Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Cream Great Shows Happen Every Night in Chattanooga, Knoxville
Posted by Tracy Moore on Tue, Jun 2, 2009 at 3:41 PM
Comments (40)
Showing 1-40 of 40
blah blah blah...like, no duh, dude.
this is old news to anybody who's ever, ya know...been in a band that played outside of nashville.
they even have great shows in clarksville, for fuck's sake.
whatever, i know i know...i'm just the guy who's bitter that nobody likes my band.
but yeah, jj's fucking rules.
like
dislike
JJ's rules it. TCQ sucked ass when we played there and still got a pretty good response.
play there, and be sure and hit up Lamar's down the street afterward. it's 1977 in there all the time and there drinks go incredibly light on the mixer, and dangerously heavy on the liquor.
But not everybody who reads this blog is in a shitty band who plays Clarksville.
You're right, Tracy: Nashville has some of the best acts in the world (Eureka Gold, The Hotpipes, Caitlin Rose, The Features, and Turbo Fruits come to mind immediately...) and even when people come to see THEM, they stand around with arms crossed looking indifferent. Then they go home and get on THIS website and shred them to pieces anonymously. I'm glad there are still some people who wanna get down instead of trying to be the next Lester Bangs on The Nashville Cream.
When bands (fronted by Ani DiFranco-sound-alikes or not) play The Boro, I'm mostly just annoyed and ignore them and do the crossword. Unless someone does a really awesome cover of a Big Star song or it's a band I already know and enjoy.
I'm not alone in that regard, it's just the overwhelming attitude of The Boro (the bar, not necessarily the city). I've seen plenty of enthusiastic crowds in the Bucket City at house shows and other venues, but a lot of times, those shows are more about "being at the show" than "listening to the music." But what do I know, I'm 7 or 8 years older than the key demographic in Murfreesboro.
And, yea, JJ's rocks fucking hard.
Touché, Tracy. Touché.
There can only be one of us, after all.
@seth the most important part of lamar's to remember is that it is, in fact, situated in the lobby of a whorehouse. chattanooga's best kept secret.
The only bad thing about JJ's is that Big Ben's bar-b-q down the street is now closed. That place was the SHIT.
brandon, your band owns it.
that is, if by "band" you mean, The Parking Lot P Boyz!
Oh man, Big Ben's is closed? We ate there before we played. It WAS the shit. I'm glad we got to eat there at least once.
So really...what's the deal with Nashville. I'm waiting for someone to properly diagnose it.
Just too many fucking bands for anyone to still be impressed?
Or is it something more complicated or even more simple that I'm overlooking?
Maybe too many white people for dancing/enthusiasm?
Some kind of contagious act of apathy in the air?
Too many people who moved here to "make it" and who go to good shows with good bands yet can't get past being pissed that they don't pull an audience?
Somebody should write a book about the current Nashville indie rock audience. Tracy, write it!!
hearn,
it seems that a majority of the shows i've been to or played in nashville are attended by musicians and or people who are somehow tied into the business of music. I think that for people who play music, there is no wonder left. . .so we all go out to learn what we can from each other, or nurture our friendships.
I miss being able to listen to music and hear sounds that reminded my of things that were completely non musical. . .like tea kettles, monsters, motorcycles and dolphin sex. I think people that still experience music in this way are just simply more excited and moved by music.
Hearn, the answer is simple. this is town of armchair quarterbacks, not spectators. Everyone is either spoiled by the musical riches of the city or has a (perceived) vested interest in how other bands fair. The majority of the audience at most shows is comprised of musicians or people who have some sort of tacit involvement with the music scene. I think the one exception to this trend may be the Infinity Cat crowd. The people who go to those shows are generally younger and have a lot of enthusiasm for the bands they support. For those of us toiling in the twenty-something crowd it's like "oh I see this band all the time so I'm over it even though it's good." Using going to see a band in Nashville feels like going to a trade show as opposed to a celebration of music and youth.
although. . . my band played with Autovaughn the other night, and i was genuinely impressed at the crowd they drew. there were a LOT of faces i had never seen before, who were completely into the band. I would love to know how these bands are transcending the scene and reaching normal people. . .
[G]oing to see a band in Nashville feels like going to a trade show as opposed to a celebration of music and youth.
Gold, that's the most accurate description of the Nashville show-going experience I've read.
Out-of-towners always ask about dead crowds and a friend of mine once said, "It's hard to get excited about Who-the-fuck-ever when I grew up seeing Johnny Cash holding June's purse at Wal-Mart."
Well, I remember Jay Reatard playing at JJ's and people kinda just stood around politely. There's no formula.
knoxville has no music scene.
they have 2 worthwhile venues. and the lot that books those two venues are a lazy lazy gang. most bands there are of the "here today gone next month" variety.
the best you can hope to do is look at the mountains, own a record player, and enjoy whatever pick of poison you prefer.
Lamar's oh yeah! Best fried chicken in the Noog and stupid strong drinks. JJ's good and Rhythm & Brews (yo Doug) also good. Midtown music pretty cool. And we did a NYE show in this big antique looking multilevel place - even that was cool. I like the Noog. Knoxville's kinda eh but I once got a hundred dollar tip for a drum solo at Manhattans.
