Bowen, Heather; and M.J. Daniels. “Does the Music Matter? Motivations for Attending a Music Festival.” Event Management. Vol. 9, 155-164.
I’ve requested this article from the library, since we currently do not have access to this journal. I’m hoping it will arrive soon, since the abstract looks quite promising:
Abstract
Music festivals are unique special events that attract audiences for a variety of reasons; however, research exploring the motivations of music festival visitors is sparse. Recognizing the potential for music festivals to contribute to host communities, this study aims to explore motivations for attending a large, multi-day music festival. On-site visitor interviews were conducted at Celebrate Fairfax!, an annual music festival held in Virginia (USA). Cluster analysis of attendance motivations revealed four groupings of visitors, which were given the following names based on their patterns of motivations: "Just Being Social," "Enrichment Over Music," "The Music Matters," and "Love It All." These groups differed based on race, marital status, and household income. Marginal sex differences were also found. The results of this study suggest that music festival planners can use different marketing tactics to broaden a festival's appeal and that it is risky for event managers to rely on the music itself or a specific artist to draw large festival crowds. Equally important is creating a fun and festive atmosphere that offers ample opportunity to socialize and have new and nonmusical experiences.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Email Interview with Joe
What was your favorite part of Bonnaroo?
My favorite part of Bonnaroo was living with the music. We lucked out and got a campsite really close to the stages and could hear the music right from our tent. Waking up to the festival right in front of us was awesome. Also, meeting so many interesting people from all over the nation, and in some cases the world, was really amazing. It's an experience like no other.
Have you ever been to another music festival?
I go to the JVC Jazz festival in NYC almost every year, but that's more like a series of concerts throughout a month and I rarely see more than one show a year. I've been to the Newport Jazz festival when I was really young, but don't remember much about it. I went to Linkin Park's Project Revolution last summer which was a day-long event of probably 12-15 bands.
What was your least favorite part?
3) My least favorite part was the extreme Tennessee heat in June that you are constantly in during the weekend. We had beautiful weather when we were there, but it was really hot and showering wasn't really an option unless you wanted to pay for it and wait in line for a long time (part of the experience is the act of not showering and being a dirty hippie for a weekend anyway). Still, the heat was bearable and I basically have no complaints about the experience.
Would you go again?
4) I would absolutely go again, but I kind of like having it in my memories as a one-time experience. Given the chance, and assuming I had enough money to go (total cost of the experience was at least $500), I would probably go again if I was going with the right people.
Do you know anyone who has disliked a music festival?
5) I cannot think of a person who disliked a music festival. By the fourth day of Bonnaroo, you're pretty exhausted and might be getting sick of it, but I wouldn't call that disliking it.
My favorite part of Bonnaroo was living with the music. We lucked out and got a campsite really close to the stages and could hear the music right from our tent. Waking up to the festival right in front of us was awesome. Also, meeting so many interesting people from all over the nation, and in some cases the world, was really amazing. It's an experience like no other.
Have you ever been to another music festival?
I go to the JVC Jazz festival in NYC almost every year, but that's more like a series of concerts throughout a month and I rarely see more than one show a year. I've been to the Newport Jazz festival when I was really young, but don't remember much about it. I went to Linkin Park's Project Revolution last summer which was a day-long event of probably 12-15 bands.
What was your least favorite part?
3) My least favorite part was the extreme Tennessee heat in June that you are constantly in during the weekend. We had beautiful weather when we were there, but it was really hot and showering wasn't really an option unless you wanted to pay for it and wait in line for a long time (part of the experience is the act of not showering and being a dirty hippie for a weekend anyway). Still, the heat was bearable and I basically have no complaints about the experience.
Would you go again?
4) I would absolutely go again, but I kind of like having it in my memories as a one-time experience. Given the chance, and assuming I had enough money to go (total cost of the experience was at least $500), I would probably go again if I was going with the right people.
Do you know anyone who has disliked a music festival?
