Bloc Party on Letterman last nite

[Bags]

Originally posted by HoyaParanoia:
   

Originally posted by madteletubbie:
  My jaw dropped to the floor when I heard they sold out the Black Cat. Very rarely does a show at the Black Cat sell out

huh?  the black cat sells out tons of weekend nights, oftentimes for bands you'd never expect to sell out ... granted, it's often a walk-up crowd that sells the show out, but it's still not "rare"
  [/b]

But madteletubbie's point is exactly that it's very unusual for the Black Cat to sell out so far in advance, even for weekend shows.  Even very hyped bands tend to sell out only the week of the show (except for the Shins -- that double show sellout was wicked strange as well).
 
 Sure bands come along with the super-hype -- lately it's happening before their full-length debut albums are even released (a la Franz Ferdinand, Kaiser Chiefs, Bloc Party...).  Still, that was pretty insane.
 
 Of course, Franz sold out the frickin' 9:30 Club for their first show in town.
 
 And I agree, Bloc Party's a great band and worthy of the current hype (not that I'm sure they'll withstand the test of time, but they're one of the current bands with a great album out, not just a great song out...)

[HoyaSaxa03]

Originally posted by Bags:
  But madteletubbie's point is exactly that it's very unusual for the Black Cat to sell out so far in advance, even for weekend shows.  Even very hyped bands tend to sell out only the week of the show (except for the Shins -- that double show sellout was wicked strange as well).
 

point taken about bloc party ... it just still wasn't jaw-droppingly stunning to me that they sold out in advance
 
 and you were surprised that the shins sold out??  i was amazed that they weren't at 930 club, they're easily one of the biggest indie bands around ... i think of them in the same light as the postal service, where people who don't necessarily live for music are easily exposed to them through normal commercial channels ... the reason they go gold and sell hundreds of thousands of records is that they're liked by people with open minds but who don't necessarily follow indie music with a fine-toothed comb ... you don't have to be a bargain-bin-hunting early adopter to hear them, all you have to do is watch that "cool underground indie flick" garden state or teen soap operas (or mcdonald's ads)
 
 all of that adds up to big-time sold-out show in my mind.

[Bags]

Originally posted by HoyaParanoia:
 and you were surprised that the shins sold out??  

No, no, I wasn't surprised by the Shins sell out at all...just noting that it was the last time I remember a B.C. show selling out so fast.  That made more sense, and folks had a feeling it would sell out fast.  A lot of folks were caught completely off guard when Bloc Party sold out so soon in advance.

[kosmo vinyl]

The only people suprised by the Bloc Partyy sellout, were those who assumed they were the only ones "hip" enough to know who the band was.   Then put off buying the tickets until the last minute which tends to happen for shows at the Black Cat.  Unfortunately, for them me included, a bunch of "real" fans got off their barstools and bought tickets to the show within a month after it went on sale.  The show soldout before or soon after Pitchfork lauded it...

[xneverwherex]

Originally posted by kosmo vinyl:
  The only people suprised by the Bloc Partyy sellout, were those who assumed they were the only ones "hip" enough to know who the band was.   Then put off buying the tickets until the last minute which tends to happen for shows at the Black Cat.  Unfortunately, for them me included, a bunch of "real" fans got off their barstools and bought tickets to the show within a month after it went on sale.  The show soldout before or soon after Pitchfork lauded it...

i just wonder if those "hip" people were smart enough to buy tickets early this time around for bloc party. or are they too cool for bloc party now and jumped on to the next cool band  

[kosmo vinyl]

The Bloc Party's popularity also illustrates my point that UK indie bands have an advantage over US indie bands here.  Take for example Rilo Kiley who as the post reviewer points out took three years to get a soldout 9:30 show, where as it took less than two for the Bloc Party to reach that same status.  
 
 Why is this?  Because successful UK bands have the advantage of already being established as buzzworthy bands before they come to the US.  A UK band getting press coverage over there are more likely to picked up the mainstream media here, then a US band working it's way up the circuit.  Sure plenty of indie press give coverage to bands, but not with the impact of other larger media outliets. Had for instance De Novo Dahl been English they would probably selling more albums here and getting better tour slots.  Now they have to hope that they can emerge from the clutter of 1000s of other indie bands.
 
 Whats most refreshing is that WOXY is actually breakin indie bands like Cartel and De Novo Dahl to a wider audience in the manner radio should.  By picking up on them based on a bands merits and not being by bought off by record companies and independent promoters.  Same with Little Steven's show, witness The High Dials getting better exposure.

