Arena's

[Jeff Briggs]

So, now they are opening for Arena bands?  I do not care where they play, but my main concern is sound quality and seating.  I am used to going right for the front and now we have assigned seats.  Not my idea of a fun show.  And, there may not even be beer as this is a college arena at that.  Any thoughts on this?

[Jeff Briggs]

sorry for the grammar mistake as i just realized arena's is gramatically incorrect.  please forgive me.   thanks.
 ???

[harristrensky]

Buddy there will be beer.  Yeh i fucking hate seating arrangements. though i am going to willie in beaumont but i scored row 7! I saw cake and i think the seating arrangement limited the fun.  Thank god new orleans doesnt hold many theatre shows. The jacket is never gunna be an arena band hopefully.  oh an dude i saw wilco a few weeks ago, front and center. it was amazing dude youll love it. the late greats will blow you away.

[primushead]

I, too, would hate to see MMJ become an arena band...but it'd be interesting to see how they would perform for an arena crowd.  They held it down very well at Bonnaroo last year for, 6000-7000 fans?  If there is going to be a next great arena rock band, MMJ could do it.  But small venues work just fine for now. :)

[sweatboard]

The college part is what scares me.  I hate when bands start playing on campus.  I saw Modest Mouse not to long ago in the basketball arena at Vanderbilt, let's count the ways in which this sucked.

1. Gavin Degraw opened for them.
2. I was sitting way the fuck up in the top balcony section, while all the college students sat near the stage with thier discounted tickets.
3. NO BEER.
4. No Smoking
5. Shit Ass Sound, The Gym is not good for acoustics.
6. The crowd was 90% college students many of which were cool and interested in the music, much more were interested in the social aspect and being seen.

I saw the Black Crows a week ago in a similar sized venue and it was just great.  Difference being it was not on campus and they did not go out of their way to promote the show on campus.  Crowd was so cool 18 year olds 20's 30's 40's and up.  The crowd was diverse but everyone there was interested in the music.  Nothing can compete with the venues My Morning Jacket was playing on their last tour.  Certainly don't ever have a desire to see them in an arena.  Medium sized theaters would be nice, The Ryman, TN Theater, Tabernacle, etc.

[primushead]

6. The crowd was 90% college students many of which were cool and interested in the music, much more were interested in the social aspect and being seen.

Yeah, speaking AS a college kid it's definitely depressing to see the pseudo-indie rock college kid at a show just because they heard a song on MTV (Modest Mouse being a prime example).  I know so many people at my school who listen to a band simply because they saw them on the O.C. or just to say 'yeah, i went to that show so that makes me cool'.  But I guess the point I'm trying to make is that the 'bad' college crowd is scary...they can singlehandedly ruin a band that I would've enjoyed in a heartbeat.

[darkglow]

i think you people are being too analytical sometimes..

if there could ever be a band that would play the best to an arena crowd i think it would be my morning jacket. it seems like most of you are afraid of them hitting it bigtime because you think they'll change, or sell out, or turn into all the other shit bands out there. in my opinion, the terms of their "major" record deal are proof enough that the only changing they'll do is on their own merit. it takes a bit more than just playing a few arena shows to fall into this downward spiral of crap music we hear these days.

i'd love it for mmj to be in the limelight. look at how they rised to the occasion last year at the 'roo.

i'm not bitching at you i'm just saying have a little faith. sure, us die-hards would all like to go to the smaller and more personal shows but there's certainly nothing wrong with throwing in a few major arena shows to spread the word. we should all be willing to sacrifice things like assigned seating and no smoking or booze just so the jacket can pry the eyes of some MTV junkies who would not otherwise be exposed to what pure and great music is.

[sweatboard]

  I think the Red Hot Chilli Peppers put on the best Arena Rock Show I have ever experienced.  REM is another band that can pull off the whole arena thing.  I don't think the band changes I just think the atmosphere around them changes.  This is my analog, seeing a wild cheetah in its natural habitat while walking through the desert or seeing a wild cheetah locked up in some cage at the zoo.  I think Kurt Cobain is a great example of a caged cheetah.  The funny thing is, if it wasn't for Nirvana breaking big I'm not sure I would have ever heard music the way I do now.  Kurt's life was a huge sacrafice in many ways.   He was like the rock and roll Jesus.  I think 100 years from now people will understand and appreciate Nirvana far better than they do today, and they will always (rightly so)  be remebered as one of the most important bands to ever form.  