5) I cannot think of a person who disliked a music festival. By the fourth day of Bonnaroo, you're pretty exhausted and might be getting sick of it, but I wouldn't call that disliking it.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Scholarly Sources Notes: Grunwell and Li
Grunwell, Sandra; Inhyuck Ha, and Bonnie Martin. “A Comparative Analysis of Attendee Profiles at Two Urban Festivals.” Journal of Convention & Event Tourism. 2008. 9:1, 1-14.
(DOI: 10.1080/15470140802104516)
Grunwell et al. look at tourism as a means of economic development, focusing on festivals due to their immense growth in the past years. They look at two festivals held in Asheville, NC; including a summer street festival. This article was pertinent in terms of looking at festivals in general, but the events they decided to further research were free, and therefore not as relevant to my research as other articles.
Interesting Quotes:
“Festivals can create tourism demand that is less susceptible to economic downturns, enhance the image of tourism destinations, aid in the rejuvenation of cities, and create new economic activity.” (2)
“Martin, Bridges, & Grunwell (2006) conducted a comparative study of two different types of music festivals (jazz and country rock) in the introductory stage of their lifecycle, both held in a rural university setting in North Carolina. Findings revealed differences in attendance, age, income, spending, distance traveled, and overnight stays. These comparative studies suggest there are event-specific factors associated with different types of festivals.” (4)
“Although both groups reported high levels of satisfaction with the festivals, significantly more film festival attendees said they would return next year. Their intention to return may reflect the fact that the film festival is still in the introductory stage of its lifecycle, whereas the street festival is well in the mature stage and interest may be beginning to wane. Left unattended, the street festival might be headed for decline. As cited by Lade and Jackson (2004, p. 4) “From a long-term aspect, the interest generated in the festival may constantly change and, as a result of a failure by organizers to respond accordingly, attendance may drop.” (11)
Li, Xiang; and Hans Vogelsong. “An Examination of Satisfaction Variables and Indicators at a First-time Festival.” Proceedings of the 2003 Northeaster Recreation Research Symposium. Murdy, James, ed. USDA Forest Service. 2004. 440-446.
This paper looked at the satisfaction levels of those who attended a festival, and compared it to their expectations and other important variables. This focused on a first-time festival in North Carolina, and therefore the data was not as pertinent; however, it did note that residents’ satisfaction in the event was no different from non-residents, those with more festival experience had a similar time to those with festival experience, and the amount of money spent also did not correlate with satisfaction. All of these conclusions were against their initial hypotheses, and I looked at this data as a reason why I should not generalize without specific data. They also discovered that the weather can play one of the most important roles in the success or demise of an event.
Important Quotes:
“Getz (1991) defined a special event as “a onetime or infrequently occurring event outside the normal program or activities of the sponsoring or organizing body. To the customer, a special event is an opportunity for a leisure, social or cultural experience outside the normal range of choices or beyond everyday experience” (p. 44). Varying in their size and significance, events could be classified as special events, hallmark events, and mega events (Getz, 1997).” (1) (I have decided to look into Getz’s research after discovering this definition.)
“It may be concluded that some non-controllable factors may have more influence on satisfaction than event programming and planning.” (6)
“We may also conclude from this survey that indicators other than overall satisfaction and satisfaction attributes are needed to draw a whole picture of attendees’ attitude toward the festival. The respondents are content with the specific service attributes of their festival experience, such as “safety and security”, “cleanliness of facilities”, “condition of facilities”, and “behavior of other visitors”. But their overall satisfaction was worsened by the weather condition, which damaged a more enjoyable experience. In other words, respondents separated their comments on festival per se and non-controllable factors such as weather. That helps explain why at the same time people gave fairly low rating on satisfaction items, they still indicated a strong intention to return and recommending to others.” (6)
(DOI: 10.1080/15470140802104516)
Grunwell et al. look at tourism as a means of economic development, focusing on festivals due to their immense growth in the past years. They look at two festivals held in Asheville, NC; including a summer street festival. This article was pertinent in terms of looking at festivals in general, but the events they decided to further research were free, and therefore not as relevant to my research as other articles.
