Quote:
Originally Posted by Thee Alex
I'm basing it on having been in dozens and dozens of cities and towns, the length and breadth of the UK, playing shows and seeing posters in countless venues. I'm also basing it on having been to many European cities, as well as cities in the US and Canada.
When I first moved to Dundee in '97 I was amused and surprised to see posters with lengthy descriptions of bands on them, something I'd never seen before in all my years in the Birmingham music scene. When I would go through to Glasgow, a venue like the 13th Note would be utterly lacking in posters matching the 'Dundee style', it's walls being crammed with creative and exciting work. Wandering around Montréal I would see a city completely immersed in the style of artists like Seripop.
Portland, Oregon, a city filled with people in bands or running labels/club nights, a city utterly plastered with gig posters, not one that I saw described the bands playing, or likened them to anyone else.
Years of looking at poster on GigPosters.com - gig posters, flyers and handbills from around the world!, 80,000 posters on there now - the most 'Dundee' like ones are often from....er....shows in Dundee.
People in Dundee might be trying to do something good by putting on gigs, but often their posters of utterly horrible. |
some of this I agree with but...
I have put on gigs in Scotland for a number of years, with some big bands and smaller diy gigs. I have also toured around the UK a number of times and been to gigs and festivals on the euro mainland. These same issues you have are applicable to everywhere. There are more artistic people and generally more music with artistic credibility happening in/visiting the likes of leeds, manc, brighton et al they also have a stakey mosher scene. The amount of interesting things happening somewhat reduces the visibility of stakey gigs.
And whilst I do agree that a nice poster is good to have, I feel it isnt essential. Nothing talks more to somebody than music they like or might like.
Painfully for you (and sometimes me), Dundee is a mosher town these days. The days of exciting acts like Microphones, Oxes et al are long gone as these gigs are not sustainable in the city anymore. If i was to put on any of the majority of the gigs I get offered, I would be faced with the same issues of
a) nobody attending as there is fuck all interest in that type of music
b) lose a bucketload of money as they generally come with guarantees that I wouldnt hit in dundee (I put in less effort, people dont like paying for gigs)
c) I wouldnt be able to give them the attention and care they deserve due to the fact that, these days, I have a job that comes first
This is why I (and other probably) dont try and do anything about it. These days Im pretty cynical and mainly do gigs for friends and for those who help us out, I dont do guarantees and put a lot less effort into gigs. I think we all went through a period in our lives when music was the priority, some deciding to stick with that route and others (like me) turning older and preferring to concentrate on other things and responsibilities.