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Today's topic: All-Ages Shows
By: Coco
We get so many letters & email every day here at Astro-HQ from people complaining that ...
"....you guys just played here (in town X) and my friends and I couldn't come to the show because it was 21 and over (or often 18 and over)...Don't you guys care about us ..etc...etc...."
First of all...Of course we care, and of course we are aware that we probably have MORE supporters UNDER the age of 21 than over. After all, let's not forget that when we started this alliance known as Man or Astro-man? a portion of the band wasn't legally allowed in the clubs we were playing. In fact, on a few occasions, Garage Shock included, some of us had to wait outside until we actually played, and then leave immediately after (with the perk of not being allowed to help load out!)...Also, being from (well crashing near) Birmingham, AL we also had the plight of not being able to attend shows we anted to because they were almost always 21+ (with the exception of the occasional punk show at someone's house, or the thrown together show at some rented hall, which was usually a disaster). So we are definitely with the problem.
"Ok, blah, blah, blah...So why don't you just play all ages shows then...simple enough right?"
Well, I wish it were that simple...here is why it is not...
..but first....definition of some terms used:
"Venue"=The club, bar, house, or where-ever the show is going on
"Promoter"=The individual(s) or company that arranges the show at the local level.
"Door" = money received by the venue as income from ticket sales and cover charge
"Bar"= money received by the venue as income from alcohol sales.
"PA"= the sound equipment as a whole, speakers, amps, mixers, cabling, mics etc.
OK..everyone knows that (most)club's prime motivation is to make money. Many may advertise that there are all about the music, but let's face it...money is what drives perhaps 95% of all clubs. Where do most of these clubs make there money?...Not from ticket sales..but from alcohol sales. A club typically uses the money from the ticket sales or cover charge to pay for the costs of the show , including : paying the band, paying for the sound person/s, paying for sound equipment, paying for lights, paying for security (when needed), and the other costs incurred by just having the show.
Very often the costs of the show exceed the ticket revenue (example being bands that simply didn't draw enough people in), and in this case the club must dig in to some other source of income...the bar sales. DonŐt forget that the bar sales still have to cover the costs of running the bar, (the alcohol, the staff, utilities, rent, etc).
A club does well by having a band that draws well, obviously, because revenue from the door (ticket/cover) AND revenue from the bar are both at their greatest.
A club does bad when a band doesn't draw well, because both revenues are down, while most of the costs remain the same. A club must use the excess income from a good night, and their "regular" bar flys to help pay for all the bad nights.
Clubs also often fall into having to do things like the dreaded "DISCO NIGHT" in order to draw in people willing to pay a cover, (getting door revenue up), and not having to pay a band and all the costs associated with live music (keeping costs down).
With this set up most clubs can remain in business, keeping in mind that they must continue booking a high enough percentage of acts popular enough to pay for all the nights that literally lose money for the club.
"Yeah, but why can't a club just book popular bands all the time, and that way they don't even need the alcohol sales to stay in business?"
Ok, well first... getting popular bands in every night would be logistically impossible, there simply isn't a big draw band in town (any town) every night. Even if they only operated on nights when there was, they may not be able to make rent...remember, costs continue, whether income is coming in or not.
Second, just because a band is popular, doesn't mean the club makes a lot of money by having them. Don't forget, as a band get more popular, they usually want more money to play...so as the attendance goes up so does their fee. So in this case, the club benefits primarily from increased attendance because of the increased alcohol sales.
So once again, the clubs still needs alcohol sales, and the show is over 21.
"Well, how come (band xx) was here, and it was all ages?"
It is possible to have all ages show...Believe me..we play them whenever we can...but there are rare, and here's why....
A club open all the time and not serving alcohol is extremely rare...almost non-existent...in fact I can only think of a few...and hats off to them...(Especially Einstein-A-Go-Go in Jacksonville , Florida)
These clubs usually come and go so quickly...simply due to the fact that they can't cover the cost for very long.
So the next step is for a promoter to just a rent a place for the night of the show, like a warehouse, or some abandoned building, and have the show there, that way eliminating the cost of long term rent. Then the promoter must rent or borrow sound equipment, and lights if needed. Depending on the budget of the promoter, (usually low of course) this equipment is usually sub-standard (just having a pair of speakers, a little mixer, and a few power amps may cut it for a few bands, but not many). But lets assume the PA is ok. So now the promoter gets some people, hoping to find volunteers to help set it all up.