Interesting Quotes:
“Festivals can create tourism demand that is less susceptible to economic downturns, enhance the image of tourism destinations, aid in the rejuvenation of cities, and create new economic activity.” (2)
“Martin, Bridges, & Grunwell (2006) conducted a comparative study of two different types of music festivals (jazz and country rock) in the introductory stage of their lifecycle, both held in a rural university setting in North Carolina. Findings revealed differences in attendance, age, income, spending, distance traveled, and overnight stays. These comparative studies suggest there are event-specific factors associated with different types of festivals.” (4)
“Although both groups reported high levels of satisfaction with the festivals, significantly more film festival attendees said they would return next year. Their intention to return may reflect the fact that the film festival is still in the introductory stage of its lifecycle, whereas the street festival is well in the mature stage and interest may be beginning to wane. Left unattended, the street festival might be headed for decline. As cited by Lade and Jackson (2004, p. 4) “From a long-term aspect, the interest generated in the festival may constantly change and, as a result of a failure by organizers to respond accordingly, attendance may drop.” (11)
Li, Xiang; and Hans Vogelsong. “An Examination of Satisfaction Variables and Indicators at a First-time Festival.” Proceedings of the 2003 Northeaster Recreation Research Symposium. Murdy, James, ed. USDA Forest Service. 2004. 440-446.
This paper looked at the satisfaction levels of those who attended a festival, and compared it to their expectations and other important variables. This focused on a first-time festival in North Carolina, and therefore the data was not as pertinent; however, it did note that residents’ satisfaction in the event was no different from non-residents, those with more festival experience had a similar time to those with festival experience, and the amount of money spent also did not correlate with satisfaction. All of these conclusions were against their initial hypotheses, and I looked at this data as a reason why I should not generalize without specific data. They also discovered that the weather can play one of the most important roles in the success or demise of an event.
Important Quotes:
“Getz (1991) defined a special event as “a onetime or infrequently occurring event outside the normal program or activities of the sponsoring or organizing body. To the customer, a special event is an opportunity for a leisure, social or cultural experience outside the normal range of choices or beyond everyday experience” (p. 44). Varying in their size and significance, events could be classified as special events, hallmark events, and mega events (Getz, 1997).” (1) (I have decided to look into Getz’s research after discovering this definition.)
“It may be concluded that some non-controllable factors may have more influence on satisfaction than event programming and planning.” (6)
“We may also conclude from this survey that indicators other than overall satisfaction and satisfaction attributes are needed to draw a whole picture of attendees’ attitude toward the festival. The respondents are content with the specific service attributes of their festival experience, such as “safety and security”, “cleanliness of facilities”, “condition of facilities”, and “behavior of other visitors”. But their overall satisfaction was worsened by the weather condition, which damaged a more enjoyable experience. In other words, respondents separated their comments on festival per se and non-controllable factors such as weather. That helps explain why at the same time people gave fairly low rating on satisfaction items, they still indicated a strong intention to return and recommending to others.” (6)
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Band Interview Fieldnotes from Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo
I looked through interviews of bands on various websites, including the Bonnaroo site, Youtube, and Google Video. I basically wanted to see what the bands thought of large-scale festivals, whether they were at home in front of the large crowds or overwhelmed. Also, I found some great information about what makes some bands stand out at festivals, and others flop.
One idea that came up a lot is that many bands like to play at festivals because they get many different types of people who had not known them before the festival. Chris Cornell talks of being turned onto something you may not expect. These events can be great publicity, depending on where you are on the schedule. However, while one may think that playing right before a headliner would be the best publicity there is, since many people will be waiting for them to come onstage, this can backfire if the genres of music are different; as was the case with Pavement and Sinead O'Connor. Sinead fans simply did not want to see the likes of Pavement, and the results were disastrous. Furthermore, if two great bands are scheduled at the same time, fans must choose between them, which can cause a competition.
