One reason I'm glad I'm a folkie
No ingratitude whatsoever intended toward NiiceDuude for this evening's Dixie Chicks concert. I'm glad I went, and it was fun. And it's his $132. But it also reminded me why I much prefer the folk music scene to the mainstream one, especially when it comes to live performances.
1. Volume! I am not as big a Dixie Chicks fan as ND is; he has several of their albums and knows their stuff well. I only know the two or three songs I've caught on the radio or that he's played for me. In a big venue like the Pepsi Arena, with seven backup musicians and the volume cranked up high so the music can be heard over the cheering fans, it's difficult to impossible to understand the words to the songs. It's different if you know the songs, but I spent most of the evening going "Huh?"
2. Over-the-top security. I didn't bring a handbag because of my experience at SPAC (for Aerosmith) a few years ago -- our bags were searched. That didn't happen tonight, but I was dumbfounded to find out that once we were in the arena, we couldn't go outside again. And we arrived an hour early. I'm a smoker, people; at some point I'm going to need to go outside. Then I'm told there is a smoking area but it's not open until the show starts. That turned out to be incorrect (it was open beforehand) and I got to load up on nicotine before the show.
3. Overpriced concessions. Four dollars and 75 cents for a bottle of MICHELOB? You can buy a six-pack for that!
4. Parking fees. Fifteen bucks to use the arena garage, on top of the ticket price? Again, it wasn't my money, but still ...
I've only been to one folk event where I had trouble understanding the words. It was an outdoor concert by the duo Trout Fishing in America, and this was more a function of bad sound mixing than excessive volume.
Security? At all the folk concerts and most of the festivals I've attended, there is no security crew. Folkies don't need to be policed. And frankly, many of them are survivors of the '60s and get a bit twitchy around that sort of thing.
The concessions at larger folk events I've attended are reasonably priced, designed to break even or maybe raise a little extra for the organization. But $4.75 for mediocre beer? Never. And nobody bats an eye if you bring your own refreshments. Try that at the Pepsi or SPAC.
Parking: I have never, ever, ever shelled out a single dime to park at any folk event. The steepest price I've paid is a blister or two if I have to hike from the car.
On the upside, I did enjoy the people-watching, the energy level of the crowd and the delivery of the handful of songs I recognized well enough to know the words to. I would strongly suggest to anyone planning to attend a concert by a band you don't know well, give a listen to their stuff before you go; you'll appreciate it more and won't be left wondering what you just heard.
1. Volume! I am not as big a Dixie Chicks fan as ND is; he has several of their albums and knows their stuff well. I only know the two or three songs I've caught on the radio or that he's played for me. In a big venue like the Pepsi Arena, with seven backup musicians and the volume cranked up high so the music can be heard over the cheering fans, it's difficult to impossible to understand the words to the songs. It's different if you know the songs, but I spent most of the evening going "Huh?"
2. Over-the-top security. I didn't bring a handbag because of my experience at SPAC (for Aerosmith) a few years ago -- our bags were searched. That didn't happen tonight, but I was dumbfounded to find out that once we were in the arena, we couldn't go outside again. And we arrived an hour early. I'm a smoker, people; at some point I'm going to need to go outside. Then I'm told there is a smoking area but it's not open until the show starts. That turned out to be incorrect (it was open beforehand) and I got to load up on nicotine before the show.
3. Overpriced concessions. Four dollars and 75 cents for a bottle of MICHELOB? You can buy a six-pack for that!
4. Parking fees. Fifteen bucks to use the arena garage, on top of the ticket price? Again, it wasn't my money, but still ...
I've only been to one folk event where I had trouble understanding the words. It was an outdoor concert by the duo Trout Fishing in America, and this was more a function of bad sound mixing than excessive volume.
Security? At all the folk concerts and most of the festivals I've attended, there is no security crew. Folkies don't need to be policed. And frankly, many of them are survivors of the '60s and get a bit twitchy around that sort of thing.
The concessions at larger folk events I've attended are reasonably priced, designed to break even or maybe raise a little extra for the organization. But $4.75 for mediocre beer? Never. And nobody bats an eye if you bring your own refreshments. Try that at the Pepsi or SPAC.
Parking: I have never, ever, ever shelled out a single dime to park at any folk event. The steepest price I've paid is a blister or two if I have to hike from the car.
On the upside, I did enjoy the people-watching, the energy level of the crowd and the delivery of the handful of songs I recognized well enough to know the words to. I would strongly suggest to anyone planning to attend a concert by a band you don't know well, give a listen to their stuff before you go; you'll appreciate it more and won't be left wondering what you just heard.
posted by niicelaady @ 1:35 AM
2 Comments:
At 5:30 AM,
The Bean said…
Hubby and I wanted to go to the concert as we really like the DC's (and their political opinions), but not when I saw (1) the ticket prices; and (2) that it was at the Pepsi - they really should have been at SPAC.
How was the opening act? I really like their song Breathe (2 a.m.)
At 5:06 PM,
niicelaady said…
Yeah, I think they'd be more fun at SPAC. I've been to many SPAC concerts and never had trouble understanding the words, even with hard rock acts.
The opening act was OK. I like that song, too, and she got everyone singing along to it, but I couldn't understand anything else she sang.
Post a Comment
<< Home