as simple and familiar as possible to attract that crowd.
Hopefully, as word spreads year after year about this event, attendance will grow. Thank you for doing what you're doing.
Thanks to all of you who have taken the time to comment on this posting. Sometimes it's so easy to focus on the negative instead of the positive. Perhaps my hopes were too high for this particular event, but it seemed the perfect rallying point for those who still are interested in local music. Still, I saw many familiar faces out and about that night, and these are people who feel very passionately about their music. I hope this discussion continues, because we need more events like this (props you to, Mr. Biggs) and we need more people who will faithfully attend local shows.
great discussion, everyone. I think there's hope for Dallas yet!
~Angela D
This is actually what the whole purpose of M2S2 idea was about...love this...and Steve, I totally knew where you were coming from and the fact you are giving feedback means you are not one of the excuse makers...I love hearing what everyone has to say...thanks again! I won't re-post here, but I put a comment on the Observer DC-9 blog about the event that talks more about what we are trying to accomplish...next thing is seeing how much of a video discussion we can put together at vimeo.com/m2s2 (preview video currently posted) this summer...
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