Is 930 straying from it's roots?

Ive just noticed in the last few months… that I can't remember the last time I went to the club. It just seems that in the last year, ticket prices have increased greatly and the more 'alternative' and 'indie' bands that were once staples of the 930 club have vanished. The only show that appeals to me on the current calander really is My Morning Jacket. Shouldn't shows like Natalie Cole, FOUR nights of Melissa Ethridge, Maci Gray or Cyndi Lauper be reserved for other venues in dc? 930 use to be a place for up and comers, not 80's has beens or yuppie magnets. Just a thought…

Open your mind.

Originally posted by DriveWay:
The only show that appeals to me on the current calander really is My Morning Jacket.

then that's the only show you should go to

think off all the money your saving…

i have always remembered bad shows being at 930 club every so often.

wait, not bad, just bands i dont wanna see :)

but 4 nights of Melissa Etheridge is hard to believe. but hey, if they'll sell, why not!

As a peroxide spiky blonde 09:30's roots always show.

Go, like, free your mind, dude, or something…

The 9:30 Club long ago ceased being the purveyor of up and coming music, didn't it? I don't think this is something that happened just in the last few months is it? I mean the new club holds what…1000 people? Of course they will be skewed toward the more popular, established acts, while the newer bands will play Black Cat, Iota, etc…or maybe be the support band at 9:30 shows.

I can say that out of my top ten shows of 2003, NONE of them were at 9:30 Club. In fact, I only saw two shows (out of maybe 20-25 or so total) there all year.

Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
The 9:30 Club long ago ceased being the purveyor of up and coming music, didn't it?

You're both wrong, in my opinion. Sure, the club is a bigger venue now, but I think there's a very, very healthy mix of up-and-coming/indie/for the kids shows, and established or even retro acts that pull in a lot of money. I'm 36, and in any given month, there's usually at least a third of the shows I don't know a thing about – I've never heard of the band, or I've seen the name but have no clue. That usually means they're nu metal or post-punk or something else that the kids are listening to.

Plus, I've seen lots of bands this year for the first time (ore wanted to see them but couldn't make it), and the shows were NOT sold out because they're either fairly new or still building an audience (Idlewild, Hot Hot Heat, Juliana Theory, BRMC).

George Clinton has *always* come the 9:30 Club. Check out the listings at the Bowery Ballroom in NYC and you'll see the same overall mix of shows.

Man, if I wanted to go to every show that was at the club, I'd be dead by now.

And for that really really new band, there's Black Cat backstage.

I'm not quite sure what the problem is, Driveway.

I don't think people like Natalie Cole, Syndi Looper, Seal, or Melissa Muffeater played the old 9:30 Club. Driveway is probably referring to the "spirit" of the old 9:30 Club which indeed was on the cutting edge.

And I'm not complaining. There are certainly a number of other live music venue options in DC. If 9:30 was the only game in town, and they had the list of acts playing that they do, then I'd whine. But it's cool. Seth's just giving the DC market what it wants.

Originally posted by Bagster:

Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
The 9:30 Club long ago ceased being the purveyor of up and coming music, didn't it?

You're both wrong, in my opinion. Sure, the club is a bigger venue now, but I think there's a very, very healthy mix of up-and-coming/indie/for the kids shows, and established or even retro acts that pull in a lot of money. I'm 36, and in any given month, there's usually at least a third of the shows I don't know a thing about – I've never heard of the band, or I've seen the name but have no clue. That usually means they're nu metal or post-punk or something else that the kids are listening to.

Plus, I've seen lots of bands this year for the first time (ore wanted to see them but couldn't make it), and the shows were NOT sold out because they're either fairly new or still building an audience (Idlewild, Hot Hot Heat, Juliana Theory, BRMC).

George Clinton has *always* come the 9:30 Club. Check out the listings at the Bowery Ballroom in NYC and you'll see the same overall mix of shows.

Man, if I wanted to go to every show that was at the club, I'd be dead by now.

And for that really really new band, there's Black Cat backstage.

I'm not quite sure what the problem is, Driveway.

But Rhett, if the 9:30 were EXACTLY the same as it had been at the old space, would there be more shows you'd go to? You in particular are awfully alt.country and eschew most of the bands that would come through. Not all, but I'd bet as many as you do now. It's just that in that scenario you'd be eschewing small indie bands, and now you eschew both indie and more mainstream alternative or retro bands.

Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
I don't think people like Natalie Cole, Syndi Looper, Seal, or Melissa Muffeater played the old 9:30 Club. Driveway is probably referring to the "spirit" of the old 9:30 Club which indeed was on the cutting edge.

