4 ms·

I live in a small suburban US town and I’ve seen live music 6 times in the past 2 weeks? I go dancing regularly?? I have three tickets next week to see <$30 b

I live in a small suburban US town and I’ve seen live music 6 times in the past 2 weeks? I go dancing regularly?? I have three tickets next week to see <$30 bands. I can’t relate to any of this.

glorpsicle 2y ago
I'm happy to see this, but you are but one person, and probably an outlier. GP was clearly talking about society in general.
- grugagag 2y ago
  Maybe it’s just a temporary thing, eventually people will get sick of AI and being marketed digitally at every breath they take. Old things do come back, you know?
  - johnnyanmac 2y ago
    Never at the wave they were at at its peak, no. Why are we making predictions on society based on hopes, anyway? If your goal is to find a cozy little dance floor and you're in a populated enough city, the you'll find whatever genre of dance you want with a small few core people. You just need to hope you like that core. But that's not an option for everyone be it due to their living situation or the rising costs of everything.
- freeone3000 2y ago
  Idk, someone is buying those tickets. I go to a dance party every month or so. But also… you are not forbidden from dancing. You can just do it. So if you want to go dancing and don’t, that’s on you.
  - johnnyanmac 2y ago
    No one is stopping me from just dancing alone in my house. I feel thst misses the social point of dancing though. And again. Anecdotes. There's no dance parties in my town. I need to travel 40 minutes to another city and pay $20 for 3 hours of dancing every month. Not worth it for me in any regard.
    - shiroiushi 2y ago
      "treflop" says he goes dancing regularly, in addition to various live music events. "freeone3000" says he goes to a dance party every month or so. It sounds like your town just sucks, and you should move to one of their towns. You can't expect all towns across the country to be equally good for all interests.
      - johnnyanmac 2y ago
        Move? In this economy? I'd also need more than two opinions on unknown towns before I'd consider that. Maybe they're both on San Francisco paying 3x in rent. Literally can't afford that move.
        shiroiushi 2y ago
        I mean, this of course is just a casual conversation on an internet forum, so I don't seriously mean you should pack up right now and move to one of those two towns just because of dancing. But my larger point is that different places offer different things, and some places just aren't going to be very good for certain cultural interests (like dancing). America's a big place, and if you don't really like the place you're in, I don't think it's that productive to say "activity X is really bad these days" just because it's bad in your area, and some other areas that some article claims based on anecdotes. It may even be the case that it really is worse, on average, than several decades ago. But there's surely places where it's fine, so if the area you're in doesn't meet your expectations for cultural activities, perhaps you should start looking around for a new place.
        johnnyanmac 2y ago
        >I don't think it's that productive to say "activity X is really bad these days" just because it's bad in your area Then why is it okay to say the opposite and ignore the average experience? I don't understand the double standard here. If we base anything on extremes everything sounds amazing or awful. And I wasn't speaking for myself. I'm simply referencing the article where someone took the time and effort to make an entire book based on this phenomenon. What compelling reason do I have to take these commenter's words over the authors? (no offense to the commentors). >so if the area you're in doesn't meet your expectations for cultural activities, perhaps you should start looking around for a new place. If that's important enough to you, sure. But this feels like a very unsympathetic and potentially non-viable solution for most of the population. We're not all single people with 6 months of saving ready to not renew an apartment lease. Some people have families, some people need to be around certain scenes to get steady work, some people can't afford to move, etc. Everyone has passions but most people won't throw their lives away to pursue that passion. e.g. I want to one day seriously study art, but the circus of a job search, paying off my debt, and rebuffering my savings comes before I start browsing for classes. Proper responsible living means delaying your immediate urges and passions to keep yourseof afloat.
- Forgeties79 2y ago
