My theory, and a good one it is, had always been that the music scene catered to one core audience -- mall and restaurant workers. There was no other theory to account for why the crowd didn't arrive until nearly midnight. Think about it. If you work in suburban retail or at a restaurant, you were closing at 10 p.m., cleaning up by 11 p.m., and ready to socialize and have a few drinks at midnight. You didn't have to report for your next shift until late the next afternoon. How else were these people closing the bars down at 2 a.m., even on week nights?
So any band scheduled to start at 9 p.m., or even 10 p.m., was playing to crickets. The after-work happy hour crowd was clearing out; the mall and restaurant people were still at work. Nobody wanted to be the opening band in that dead slot, so the opening band would delay as long as possible before taking the stage. The drummer-is-missing ploy was a popular one. I used to hate these delays when I was on a tight schedule to try to see a half dozen bands in one night and every band was ditzing around, trying to get closer to an 11 p.m. start. That, of course, inevitably pushed the headliner back to 1 a.m., which I really hated.
Anyway, I don't know where the mall and restaurant workers go to chill out until last call these days. The action has progressively moved out to the far corners of the suburbs where people seem to keep more traditional hours. Out in the 'burbs, the situation is reversed. People are working, or tired, even on weekends, so the action is most intense around 9 p.m. It's the prime of the evening for suburban bars. The place is packed, and when a band takes their first break around 10:15, they come back at 10:45 to much less than before. By midnight, it's crickets and usually it's all over by 1 a.m. No need to turn up the lights at 2 and literally grab drinks out of people's hands (ah, the good old days of Last Call...after being attractively cloaked in bar darkness most of the night, when you are the most soused and scary looking, they turn up the lights and hover over you, desperately demanding you hand over your bottles and glasses as ABC agents lurk).
I thought about this as I ate a basket of tasty pig sliders at Grandpa Eddie's and watched the Harrison Deane Band play to a full, attentive room, clapping and cheering, and it was barely 10 p.m. But after their break, most of those people were gone. Including me. I slipped out a few songs into the second set because even on a Friday night, 11:30 is teddy bear time for my ancient, weary bones. My recommendation is if you're playing in suburbia and find yourself with a very good crowd at the very beginning don't assume they're there for the duration: Play as long as you can stand it before you take that first break. The bar might do another strong 30 minutes or so of business and love you for it, and the audience will probably hang in until you give them an excuse to duck out by putting your guitars down.
5 comments:
Actually, your article is a bit inaccurate. As you pointed out, you left after the first set. How could you know who was there after you had gone home? Grandpa Eddie's closes at 11:59 pm on the weekends. The band's usually play until 11:30 - 11:45. However, the night in question, Harrison Deane Band asked us if they could play longer, as the room and bar were still full. they finished their last song at 12:30 am and most of the tables still had open checks.
you are correct, the crowds do thin out as the night wears on, but we are usually still at least half full at midnight. stick around next time and see! there is always peanut butter pie to give you that sugar boost you need to stay up!
Thanks for coming to support us and thanks for keeping the public informed about what we are trying to bring to the west end.
I can't speak of the night of the Harrison Deane Band, but I do know when The Taters played last Saturday night - the place was loaded when I showed up at 9:30. When the Taters stopped their first set, only a small portion (less than 1/4) had left.
Around 11:00 pm - the bar was packed, and the front area was also packed. Only the back area had emptied after 10:15 pm. However, due to the crowd there was a demand to keep the band playing for the patrons who were there until midnight.
It does vary, but there is always between 1/4 and 2/4s of people at Grandpa Eddie's from at least 9:30 to 10:30 when I come in usually.
How I know what happens after I leave is: I leave my husband there and he tells me.
Neither commenter contradicted that in suburban bars, you have a good crowd early in the evening, which was not always the case in Shockoe Bottom in the old days. The disagreement is what time does that crowd start thinning out. My contention is it begins after the band takes its first break, so the band should delay that break as long as possible. The commenters say you will still have a good audience until midnight or even 1 a.m. (That was what time things were just getting started in the mid-90s era Bottom.)
You hit it on the head. There is an early crowd that wants to see a band start at 8 and go to 11. These folks have kids and pay for babysitters. They are not going to hang out until last call.
Grandpa Eddy's understands this and is taking the right approach: start early and play till midnight.
Most club schedules don't support this, so you end up starting after 1030. I've watched folks leave at 30 minute increments from 10 to midnight like clockwork.
After that it's all 20-somethings with credit cards to fill and no kids to feed in the morning.
You hit it on the head. There is an early crowd that wants to see a band start at 8 and go to 11. These folks have kids and pay for babysitters. They are not going to hang out until last call.
Grandpa Eddy's understands this and is taking the right approach: start early and play till midnight.
Most club schedules don't support this, so you end up starting after 1030. I've watched folks leave at 30 minute increments from 10 to midnight like clockwork.
After that it's all 20-somethings with credit cards to fill and no kids to feed in the morning.
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