Another point brought up many times was the disparity between the acts currently at rock festivals. There are hip-hop acts, blue-grass groups, DJ sets, and of course, alt-rock bands, among many others. Nick from Death Cab for Cutie says that the reason they can all play together is because the people who come are here for the "live music experience", not just one act. Furthermore, Talib Kweli brings up the point that "genre lines are blurring". A band is not necessarily confined to one specific type of music anymore, as Lars Ulrich from Metallica also mentions.
I really liked the ideas that Talib Kweli brought up in response to playing at festivals. He believes that the people who "spend money, get muddy, [are] uncomfortable" are the "REAL fans. You get the people who really love music. Cause everybody else who listens casually, they aren’t doing this. And they’re missing out." The fact that most of the people coming are such music fans creates an environment not found at regular shows. Many aren't just coming for one band; they're coming for many types of music.
Some bands flourish at these festivals. Several mentioned the ability of the Flaming Lips to put on great outdoor shows. Indeed, both Death Cab for Cutie and My Morning Jacket referenced this band's spectacular performances; Nick even saying he would never want to play after them because "that’s the best birthday party everyone went to all in the same moment and that’s it."
The interview of Nick from Death Cab for Cutie answered many of the questions that I had been looking into. When asked about the set one would play at a festival vs. a normal concert, he talks about playing more of the old material, and the crowd-pleasers, for both the comfort of the audience, but also for the band.
The interview with My Morning Jacket reveals the fact that sound checks are almost always unavailable during these large festivals. Bands have to simply go out there and play the best they can, perhaps not even able to hear their own vocals or drums. Furthermore, they are not able to perhaps create the "experience" they personally want the fans to enjoy at one of their own individual tours. If people only want to see a specific band, they may be missing out, since the bands have to take away certain aspects of their shows in order to fit both the timing and physical constraints of the festival.
The weather can factor in to be a positive or negative aspect of festivals. It can be over 100 degrees at many of these festivals, especially those in the South, since these festivals occur in the late spring and summer months. Some bands mentioned that, but Against Me! cited a positive view of the weather, talking about a nice breeze coming off the water at Lollapalooza.
Here are some quotes and ideas that I noted from each interview. I've linked to the videos wherever possible.
Kings of Leon
Always try and go to lollapalooza “the crowd didn’t know who we were, so they didn’t necessarily show up.” all the other bands supported them.
Other viewpoint: “putting bands UP against each other”
they have to go up against Iggy.
Band Competition:
Interpol vs muse
Amy Winehouse vs. lupe fiasco
Mmj and modest mouse
“we’re all about competition. We’re family. We can roll.”
Perry Farrell
“can’t see them all. There’s excellence going on at all times.”
“a very do –it –yourself feel. Alternative. Might be the only one out there that isn’t put on by some “conglomerate”
(Note: Obviously, Perry is going to push for his own festival.)
Pavement
Pavement - interview on lollapalooza
Sinead o connor played before them. they were “out of our element and she was in hers.”
Role in the “demise of the lollapalooza” only 20% of the crowd knew who they were.
Didn’t work out. “misplaced band on a failing bill”
if you see video he mooned the whole audience. Everyone was screaming at them.
Against Me!
Interviewer: “Playing out today, how was it out in the blazing sun?”
Against Me!: “I had a great time, breeze coming off the water, we were in the shade. It was great.”
MGMT
(Embedding Disabled: Go here to watch.)
“we’ve never done a lot of festivals before. And I don’t know.. it’s been quite an experience… it’s one of the best summers of my life so far.. I do miss summer things like being in the countryside, playing with dogs.. but in exchange we’ve got to see a lot of the worlds and meet lots of new people. It’s exciting.”
