Or am I just a cranky old bitch?

Firstly, for those of you who might remember/care, I ranked Archer Prewitt's "Wilderness" as my number 1 in the 2005 shmoo poll. Needless to say, the guy's music has meant a lot to me over the past year, so when I saw he was going to play Portland last night, I had to go. Plus it was a measly $8.

He played at a club called the Doug Fir, which is relatively new by Portland standards (opened around 2-3 years ago). It's a great club, and they tend to get some of the better acts coming into Portland. The club is also non-smoking which is a plus. The live music area is laid out weirdly though, and you have to find a specific place to sit/stand if you're remotely interested in watching the bands play. Along the north and south walls is an extended seating area, with tables and chairs. So at times, it's more of a "lounge" feel than a music venue, meant to encourage conversation. I mention this because it bears signifcance later...

So my husband and I found a great place to sit early on. As is typical at the Doug Fir, an amalgam of characters came to the show-- it's almost strange to see the demographics at a Doug Fir show because often it just doesn't make sense. A single woman sat next to me, and was worried she'd been ditched by her date because she showed up late (she also told me that she'd just moved back from California after taking care of her ill mother, who had recently passed away). I'm happy to report that her date did show up, so that made me feel a lot better for her. So I have her on one side of me. Next to my husband, seated in an area below us, was a group of pre-school/elementary school teachers. One can only presume that they had the day off today, so it was girls night out. And boy was it, as those girls were pounding the drinks! Then seated across from us were two couples, who seemed disinterested in the music from the get-go. We both remarked that the men in said couples were dating "out of their league," as the women they were with seemed much younger and way more attractive than them. In fact, one of the guys kept pawing his girlfriend and "marking his territory" as it were, to make sure everyone knew this was HIS girl.

So anyhow, the music. The M's opened the show (any of you Chicago folks like 'em?). I thought they were great, and they got an uncharacteristic (of Portland) enthusiastic response from the crowd. Thought about picking up their cd, but never made it over to the merch table. Next up was a local band called Heroes and Villians. I had never heard them before, but they were quite quirky and enjoyable. The two women in the band had amazing voices. Then of course came the piece de resistance-- Mr. Prewitt.

At this point, the teachers' union below us had been pounding the drinks pretty hard, and one girl in the group (I nicknamed her "Miss Future Tracheotomy" as she looked about 20 but had the raspy voice of a 70 year old smoker) was wired. As those of you who know Archer's music, it's quiet, contemplative and, in my opinion, deserves respect. So Miss T was yammering ON and ON to her gal pals about whatever, at a volume that drowned out Mr. Prewitt himself. Everyone was staring at her, and several people shushed her to no avail. My husband finally leaned over and kindly told her to shut the fuck up when she started telling her friends about "this one time, at senior prom." She apologized and relented, and thankfully left for a half hour smoke break. Meanwhile, the two women in the couples across from us did tequila shots and were quite animated. The one couple (where the guy was pawing earlier) engaged in a full makeout session, reminiscent of 15 year olds in a basement. Now I don't give a shit about public displays of affection, but when you're seated on a couch next to me, cramping me in my space while you mount your partner, it gets a little irritating. Plus they managed to kick a table and dump a drink on the foot of a guy sitting next to me.

Despite all of this around me, I tried very hard to focus my attention on Archer, who put on a phenomenal show-- he totally lived up to and surpassed my expectations. I highly recommend you see him! But the experience just left me wanting, and I'm starting to wonder if this sort of behavior that I experienced this evening is de riguer at shows nowadays, or, as I asked earlier, am I just a cranky old bitch?

you're not a cranky old bitch. i'm 17 and crowds at concerts make me quite angry. the last ween show i went to had the worst crowd in the world.

that's pretty much how most crowds are these days. i saw stars on friday and the group of girls behind me were very loud. i shot them a look like, "are you kidding me?" and they quieted for a second.

the only shows i've ever been to where the entire crowd was appropriately quiet was jeff tweedy solo in 2000 and last year's low show. you could hear a pin drop.

i've liked the m's live, but not recorded. glad you got to see archer, though. he's a hell of a guy.

Hasn't that behavior always existed?

Ken Stringfellow recently did a solo acoustic show, and the crowd was just like you described (ie: loud and disinterested) - so he left the stage and waded into the middle of the crowd and did his show right there so they couldn't ignore him. It was pretty awesome.

Wilderness was #2 on my list and I too was really looking forward to seeing him. I called the venue for set times though and found out he wasn't coming on until at least 11:30 on a week night. I had an early morning meeting so I decided I better skip it

And there are always people at shows who do their best to ruin it for everyone. I'm sure I've been that person myself when younger at least a few times. I go to bar/club shows without seating so its easy enough to move away from them at least

Yeah, Rads, it's always existed, but I thought for someone like Archer Prewitt (who I do not connote with "party music") on a friggin Sunday night, in the music area-- I just thought people might be a little more respectful. Yeah, there's always people talking loud at shows, but they usually stick by the bar, and not sit up front to watch the music. Sometimes I really feel sorry for the musicians, when they get they kind of disinterest/disrespect, but I guess they expect it.

yes...so NOTHING NEW HERE.....



speaking of seeing live bands.......go see sigur ros --> AMAZING

This happened to me when I saw Stars a couple of weeks ago. I should say that after a 10 year absence from attending live shows, due in part to this behaivour, I was still amazed by it. Why would you pay $20 to see a show and then yammer on like a fucking idiot during the most of the show? Seriously, if you're going out to get hammered there are way cheaper ways to do it than blowing money on a ticket. This is actually the reason I stopped going to the movies too. I just can't enjoy it, I get WAY too hostile and pissed off.

it sucks to play to people when a room doesn't care, but sometimes if you see ONE person who is really paying attention that's all you need.

