OccultHawk

It's been going on for quite awhile now so I guess I can't call it a trend but I hate that grindcore (and other extreme genres of rock'n'roll) insist on not using the stage. I know they want to make a statement of equalitarianism with the fans but in metal culture especially all it does is reinforce the meat head might makes right mentality concerning who actually gets to see the band. I watched a clip of Lightning Bolt where they're furious that fans are pushing and not allowing for personal space. Well, if you played on a high stage a mellow guy like me could stand in the back and still see you. That's why I bought I ticket. Not only to hear you but to SEE you perform. You might want to have a close experience with fans but the only thing I'm experiencing is the back of some c*nt's head and dozens of smart phones in the air making crappy videos.

EPOCH6

I only have experience in the Vancouver rock/metal small venue scene, so I can only speak to that environment, but what I've noticed from most of the bands that I've played with, including ourselves until only recently, is that a lot of musicians playing rock/metal at the small venue level are simply discontented with the scene, for several reasons, and that discontent is really sucking the life out of their performances.

I think the most significant contributor to bumming out small venue bands right now is the small audiences, even when you land opening slots for relatively big bands travelling in from other cities/countries, the crowds rarely seem to exceed 30 - 40 people, on a GOOD night, at least in Vancouver. And that's fair, people can't be blamed for that, it's the bands that are failing to draw crowds because their performances are so often drained and lifeless, but it's the lack of crowds that is sucking the energy out of the bands, so it's kind of this ****ty vicious circle.

On top of that the huge decline in pay for small venue acts is another contributor, but again, the venues can't be blamed for that because they can't afford to hand out substantial pay to bands that aren't drawing crowds. This makes it even harder for great performers to pop up in the scene because bands are less willing to travel into the big cities like Vancouver to perform if the pay won't even cover their gas bill. So you end up with the same bands playing the same venues over and over again for years, going nowhere fast, because these bands that have been around in the scene for years are worn out and drained, their expectations have stagnated and they perform the same way every time they get up on stage, the audience gets bored, the phones start lighting up, and you never see those faces return to another show. This atmosphere seems to bleed into the music too, genuine excitement and adrenaline in rock and roll seems so rare right now, such a massive portion of the scene are just playing by the numbers, no smiles on their faces, no energy, and that mood will ALWAYS be reciprocated by the audience.

The Vancouver rock scene was like this when we found it and I'd bet it has been this way for well over a decade. The soul has been sucked out of small time live rock music and the only way for it be re-energized is for completely selfless bands to show up and put on fantastic energetic shows regardless of crowd size or pay, and we've recently met a band like that, La Chinga.



It would be easy to dismiss them as another band riding on the retro revival but seeing them live once is all the proof you need that these guys are the real deal, retro revival or not they're bringing an energy to their performances that we haven't seen any other bands bring in years. I'm not saying that bands in the rock scene need to start writing more like Zeppelin and Deep Purple, but I do believe those bands brought an energy and attitude to their music and performances that really defined what live rock music was all about, those were the kinds of performances that carried bands out of bars and into stadiums, the kinds of performances that demand the audience's attention, they don't want to look away, they're actually having fun and smiling.

Less than a year ago we were playing bar crowds of 15 - 30 people with La Chinga, now they're touring Europe for the second time, festivals and small venues, and from what we've been seeing online the response from the crowds is consistently fantastic every night. Bands like this can walk into a bar anywhere in the world and win an audience in 10 minutes. We have never seen somebody walk out of a La Chinga show with a confused look on their face, or spend an entire song checking their Facebook. They're comfortable on stage in a venue of any size, playing to an audience of any size, and know exactly what they are, genuine smiles on their faces, genuine chemistry between the band members, there's no pretending, and any audience can sense that good mojo by the second song.

When we're chatting to them outside of the venue after shows there's never any complaining about ****ty pay, no complaints about the audience size or audience response, they want to talk about music, performing, projects their working on, and what they want to do next. They don't give a single **** about the condition of the scene, it doesn't bring them down. That kind of optimism is so refreshing to audiences, we need more of that in live music, we just need bands that don't let 2016 get them down, bands that just get up on stage and kill it for the love of killing it. Even if only 15 people see the performance, 5 of them are going to bring it up to their friends because it was different, it was a surprise, and it was actually fun. Even if their music isn't revolutionary or pushing any boundaries at all the attitude and performance is enough to ignite the crowds and inspire other bands in the scene to do the same. La Chinga blew our ****ing minds the first time we saw them perform in Vancouver, we got in touch with them, played a couple of shows with them, and learned a lot from them. Since then we've been writing more enjoyable tunes, the tunes are being better received by crowds, we're seeing more smiles and less cell phones in the audience, and we're having a way better time performing and the crowds are noticing, it's a better time for everybody.

It's a cliche response, but I'm 100% convinced that it's true, at least for rock music. The reason live rock music is in such a piss poor state in North America is because we have a MASSIVE wave of down trodden bands that are bitter, jaded, and cynical about the scene. The optimism is gone, the attitude is gone, the fun is gone, all live rock music needs is bands with soul that don't give a ****. Drop a hundred of those bands in every major city in North America and rock and roll will be alive and well.

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OccultHawk

Thanks for that excellent thoughtful resonse. The first time I saw Soundgarden there were only like 5 people there. They're not my favorite band or really my cup of tea artistically being partial to more extreme stuff but it was like you're saying about this band La Chinga. They played like they wanted to make sure that the five people at that show had a great time. Another one I saw real early on with a tiny crowd but a great attitude was Tad. 15-20 people tops. He didn't care. Mudhoney was like that. A couple others that were really good but didn't explode so much were a band from Denver called The Fluid and another band called Stickdog another was Tragic Mulatto Then there were bands that I caught with about 100-200 people in the crowd that all put on great enthusiastic shows: Nirvana, The Dwarves, Godflesh, Cop Shoot Cop, The Muffs. Hell, the first time I saw GWAR there were probably 15 people there.

oscillate

I think part of the reason most live shows are less than stellar is partially because of the improvements in the home and mobile listening experiences. You can find virtually every show of a mid-level artist on YouTube hours after the show is over. There are less small clubs and music venues and although the Internet has made it abundantly easier for bands to distribute their music, it's globalized what used to be local and regional music scenes, which I think has made people feel more disconnected from their local music scene and has made bands less inclined to support each other.

I have to say, contrary to some of the people who have posted here, my most negative experiences have been in smaller venues. I'm very attune to good sound and a good mix, and some venues just have a horrible track record, while others are spot on most of the time. It also depends on the bands as well. I don't go to see live music near as much as I used to and when I do, it's at a larger venues often seeing bands that I know care greatly for their live mix and their live show.

To answer the other part of your post, I think the biggest problem is that most artists and bands just don't really care all that much about how their music is presented. It doesn't mean they're apathetic about it, but I just don't think many bands, especially newer ones, really know how they are coming across live and even if they do, in smaller venues especially, they can't really afford to do anything about it. So, it's this double-edged sword and I would argue it's all connected in some way to the overall devaluation of music and the collapse of the music industry, which has had some serious effects on the live music industry.

OccultHawk

Mediocre sound is a problem in venues big and small.

It's really unforgivable on any level. I tend to blame the band and the club or the concert hall.