[kosmo vinyl]

Originally posted by xneverwherex:
   

Originally posted by kosmo vinyl:
  The only people suprised by the Bloc Partyy sellout, were those who assumed they were the only ones "hip" enough to know who the band was.   Then put off buying the tickets until the last minute which tends to happen for shows at the Black Cat.  Unfortunately, for them me included, a bunch of "real" fans got off their barstools and bought tickets to the show within a month after it went on sale.  The show soldout before or soon after Pitchfork lauded it...

i just wonder if those "hip" people were smart enough to buy tickets early this time around for bloc party. or are they too cool for bloc party now and jumped on to the next cool band    [/b]

no all the "real" bloc party fans got their tickets early, certain blogs made sure they did so...

[HoyaSaxa03]

Originally posted by kosmo vinyl:
 Why is this?  Because successful UK bands have the advantage of already being established as buzzworthy bands before they come to the US.  A UK band getting press coverage over there are more likely to picked up the mainstream media here, then a US band working it's way up the circuit.  

i totally agree with this, but you miss one big point ... these UK indie bands get so much press because they ARE mainstream rock in britain ... whereas mainstream rock here is aggressive, angsty buttrock
 
 it's actually very similar to the 80s when groups like the smiths were mainstream in the UK and well-hyped "alternative" groups in the US ... mainstream US rock just doesn't accept any lack of masculinity

[kosmo vinyl]

so why isn't the US mainstream media,etc so willing to pickup on the latest UK act not also out looking for the similiar US acts... There is an "alternative" to the "alternative"     oh wait that means actually doing work and listening to stuff instead of reading press releases.

[madteletubbie]

Originally posted by Bags:
   

Originally posted by HoyaParanoia:
   

Originally posted by madteletubbie:
  My jaw dropped to the floor when I heard they sold out the Black Cat. Very rarely does a show at the Black Cat sell out

huh?  the black cat sells out tons of weekend nights, oftentimes for bands you'd never expect to sell out ... granted, it's often a walk-up crowd that sells the show out, but it's still not "rare"
  [/b]

But madteletubbie's point is exactly that it's very unusual for the Black Cat to sell out so far in advance, even for weekend shows. [/b]

yeah, sorry for the confusion. I meant shows selling out in advance.
 
 

Originally posted by kosmo vinyl:
  The only people suprised by the Bloc Partyy sellout, were those who assumed they were the only ones "hip" enough to know who the band was.

I was surprised because I honestly didn't know that many people liked them. I came across their album from someone I know and was unaware they had lots of fans (since I never heard their name before my friend told me).
 
 and if I was "hip", I would being saying they suck just because they are getting even more popular. Which I'm not.

[HoyaSaxa03]

Originally posted by kosmo vinyl:
  so why isn't the US mainstream media,etc so willing to pickup on the latest UK act not also out looking for the similiar US acts... There is an "alternative" to the "alternative"        oh wait that means actually doing work and listening to stuff instead of reading press releases.

hey, i agree that UK bands definitely have an edge, but i wouldn't completely blame the US media for that ... when these UK bands make their "invasion", they already have a leg up on their US counterparts because they have:
 
 a) commercial and popular success under their belts, which seasons them for US media and fans and helps their confidence
 
 b) a completely media-sensitized image which is easy to pick up and transfer over to the US markets
 
 i also think you're kind of overstating the advantage the UK bands have ... there are plenty of US indie bands making waves, they just have a lot of competition here for a much smaller pot of money, fans, and media coverage

[kosmo vinyl]

being "hip" to a band isn't necessarily the same as being "hip(ster)"... what it comes down to some people underestimated the popularity of this and lots of others bands.  it should be called an "oops" sellout, as in "oops i should bought my tickets right away instead of waiting".  at least the band came back right away so the "real" and also procrasticating fans could get a chance to see them do a 45 minute set.....

[amnesiac]

Originally posted by kosmo vinyl:
  The Bloc Party's popularity also illustrates my point that UK indie bands have an advantage over US indie bands here.

Yup, all it takes is a covershot on the Hype Machine:
 
    <img src="http://www.nme.com/media/images/cover_150405_L.jpg" alt=" - " /> =  Sold out show

[han]

I'd just like to know how they got so damn popular. Really, I'm curious.
 
 My jaw dropped to the floor when I heard they sold out the Black Cat....

They sold out the Black Cat so far in advance because Urban Outfitters was selling their album.   Didn't you notice the unusual amount of flipped up collared polo shirts at the show?
 
 Three guys walked in together, one with a pink polo shirt, one with a light green, and one in a light blue.

[Bags]

LIVE CONCERT - BLOC PARTY: The british art-rock band Bloc Party is the next featured group on All Songs Considered's LIVE concert series. Hear a full concert by the band, streamed live from Washington, DC's 9:30 Club next Thursday, June 16th. You can hear a cut from Bloc Party's latest CD on All Songs Considered Episode 85.
 
 Keep watching NPR.org for LIVE concert details.