Audioslave
Chris Cornell: “what’s really good to me is just the diversity of the bands. There’s not too many tours like that.”
“You might end up being turned on to something you didn’t expect.”
Brad: “it’s easy to be creative in an environment where everyone is so supportive of each other and respects each other.”
Tom: Not just about the music, fight for social justice, help the environment, give out alternative information to people.
Tegan and Sara
“politely avoided them. didn’t really like festivals. But it’s been really fun.”
Metallica (Lars Ulrich)
“It’s about the variety. And the fact that’s starting to happen in America is great. A no-brainer. We haven’t really done anything in America recently.”
“brings people from all over the country. That’s so cool”
Interviewer: “what do you see as the unity, the consistency within the range of these bands? No one as hard as you.”
“we exist in our own bubble. We don’t feel part of a scene, or a movement. Considered ourselves to be kind of awkward, kind of the underdogs in school.”
Talib Kweli
Talib Kweli Interview at Bonnaroo '08
Interviewer: “what is like to be here at bonnaroo?”
TK: “its beautiful to see all these artists, and all these people to be here to see these artists. Spend money, get muddy, be uncomfortable. You get the REAL fans. You get the people who really love music. Cause everybody else who listen casually, they aren’t doing this. And they’re missing out.”
“blessed to be with kanye and other hiphop arists here.”
“genre lines are blurring.” Bonnaroo was here for the fans of all the music.
He also mentions the DIY feel of certain festivals.
Death Cab (Nick)
(Embedding Disabled: Link here)
“I think we understand the unspoken contract for playing live. You’ve got to play songs that they know, including the old ones. You can’t just go out there and be like we’ve got a new album, here it is, deal with it.”
“We’ll probably lean, I would say in a festival situation, more on established material, then breaking out the new jam. Not just for comfort for them, but for ourselves.”
Interviewer: “Do you go in with a different battle plan or do you say we’re gonna give em a show?”
“ultimately, that’s how we feel, we just say look we’re gonna play our show, we’re gonna be us, we’re gonna give them the best show we know how. When you’re playing for a crowd that large, or one of the high profile spots, you really want to do something huge and over the top, but then it just doesn’t feel like us. And you can’t really do that.”
“one of the ten commandments: thou shalt not play after the flaming lips. You just don’t at a festival. That’s the best birthday party everyone went to all in the same moment and that’s it. There’s nothing else that can come after that that would ever come close. Hallelujah to the bands that can do that and take it to the next level. There’s part of me that says hey I wish I could to that. But they’ve got it on lockdown.”
Interviewer: “look at the disparity – death cab, metallica, kanye, all of them – whats the common ground?”
“the live music experience.”
“chris walla brought this up: theres an album feel to how a festival unfolds. Theres’ a cinematic build to the end. If bonnaroo is an album, death cab is where you relax a little bit. It’s like a painting, you don’t want too much of one color. When we’re on tour, we miss all the bands who come to our hometown. And now I can check out kanye and my morning jacket. That’s just as exciting, just as much of a reason we’d choose to play here.”
My Morning Jacket
One of the frustrating parts of playing a festival is you don’t have time for a soundcheck . you’ve just got an hour changeover. You’ve got to throw up your gear up there and go. People are like “BLOW 50000 people minds” and you’re like “I can’t hear my vocals! I can’t hear the drums” and everything’s crazy”
“And people are screaming, and sometimes you walk up to the mic and everything sounds great and the crowds great and sometimes its pandemonium and you can’t hear anything, it’s so hot you think you’re gonna die, it’s such a random thing, so much is happening all at once.”
“when we’re playing at our shows in an indoor venue we can manipulate the variables and create our own environment that we see and put on a show that we want. It’s kind of nice to run up on stage and do something spontaneous. Not thought out and calculated.”
“it’s set up like a family picnic. You stay and hang out.”
“the spectacle: the flaming lips are the masters of creating that world.”
