Don??t hold your breath waiting for Exit Clov Betty, it won??t happen. I imagine they fall into the same crowd as WSC. Ft. Reno is very disappointing in some ways, and no, not just because my girlfriend??s band never gets to play it. The series is really a microcosm of what is wrong ?? and a little right ?? about the DC scene.
It is without a doubt, an old-boys network. Partially because of who books the series, Amanda Mackaye (I??m assuming she is still doing it, though others have done it in the past), and the fact that she obviously has a huge connection to the ??Dischord? crowd. The same bands are on the series year after year, and while that is all fine and good, some additional variety would be nice. I tried to look up the last few year??s schedules on archive,org, and while last year wasn??t there, many of the bands are repeats (Gist, Sentai, Citygoats, Metropolitan, Hard Tomorrows). Good bands the lot of them, but every year?
In some ways I guess it is nice to have an homage to the ??old-school? DisChord heyday, especially since the Ft. Reno series really came from all that. But completely shutting out a number of bands who are very much a part of the DC scene right now seems alienating and unproductive, and builds frustration and friction among bands who aren??t allowed in. I could go on, as I really find the musical dynamic in this city fascinating. But my point here was merely to call out the fact I think the Ft. Reno series is flawed, but since the people putting it together reside in a self-created bubble, nothing about it is likely to change.
