The Nature of Venues

[amnesiack]

I went to a great show on Saturday night with lesleymac, retrocareer, and Reid at Studio Seven (The Damage Done, Shook Ones, The Riot Before, Living With Lions, and A Wilhelm Scream, for those wondering). The music was great, and it was tons of fun hanging out with my friends there, but I always feel a little weird about shows at that venue.

I think it's a combination of the size of the room and the height of the stage. It's not remotely like a stadium or even a concert hall in size, and there's no barrier or security guards between the crowd and the edge of the stage. Still, there's just enough of a distance there between the performers and the crowd that it feels fundamentally different from shows at Grn Strp Haus, Black Lodge, The Bit, FBK, The Morgue, Barnhouse, etc. that goes beyond sounds systems, admission prices, or audience makeup. Hmmm...

Comments

[philaros.livejournal.com]

"shows at Grn Strp Haus, Black Lodge, The Bit, FBK, The Morgue, Barnhouse, etc"

Are all these places in Seattle? Because I've never heard of them, and it astonishes me that there are so many more venues I've never heard of. (I'm aware of Studio Seven but vague on where it is and haven't been there.) We run in completely different musical circles.

[amnesiack.livejournal.com]

Too true!

All of these places are in Seattle; here's a quick breakdown.

Grn Strp, FBK, and Barnhouse are all actual houses that regularly put on shows in their living rooms or basements; the shows are pretty much exclusively punk/hardcore, probably some metal at FBK.

Black Lodge and The Morgue are both "musical speakeasies": small, non-residential venues that are not licensed or regulated by the city and operate under the radar. The Morgue is (again) almost exclusively a punk/hardcore space. The Black Lodge does a mix of punk and up-and-coming local hip hop (Champagne Champagne, Fresh Espresso, etc.) In terms of size and feel, they're fairly similar to legit venues like The Funhouse, but a bit more run-down/diy.

The Bit Saloon is the only true, legal venue on the list. It's a punk dive bar in Ballard with a side room in which bands play. Again, relatively similar in size/feel to The Funhouse.

Studio Seven is in SODO, on 1st Ave S. It's comparable in size to Neumos or El Corazon (700 or so capacity, I think?) Around 50% of their shows are metal bands with names written in unreadable hand-lettered fonts. The rest is punk, reggae, ska, hard rock, and a smattering of hip hop. Shows are all ages, with an upstairs loft that contains the bar for the 21+ crowd.

[philaros.livejournal.com]

Yeah, hardcore punk and metal are not my genres, so it's not surprising I've never heard of these places. Also, I'm usually referring first to the Three Imaginary Girls concert calendar, and even though it's fairly comprehensive, I don't believe most of these places show up on their calendar.