One idea that came up a lot is that many bands like to play at festivals because they get many different types of people who had not known them before the festival. Chris Cornell talks of being turned onto something you may not expect. These events can be great publicity, depending on where you are on the schedule. However, while one may think that playing right before a headliner would be the best publicity there is, since many people will be waiting for them to come onstage, this can backfire if the genres of music are different; as was the case with Pavement and Sinead O'Connor. Sinead fans simply did not want to see the likes of Pavement, and the results were disastrous. Furthermore, if two great bands are scheduled at the same time, fans must choose between them, which can cause a competition.
Another point brought up many times was the disparity between the acts currently at rock festivals. There are hip-hop acts, blue-grass groups, DJ sets, and of course, alt-rock bands, among many others. Nick from Death Cab for Cutie says that the reason they can all play together is because the people who come are here for the "live music experience", not just one act. Furthermore, Talib Kweli brings up the point that "genre lines are blurring". A band is not necessarily confined to one specific type of music anymore, as Lars Ulrich from Metallica also mentions.
I really liked the ideas that Talib Kweli brought up in response to playing at festivals. He believes that the people who "spend money, get muddy, [are] uncomfortable" are the "REAL fans. You get the people who really love music. Cause everybody else who listens casually, they aren’t doing this. And they’re missing out." The fact that most of the people coming are such music fans creates an environment not found at regular shows. Many aren't just coming for one band; they're coming for many types of music.
Some bands flourish at these festivals. Several mentioned the ability of the Flaming Lips to put on great outdoor shows. Indeed, both Death Cab for Cutie and My Morning Jacket referenced this band's spectacular performances; Nick even saying he would never want to play after them because "that’s the best birthday party everyone went to all in the same moment and that’s it."
The interview of Nick from Death Cab for Cutie answered many of the questions that I had been looking into. When asked about the set one would play at a festival vs. a normal concert, he talks about playing more of the old material, and the crowd-pleasers, for both the comfort of the audience, but also for the band.
The interview with My Morning Jacket reveals the fact that sound checks are almost always unavailable during these large festivals. Bands have to simply go out there and play the best they can, perhaps not even able to hear their own vocals or drums. Furthermore, they are not able to perhaps create the "experience" they personally want the fans to enjoy at one of their own individual tours. If people only want to see a specific band, they may be missing out, since the bands have to take away certain aspects of their shows in order to fit both the timing and physical constraints of the festival.
The weather can factor in to be a positive or negative aspect of festivals. It can be over 100 degrees at many of these festivals, especially those in the South, since these festivals occur in the late spring and summer months. Some bands mentioned that, but Against Me! cited a positive view of the weather, talking about a nice breeze coming off the water at Lollapalooza.
Here are some quotes and ideas that I noted from each interview. I've linked to the videos wherever possible.
Kings of Leon
Always try and go to lollapalooza “the crowd didn’t know who we were, so they didn’t necessarily show up.” all the other bands supported them.
Other viewpoint: “putting bands UP against each other”
they have to go up against Iggy.
Band Competition:
Interpol vs muse
Amy Winehouse vs. lupe fiasco
Mmj and modest mouse
“we’re all about competition. We’re family. We can roll.”
Perry Farrell
“can’t see them all. There’s excellence going on at all times.”
“a very do –it –yourself feel. Alternative. Might be the only one out there that isn’t put on by some “conglomerate”
(Note: Obviously, Perry is going to push for his own festival.)
Pavement
Pavement - interview on lollapalooza
Sinead o connor played before them. they were “out of our element and she was in hers.”
Role in the “demise of the lollapalooza” only 20% of the crowd knew who they were.
Didn’t work out. “misplaced band on a failing bill”
if you see video he mooned the whole audience. Everyone was screaming at them.
Against Me!
Interviewer: “Playing out today, how was it out in the blazing sun?”
Against Me!: “I had a great time, breeze coming off the water, we were in the shade. It was great.”
