redsock, as i'm sure you're all too aware, shows starting late at the velvet is nothing new... in fact, i've never been to a single show at the VL that has started anywhere near on time.
i've come up with a new term: "the velvet curse". this describes the unfavorable predicament that many headliners face at the VL: because of delays, they hit the stage so late as to have a smaller audience than the openers. people can only be expected to stay out so late.
a case in point: ulrich schnauss this summer. the openers played to a bigger crowd than ulrich, who didn't go on until well past 1 AM (or was it 2?). by the time his set started, people were tired and had called it a night.
the fact that the VL still can't put on a show that is even close to being on time is quite embarrassing.
first of all, sweetcell, you really don't go to that many velvet lounge shows, so you don't know when we do run things on time (which is more than you think). you only seem to attend the shows that sell out or require big productions.
i'm not sure if you realize how much energy and effort i've put into making large events occur at venues like the warehouse next door and the velvet lounge. bands like ulrich schnauss and flower travellin' band and DMBQ -- and ghost coming up in may -- really have no business playing venues as small as the velvet. but that is what i have access to, because the black cat won't book this music, and i refuse to even breathe the air within ten feet of the rock and roll hotel or dc9. so i'm stuck with the velvet.
one of the reasons why shows run late at events like this is because the bands themselves are late, or they take sound checks thats are way longer than they should be. this was the case with FTB. we were loaded in and set up by 7 o'clock, but they insisted on getting everything just right. it wasn't until 9pm when they were finished. the same shit happened when i had whitehouse at dc9 in 2006. as a manager, i can force the band to cut their sound check short, but then i run the risk of pissing off the band.
another reason why shows run late is because we just do not have the capability to run shows smoothly because of the layout. there is no entrance to the stage from the rear, which means changeovers take much longer than they do at venues like the black cat and 9:30. we don't have stagehands helping out, and most of the bands we book insist on playing their own gear. this means a lot of clutter and running around. believe me, it's been much better since we doubled the size of the room.
the management has actually bumped up load in and door time by an hour to speed the process. things are getting better for smaller shows, but the problems that exist for the larger shows are not going to go away. i know it's hard for you to imagine, but when we have low-key shows -- free jazz/improv, solo folk, pretty much any show where there's 20 people milling around -- they are often done by midnight.
another thing for you to note is that we don't list the set times for bands because of this reason. we try to start shows at 9:30 and end by midnight. but there is no definite schedule. when you attend a show at a small venue, you have to accept that this is part of the experience.
as for the show itself, i was very pleased at the turnout and result, give the myriad problems i had in setting up the show and ensuring that everybody sounded good. flower travellin' band were amazing when they played the older material. gondola were awesome, and i felt pretty good about our set (which we cut short due to the fact that we were running late). we were a hair away from selling out.
for those that were disappointed in FTB's new material, they are planning on doing a "satori" tour later this year or next year, and it will be even better than last night. just be prepared to see it at the velvet again, unless someone can convince vicki and dante to book it at the cat. don't hold your breath.