  I get what they're going for but live music specifically is very much available nationwide (US). You can see a live musician any night of the week in almost any locale. Maybe you won't like what's playing, but it's out there. Gig musicians at non-music venues are definitely fewer but a lot of musicians still make their most consistent living playing regular gigs at bars and coffee shops and such.
  - johnnyanmac 2y ago
    Again, it's anecdotal. Don't underestimate how many live in the rural/small suburbs.
    - Forgeties79 2y ago
      I live on the US gulf coast and am regularly in small, rural areas regularly. Don't underestimate the life experience of some folks!
- treflop 2y ago
  Well the shows I go to are packed and there are other people dancing.
  - xeromal 2y ago
    That's very similar to people who say they see snow outside so how is global warming happening?
    - dghlsakjg 2y ago
      Was there ever really a time when people didn't sit at home for entertainment? I think before radio, sitting around and reading a book was pretty normal. Back then a lot of people lived in places where visiting the neighbors was a lot harder than it is now.
    - treflop 2y ago
      I just know people who say things similar to OP who lament that live music is dead but they never go out or do anything when you ask them to go. Their anecdotal experience is more a reflection of their own preferences. The venues in my suburban area have only grown over the past 10 years and new venues have opened.
      - johnnyanmac 2y ago
        With all due respect: you're commenting on a post of an article about the New Yorker about an entire book someone made about this phenomenon. Maybe the book is all anecdotes, but this isn't just your friend sitting around watching Netflix all day and wonder why everything is so boring. Clearly there's a larger societal issue. I'm glad it works out for you, but you aren't society.
  - wintermutestwin 2y ago
    >the shows I go to are packed and there are other people dancing I would love to actually be able to dance/move at packed shows. Not to mention the absolutely lame rise of seated only shows. Orchestral music, ok, but sitting down at a rock show is neutering the experience for me.
ghaff 2y ago
It's probably demographics to a large degree. A lot of people have families and family-related activities and they largely drop out of random socialization.
- treflop 2y ago
  Sure, but having additional responsibilities when you have a family is not a new phenomenon created in the last 30 years.
  - ghaff 2y ago
    I'm not convinced that shifting away from general social activities is an especially recent phenomenon though it may be true that just leaving the kids at home with a babysitter/nanny/older relative when you went out may have been more common in the past.
dghlsakjg 2y ago
Same. I live in a small/medium Canadian valley (about 76k spread between three towns in a rural district 3ish hours from anything that could be called a 'real city') I regularly see live music accidentally just by showing up at various bars and breweries. We have several groups doing local theater. We have two multi-day music festivals in the summer, and at least a dozen more within a few hours drive. There is plenty of live entertainment for those who want it. If I had to guess, I would say that there is maybe two nights per week where there isn't live music, but if you add in trivia nights, rec center activities, etc. You could easily fill your schedule any day of the week
bwanab 2y ago
I play in bands in a large metro area. 90% of our gigs are in smallish towns in the surrounding areas. I live in the center city and there are gigs one can attend, but compared to the population it's a really low number. Just in my immediate area almost 3/4 of the small venues from 20 years ago are gone.
- HelloNurse 2y ago
  This seems basic gentrification: in your smallish towns reasonably large venues still have reasonable operating costs and continue to offer live music, while in your center city bars and clubs are strangled by rent cost or rent expiration or insufficient profit margins. What is replacing them?
nineteen999 2y ago
Australian city here and yeah you just have to know where to look. There aren't anywhere near as many indie/original artists as there were back in the 80-90's, but those were the heydays. Heaps of cover bands still if you want to dance to older stuff, and I notice some of them get a younger crowd. Then there are the music festivals etc.
DonnyV 2y ago
Where do you live??? In my area is totally dead 30 miles in every direction. I would have to travel 45min to the city to find a place playing live music.

