RTP-area local music and culture

[Nathaniel Florin <npflorin AT yahoo.com>]

I remember going to endless local nights at Club
Zen/The Club in the very early 90s at which, despite
$1 admission and $1 longnecks, the audience would
consist of me, my roommate, Franz, two friends of the
band, and the Christina Applegate mural on the wall.
Certain bands filled the place, but most didn't at
all. In this period I also saw local shows at the
Cradle, the Hardback, Under the Street, and the
Fallout Shelter with a total paying attendance of
under five. Again, certain bands would draw more, but
not many of them.

There was, I think, a significant uptick after this,
for whatever reason. But I wonder what the baseline we
should be comparing things to is. 

FWIW, all I hear off away in the far reaches where I
now dwell is that nobody goes to shows anymore.

Nate