RTP-area local music and culture

[mullansp AT dpsnc.net (hjd)]

I went to the 506 last night The Dom Casual blew the doors off the
joint..the sound guy did a fantastic job for all the bands.  Thanks to
the 506!
dvmurrell AT nc.rr.com (Duncan Murrell) wrote in message 
news:<AE304170-DAB0-11D8-A7A7-000393662F10 AT nc.rr.com>...
> The other night ( a Monday or so ago) I had an incredible time at the 
> hip hop show at the 506, so I thought I should put a plug in for that. 
> It was the real deal:  something between an open mike and (toward the 
> end) and a hilarious MC battle. Local talent, local crowd, everyone 
> having a good time, MCs hawking their CDs between multiple attacks at 
> the mike. I know it's not the thing of a lot of people on this list, 
> but if you can appreciate people with talent and passion getting their 
> (rare) shot to show it, it's definitely worth getting there on a Monday 
> night. I don't think it's always MC-centric, either; the guy running 
> the show was plugging a Monday-night DJ show, which I think I missed, 
> sadly.
> 
> d
> 
> 
> 
> On Jul 20, 2004, at 5:17 PM, grady wrote:
> 
> > You'd also probably have to incorporate in order to have an entity to 
> > transfer the beer license to, and you'd have to jump through about a 
> > zillion other hoops which are tricky enough if you're a single person, 
> > let alone a volunteer org.
> >
> > Unless you wouldn't want to sell beer, in which case some things would 
> > be slightly easier. Other things, such as paying rent, would become a 
> > good bit harder, however ;-)
> >
> > There are nonprofit type orgs which manage to do things like sell beer 
> > (the Carrboro ArtsCenter being one of them) so I know it's at least 
> > theoretically possible.
> >
> > But honestly, I'm not sure that a massive volunteer effort is going to 
> > pay off in a town with other viable music venues already in-place and 
> > operational. Sometimes market forces are telling you something when 
> > they go to work, and sometimes what they're saying is "it's not the 
> > 90s anymore; people don't go to random rockshows as a default 
> > weeknight activity like they used to, and there's not enough room in 
> > this town for as many clubs as we have at the moment."
> >
> > They might could be saying "nowadays, a club with a capacity of 99 
> > can't afford to offer a guarantee to any band that's going to 
> > potentially draw anything fewer than 99 paying customers, no matter 
> > how many potentially good shows they have to pass up."
> >
> > Those market forces might also be mumbling things about booking agents 
> > who threaten to pull bigger more lucrative shows if you don't book the 
> > smaller, potentially money-losing shows, but I wouldn't really know, 
> > as I've only heard them mumble things like that in connection with 
> > nearly every other previous failed club, and not specifically in 
> > reference to Go, at least not in the past couple of years.
> >
> > My advice is to keep your ears open & listen for what else the market 
> > is saying to you before you make any sudden moves. This would also 
> > include figuring out how the Cave manages to stay in business while 
> > featuring 600+ live acts per year. Perhaps there are lessons to be 
> > learned.
> >
> > Go is a great room in which to see a show--you get a big-room-sized 
> > stage (well, height-wise, at least) & PA, good sightlines, a nifty 
> > balcony, and an undivided focus on what's happening onstage--all 
> > things that are normally reserved for larger spaces, but with the 
> > intimacy of a smaller space.
> >
> > Perhaps that's because realistically speaking, some of those things 
> > can only be afforded by larger spaces, unless people are willing to 
> > pay *more* at the door for that intimacy than they would be paying at 
> > the larger spaces. Instead, the average show at Go costs less than the 
> > average show at the Cradle, which is admirable, but is also apparently 
> > a business plan that's impossible to maintain.
> >
> > I'm bummed about Go but I'm more bummed about the tapering-off in 
> > activity at Nightlight, in part because in the relatively recent past 
> > they were booking more of the shows I wanted to see, but also because 
> > they seemed to have a lot of the small-club-on-a-shoestring-budget 
> > problems licked, and were doing so creatively.
> >
> > Hopefully they'll shake off the summer blahs & things will pick back 
> > up again, especially now that they're needed to pick up (along with 
> > Local 506) their half of the load that Go is leaving unsupported.
> >
> > Ross
> >
> > p.s. In keeping with the current subject line of this thread, I'd just 
> > like to add my voice to those in praise of Glenn Boothe, who has been 
> > around for long enough to know better, and who still went ahead & 
> > bought Local 506 anyway. Running a club is never nearly as much fun as 
> > even the most jaded person thinks it's going to be, and to go into it 
> > with both eyes open, as Glenn did, must be especially daunting. Shake 
> > his hand or give him a hug next time you see him, and more 
> > importantly, go to Local 506.