I live in a small suburban US town and I’ve seen live music 6 times in the past 2 weeks? I go dancing regularly?? I have three tickets next week to see <$30 bands. I can’t relate to any of this.

glorpsicle 2y ago

I'm happy to see this, but you are but one person, and probably an outlier. GP was clearly talking about society in general.

grugagag 2y ago
Maybe it’s just a temporary thing, eventually people will get sick of AI and being marketed digitally at every breath they take. Old things do come back, you know?
- johnnyanmac 2y ago
  Never at the wave they were at at its peak, no. Why are we making predictions on society based on hopes, anyway? If your goal is to find a cozy little dance floor and you're in a populated enough city, the you'll find whatever genre of dance you want with a small few core people. You just need to hope you like that core. But that's not an option for everyone be it due to their living situation or the rising costs of everything.
freeone3000 2y ago
Idk, someone is buying those tickets. I go to a dance party every month or so. But also… you are not forbidden from dancing. You can just do it. So if you want to go dancing and don’t, that’s on you.
- johnnyanmac 2y ago
  No one is stopping me from just dancing alone in my house. I feel thst misses the social point of dancing though. And again. Anecdotes. There's no dance parties in my town. I need to travel 40 minutes to another city and pay $20 for 3 hours of dancing every month. Not worth it for me in any regard.
  - shiroiushi 2y ago
    "treflop" says he goes dancing regularly, in addition to various live music events. "freeone3000" says he goes to a dance party every month or so. It sounds like your town just sucks, and you should move to one of their towns. You can't expect all towns across the country to be equally good for all interests.
    - johnnyanmac 2y ago
      Move? In this economy? I'd also need more than two opinions on unknown towns before I'd consider that. Maybe they're both on San Francisco paying 3x in rent. Literally can't afford that move.
      - shiroiushi 2y ago
        I mean, this of course is just a casual conversation on an internet forum, so I don't seriously mean you should pack up right now and move to one of those two towns just because of dancing. But my larger point is that different places offer different things, and some places just aren't going to be very good for certain cultural interests (like dancing). America's a big place, and if you don't really like the place you're in, I don't think it's that productive to say "activity X is really bad these days" just because it's bad in your area, and some other areas that some article claims based on anecdotes. It may even be the case that it really is worse, on average, than several decades ago. But there's surely places where it's fine, so if the area you're in doesn't meet your expectations for cultural activities, perhaps you should start looking around for a new place.
        johnnyanmac 2y ago
        >I don't think it's that productive to say "activity X is really bad these days" just because it's bad in your area Then why is it okay to say the opposite and ignore the average experience? I don't understand the double standard here. If we base anything on extremes everything sounds amazing or awful. And I wasn't speaking for myself. I'm simply referencing the article where someone took the time and effort to make an entire book based on this phenomenon. What compelling reason do I have to take these commenter's words over the authors? (no offense to the commentors). >so if the area you're in doesn't meet your expectations for cultural activities, perhaps you should start looking around for a new place. If that's important enough to you, sure. But this feels like a very unsympathetic and potentially non-viable solution for most of the population. We're not all single people with 6 months of saving ready to not renew an apartment lease. Some people have families, some people need to be around certain scenes to get steady work, some people can't afford to move, etc. Everyone has passions but most people won't throw their lives away to pursue that passion. e.g. I want to one day seriously study art, but the circus of a job search, paying off my debt, and rebuffering my savings comes before I start browsing for classes. Proper responsible living means delaying your immediate urges and passions to keep yourseof afloat.
Forgeties79 2y ago
I get what they're going for but live music specifically is very much available nationwide (US). You can see a live musician any night of the week in almost any locale. Maybe you won't like what's playing, but it's out there. Gig musicians at non-music venues are definitely fewer but a lot of musicians still make their most consistent living playing regular gigs at bars and coffee shops and such.
- johnnyanmac 2y ago
  Again, it's anecdotal. Don't underestimate how many live in the rural/small suburbs.
  - Forgeties79 2y ago
    I live on the US gulf coast and am regularly in small, rural areas regularly. Don't underestimate the life experience of some folks!
treflop 2y ago
Well the shows I go to are packed and there are other people dancing.
- xeromal 2y ago
  That's very similar to people who say they see snow outside so how is global warming happening?
  - dghlsakjg 2y ago
    Was there ever really a time when people didn't sit at home for entertainment? I think before radio, sitting around and reading a book was pretty normal. Back then a lot of people lived in places where visiting the neighbors was a lot harder than it is now.
  - treflop 2y ago
    I just know people who say things similar to OP who lament that live music is dead but they never go out or do anything when you ask them to go. Their anecdotal experience is more a reflection of their own preferences. The venues in my suburban area have only grown over the past 10 years and new venues have opened.
    - johnnyanmac 2y ago
      With all due respect: you're commenting on a post of an article about the New Yorker about an entire book someone made about this phenomenon. Maybe the book is all anecdotes, but this isn't just your friend sitting around watching Netflix all day and wonder why everything is so boring. Clearly there's a larger societal issue. I'm glad it works out for you, but you aren't society.
- wintermutestwin 2y ago
  >the shows I go to are packed and there are other people dancing I would love to actually be able to dance/move at packed shows. Not to mention the absolutely lame rise of seated only shows. Orchestral music, ok, but sitting down at a rock show is neutering the experience for me.

ghaff 2y ago

It's probably demographics to a large degree. A lot of people have families and family-related activities and they largely drop out of random socialization.

treflop 2y ago
Sure, but having additional responsibilities when you have a family is not a new phenomenon created in the last 30 years.
- ghaff 2y ago
  I'm not convinced that shifting away from general social activities is an especially recent phenomenon though it may be true that just leaving the kids at home with a babysitter/nanny/older relative when you went out may have been more common in the past.

dghlsakjg 2y ago

Same. I live in a small/medium Canadian valley (about 76k spread between three towns in a rural district 3ish hours from anything that could be called a 'real city') I regularly see live music accidentally just by showing up at various bars and breweries. We have several groups doing local theater. We have two multi-day music festivals in the summer, and at least a dozen more within a few hours drive. There is plenty of live entertainment for those who want it. If I had to guess, I would say that there is maybe two nights per week where there isn't live music, but if you add in trivia nights, rec center activities, etc. You could easily fill your schedule any day of the week

bwanab 2y ago

I play in bands in a large metro area. 90% of our gigs are in smallish towns in the surrounding areas. I live in the center city and there are gigs one can attend, but compared to the population it's a really low number. Just in my immediate area almost 3/4 of the small venues from 20 years ago are gone.

HelloNurse 2y ago
This seems basic gentrification: in your smallish towns reasonably large venues still have reasonable operating costs and continue to offer live music, while in your center city bars and clubs are strangled by rent cost or rent expiration or insufficient profit margins. What is replacing them?

nineteen999 2y ago

Australian city here and yeah you just have to know where to look. There aren't anywhere near as many indie/original artists as there were back in the 80-90's, but those were the heydays. Heaps of cover bands still if you want to dance to older stuff, and I notice some of them get a younger crowd. Then there are the music festivals etc.

DonnyV 2y ago

Where do you live??? In my area is totally dead 30 miles in every direction. I would have to travel 45min to the city to find a place playing live music.