May 11, 2007
What We're Missing: A Decent Concert Hall
We love D.C., but we know it's not perfect. Is there something you think we're missing? Let us know.
I don't want quibble to with Graham's review of last Friday's Arcade Fire show, or the generally positive blogospheric reaction to the concert. I was in attendance, too, and thought the band put on a solid performance of its impressively powerful catalog. I left satisfied, if a little disappointed that the night hadn't been as awe-inspiring as TAF's previous shows at 9:30 and the Black Cat.
The next day The Arcade Fire played Philadelphia, and I was in the audience then, too. Seeing the same show twice in two nights isn't something I'd normally do, even when the band in question is one of my favorites. But I'm glad I did: despite a nearly-identical setlist, the Philadelphia show was considerably better. The band was more into it, I was more into it, and it was just an all-around better time.
So why was one show better than another? Simply put: the venue. Although Philly's Tower Theater is also a concert hall with about the same number of assigned seats, it's still worlds better than the almost criminally-bad Constitution Hall. Bands are flatly betraying their fans when they book shows at DAR, a venue that's more appropriate for a state funeral than a rock concert.
It's not just the inevitable echoey character to the sound, or its lack of surrounding dining & nightlife options, or the difficulty of getting and drinking a beer, or even the stupid gilt eagles peering down on the stage. It's the sum of all of these things, which add up to an audience of sober fans sitting politely — a sight that can't help but dampen a band's spirits and lead to a show that's worse than it could have been.
Asking bands to play several less-lucrative nights at smaller venues is obviously not a strategy that's likely to work — it would've taken more than three nights to reach the same number of fans at the 9:30 Club. And nobody likes arenas — for some types of acts they're simply not a viable option. But we still deserve better than DAR.
Image from NPS.gov
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I don't disagree that it would be nice to have a better venue than DAR, but I don't necessarily see its flaws as the main causes for the audience "sitting politely." (And who cares about sober or not. Fans don't need to be drunk to get up and dance). For whatever reason that's just how DC crowds are. The Arcade Fire was one of the more enthusiastic crowds I've seen at a show at DAR or any of the smaller venues. Fans here just aren't that up and into here.
Fortunately that hasn't dissuaded some bands I've see at 9:30 Club or Black Cat (Mission of Burma being one of them, at both venues) from putting on great shows.
I think that everyone is scared of by a House of Blues, but I think that HOB and 9:30 could co-exist and HOB would take the bands in between a 9:30 and an MCI Center/Nissan setting.
If you look at the 9:30 website, almost half of the shows are sold out. This is healthy, but I think we'll all agree that there is a huge void once you go above 1,000 capacity, but your not quite a Springsteen.
And, I think I'd rather see a show in a large club than the sterile, seated shows at DAR.
I thought we were getting a House of Blues.
House of Blues is utter crap. Ask around, no one wants House of Blues in DC. It's like bringing Wal-Mart of music to town.
Something wrong with the Warner Theater? I mean, apart from the lack of room for dumbasses to dance in the aisles.
The Music Center at Strathmore provided a beautiful venue for Sigur Ros and Dead Can Dance, albeit at half the DAR Constitution Hall seating capacity.
The proposed House of Blues won't have capacity for 3,000 people, will it? I agree that another "mid-size" venue could potentially be a positive thing, but I think that a HoB would more likely be a direct competitor with the 9:30 in terms of audience size.
We actually do have a few suitably-sized venues here in DC (the Warner Theater, the National Theater, the Lincoln Theater, the Strathmore up in Bethesda), they're just a little bit stuffier than what you're looking for and don't generally book contemporary music shows. Maybe we need to be working on getting them to open up their booking schedules rather than casting about for a whole new venue that's unlikely to get built any time soon.
I 100% agree with you.
How about the lack of local bands people? Everyone wants to be a DJ now.
Either way 9:30's soundsystem is in desperate need of work. The sound has been really lousy during the last couple of years. Particularly during hip-hop shows...either that or their soundguy really hates Ghostface Killah.
I saw Arcade Fire there too and only really started to enjoy myself when he said "Security is going to be mad but everyone needs to come to the front". The place just has an uptight atmosphere, and I almost had an anxiety attack trying to get out of the bathroom from upstairs due to the crowds trying to get a drink from the bar. Great show but would have loved to see it in a different venue.
Is this the above 40 crowd? I am not talking about a Kenny Loggins concert. Modest Mouse has to play some sh*tty venue like DAR when they come to town because there isn't a mid-size venue. I don't dance at most concerts, but if you want to sit at a concert, please move to Branson.
HOB actually is a great venue - it has good acoustics and most have capacity around 2,500 which would put them at more-than-double the 9:30 (which is why they can co-exist). The comparisons to Wal-Mart are completely unfounded
Lincoln, Strathmore, Warner, DAR are not good alternatives for live music other than classical.
When the Pixies announced they were reforming to tour, it seemed like an impossible dream coming true.
Then I went to the show. Had to sit stock-still, couldn't bop around, couldn't sing along, couldn't ... well, enjoy myself.
I might as well have watched that show on TV.
DAR Constitution Hall gets two thumbs down and a big ol' raspberry from this guy.
Unfounded? House of Blues is owned by the world's largest entertainment company Live Nation. Spun off from Clear Channel Communications (the nation's largest radio conglomerate) because the Mays family realized that they had a near complete monopoly in the music industry. As a multi-national billion dollar corporate behemoth, Live Nation's House of Blues ARE the Wal-Mart of the live music industry.
I live five minutes from Chick Hall's Surf Club. That's the only music venue I need.