[peanut butter puddin surprise]

Why would anyone care where MMJ are playing?  They're PLAYING, fer chrissakes.  Go see em in the Orange Bowl, go see em in a bar with 25 people.

Of course there is a difference, no argument there.  It's hard to expect an up and coming band to limit themselves to just playing for small crowds/small venues, though.  Remember, the guys aren't doing this just for the glory, it is their living as well, and when they play a venue with 20 seats, they get to split the $200 they made that night!  Let's be a bit more realistic.

A show in a big arena isn't all that bad.  I've seen a boatload of shows in arenas, all of varying quality.  Make the best of it!

[TheLink]

I am happy now because they threw in a show in Northhampton, MA at a smaller venue.  I may go to VT to higher Ground, but I am not going to a college arena to see MMJ.  If they start playing outdoor amphitheaters, fuck it.  I am done.  I love em, but playing shit places with the likes of Fleetwood Mac and Sting!  No way.  Peace.

[40206]

 If they start playing outdoor amphitheaters, fuck it.  I am done.  I love em, but playing shit places with the likes of Fleetwood Mac and Sting!  No way.  Peace.

I know Bonnaroo was not quite an ampitheatre, but MMJ outdoors is something else because they have the uncanny ability to alter weather patterns and survive electrical storms.  Additionally, they played at the new ampitheatre on the Ohio River and no one complained.  

I think I understand what you are getting at--bigger venues tend to attract the media whores and teenage girls.  But, I think it is up to the particular band itself to decide whether they want to "sell out".  To me, "selling out" does not necessarily go hand and hand with big venues.  Again, why should we try to stop a band from succeeding.  This band kicked-ass five years ago in front of 100 people and was just as innovative in front of 15,000 people at Bonnaroo.  

[ycartrob]

some of you people sound like elitists (snobs). Who cares why people go to shows? I mean, really, who cares?

[TheLink]

I am not a snob.  I simply have a preference of where i want to see a aband play.  I am all for MMJ moving up in the world.  It is not about that at all.  Bonnaroo is a festival, so that is different.  Would you not agree that the sound quality is a bit shitty at most amphitheaters?  That is all I am saying.  I like The Jacket loud.  But, I also saw them play at the Middle East in Cambridge, MA, and the sound was horrific.  I just want the band to be careful while moving forward.  Maybe I am a bit of a snob about venues, but that is about sound mostly.  Yeah, I don't want to be at a show with a bunch of morons who don't know anything about the music, but oh well. So, I just hope the band takes these things into consideration for the real fans.  Peace.

[SMc55]

You know I think you have a point. I've seen the band three times, and the last time was in a slightly larger venue (nowhere near arena size) and the sound quality was disappointing. Maybe they need different stuff (you can see I'm an expert on this) to provide good quality sound in bigger places  :-/

[Sal Paradise]

I'm sure the band's 'stuff' is up to it. It's usually the venue's 'stuff' that can be a problem. In bigger places it can depend a lot on where you stand. For example, balconies can give you a great view but the sound can get weird up there.

[ycartrob]

Man, rock and roll sure ain't what it used to be (or perhaps these message boards bring out the tired). People complaining that loud people ruin the show; people crying about big venues; people crying about sound quality; People saying some are there to socialize. I am into my 4th decade on the planet folks and I am hauling my butt to Birmingham and Athens this weekend to see one of the bands that lights my 14 year old rock and roll spirit again. The LAST things on my mind will be noisy fans (how dare they!), sound quality (as long as MMJ is not playing at the Superdome and I am not on Row YYYY, then I am good to go), size of the "arena", set list, hairstyle(s), college students, posers, wannabees, etc...It's rock and roll man and there will be thousands of rock and roll bands across America jamming out their souls this weekend, most of which who will share my list of last things on their mind. Jimi Hendrix is rolling his eyes about right now. SEE YA AT THE SHOWS!