> >
> > In fact, this brings up a point I've been a bit concerned about 
> > lately: it has come to my attention that some folks have never been to 
> > Local 506, and perhaps might even have the mistaken impression that 
> > it's nothing but a creepy dirty shag-haired rocker bar or something.
> >
> > This could not be further from the truth. Certainly, one crucial part 
> > of Local 506's existence for the better part of the past decade has 
> > been Sleazefest, but that's only one weekend a year. 506's real legacy 
> > over the past 10 years has been as the true jack-of-all-trades of the 
> > local music scene. Need I remind you that the classic $2 Pistols live 
> > album "Step Right Up" was recorded there, or that the first time many 
> > of us saw Tift Merritt it was on the Local 506 stage?
> >
> > If you're an indie-rocker, surely you remember the utterly bizarre 
> > Caroliner Rainbow/Melt-banana doubleheader back in 1998, or that final 
> > Blue-Green Gods MkII show (the Goss/Ivey/Eames version) where Todd cut 
> > the strings off his guitar with wirecutters at the end of the set to 
> > preclude any encores? Or that insane Buick MacKane show where 
> > Alejandro et al had their amps cranked so loud that the soundman 
> > didn't even run 'em through the PA and my ears were still ringing for 
> > days?
> >
> > Or the Mr. Quintron show that didn't start til god-knows-when and 
> > nevertheless was well worth staying up til 2:30 for? Or Neko Case? Or 
> > Guitarwolf? Or Dead Moon? Or Zen Frisbee with their heads on fire? Or 
> > Pipe, for chrissake?
> >
> > Not to mention early shows by the Comas, Kingsbury Manx, Torch 
> > Marauder, and just about every other local band you've cared about 
> > over the past 10 years. And that's just stuff I can think of off the 
> > top of my head.
> >
> > If you're one of those people who hasn't ever been to Local 506, or 
> > who hasn't been in years because you don't think it's your kind of 
> > place, I challenge you to go to at least one show there between now & 
> > the end of the summer. Shouldn't be too hard, even if it's just the 
> > free Lou Barlow show on the night before Mergefest.
> >
> >
> >
> > paok wrote:
> >
> >> theoretically, i guess you'd sell memberships, and the members would
> >> then have some limited decisionmaking ability--probably to elect a
> >> governing board or other smaller group to run the place.  the
> >> memberships would help support the venue.  and then you'd have to
> >> make decisions about paid employees vs. volunteers.
> >> what it would really require, of course, is a core group of extremely
> >> dedicated (and talented) people who were willing to spend copious
> >> amounts of time and effort in keeping the place afloat.
> >> and money.
> >> phaedra
> >> -----Original Message----- From: James Hepler <jameshepler AT yahoo.com>
> >>  Sent: Jul 20, 2004 3:16 PM To: RTP-area local music and culture
> >> <ch-scene AT lists.ibiblio.org> Subject: Re: Thank God for the 506 (was
> >> "nightlight website?")
> >> Maybe Go should become a co-op of some sort.  How would that work?
> >> Hep
> >> --- paok <bluefreaky AT earthlink.net> wrote:
> >>> You know, if glenn hadn't bought 506, things would be looking
> >>> extremely bleak for the chapel hill music scene right now (instead
> >>> of just kinda bleak).  Go! is going away, and Nightlight seems
> >>> destined to do the same.   I really haven't been as excited at 
> >>> Nightlight's shows lately (when I can actually figure out what
> >>> those shows are) as I used to be.
> >>> Does anyone know if someone's going to buy Go! and keep it alive?
> >>> Nothing against the Cave, of course--just that it's so small, and I
> >>> get claustrophobic a little too easily there.
> >>> phaedra
> >>> ps--dyssembler, i believe, is dead.  it's last show was july 9th at
> >>> ringside.  one of its founders is in costa rica and going to grad
> >>> school @ yale in the fall; one other is going to europe as soon as
> >>> he can save the cash to go; one other is going to have twins in a
> >>> few months.  perhaps out of the ashes some new dance party goodness
> >>> will spring; perhaps not.
> >>> -----Original Message----- From: "Bis später"
> >>> <thebackyardbbq AT yahoo.com> Sent: Jul 19, 2004 7:42 PM To: RTP-area
> >>> local music and culture <ch-scene AT lists.ibiblio.org> Subject:
> >>> nightlight website?
> >>> Is there a new website for nightlight?  Apparently dyssembler is
> >>> movin on over to geeklog, but doesn't seem to have brought
> >>> nightlight along for the ride?
> >>> E
> >>> --- People Under the Bridge <mjohnso3 AT email.unc.edu> wrote:
> >>>> check it:
> >>>> people under the bridge can joann social junk minor setback
> >>>> friday night (july 9th) at nightlight
> >>>> see you there -- ch-scene: the list that mirrors 
> >>>> alt.music.chapel-hill -- 
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