Bring back the Uline Arena. It's got that "formerly a trash transfer station" edginess to it.
Sorry, but the HOB = Walmart comparison isn't working for me. If Walmart wants to build a mid-sized venue so I can actually see good acts without going through a scalper, rock on. I love 930 but competition will force them to improve their sound system. It doesn't serve anyone when a band chooses not to come to DC because they can sell 2500 tickets but they can only play in front of 1000 at 930 and they choose not to play DAR because it's stuffy.
Sorry, but the HOB = Walmart comparison isn't working for me. If Walmart wants to build a mid-sized venue so I can actually see good acts without going through a scalper, rock on. I love 930 but competition will force them to improve their sound system. It doesn't serve anyone when a band chooses not to come to DC because they can sell 2500 tickets but they can only play in front of 1000 at 930 and they choose not to play DAR because it's stuffy.
Judging by the feelings expressed on DCist, House of Blues will NOT infringe of the other venues, despite any overlap in size/bands, because of the sheer moral opposition to HOB. Looking at a typical City Paper and noticing that most of the medium to bigger acts play out in VA, I would say it's good to welcome any and all music venues into the city.
Say what you want about DARCH, at least their security staff didn't beat anyone's ass, like they apparently did at Radio City Music Hall.
I'm relatively new to the area and have been to a handful of concerts since I have been here, and many concerts other places, and I can safely say DAR is one of the worst venues, if not the worst, I have ever been to. Unfortunately I saw two of my favorite bands there (Shins, Arcade Fire). Due to the venue, both of these shows were a fraction of how fun they would have been at a good venue, with the AF show being much better due to their enthusiasm and rule breaking about security. The Shins show almost made me weep it was such a drag. All because of the venue. I've been to 9:30 club and others. DC fans have fun just fine. It's that god awful venue. It's so conducive to make people sit on their hands and stare. I hate it.
Judging by the feelings expressed on DCist, House of Blues will NOT infringe of the other venues, despite any overlap in size/bands, because of the sheer moral opposition to HOB. Looking at a typical City Paper and noticing that most of the medium to bigger acts play out in VA, I would say it's good to welcome any and all music venues into the city.
The Tower in UPPER DARBY, PA (not Philly) is equally bad as DAR.
Say what you want about DARCH, at least their security staff didn't beat anyone's ass, like they apparently did at Radio City Music Hall.
No kidding. Heck, they were even quite nice. The guy asked me very pleasant "You don't have a professional camera in there, do you?" Nope, I said and opened the bag. He barely looked at it and passed me through. Had I know it was gonna be that easy, I would have brought my pro camera.
Live Nation has already secretly krept into DC via Rock and Roll Hotel, Red and Black, etc. HOB is the next step.
The Tower in Upper Darby, PA (not Philly--definitely not Philly) is equally bad as the D.A.R.
But I have to say that ever since I've moved to DC I've been moaning about the need for a good mid-sized venue. 930 shows all sell out. There's obviously a big demand here. HOB sounds great to me.
Sorry for the mistake about the Tower's location. You can get to it via Philly's anemic subway system, so it seemed Philadelphian-enough for me.
You're wrong about it being as bad as DAR, though. It's not even close.
It's beyond moral opposition. DC has a long history of having a strong independent music scene (from Fugazi to Thievery Corporation) and corporate music companies like Live Nation's House of Blues will effectively kill this history by raising ticket prices around the city and showcasing only out of town acts, instead of nurturing the local music scene.
Live Nation already owns Warner Theater, Nissan Pavilion, and books acts at DAR and Rock & Roll Hotel. Do they need to have another venue in DC? We might need another mid-sized music venue, but Live Nation's House of Blues is not it.
I hope the next concert hall is owned and operated by a DC based company, not a multi-national corporate entity-- which does not care about the DC music scene, rather, only making sure shareholders receive their quarterly dividends.
Wait, what?!
The music biz is only out to make a buck?
FOR SHAME!
I think allowing people to drink in the concert hall at DAR (and adding a few more bars so lines aren't so ridiculous) would be a BIG step in the right direction.
I though the Arcade Fire sound was great, and background eagles don't ruin a show for me (what are you - a commie!?)
From the title of this article I immediately assumed you would be talking about the poor state of "classical" concert halls in DC. I actually would like to see a new classical venue built in downtown dc. The Kennedy Center Concert Hall is just awful both visually and acoustically.
We do need a larger venue than 930, but one without seating or removable seating. I went up to NY this past weekend to see Bjork. Lovely theater but when people got up to move around there would be people shouting sit down! WTF? it's a concert.
2 clubs can easily coexist..."Remember the Ballroom!" will be the rallying cry.
Booking music of any kind at Constitution Hall should be illegal.
DC has excellent halls for chamber music (the Coolidge Auditorium at the Library of Congress is probably the best) and symphonies (Cramton Auditorium at Howard should be better-known) but nothing comparable has been purpose-built for amplified music.
What's the story with the Howard Theatre in Shaw? That would be a great place to open up a nice concert hall, if anyone ever gets around to refurbishing it before it falls down. And what about the Lincoln Theatre? I seem to remember hearing that they were hurting for cash. Why not book some rock shows to pay the light bill?
It looks like the Howard will a restaurant with a theater out back.
Sorry. I'm short on verbs today:
It looks like the Howard will be a restaurant with a theater out back.
I'm all for another concert venue of DAR's size, but I'm worried that it might not be built from the blue-blood of our directly descended superiors. Hopefuly the Society of Cincinnati or the Mayflower Society will step up to the plate.
Amen.