i am the god of hell fire, and i bring you . . .

i was speaking to someone the other day about local venues, and i just happen to mention the nine thirty, to which their responce was, "hate it." "why?" i quipped, with a 'how dare you speak negatively' of my nine thirty. i was sure it was due to u-street area location. but what they said made me think.

"i don't like nine thirty because they oversell a lot of shows, and you are crammed in there far beyond comfortable . . . and i would hate to be inside, anywhere, when the fire alarm goes off." interesting point.

but being crammed in there is part of the FUN of going to shows! le duh.

i'm sure an official response will be offered… but there are other exits out of the building beyond the front door that would be used in case of emergency…

I have always felt more crammed in at sold out 9:30 shows than sold out shows at other venues. Maybe because the 9:30 Club is the largest club venue that I see shows at.

Iota can get pretty jammed in too.

Hmmmm…obviously this person never saw a sold-out show at the old 9:30. There were PLENTY of times a show there was so jam-packed that you could barely breathe (let alone move), plus there was literally nowhere to go or maneuver to. If you were stuck up at the front, you were going to stay there for the entire show (and then you would have bruised knees by the end of the night from being slammed into the stage). The last shows I saw that seemed oversold were the Interpol shows. Not even Belle and Sebastian was as crowded. The only instance I know of where a show was probably way oversold was Korn back in 1998 or whatever. I heard that the entire building shook from the audience jumping up and down.

That's because the audience is made up of malnourished indie kids that don't take up as much space.

We'll see how jammed in a sold out Drive By Truckers show will be with a roomful of big male galoots. :D

Originally posted by bearman:
Not even Belle and Sebastian was as crowded.

Good point…though the group of guys I was with at B&S made up for about 20 indie kids alone. Maybe Interpol fans are fat?

Sounds to me like your friend sees the wrong bands.

No, people probably realize that Carlos D. has given half his audience herpes, and it's best to stand at a distance from one another.

Originally posted by bearman:
Maybe Interpol fans are fat?

Depends if they need a backstage area forcing the stage somewhat forward. Also if everyone wants to be on the floor then you have that more packed than if a good portion wants to hang upstairs.

There are 4 sets of exits from the club (including the second from the backbar). From upstairs you have 3 outs, and downstairs the same. Lighted signs show the way.

The fire alarm has gone off many times in the past. Sometimes smoke machines set it off, sometimes it's just the amazing amount of body heat generated by a room full of sweaty people. I've never seen a mad rush towards the doors. Mostly when the alarm goes off people just look around to see if there is an emergency. When they see that the staff is calm (rather than directing them towards exits) and the band is still playing they just go back to enjoying the concert.

Unlike The Station in Rhode Island, 9:30 is built mostly of concrete and steel. Even the backdrop and stage are flame resistant. In addition our staff has been trained on what to do in the event of an emergency and how to clear the building safely.

Originally posted by Shadrach:
The fire alarm has gone off many times in the past. Sometimes smoke machines set it off…

Sisters of Mercy comes to mind! Ooops I'm sorry…THE Sisters of Mercy

MindCage
Mindless Faith
Deep6 Productions

the way to tell how crowded a 930 show was is by how long it takes to get out the door after the show. sometimes it takes 5 minutes. just imagine if there was a fire. i would think they would open the doors behind the stage, but who knows about those doors? i was at a show at 930 last yr and the fire alarm went off and nobody did anything. band kept playing. alarm stopped. when a show ends at nation, many doors open and that place clears out fast.

Originally posted by anarchist:
the way to tell how crowded a 930 show was is by how long it takes to get out the door after the show. sometimes it takes 5 minutes. just imagine if there was a fire. i would think they would open the doors behind the stage, but who knows about those doors? i was at a show at 930 last yr and the fire alarm went off and nobody did anything. band kept playing. alarm stopped. when a show ends at nation, many doors open and that place clears out fast.

What's your point? Five whole minutes?

We like to let people feel welcome to leave at their own pace. Personally I hate feeling like cattle and being rushed to the nearest exit when an event ends.

9:30 is a welcoming environment, not one you feel rushed to leave.

And what is this supposed to mean?

"i would think they would open the doors behind the stage, but who knows about those doors?"

Like maybe in the case of an emergency we wouldn't point people toward those doors? That's a very silly comment and it makes no sense.

I hear what you're saying about sold out shows. I have to say, I've gotten to really hate them, but I keep going because I love the club and the bands.

But I think the crowd issue has nothing to do with the club and how many tikcets they sell (I believe that they sell the same amount of tickets to every show – some shows have more 'no shows' than others).

But there's always some room in the back, or some room upstairs. That tightly packed crowd is about the individuals in the audience who feel the need to push up to be as close as they can – I think people make the crowd tougher than it needs to be. And I don't find the 9:30 any worse than many other venues I've been to (Irving Plaza, Hammerstien, Roseland Ballroom). For some reason, Black Cat sold out shows are particularly roomy in the back of the room, though…

Originally posted by Bags:
For some reason, Black Cat sold out shows are particularly roomy in the back of the room, though…

It's because a sold out show at the black cat is about 660 people when the room can easily hold 1,000. However, when they closed out the back set of steps to the public and made it more of "backstage" they lost a few toilets. There's that whole ratio of number of people to bathrooms to help determine capacity. :)

MindCage
Mindless Faith
Deep6 Productions