And now the doors open...The charge is nice and low and the show proceeds...lots of people show up...and when it's said and done, the bands are paid, the rental stuff is all paid for, and maybe the promoter even makes a little money (which he/she should, at least if the bands are getting paid). So she/he does some more shows, but not quite as many people are attending as before, and now the promoter realizes that it can work, but he/she isn't making any money doing it. So the promoter continues because she/he love putting on shows. But this can only last for so long, face it, it is a lot of work for anyone putting on any show, and very few can continue with just the gratification.
So eventually this promoter stops having shows....perhaps another will start.
We hope so.
"So why can't a club just do both...have alcohol and all ages?"
Aha!...perhaps the solution!...Hmmm...but some complications to be worked out first.
Of course the main problem with this is the legal liability the club steps right into by having alcohol and minors in the same place.....If the police or ABC board catch a minor with alcohol...whammo...stiff fines and possible loss of liquor license (meaning loss of the ability to legally sell booze). Even if the club is very strict about who they sell to, the simply cannot control who people give drinks to. So typically the risks are way to high for a bar to do the ol' wristband or hand stamp thing.
Another reason is that often the older folks at the bar for some reason don't want to have to mingle with the younger crowd...don't ask me why...I don't quite understand this phenomenon either (but have a few theories)
"Well then why don't clubs have a separated area, with controlled access to the bar...perhaps an upstairs bar with IDing at the stairs or something?"
Yes...that is one way to do it....of course the legalities vary from county to county, but I propose the same...perhaps even the upstairs bar level even having it own entrance from the street, and having no access for showgoers between the two...This way if someone wants to drink, and/or not be around the younger in attendance, they can simply pay to go in upstairs...The downstairs would be all ages...of course being over 21 doesnŐt mean you have to go to the bar...there are many that don't drink at shows.
The problem is, this requires a little forethought ... which most clubs never seem to have. It all boils down to design...and most clubs have never even thought about the design of the club for longer than five minutes (don't get me started...everything from parking, load in/out, equipment storage, band rooms, stage layout,electrical considerations, board placement, lighting placement, bar location, etc, etc...). Typically a club owner rents a room, or building, sticks a stage at one end, a bar at the other, throws in some PA gear and starts selling tickets...ZERO thought...I mean come on..."We gotta start making money..we ainŐt go no time to think about the design/layout!!"
Of course, there are some great clubs out there that have successfully done it...
The 9:30 Club in Washington, DC is a prime example...and their continued success is evident by their new building...(and they spent way more than five minutes designing that place!)...Helmets off to the 9:30 Club. (Just save the fire extinguishers for their intended usage....sorry.)
"Ok, well what about Fugazi, they......"
Ok...the eternal question...what about Fugazi....
Fugazi (as far as I can tell) is an extraordinary case, and a unique one unfortunately.
In the earlier days, when Minor Threat began having shows, they were of course, from what I gather, all-ages. Typically these shows, and these type of shows, both then and now, occurred in a different sort of setting. Most of these shows typically brought in folks in the punk and hardcore "scene", and a lot of these shows went on in people's houses...and they still do...The thing here, is that the crowd and the bands were accustomed to this, so minimal PA and such was no real problem. Minor Threat, of course, did well, and both established Ian MacKaye as an amazing performer/musician as well gain him credibility with all those interested in putting on shows.
As Minor Threat grew, so did the reputation of these shows...and as Fugazi came into being, the policy of $5.00 cover, and all-ages became one of the few known constants. Now by this point Fugazi had gained enough of a fan base to ensure any local promoter that he/she could rent a room, nice PA, etc...charge $5.00, probably sell out, and have enough money to pay Fugazi, and other bands, and still make a fair profit...WITHOUT the sale of alcohol. Now the problem that most other bands face in attempting to emulate Fugazi, is that the local promoter usually doesn't feel secure that the band will draw enough people to make that kind of income. So they typically rely on the sale of booze to carry them through ( not to mention, many promoters are greedy..and want the additional revenue from the alcohol.)
Some bands can say, "It's gonna be all-ages, or no show"..but only a few..right now, if Man or Astro-man? says that...well, in most cases...the promoter says.."OK, No Show"
It is getting better though, and we have been able to get more and more all ages shows, so look out...perhaps next time we come to town, it will be all-ages, and perhaps you will still be young enough to care.
.coco
END
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