While You’ve Been at SXSW: Jonny Leather’s Non-SXSW Wrap Up
I was jaded, ready to throw in the towel. That's what this industry can do to you. A rat race with very little prize to be had, the joy of being a piece of the music industry pie had become less and less bearable. Following industry insiders, critics, photogs on twitter was like an up to the second reminder that much of my beliefs and tastes clash with theirs. Namedropping, the hype cycle, the never-ending circle jerk and the overall bore that is much of the industry was beating the life out of me, and yet I remained part of it.
Off to SXSW they went, but with the magic of twitter, I could live their every moment. Through the horror that is 4-square (the farmville of twitter), I was constantly updated of their whereabouts. Bands that blogs have already hyped to the brink of irritability played sets all over Austin, as bloggers/critics fought for claim of discovery of the "next big thing."
While my peers drank loads of beer, saw too many bands to remember, and ate loads of Tex Mex in preparation of a week full of post SXSW wrapups, I also did stuff.
Since you've been busy live tweeting from Austin informing me about your every move, and have plans to overload me with plenty more info about your past week's exploits, please allow me to give you a run down of what I've been up to while you've been at SXSW...
- My cat puked in my bathroom. I cleaned it up.
- It was really nice out on Tuesday, so I went to the Highline, then got a few drinks and eventually ended up at Sweet Revenge
- After reading a constant barrage of your 4SQ whereabouts at SXSW, I decided to quit Twitter.
- Then Flavorwire named me one of the 10 most followable music critics on Twitter
- Went to The Delancey on Wednesday night to see Grub Animal, and ended up seeing a terrible frat band cover Vanilla Ice
- Was published on Artinfo.com
- Saw Jon Natchez and Soft Landings at Zebulon. Shared a Jim Beam Milkshake with a great girl at Relish in between bands
- Randomly became obsessed with Supertramp
- Listened to Big Star's "Thirteen" 200 times
- Earned a considerable paycheck from a company whose office feels like a morgue
- Slept in a comfortable bed
- Put on a show at The Bell House that rivals anything that happened at SXSW. Ghastly City Sleep and Lagoon were particularly mesmerizing.
- Beat everyone except Mike Tyson in Punchou
- Saw Alice in Wondland 3D. There was a 3D Friskies commercial before it. I love Burton, but the movie was blaspheme, taking far too many liberties with Lewis Carrol's classic novel
- Hung out with cool people less concerned with being hip than being themselves
- Didn't have to travel to see a load of bands I've already seen a million times before in NYC just so I could hype them as next big thing.
- Enjoyed a peaceful weekend in the perfect weather in Brooklyn rather than risking my safety at MtyMx to see every band that ever plays at Market Hotel
- Randomly became obsessed with Eddie Grant
- Went to the Bronx Zoo on one of the most perfect days of the year and made friends with sea lions, lemurs, giraffes and other furry creature
- Drank Sangria on the roof of Alma, while my peers were stuck waiting for a bus to Mexico thanks to some terrible planning.
- Befriended incredible Brooklyn band, Sad Red
Sad Red - "Just Like An Orange"
- Revived my passion for music thanks to a bunch of great bands that may still exist far under the radar but need to be heard
To all my friends in amazing bands who played at SXSW (The Silent League, Royal Forest, Bear in Heaven, ARMS, Drink Up Buttercup...etc), you're still awesome. Don't mind my rant.
Despite Not Going, I know that all of these bands ruled at SXSW
- Bear in Heaven
- Royal Forest
- The Silent League
- Oh No Ono
- Drink Up Buttercup
- Deleted Scenes
- ARMS
- Spoon
- Besnard Lakes
- Broken Social Scene
- Liars
- Capybara
- Big Star
Dear Delancey, Suck My Balls
Grub Animal - "Day Brings New Love"
Last night I think my friends Grub Animal played a show at Delancey. I would have pictures and possibly even some kind words to say, but the booking agent at the Delancey is more concerned with making money than promoting bands, so they overbooked and what was original a 10pm set kept finding itself being pushed back. When I arrived to the venue at 9:30, a band I failed to catch the name of was on stage playing what is probably best categorized as frat rock. I left the downstairs performance area for the more-peaceful-than-usual upstairs bar where a friend and I were treated to one of my guilty pleasure favorites, The Ting Tings' "That's Not My Name." Meanwhile while sitting back on a comfy seat, the reflection of a burlesque dancer projected itself onto the mirror behind the bartender. After a half hour of relaxing and being offered free shots, we headed back downstairs to see if any progress had been made. Unfortunately, the same damn frat band remained on stage treating themselves as rock stars in front of their drunken buddies. Wondering if my friends would be playing anytime soon, I asked the singer when he expected to go on. Irritated with the situation, he pointed out that the band on stage had been playing for over an hour, and he had been told there were still 2 more bands scheduled to play before Grub Animal. Doing the math in my head, it was easy to compute that there was no way Grub Animal would even take the stage before midnight, and with it being a weeknight I knew there'd be know way to hold out long enough to catch them. He told me that at that point even he was considering leaving, and just at that moment a cover of Robert Van Winkle's 1990 mega hit "Ice Ice Baby" came blasting from the stage like shotgun to my head telling me to get the fuck out before I lose my mind.
So, on a night where I went to see a friend's good band, The Delancey's terrible booking and management ruined my night. As someone who regularly books concerts at very well respected venues (Union Hall and Bell House) I know what it takes to book a show and run things on schedule. The Delancey like quite a few other New York venues once again proved that they have a greater concern for their own pockets than for the bands that make them money. Booking 5 or 6 bands on a bill where doors don't open till 8pm on a weeknight is recipe for disaster. They do this in order to get as many paying customers as possible, and to keep people drinking at their bar for as long as possible. The booking has little concern for having a bill with bands that fit together musically. Bands struggle to drag their friends out, only to find out that the set time they give everyone is completely bogus, and their friends will need to survive through 3 of the shittiest bands they've ever heard in order to see them. To kill the time, these friends unload their wallets at the bar because it's far easier to handle a terrible Vanilla Ice cover when plastered.
When you book a concert, you have a certain responsibility to the bands and their fans to try to keep on schedule, and make the night enjoyable so they'll to more prone to return or recommend the place to others.
Last night reminded me why I always hated The Annex, and guaranteed that I'll write these negative words about its douchey lower east side cousin The Delancey.
Check out Grub Animal though. They're a cool band that will soon spend a bunch of time in Canada performing their new special musical/play.
CMJ 2008 Day 3 in Photos | 10/23/08
Asa Ransom @ The Delancey
The Dears @ Hiro Ballroom
Eulogies @ Hiro Ballroom
The Muslims @ Pianos
