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Last night, I went to see The New Year play at Spaceland. I’ve liked The New Year since they were Bedhead in the ’90s, so I was pretty excited about it.
The New Year (somewhat inexplicably) have four guitars, but there are still a lot of quiet moments in their sets. Unfortunately, every time one of those moments came, all you could hear was people chatting and squawking about their various BS, so that the only enjoyable moments of the set were when the band played loud enough to drown them out. Even then, that simply prompted some people to raise their voices so their stories about their dogs or their dumb jobs or some guy that didn’t call them back could be heard over what I guess these people interpreted as inconvenient din.
Here’s my question, why do I pay $12 or $15 or whatever the admission price is, to hear your dumb stories? Aren’t there a million bars in this city that don’t have bands playing at them where you and your friends can babble about your stupid lives? Spaceland is a MUSIC VENUE. It books bands that people want to see, wait to see, are excited to see. They go there to actually LISTEN TO THE MUSIC. Talk as much as you want between sets, but why go see a semi-quiet band just so you can yell over the music? Other people didn’t pay money so they could hear a remix of The New Year plus your lame opinions about indie film or Paris Hilton or the White Stripes or whatever it is you feel like you have to travel to Spaceland at 11 p.m. to talk about. The worst part is, Spaceland actually has a back room which provides the perfect place for that really important conversation that you must have right as the band begins its one-hour set. I mean, if you don’t like the band, why did you pay money to go to Spaceland? There are plenty of places in this town for people who’d rather drink and gossip than listen to music. Go to freakin’ Little Joy or The Roost or whatever hipster bar you want to, but if you end up at a club where someone’s favorite band is playing, then do us all a favor and SHUT UP.
The New Year photo by Dumbergirl