MGMT
(Embedding Disabled: Go here to watch.)
“we’ve never done a lot of festivals before. And I don’t know.. it’s been quite an experience… it’s one of the best summers of my life so far.. I do miss summer things like being in the countryside, playing with dogs.. but in exchange we’ve got to see a lot of the worlds and meet lots of new people. It’s exciting.”
Audioslave
Chris Cornell: “what’s really good to me is just the diversity of the bands. There’s not too many tours like that.”
“You might end up being turned on to something you didn’t expect.”
Brad: “it’s easy to be creative in an environment where everyone is so supportive of each other and respects each other.”
Tom: Not just about the music, fight for social justice, help the environment, give out alternative information to people.
Tegan and Sara
“politely avoided them. didn’t really like festivals. But it’s been really fun.”
Metallica (Lars Ulrich)
“It’s about the variety. And the fact that’s starting to happen in America is great. A no-brainer. We haven’t really done anything in America recently.”
“brings people from all over the country. That’s so cool”
Interviewer: “what do you see as the unity, the consistency within the range of these bands? No one as hard as you.”
“we exist in our own bubble. We don’t feel part of a scene, or a movement. Considered ourselves to be kind of awkward, kind of the underdogs in school.”
Talib Kweli
Talib Kweli Interview at Bonnaroo '08
Interviewer: “what is like to be here at bonnaroo?”
TK: “its beautiful to see all these artists, and all these people to be here to see these artists. Spend money, get muddy, be uncomfortable. You get the REAL fans. You get the people who really love music. Cause everybody else who listen casually, they aren’t doing this. And they’re missing out.”
“blessed to be with kanye and other hiphop arists here.”
“genre lines are blurring.” Bonnaroo was here for the fans of all the music.
He also mentions the DIY feel of certain festivals.
Death Cab (Nick)
(Embedding Disabled: Link here)
“I think we understand the unspoken contract for playing live. You’ve got to play songs that they know, including the old ones. You can’t just go out there and be like we’ve got a new album, here it is, deal with it.”
“We’ll probably lean, I would say in a festival situation, more on established material, then breaking out the new jam. Not just for comfort for them, but for ourselves.”
Interviewer: “Do you go in with a different battle plan or do you say we’re gonna give em a show?”
“ultimately, that’s how we feel, we just say look we’re gonna play our show, we’re gonna be us, we’re gonna give them the best show we know how. When you’re playing for a crowd that large, or one of the high profile spots, you really want to do something huge and over the top, but then it just doesn’t feel like us. And you can’t really do that.”
“one of the ten commandments: thou shalt not play after the flaming lips. You just don’t at a festival. That’s the best birthday party everyone went to all in the same moment and that’s it. There’s nothing else that can come after that that would ever come close. Hallelujah to the bands that can do that and take it to the next level. There’s part of me that says hey I wish I could to that. But they’ve got it on lockdown.”
Interviewer: “look at the disparity – death cab, metallica, kanye, all of them – whats the common ground?”
“the live music experience.”
“chris walla brought this up: theres an album feel to how a festival unfolds. Theres’ a cinematic build to the end. If bonnaroo is an album, death cab is where you relax a little bit. It’s like a painting, you don’t want too much of one color. When we’re on tour, we miss all the bands who come to our hometown. And now I can check out kanye and my morning jacket. That’s just as exciting, just as much of a reason we’d choose to play here.”
My Morning Jacket
One of the frustrating parts of playing a festival is you don’t have time for a soundcheck . you’ve just got an hour changeover. You’ve got to throw up your gear up there and go. People are like “BLOW 50000 people minds” and you’re like “I can’t hear my vocals! I can’t hear the drums” and everything’s crazy”
“And people are screaming, and sometimes you walk up to the mic and everything sounds great and the crowds great and sometimes its pandemonium and you can’t hear anything, it’s so hot you think you’re gonna die, it’s such a random thing, so much is happening all at once.”
