6/26/09 WOW HALL SHOW STUFF. READ!

[chris]

Well, I guess now is as good a time as any to sit down and reflect on the show that went down at the Wow Hall on the 26th. I wanted to wait a few days to let things marinate a bit, and now I'd like to extend a huge thank you to a lot of people. If you're not on the list, and deserve to be, let me know and I'll acknowledge you! Without further ado:

• Sam Wartanbee: Sam did so many things to make this show happen. He was the person who stuck his neck out on the line to make sure we'd be able to get the venue in the first place, guaranteeing them a solid turnout and, as a sign of good faith, getting us pre-sale tickets to let them know we meant business. Also, he hooked us up with several sponsorships for the show, including spots on the radio.
  
• Wow Hall: The actual venue itself allowed us to put the show on there. This is no simple task, seeing as how many of the more recent "local" rock shows haven't had the greatest of success. Not only did they let us have the show there, they did it without asking for money up front, and even gave us a Friday, which showed a lot of faith in us and in the music scene itself.
  
• Danny Broderick/Aeolus boys: Dan and his band did a ton to make sure this show went off without a hitch. From the actual contacting and organizing, to the promoting, to making sure tickets were sold, they did an amazing job. They also put in a lot of effort to make sure their CDs and shirts were affordable for everyone, which is always a plus. This show was a great kickoff for getting their CD out there.
  
• I'm A Tornado/Atonement/Illusionists: All of the bands that played not only played a great set, but did a great job promoting. This ensured the success of the show, and hopefully allows us to have more local rock shows in the future.
  
• 541MS community: You guys all did a great job of getting the buzz out there about this show. Whether it was word of mouth, handing out fliers, or just attending the show, everything you guys did helped make the show a success.
  
• Anyone who attended the show: You deserve a pat on the back. The energy was great, there was absolutely no drama, and the place was packed. Thanks for respecting all of the bands and respecting the venue itself. Here's to more successful shows at the Wow Hall in the future.
  

I know I've left some people off the list. It's easy to do that when looking back at something that was so huge, meaningful, and that took the help of so many people. If you weren't on the list, just know that your support hasn't gone unnoticed and that I am grateful to anyone who had a part in the show.

Now it's time for our next move. We need to make each show as successful as possible. Hopefully this kind of kickstarted the momentum a little bit, and all shows in the future will be just as awesome.

If you're in a band, or know of a band you want to see, let me know. I'm interested in putting on more shows this summer, and would like to see some new faces.

Once again, thanks to everyone for being involved in this show. Let's keep the momentum going!

-Chris Lucia
541musicscene.com

[matt]

I thought the show was great. Everything went smoothly, didn't have any fights, or problems with people getting along in the pit... to sum it up, I think the show went about as good as it possibly could have.

We definitely need more turnouts like these, as well as more shows at the WOW Hall. I think that if all the usual show-goers do their best to attend each show, and let everyone know they're going, people will be more apt to show up. But more importantly, I think keeping things spiced up, and unique is vital. We should make sure to pull some new bands into the scene, whether that means people starting more bands, or just expanding to other genres. Like having shows with mixed styles, to attract a bigger crowd. But also making sure not to overplay any band. It's easy to book the best/most popular bands a lot, but I think that should be avoided as best as possible. Anyway, I see a bright future for this scene. It's had it's fair share of hurdles lately, but the race is still on. So, with that said...

Let's keep things spicy and fresh! "Game on!"

[Take92]

I think Matt hit on something important. I'm already thinking about what the next show will be...

The mixed bill is important in getting a larger crowd. I think that the crowd may have been even more consistent if we had mixed up the heavier bands in with us and Mountains (ILL Mountains, anyone?) in the middle.

The biggest reason we had successful shows in 2004 - 2006 was timing. You can have all the best bands, but nobody cares if it's the same show they saw last week, last month, etc. There was a very brief window where we could play every week or two and draw a crowd. I don't recommend that anyone try it.

I'll definitely be putting something together in the near future. Expect some word by late summer / early fall.

[Cory]

I was throughly impressed with the turnout and how well every single one of the bands played that night. I think everyone (bands, fans, promoters, whomever) really gave this show their all, and it showed. I enjoyed myself from start to finish with this show.

It was cool seeing ILLusionists, aeolus, and I'm a tornado all for the first time ever. I have to say I'm a tornado is probabaly one of my favorite local bands now. I didn't think we had a spazzy type band, and they did it well. It was also nice to see the beastie boys and Aeolus after missing them at so many shows.

I'm stoked to hear about the next show. I'll definately be there to support it and be around to help out with promoting and what not. I'd like to see more variety of bands as well. I know we have a large couple of handfuls of local bands/acts around here so I'm not doubting we can have a reoccuring show every so often featuring different local acts and whatnot. Then in time throw in a touring band or out of towner and get similar turn out and BAM we have a resurrected music scene. well, sorta.

But yeah, stoked on this show. stoked on the future.

what will they think of next?

[Take92]

Jul 1, 2009 7:05:43 GMT -8 Cory said:

It was also nice to see the beastie boys and Aeolus after missing them at so many shows.

Ha.