venue – and so she thinks

Live music – a matter of size?

admin — Wed, 10 Jul 2013 12:42:57 +0000

When you mention going to see live music to people in the UK, everyone immediately thinks about going to see large, well-established bands. Whilst this is undoubtedly a natural reaction it has become too dominant. Tickets for these shows are usually very expensive, and often the venues are very impersonal.
The alternative, going to see smaller bands, is not often thought about in the same way. Many people will plan months in advance to see a big band, whilst if they see a smaller band it will be a spur of the moment decision, or they will stumble into it without prior planning.
This is a shame as many of the smaller bands will put on as good a show as big bands, the tickets are cheaper, and the venues are much more personal. In terms of a night out, seeing a smaller band can be a much cheaper and more rewarding experience than seeing more established acts.
The best way to change this situation is to make gigs a proper destination for audiences. This is difficult. Part of the reason people will plan in advance for bigger gigs is that tickets are often scarce. But more importantly these big acts have advertising and promotion budgets that dwarf those of smaller bands: they can begin promoting earlier and reach wider audiences.

Smaller bands must take the initiative here and promote their gigs themselves as far in advance as they can, and keep promoting right up until the date of the show. Very often hear about a gig as soon as the band have got it, and then nothing until a few days before. The key to getting bigger audiences is to promote from the day you get the gig to the big day.
Audiences looking to find live music can use the gig search at unsigned gigs and find gigs everywhere in the UK. It only takes five minutes to sign up and list your gigs, and they will be viewed by thousands of people each month.
A guest post from Unsigned Gigs, an online gig guide for up and coming bands and artists. Audiences can easily find great live music wherever they want in the UK, whilst bands and artists can promote their gigs and music to a wide audience.

The I.D., Strawhouses and Calum Hartley @ It's All Happening!

admin — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 16:40:34 +0000

What was so special about Friday 11th Feb? Just another brilliant night of music at It’s All Happening’s Friday night sessions at The King’s Head, Acton. Delighting us were The I.D., Strawhouses and Calum Hartley, and here are some photos by the very talented Caroline Schmitt of the night.

Arts @ Trinity

admin — Fri, 01 May 2009 18:41:00 +0000

An unconventional idea, arts@trinity began as an arts chaplaincy, aiming to use art as a focus for the activities of its community. Over time the Holy Trinity Church has ceased to have a permanent minister but successive people have undertaken overseeing the arts programme, with an output as diverse as the talent that exists in Leeds. We chat with Bruce Davies, the Arts Adminstrator about the venue and the concept.
It seems to me that staging gigs in a church can be a little blasphemous: a lot of people do idolise bands, and certainly choose their Saturday night at a gig rather than their Sunday morning at church. However, Bruce argues that the awe inspiring building itself is the focus of the attention. Regardless of religious views it is impossible not to appreciate the architectural brilliance and atmosphere of many churches and ensuring the building remains in use ensures that it stays standing.
‘Anything as far as I am concerned that opens such buildings up and allows people of all persuasions access for whatever reason can only be a good thing. I think it is impossible not to have some thoughts and feelings towards such buildings and their original purpose anyway even if you are only here to see a rock band or an art exhibition.’
Rock stars are hardly known for their clean living habits and angelic lyrics, and strict censorship of this would leave very few acts being able to perform. Whilst being sensitive to the needs of everyone else who uses the building arts@trinity do so without being censorial. It seems that this has not really been an issue for the arts administrators, as the artists are respectful of the fact that they are playing in a church.
‘On the whole artists and musicians who use the space do so because they want to utilise the ambience and architecture as a positive which means working with the building and it‟s meanings rather than against it. ‘
It seems that there is in fact more cross over than you may think between the worshippers and gig goers. Although the crowd isn‟t full of the same people as the congregation, both are there to focus on something, gaze in wonderment, and be inspired.
‘A lot of people do come in during the week just to look at the space and sit in it regardless of whether things are happening here or not.’
Trinity is not a supporting venue to the main act of the band, like many spaces can be. Like all the best venues, the ambience and experience of Trinity is as much part of the event as the art and music itself. The experience of seeing a band in Trinity often compels people to come back during the week to submerge themselves in the aura of the area. Having been stimulated by a gig or event, the church becomes one of the repertoire of places important to someone in Leeds.
One of the special venues indeed, Holy Trinity Church ‘is a resonant space, as opposed to a dead space as some gig spaces can be and the bands tend to play to this using the acoustics of the building for their own benefit. As far as art is concerned it is a highly adaptable venue that has played host to some brilliant and very unusual exhibitions the likes of which you just wouldn’t be able to see anywhere else in Leeds.’
Live At Leeds will be using HTC to showcase 2007 Mercury Prize nominee Fionn Regan, James Yuill, Paul Marshall, who played a gig here at Christmas last year and Marina and the Diamonds.
A testimony to the success of Holy Trinity is the emergence of St John’s the Evangelist on New Briggate, which is just at the beginning of what they hope will become another arts project. Although Trinity is still a working church and the dynamic is completely different, Bruce sees St John’s as an ‘ally’ in his mission to bring art to more people in Leeds. Keep your eyes peeled for a collaborative visual art event between the two being staged later this year.

Brudenell Social Club

admin — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 21:05:30 +0000

The Brudenell Social Club is where it’s all happening in Leeds…

The first time I walked in to the BSC I thought that I had staggered into the venue of someone’s 80th birthday party. The plastic chairs, cosy carpet and beige walls of the venue are a nostalgic throw back to village gatherings, and I half expected to see a buffet of cocktail sausages, chip sticks and sausage rolls when I walked round the corner.
In terms of bringing music to a new and excited audience, nowhere has done more in Leeds than the BSC, whatever day you go, and whoever is playing, you will always get a very diverse mix of people: young and old, students and locals. True to its name, this is the place to social network, accompanied with a big dollop of indie. With a capacity of 300 people the little Brudenell has a real intimate feel, which conversely is what makes it such a lure for big bands. At the back end of 2007 the Cribs played their three albums over three successive nights (with support coming from Franz Ferdinand, Kaiser Chiefs and Kate Nash). Homecoming gigs feel more homey when they seem as though they’re in your living room.
This unique almost domesticity means that upon entering fans and bands have an immediate attachment to the venue. In February of this year homegrown talent Sky Larkin were genuinely overawed to be playing at the Brudenell, having spent their teenage years watching bands there themselves, dreaming of musical stardom. It’s not just hot air – the Brudenell has captured the hearts of those who have danced the night away, drunk the night away, sung the night away, and somewhere underneath that retro carpet its magic remains for all who tread. Long may it continue to be a home for the bubbling creativity in Leeds. And long may we keep it our little secret.