Will do... Wednesday night!!

The thing about crowds is they are made up of 'people' who, as we all know by now, are mostly assholes.

Having said that I found the ugly men dating out of their league quite inspirational.

last year, i saw the dirtbombs in madison. while positioned at the front of the stage, there was a woman nearby who was completely drunk and making a huge freaking ass out of herself (now i know it was a dirtbombs show and i wasn't expecting a pious crowd, but it really was excessive to the point that i wanted to smash her face in!). long story short, a couple of months later on halloween to be exact, the doorbell rang and there, with her two kids, was this bitch i wanted to lay waste to.

the strangest thing happened at the jeff tweedy show last week. the entire boulder theater was completely silent. it was amazing and impressive to me. you could hear the echo of tweedy's fingers moving up and down the fretboard of his guitar. total respect for this awesome artist. then, after about 6 or 7 tunes, tweedy lectured us for talking during his songs! he asked the audience if the talking was bothering us as well. everyone was like, "what talking???" he had some really good points during his lecture, but it was just so odd because it was the quietest show i've ever experienced. everyone in the audience was kinda confused. anyways, he continued to play...we continued to be silent and when he came back for the first encore he explained that he has been "hearing voices" and he apologized for going off on us. it was a friggin' great show, but tweedy's got some issues.

crowds suck to a certain extent no matter who or where it is.

the m's are great, by the way.

Great energy, amazing fun, catchy tunes... this is what I *should* feel about the Strokes but don't.

i think one of the best stories i heard was some jackhole in the audience asking ryan adams to play summer of '69....adams had him ejected from the building and gave the dude is money back - hahaha

That guy is my hero. What an awesome way to get out of a Ryan Adams show.

I get pretty pissed at loud crowds at what should be quiet, intimate shows. I've seen Songs: Ohia, Devendra Banhart, and Daniel Johnston all drowned out by noisy idiots. I always just wanna grab these people and ask, "Why the fuck are you here?" There's a bar across the street that isn't charging a cover to get into a show, and you can be loud as fuck there without ruining an experience that 50 or 60 other people have paid for and were looking forward to.

most respectful audience that I have ever been in was the two times I saw the David Grissman Quintet. Fucking drop dead quiet so much so that they didnt even use microphones to amplify the instruments. The applause between songs is deafening but it's a really interesting concert experience...almost like chamber music.

And yeah, asshole crowds are just part of the game....And like BillyG said: I've probably been that guy before.

Similar thing happened to me Saturday night when The Elected played.
These douchebags behind us were sucking down Fishbowls and conversing about 80's childrens sci-fi films like Dark Crystal and Neverending Story. The guys from Omaha that were sharing our table with us, nearly went back and kicked some ass. Shortly before The Elected actually played they shut the hell up, I believe half of them left and the really drunk ass directly behind me was laying across the bench nearly passed out.
There was also this scenester guy I know, who I don't really like all that much, who had the audacity to stand on a chair to see the stage, since his short, fat ass couldn't make it there on time to get a good spot. It wouldn't have been bad if he was in the back, but he was about a third of the way from the stage and blocking our tables view. When he left to get a drink or a smoke, we got rid of his chair.
It always seems like a small portion of the crowd is truly annoyed by these people, while everyone else is able to ignore it or condone it.

i saw a local 3 piece jazz band play without mic's in a small venue.

people litterally tip toed to go to the bathroom and quielty closed the door because you could hear the snap of the door lock.

that was awesome. you could hear every little note from the trumpet, acoustic guitar and upright bass.

90% of the time I dread going to shows because of the crowd.

The worst was seeing Modest Mouse just after Good News came out. Faux-tan, bleached blonde bimbos everywhere. So of course they all stand around and jibber while the band plays "Broke" or "Here It Comes" because they've never heard of these bands.

The only time I've been a real asshole to a band at a show was during The Sunburned Hand Of The Man's set opening for Sonic Youth. My friends and I had already had to sit through a half hour set of shit by Hair Police. When these goons with plastic flamingos and owls came on stage and played a 45-minute "song", we'd had enough. We booed and yelled "Please go away" as often as we could. Other people eventually joined in, too. That was fun.

i'll never understand why people make out at shows, especially if they're close to the stage. i saw two juggalos making out against the barrier at a trail of dead show a few years ago. and then a middle-aged couple was at it during wolfmother last week.

the quietest show i've ever been to was sufjan stevens at the first unitarian church in philadelphia. you could've heard a pin drop between his breaths. it was incredible. with it being a church, there is obviously no drinking there either, which certainly helps the atmosphere.

tweedy finished the show by playing "acuff rose" at the front of the stage with no mic on a super old acoustic. being in the fourth row, this was probably one of the coolest 'concert moments' i've ever experienced. i instantly forgave him for that awful rant he went on that i mentioned above.

I've been that loud drunk girl before too... at a Duran Duran concert I saw in Atlanta a few years ago. But hell, it was Duran Duran, not Archer Prewitt, for god's sake!

I did go to a Mark Geary/Jeffrey Foucault show late last year, and it was similar to Jewels' jazz assessment. People were totally quiet and respectful (and drinking, I might add). It is possible.

Now that I think about it, I think Miss Tracheotomy was in one of shiv's drunk party girl photos...

that was the shocking thing about the jazz show i saw. they were GIVING away beer, and it was still that quiet. It was at a little art gallery by Elfriths Alley.

philly people being respectful, who knew?