Bird Droppings

Good afternoon, Solid State!

Friday night, I found myself at Higher Ground bouncing between the two rooms as venerable Chi-town tunesmith Andrew Bird headlined the Ballroom and one of my local favorites, Chuch, was the main event in the Showcase Lounge. On the plus side, the show times were staggered such that I caught all of Bird's set and nearly all of Chuch as well. The bummer was having to choose between Bird's opener, Plants and Animals and the two local openers in the Lounge, Party Star and Burette Douglas' high-lonesome side project, The Lonestar Chain.

Feeling the local vibe, I chose the latter and was treated to a solid set of stripped down alt-country tunes delivered in Douglas' trademark laid-back Texas drawl, aided by some nifty backing vocals and acoustic guitar lines from guit-box wizard, Creston Lea. Sadly, I was whisked away to the Ballroom before Party Star took the stage, but I'm told they were pretty rock-tastic. Maybe next time.

Andrew Bird was jaw-droppingly, show-stoppingly, art-poppingly indie-credible. Combining Devotchka's bohemian artistry with Joe Henry's articulate song constructs and a hint of Jeff Buckley-esque vocal dramatics, the dude was flat out brilliant. But then, I'm a sucker for loop effects, especially with a violin. I'm also a sucker for soaring falsetto. And melodrama. We all have our weaknesses.

The show let out just as Chuch was taking the stage, so I ducked back into the Lounge and was treated to the best denim-fueled speedwestern this side of the Mason Dixon. It's just too bad there weren't more people there to see it.

As my eyes drifted toward the door beside the bar and saw hundreds of indie-rock fans filing out of the Ballroom, I had a thought: Why not let folks who paid relatively big bucks to see the national act check out the local product in the next room?

Chuch and Andrew Bird share next to nothing in common, musically. But it's a good bet that more than a few of the folks who paid to see the latter would dig the former. I know I do. However, most people don't have my writerly access, so the idea of paying another cover on top of the 20 or 30 bucks they've already spent — not including booze — is probably unrealistic. But if you let them in for free — or even at a reduced rate — I'm guessing you'd have pretty close to a packed room rather than the 100 or so people who showed up to see Burlington's reigning kings of the road.

It's a proposition that benefits everyone involved. Rather than competing against Goliath, smaller acts could benefit from the proximity of larger attractions. Chuch typically doesn't need help in that regard — they've come pretty close to selling out the Ballroom on a couple of occasions on their own. But they could have used a hand that night.

From the club's side, more people in the small room means more bar sales. Where were most of the folks leaving Higher Ground likely headed at 10:30 on a Friday night? The bars downtown. I know because I saw a bunch of them later that night. Why not sacrifice a few bucks on ticket sales and make it back — and then some, given HG's beer prices — by keeping people in your club for an extra hour?

Higher Ground will never be a bastion of local music and that's fine. They're  a marquee club that focuses on national acts and do well in that regard. However, the concept works at similar venues like Paradise Rock Club in Allston and there's no reason it couldn't be just as effective in Burlington. Perhaps we should propose the idea over at Higher Ground box office dude Nick Mavadones's new blog?

As an aside, I was going to tie this whole thing into the new Miller High Life can design but then I just had to go on a rant. Tune in tomorrow for a crash course in hunter/drinker safety!

Comments

[ben]

sounds like a good idea to me. Sometimes nightly national acts in such a tiny market make it hard for local bands. It's amazing that higher ground can have as many shows as they do. I've lived in college towns that are much larger than Burlington that could never support a schedule like Higher Ground.

[pv_tyler]

glad someone else enjoyed the Andrew Bird show. can't imagine how difficult all of that looping/instrument juggling must be to pull off, and to do it with the style and artistry that he does...yeah, i'm impressed. great artist, that Andrew Bird.

I was kinda surprised how many people were there, too. didn't realize Mr. Bird had that much of a following in VT.

[bigbadbrad]

that's exactly what I did last time I was at the Paradise and I dropped like another $15.

[Ari]

Good idea! Seems like it would work well for the venue and showgoers.

An aside... I was in a tiny town in Missouri the other day and the local crazy guy was sitting in his lawn drinking out of those new MHL cans. I just thought he was drinking from a 30-year-old stockpile (he rambled about Vietnam and stuff, and tried to smoke us up...). Now I know.

[dan]

Ahhh . . . the High Life!

[Chris]

It's a great idea, if only they would consider it. I think its come up before and been rejected out of hand, but that's all hear say. I do remember a particularly bad instance of it, though. My band was playing in the showcase lounge with a slew of other locals... there were maybe thirty people in the audience, real sparse. Next door in the big room there was a John Hiatt acoustic show (don't get me started on that guy) that got out as we were starting. I guess whoever was working the doors said to the departing (mostly yuppy) crowd, "Hey, feel free to check out the show in the showcase lounge!" So about a couple dozen of them did in fact come over, right as our set started. As it was already 12:30 on a Wednesday night we were drunk, pissed off and trying to motivate our little crowd, so some very heavy shit followed. I remember looking up and seeing this gaggle of Aspen sweater wearing balding dudes standing in a horrified circle, trying to down their beers as fast as they could and escape the noise. I actually spied an old college professor in their group. We said the next song was a Jimmy Buffett cover to see if they would stick around, but alas, they fled. Our drummer contends to this day that one of them hung around and became a fan. I think he was high.

[Murf]

Sounds like a good idea to me.

I wasn't enamored with Bird though. The whole show felt flat to me. The guy's music is beautiful but he seemed detached from the show. Plus, I was disappointed to see he had added another musician to the band. I was looking forward to the carnival aspect of watching two guys produce all of those sounds.

Then again, any show would have felt flat following Monday's Okkervil River show.