Lots easier to relax and take in a show at a bar you're just drinking at if some greasy hipster with a stamp pad doesn't interrupt you mid-beer to demand a $7 cover from you to "watch" some bands you have never heard of and don't care about.
i'm guilty of standing there, arms-crossed, but it's not out of apathy or over-exposure to bands. i generally enjoy the music and have a great time. just b/c i'm not shaking my money-maker doesn't mean that i'm not loving the hell out of a band. i don't think you have to lose your shit to be a true fan. there is definitely a large percentage of people attending shows here that are in bands or are in the "industry" and maybe some of them are 2 Kewl 4 Skewl but I would never want to sacrifice such a great city full of music just to live somewhere where I can sweat and slam-dance with a bunch of kids to bands that can barely get through songs b/c they suck so hard. that being said, i'm not a performer and i would guess that they would prefer a dancing crowd over one that's quietly judging from the shadows.
That's not just any band in that picture. It's The Bohannons. They own Chattanooga.
Chattanooga pretty much has my heart. I love coming down Monteagle and being welcomed to the city by Nickajack Lake, the Tennessee River and Lookout Mountain. + You can still get Jeremiah Weed at the liquor store across from Rhythm and Brews.
The primary reasons for the vibrance of the 'noogie scene are John from JJ's Bohemia and Marty Bohannon. Great people. Also, Chattanooga's Coral Castles is the ultimate. Come see them Friday nite at Mercy Lounge.
good show, good show....i think we have nailed it on the head. the point is people in nashvile are super talented, and its a super dense music scene. because its super dense, its super competitive. because the scene is super competative, talented people get jaded, angry, depressed, and real drunk. then they are alcoholics and they die slowly, waisting their youth and aging super fast.
ive been living in chicago for a few months now, and the thing that i see is a more refreshing music scene, albeit not as talented. chicago is an art city....period. nobody gives a FUCK about hits. wilco didn't want hits so bad they kicked jay bennet out of the band. retarded. but chicago.
people in chicago are all doin art for arts sake, there is a positive vibe to it all. to go to a show is just going to an art opening with music. everybody is juiced to be at the party regardless of how good or bad the art is. and since the band is somehow frinds with somebody, they try to just find something good to say about it.
i wish both could exist as one, but they dont.
hated it.
Let me just say the nashville crowd doesn't even compare to the new york crowd. i've been to the bowery ballroom several times and people there rarely show a pulse. They may have thought the show was amazing, but they don't show it.
If you've lived here long enough, you get used to the often apathetic crowds and simply revel in the fact that you have dozens of affordable options for recording and can find a great player of virtually any instrument for your projects.
The real fun is watching out-of-town bands come thru and get all bent out of shape!
I find that the local Nashville bands people/scenesters tend to hype and gush over aren't really all that special or original.
So many times friends have contacted me to say, "you gotta check these guys out" or the SCENE has hyped someone local and I'll go to the show and be left with the feeling of "meh".
As far as people not showing enthusiasm at local band shows, it's probably a function of a mob mentality and the fact that the band sounds like a certain genre that we've been overexposed to in this town, i.e. indie-pop or indie-country.
You've got me as far as the national acts that come through to The 5 Spot, The Basement, Exit/In, Mercy, Cannery, The End, Ryman, etc. I see enthusiasm there, but yeah, crowds are still a low-energy bunch here in Nashville. Could be due to the overall languid atmosphere of the city.
jess, you make a good point. I remember playing with Big Nurse at the Beat Kitchen in Chicago opening for Orthrelm 4 years ago.
Orthrelm started and I walked all the way from the back of the room to just in front of the stage, weaving through an almost full room of people standing there, arms crossed. I'd really never seen anything like it before. Granted, Orthrelm isn't exactly the band that anyone's gonna break out and dance too, but it was odd that this was the headliner and there were only a few people even moving with the beat.
Really to me it depends on the show. People will dance to blasts of static coming out of a blown amp if the vibe is right. You've just got to give it everything you've got if you want to impress anyone (but more importantly yourself) around here. People will always have their tastes, but enthusiasm and belief in what you're doing are irreplaceable, and might just win you more fans in the end.
none of my filmmaker friends in los angeles go down to the chinese theater and wave toy light sabers around when a new movie comes out.
I think the trade show comparison is pretty accurate for a lot of bands in Nashville that never quite reach the "regular people" audience. You end up playing for a room full (or half full or or barely full) of other musicians, and they're generally not going to be the kind of crowd that hoots and dances and sends pitchers of beers up to the stage. It doesn't have to be a bad experience. Sometimes Nashville audiences are like Bizarro world audiences. If they're quiet while you're playing, it means they're paying attention (geeking out, sizing you up, you know, listening). If the room is loud while you're playing, it means they don't give a shit about you and they're back at the bar talking about the show their band played last night. Sometimes, the only real appreciation you get are some marble mouthed, overly technical compliments while you're loading out. It's not all bad. You may just have to adjust your expectations accordingly.
Gold makes a good point about the "Infinity Cat crowd". Whenever I've seen Meemaw or JEFF The Brotherhood or Heavy Cream etc. it's not always the same kids who show up but they all have one thing in common: they are moved by the music, they get INVOLVED.
No one can say Nashville doesn't have great rock-loving fans when they go to shows like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QI3Jxw490Ug
And hey, I'm in my twenties and don't feel like I'm over the hill. I still like to go a little nuts once in a while.
So sayeth Tobin, who last went to a show in 1997.
Are you supposed to have said something devastating before you "close" the thread?
As for the fake IRC command, the less said, the better.
"knoxville has no music scene"
there are a couple great bands still kicking in knoxville. Jonathan Sexton & The Big Love Choir is awesome and their in town recording right now. Check them for free at the closing bell on demonbreun tonight.
also, the durty guvnahs are from there too. they rock.
jj's is the shit.
playing for regular people is the shit. all these bands that have never done it before should try the outskirts of nashville, away from "the scene".... little dive crowds almost make you forget where you are at times.
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