“when we’re playing at our shows in an indoor venue we can manipulate the variables and create our own environment that we see and put on a show that we want. It’s kind of nice to run up on stage and do something spontaneous. Not thought out and calculated.”
“it’s set up like a family picnic. You stay and hang out.”
“the spectacle: the flaming lips are the masters of creating that world.”
Monday, April 13, 2009
Critical Review #8: Simonett
Simonett, Helena. Banda. Chapter 2: The Quebradita Dance Craze.
In this chapter, Simonett attempts to describe the Quebradita ("little break") and its importance in the early 1990s to Southern California, especially to those of Mexican descent. She discusses the dress (cowboy hat and boots), the steps, its effect on gender and community, and the importance of dance in people's lives. I was most interested in the part where she argues that this dance helped to keep kids out of gangs by giving them another way to form groups and feel connected. My one criticism is I wish that this paper had more pictures of people doing the dance moves that she describes. I read this in a waiting room and I really wanted to see what exactly she was describing but had to wait until I got home to google search it.
Discussion Question: Does the statement on p74 about the reason why men go to clubs ring true for nowadays? Do men go to clubs just to dance? Or for other reasons?
In this chapter, Simonett attempts to describe the Quebradita ("little break") and its importance in the early 1990s to Southern California, especially to those of Mexican descent. She discusses the dress (cowboy hat and boots), the steps, its effect on gender and community, and the importance of dance in people's lives. I was most interested in the part where she argues that this dance helped to keep kids out of gangs by giving them another way to form groups and feel connected. My one criticism is I wish that this paper had more pictures of people doing the dance moves that she describes. I read this in a waiting room and I really wanted to see what exactly she was describing but had to wait until I got home to google search it.
Discussion Question: Does the statement on p74 about the reason why men go to clubs ring true for nowadays? Do men go to clubs just to dance? Or for other reasons?
Critical Review #7: Duany
Duany attempts to looks at salsa from an anthropological perspective. He first defines salsa as the "popular Puerto Rican song and dance forms as they have evolved in the last two decades" (186). He then describes its history and background from the 1960s, by referring to topics such as the seis, the difference between the high/low grounds in Puerto Rico, and the connection with the bomba. He asserts that Puerto Rico is a culture of "mixes"; the salsa follows this pattern, being a "mixture of mixtures" (187). Finally, he concludes that the salsa is a dance of the working class, that voices the problems of this disadantaged group, thus creating a community between them all.
Discussion Question: Can we see any connections between salsa and metal, since both are toted as being music for the working class? (I can't.)
Discussion Question: Can we see any connections between salsa and metal, since both are toted as being music for the working class? (I can't.)
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Critical Review #6: Back (Part 2)
In the second part of "Inglan, nice up!", Back describes the music scenes of the late 1980s and 1990s in Britain. He goes into detail about how the different movements of reggae, hip-hop, soul, and the "dancefloor" have varying degrees of mixing between races. His ethnographic moment at a dance hall emphasizes his stance that many different races come together to take part in something that they all add to, but is different than what what they originally brought to it. He asserts that the musical forms connect black, white, and asian scenes, forming an "intermezzo" that transcends the divisions between the cultures in Britain. One example of this is in the 90s jungle music, which is claimed as London's own.
Discussion Question:
Only in the notes does Back address the fact that the music's equality did not equate to the industry's equality at this time (i.e. black DJs were not allowed in the clubs that played black music). Why doesn't he address this point further? When DID it start becoming okay for blacks to go to these nightclubs? Does Back think the music helped to cause a change in racial prejudices?
Discussion Question:
Only in the notes does Back address the fact that the music's equality did not equate to the industry's equality at this time (i.e. black DJs were not allowed in the clubs that played black music). Why doesn't he address this point further? When DID it start becoming okay for blacks to go to these nightclubs? Does Back think the music helped to cause a change in racial prejudices?
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