Sonar is no more

James wrote:
I'm willing to bet that 99% of people in the DC area don't know. Or care.

showlistdc wrote:

MindCage wrote:

James wrote:
Great! JAXX is within walking distance of my house.

Except JAXX is no longer there. It's now called Empire, with new owners, etc. :)

I thought that was common knowledge at this point!  For those who weren't aware, I wrote an article about Jay's sale of Jaxx to Outerloop last year.

Just like people stopped reading TBD when ABC/Channel 7 bought them out ;)

Sonars best years were definitely the Lonnie Fisher years.  I hated when they took out the lounge and put the 'talking head' there.  I will miss it though, since it is in walking distance of my place.

It sounded like nothing 'music related' will take its place - who knows

The Caton years were amazing.  Tiny club, huge djs spinning to tens of people.  Then they moved, kept most of the vibe, but that slowly went away.  I remember seeing Shrinebuilder there and the mixing board took a dump right before they went on.  That sucked.

Shellac there was awesome, Baltimore audiences are more "in the moment" and less reserved for shows like that.

Other shows there were in between, but some huge things in the club room will now be missed.

I saw dozens of great shows there. Sometimes the place sucked but mostly I had a great time. That Jesus Lizard show was unforgettable.

Show quality had gone way down in the last couple of years.  Best shows there were Beach House on the club stage and Regina Spektor on the main. 

James wrote:
I'm willing to bet that 99% of people in the DC area don't know. Or care.

DC-area is one thing.  But people who care enough about music to post on the 9:30 club's forum, that's where I get surprised.

He just likes being a dick for the sake of being a dick in case you have not noticed already. Don't mind him.

showlistdc wrote:

James wrote:
I'm willing to bet that 99% of people in the DC area don't know. Or care.

DC-area is one thing.  But people who care enough about music to post on the 9:30 club's forum, that's where I get surprised.

No mention of that marathon Swans show yet?

And yeah, Shellac were incredible.

To me, JAXX always seemed to cater to a niche audience. Speaking for myself, I never paid any attention to any news regarding the place. I'm sure (some) others would probably say the same thing.

showlistdc wrote:

James wrote:
I'm willing to bet that 99% of people in the DC area don't know. Or care.

DC-area is one thing.  But people who care enough about music to post on the 9:30 club's forum, that's where I get surprised.

Yeah, swans, Jesus lizard, shellac were all great recent shows.  Also Dan deacon / dat politics / black dice show was pretty great. And that deacon no age deer hunter craziness.

Psychic TV was fairly recent. That show was great! Death Fest this year with Electric Wizard, Saint Vitus, Rwake, Church of Misery etc was insane.

Another recent one was Red Fang & The Sword. Red Fang SLAYED 'em!

The Deftones / Dillinger Escape Plan show that almost got shut down was awesome too.

The Shellac gig was pretty rad as well.

All those shows were a year or less ago. I'd say the music quality was as good as ever. For my tastes anyway. I will miss Sonar and Talking Head Club. I hate Ram's Head Live. Sidebar and Ottobar havn't been getting quality shows lately. Thank God for Golden West Cafe. They always have excellent shows.

Unsanity wrote:
Death Fest this year with Electric Wizard, Saint Vitus, Rwake, Church of Misery etc was insane.

well, DeathFest is put on by its own people, not by Sonar, and they've already announced that they've got 3 potential venues in Baltimore for next year.

Favorites were definitely Shellac and Jesus Lizard.  That Jesus Lizard show was one of the best I've ever seen.

No big loss with Sonar going.  It has to be the second nastiest, filthiest, dirty, and all around worst venue I have been in (nation which used to be in DC tops that list and it closed as well).  I'm making no judgement on the owners and staff of the club, just the place itself sucked goats.

RatBastard wrote:
No big loss with Sonar going.  It has to be the second nastiest, filthiest, dirty, and all around worst venue I have been in (nation which used to be in DC tops that list and it closed as well).  I'm making no judgement on the owners and staff of the club, just the place itself sucked goats.

Yep.  Saw the Mountain Goats there.  Venue sucked them/him.

They should just have Death Fest at Merriweather. Hey Seth!?!

RatBastard wrote:
No big loss with Sonar going.  It has to be the second nastiest, filthiest, dirty, and all around worst venue I have been in (nation which used to be in DC tops that list and it closed as well).  I'm making no judgement on the owners and staff of the club, just the place itself sucked goats.

Really? I think Ottobar is way fucking shitter than Sonar. It's no 930, but I didn't have a problem with the place at all. Saw some awesome shows there. I always thought the stage was a little weird and it was kind of hard to see if you couldn't get right directly in front of the stage. Had a ton of fun times. Thought the shows had dropped off and I definitely lost a lot of interest when they stopped doing Taxlo parties there.

Love Ottobar but I agree that their schedule has run hot and cold for me of late.

Golden West is really nice, too.  Don't want to get all Birchmere about it but I really do like the food there.

StoneTheCrow wrote:
Love Ottobar but I agree that their schedule has run hot and cold for me of late.

Golden West is really nice, too.  Don't want to get all Birchmere about it but I really do like the food there.

Food at Golden West is awesome.  I had my first day with my fiancee' there. 

DeathFromAbove1979 wrote:

RatBastard wrote:
No big loss with Sonar going.  It has to be the second nastiest, filthiest, dirty, and all around worst venue I have been in (nation which used to be in DC tops that list and it closed as well).  I'm making no judgement on the owners and staff of the club, just the place itself sucked goats.

Really? I think Ottobar is way fucking shitter than Sonar. It's no 930, but I didn't have a problem with the place at all. Saw some awesome shows there. I always thought the stage was a little weird and it was kind of hard to see if you couldn't get right directly in front of the stage. Had a ton of fun times. Thought the shows had dropped off and I definitely lost a lot of interest when they stopped doing Taxlo parties there.

I much prefer the Ottobar to the 930 club.  Much smaller place and cheaper beer.  The quality of shows hasn't been that good lately.  But bubuilt to spill is coming and i saw the cults recently. 

check plus on the food at Golden West.  Their vegan burrito is aces.  (Disappointed that when I went up there for the Whitehorse/Batillus show a few weeks back, their evening chef didn't show up, so they weren't serving food.  Argh!)