Originally posted by Bagster:

Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
The 9:30 Club long ago ceased being the purveyor of up and coming music, didn't it?

You're both wrong, in my opinion.

Since when have you taken a look at my cd collection or a list of shows I see? I see as many "indie" bands at the Black Cat as I do alt-country bands elsewhere. I don't "eschew" indie bands, I see them at the Black Cat. It seems like the up and coming bands that DO play the 9:30 are usually schlocky overhyped junk (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Hott Hott Heat, etc). Whereas the cool bands (Beulah, the Shins) play the Black Cat.

And if 9:30 Club were the club it once was, it WOULD cater more to the smaller alt-country market. When Uncle Tupelo came to town, they played the old 9:30 Club. Now bands like that play Iota.

Originally posted by Bagster:
But Rhett, if the 9:30 were EXACTLY the same as it had been at the old space, would there be more shows you'd go to? You in particular are awfully alt.country and eschew most of the bands that would come through. Not all, but I'd bet as many as you do now. It's just that in that scenario you'd be eschewing small indie bands, and now you eschew both indie and more mainstream alternative or retro bands.

Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
I don't think people like Natalie Cole, Syndi Looper, Seal, or Melissa Muffeater played the old 9:30 Club. Driveway is probably referring to the "spirit" of the old 9:30 Club which indeed was on the cutting edge.

Originally posted by Bagster:

Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
The 9:30 Club long ago ceased being the purveyor of up and coming music, didn't it?

You're both wrong, in my opinion.

How dare anyone presume anything about that great unknowable sphynx, Rhett? Shame on you Bagster! May your firstborn be shut in a sweatlocker with an insurance salesman. A thousand lashes…
<img src="http://www.imbiss.dk/car.gif" alt=" - " />

Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
Whereas the cool bands (Beulah, the Shins) play the Black Cat.

thank you for telling us what the "cool" bands are. you sound like such a cool guy. :) (cough,hipster,cough)

If I am not mistaken, the 930 Club isnt straying from its Roots…..arent they playing there in a couple weeks?????

<img src="http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2001/americasbest/profile.images/profile.roots.jpg" alt=" - " />

Originally posted by sonickteam2:
If I am not mistaken, the 930 Club isnt straying from its Roots…..arent they playing there in a couple weeks?????

&lt;img src="http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2001/americasbest/profile.images/profile.roots.jpg" alt=" - " /&gt;

Thanks for the clarification. I thought we were discussing Roots the tv mini-series.

its not like if the bands that used to or "should" come to 930 don't come to dc anymore. the club still blows most town's equivalent venues away, and smaller bands come to the cat or iota. sounds like a good deal to me…and i have gone to the black cat many more times than 930 since i've lived here.

Originally posted by DriveWay:
Ive just noticed in the last few months… that I can't remember the last time I went to the club. It just seems that in the last year, ticket prices have increased greatly and the more 'alternative' and 'indie' bands that were once staples of the 930 club have vanished. The only show that appeals to me on the current calander really is My Morning Jacket. Shouldn't shows like Natalie Cole, FOUR nights of Melissa Ethridge, Maci Gray or Cyndi Lauper be reserved for other venues in dc? 930 use to be a place for up and comers, not 80's has beens or yuppie magnets. Just a thought…

Who do you want to see come to the club? Remember too their schedule is dictated by who is touring at any one moment. If they are not on the road, they won't be at the club. Also if a band draws 150 people they really can't show them alone, so in that respect the club has changed. Other clubs have taken up some of the slack, but the 9:30 also uses the opening slots to bring in new talent.

also, its not like Seth and Co. just sit around and think of cool bands and then call them up and fly them into town. Bands have to be touring, they have to be coming somewhat nearby DC in the first place, they have to want to play DC, they have to be able to sell more than 200 tickets (i would think), they have to be in town on a night that no one else is scheduled at the club.

All these things come into factor.

I have spent time helping book DJs at a weekly club and its not easy and you dont ALWAYS get all the acts you want, whenever you want them.

i think me and SirHC posted at the same time, sorry for the redundancy again.

I was amazed that Death Cab For Cutie played at the Black Cat and not the 930 club… as well as the Twilight Singers. Both of these acts could have filled the 930 Club easily. I don't know, it is just hard to believe that a club that use to house bands like Velocity Girl, Hum or Smashing Pumokins is now on a Melissa Ethridge kick. I'm not complaining per say because I enjoy going to the black cat, just an oberservation that the club has changed dramatically and has basically nothing to do with the original club, or how the new club was in it's first couple of years.