December 2, 2008
9:30 Club Redesigns Web Site
If you check up on local music schedules as often as we do, you've probably noticed that the 9:30 Club has launched a redesigned web site. With a big, colorful graphic incorporating the 9:30 Club facade in the banner art, it's less stark than the old site, though concerts are still listed in a scrollable field.
The main functional difference seems to be more prominent navigation — to separate pages for concerts, tickets, more info about the club, forums and merch. A reader wrote us to point out the absence of specific set times in the Tonight section, which is indeed worrisome, but fear not; the club assures us the set times (along with News updates and some other elements) are coming back, they're just not quite finished yet.
So, what do you all think of this newer, bluer 9:30 Club website? It seems to load quickly and I can find what I'm looking for, so that works well enough for me.
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once you click through to the second page, i like having the little thumbnails of the bands. the page takes a bit longer to load, though, and i worry that we're just going to end up with unnecessary bloat here.
the old site was stark, but it was simple, functional, and (dare i say) almost elegant. oh well, progress...
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this version blows ass. fat ass. the previous version was much better organized visually, sticking to the salient shit. seriously, who gives a rat's puckered ass what Vampire Weekend look like? The front page loads pretty slowly for me. I've never been a fan of trying to translate venue facades into information design. Just comes off corny.
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http://www.tourfilter.com/dc/homepage FTW.
Seriously, who goes to venue websites anymore? Maybe it is a Right Coast thing?
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unimpressed, but the old one wasn't really very impressive either.
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Most of the links don't even work.
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i think 9:30 has an arrangement with GWAR whereby the band renders website design services in exchange for permission to play there.
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Thanks for the tourfilter link -- I've been looking for something like that for a while (but could they make it any uglier? Jesus. How about a googlecalendar version?
as for 9:30 -- love the place, but they need to do away with the ticketassrapester service fees when you buy tickets online -- totally keeps me from going to some shows.
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I'm with Fitsum - lot's of style over substance. And I hate that the forum portion is now structured like any ol' bulletin board.
Progress for progress' sake doesn't make it any more useful, I'm thinkin'.
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I prefer Pollstar over Tourfilter, but I leave it to the people to decide.
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who.gives.a.crap/this_is=news?
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jamie: to answer your questions
1) people who go to live shows
2) yes
3) PROFIT!
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The new site is slower. Pages load slower, basic controls like scroll bars react to input slower, and finding information is slower. More importantly though is the fact that the most important thing on the site, the list of upcoming shows, went from living in an area that was about 2/3rds of the available screen real estate to an area about 1/5th.
I'm not going to say that this is a triumph of form over substance, but it is.