the end of the warehouse

[snailhook]

sweetcell, you're not understanding the gist of what i'm getting at. the house of blues is supposed to go up on the hosiery's block; in other words, it's going to take over the block itself. the building where the hosiery resides will be torn down. it's just a matter of time. this isn't public knowledge and i shouldn't be saying this, but i feel that some people should know. it will take a miracle for the hosiery to stay where it is.
 
 with the warehouse closing, once i move (therefore ending 611 florida) and the hosiery goes down, in a year from now, the velvet lounge and the sangha cafe will be the only places open to experimental/outsider music. and the velvet is open to it because i am booking and working there.
 
 unless something else opens soon, or an alternative venue opens its doors, there will hardly be any experimental music in dc at all. just the same old indie rock, bland alt-country, and wannabe brit-pop that has already taken over the city.

[tigersscareme]

I could be (and probably am) but i heard from a fairly reliable source that the HoB thing will not happen.
 
 but who knows. they're putting an f-ing wax museum in the old Woodies building.

[tigersscareme]

i meant to say "i could be wrong"...
 
 i hope i'm not 'tho.

[snailhook]

even if HOB somehow does not obtain that property, the hosiery isn't in a good position as it is. they are just some artists renting out studio space, like the automobile repai shop next to it. how long they can stay depends upon the good will of the property's owners, who, like everybody else in this town, are sitting on a goldmine. the hosiery (and the auto shop) may still be there in a year, but i would be surprised.
 
 although rental rates have slowed down around town (as bnyce mentioned), the area where the warehouse and hosiery are located is still ripe for (over)development, being located on the cusp of downtown.

[Bags]

Originally posted by tigers scare me:
  they're putting an f-ing wax museum in the old Woodies building.

You have got to be shitting me.  Holy.....  YUCK.  They're going to tip Chinatown/Gallery Place right over into American Mall-ville, aren't they?

[Sage 703]

Originally posted by snailhook:
 unless something else opens soon, or an alternative venue opens its doors, there will hardly be any experimental music in dc at all. just the same old indie rock, bland alt-country, and wannabe brit-pop that has already taken over the city.

good lord you're crotchety.  you should fit right in up in Philly.  just curse more and throw batteries at your sports' teams referees.

[anarchist]

sell the warehouse.  take some of the $ and buy a cheaper bldg on h st ne and start again.

[snailhook]

good lord you're crotchety. you should fit right in up in Philly. just curse more and throw batteries at your sports' teams referees.[/b]

sure, i may be opinionated and jaded, but at least i'm out there, every fucking day, doing something about it. that's more than i can say for some people. i'm just telling it like i see it.
 
 and thanks, i already fit in fine in philly. that's why i'm moving there.

[Jaguar]

This is a damn shame. I've got to admit that Philly does have a much more diverse music scene. As a Shoegazer, I've seen how very, very difficult it's been to get shows and an audience within DC. Oddly, Fredericksburg, Va. and Baltimore have been much more open to the scene. It's fairly strong up in Philly. Same with Psychedelia.
 
 For awhile, I thought that it was just me who was thinking that DC seemed to be polarizing it's music scene. After reading this thread, it's apparent that it isn't only my thoughts.
 
 Snail, have you been to Johnny Brenda's yet? I never get up there but they have a lot of good shows. Still very sorry I missed Sonic Boom there last April.

[azaghal1981]

Very sad news.    Even more disconcerting to know that there will barely be any experimental shows booked in dc a year from now. The thought that even as close as Baltimore, an experimental scene could thrive while there's barely any interest here is perplexing. Supposedly, places like Floristree are packed just about every night a show is held there.

[snailhook]

Snail, have you been to Johnny Brenda's yet? I never get up there but they have a lot of good shows. Still very sorry I missed Sonic Boom there last April.[/b]

yup, i've been to JB's about four times (for bert jansch, suishou no fune, pissed jeans, and something i can't remember). it's an excellent place and has become my favorite place to see a show in philly. i missed sonic boom, too, and heard it was great; i just couldn't get up there on a monday night.
 
 

Even more disconcerting to know that there will barely be any experimental shows booked in dc a year from now.[/b]

well, i'm looking out for a couple of people who can take my place and book some shows when i leave. since i play music and will want to come back to dc a lot, i'll still book some stuff. dc just needs a couple of new people to step up and do something.
 
 

Supposedly, places like Floristree are packed just about every night a show is held there.[/b]

actually, this is completely untrue. there have been some packed shows, but just as often, it's completely empty. i know the guy who lives there and runs the shows, and he's a friend of mine, but he doesn't do much promotion for certain shows. it's like the warehouse: one show can get 100 people, the next 10.
 
 honestly, baltimore isn't as hot as it used to be. it's a much better scene for experimental music if you're a musician, but if you're just a fan, it's not much different than dc. there are not many clubs booking avant-garde music, and there are a few viable alternative spaces (the red room, the bank, floristree space). as someone who goes to many shows in both dc and baltimore, the attendance varies wildly in both places. i will say that baltimore crowds tend to physically get into it a bit more. dc crowds are just as attentive, they just take the immobile nerdy approach.
 
 in this country, experimental music just doesn't do well anywhere (except for maybe nyc, chicago, and san francisco), but there still need to be venues to host it. this is why alternative venues are important: the overhead is so low that low-attended shows won't affect the business much.

[azaghal1981]

Ahh thanks for clarifying. I've never been to floristree myself but a couple articles I've read seem to attempt to paint shows there (especially the wham city stuff) as these madhouses where people are jostling in order to gain prime spots.

[ratioci nation]

Originally posted by snailhook:
  somewhere i can afford, where i can work less and concentrate on my own music, a place where other people are setting up interesting shows and where there is an audience for such music

sounds like a certain city on the west coast
   

[azaghal1981]

SF?  

[snailhook]

I've never been to floristree myself but a couple articles I've read seem to attempt to paint shows there (especially the wham city stuff) as these madhouses where people are jostling in order to gain prime spots.[/b]

well, the wham city stuff (dan deacon, sand cats, cex, video hippos, beach house, ponytail, ecstatic sunshine, etc) does extremely well. kids are eating that stuff up right now. personally, i find much of it entertaining to watch, but their records don't interest me. they're all good kids and i've booked all of them once and some of them a few times. my band played the wham city fest last year (though we were a shot of fucked-up darkness in a sea of dancing art-school kids). beach house have some excellent songs, and ponytail shreds.
 
 

sounds like a certain city on the west coast[/b]

actually, pollard, if i ever leave the east coast, portland is where i'm going. i absolutely love it there. i see myself leaving philly at some point and living the rest of my life in the woods outside of portland, like when i'm 45 or 50. i just have to be on the east coast for now.