A Brief Review, And A Question...

[Trivun]

Warpaint, for those of you who are unaware, are an LA-based girl band mainly performing art/experimental rock and dream-pop. Here's a sample of their tunes for those who've not heard them before:

Spoiler: Warpaint

On Thursday, I saw them perform at the student union of Leeds Metropolitan University, in northern England. And on the whole, I have to say, it was pretty awesome. The place was pretty packed out, and the songs (ranging from Undertow, their breakout hit, to encore songs Baby and Elephants as shown above) were as great as they sound on their album and EP. Nevertheless, I kind of have one criticism to make, and that's the atmosphere. Warpaint are not a big stage kind of band. Their music style and ambience lends them to smaller stages, smaller gigs like Leeds' own 'Cockpit' club (those from West Yorkshire may know of the place, if not then it's basically a smaller music venue under the railway arches in the city, fits maybe 200 people at a push ). Leeds Met is too large a venue, and that's a shame, because in a smaller location the atmosphere of the gig would have made it even more amazing. Sadly the fact that they were playing to a larger crowd kind of diluted the feel of the gig, if that makes sense. It didn't seem as intimate as the music would be suited to, instead being tailored for the larger crowd.

Warpaint, as it turns out, will also be playing several UK festivals this summer. Which leaves me with a mixed feeling. They are an amazing band and fully deserve the spotlight and recognition and success that playing big festivals will bring, but then again I'm kind of worried that they won't be anywhere near as good as they could be on a smaller stage if they're playing to massive crowds in open-air venues. Here's hoping they prove me wrong and rock out, as they deserve to do, but I'm interested to see just how well they'll be able to pull it off, since to me atmosphere is just as important as the music when seeing bands play live.

Which brings me on to my question. Well, questions. How much do you think the choice of venue affects the atmosphere and ambience of a music gig? Have you seen bands play in places that aren't suited to them and their musical style?

 

[Ambi]

Yeah. Once I saw MxPx play in a circus tent and the reverb made the double kick in Secret Weapon sound really off-beat. I might not know what I'm talking about, though. I haven't seen many bands live, just those Christian ones when I was younger, mostly youth group bands and bands at conferences.

Same band playing different venues, compare:

Spoiler

This seemed to work well.
Wouldn't watching a show in school uniform when you're wondering what class you have next kind of kill the mood?
"We told them not to mosh"

When I was younger I always thought daytime concerts wouldn't feel right and I always wanted to see a band at twilight on a large open field.

I also like to disappear. I don't want to feel like it's up to me to make the band feel appreciated because they can see my face and I'm standing like five metres away.

 

[tigermilk]

Belle and Sebastian with an audience of more than about 50 people loses something.

 

[Trivun]

Belle and Sebastian with an audience of more than about 50 people loses something.

Yeah, that's pretty much the vibe I get when I listen to their music from their albums, I reckon it just sounds like if you played it to a large crowd it wouldn't have the same effect. In my OP I mentioned a place called Cockpit, I went a few weeks ago to see these guys there:

Spoiler: Esben and the Witch

They opened with that song and it was amazing, and there were maybe 60 people or so in the audience. It only holds around 200 at capacity. I just get the feeling that if they tried playing to a larger venue it wouldn't feel or sound quite right, and that's the feeling I got with Warpaint, who are actually fairly similar in their musical style

 

[tigermilk]

Belle and Sebastian with an audience of more than about 50 people loses something.

Yeah, that's pretty much the vibe I get when I listen to their music from their albums, I reckon it just sounds like if you played it to a large crowd it wouldn't have the same effect. In my OP I mentioned a place called Cockpit, I went a few weeks ago to see these guys there:

Spoiler: Esben and the Witch

They opened with that song and it was amazing, and there were maybe 60 people or so in the audience. It only holds around 200 at capacity. I just get the feeling that if they tried playing to a larger venue it wouldn't feel or sound quite right, and that's the feeling I got with Warpaint, who are actually fairly similar in their musical style

Esben and the Witch are awesome, remind me of Mogwai/Boris (slightly less so now the vocals have kicked in). I'll have to keep an eye open for them (as I will never be able to see a 50 seater gig for Mogwai or Boris).

 

[Trivun]

Belle and Sebastian with an audience of more than about 50 people loses something.

Yeah, that's pretty much the vibe I get when I listen to their music from their albums, I reckon it just sounds like if you played it to a large crowd it wouldn't have the same effect. In my OP I mentioned a place called Cockpit, I went a few weeks ago to see these guys there:

Spoiler: Esben and the Witch

They opened with that song and it was amazing, and there were maybe 60 people or so in the audience. It only holds around 200 at capacity. I just get the feeling that if they tried playing to a larger venue it wouldn't feel or sound quite right, and that's the feeling I got with Warpaint, who are actually fairly similar in their musical style

Esben and the Witch are awesome, remind me of Mogwai/Boris (slightly less so now the vocals have kicked in). I'll have to keep an eye open for them (as I will never be able to see a 50 seater gig for Mogwai or Boris).

Not sure if this gig I went to was part of a tour or something, but you'll easily be able to catch them somewhere at this early point while they're still playing smaller gigs. They've been tipped for big things by NME though, they're doing some European gigs now then coming home to the UK for Glastonbury, Latitude and Bestival in the summer. So looks like they'll be playing larger crowds then, but they'll still be doing smaller gigs after that, certainly. Their tour dates are on their website and Myspace page

 

[BonsaiK]

How much do you think the choice of venue affects the atmosphere and ambience of a music gig? Have you seen bands play in places that aren't suited to them and their musical style?

A great deal, and yes, a lot.

Fear not, the predicament is known. Just because the band you're into is playing a festival doesn't mean they'll get the big stage, although they might. Some festivals realise that not every band is a "stadium" act and are good about having smaller stages for the acts that suit them.

Band members prefer to play big stages because of the bigger sound system, more room to breathe onstage and of course from a financial aspect, but from an audience member's point of view it's generally better to see a band in as small a venue as possible, as acoustics are often better and it's a lot more personable. Bands that graduate from small to bigger venues do tend to lose a few punters along the way who preferred that intimate environment.