There are many things that can be truly maddening about going to concerts in our modern age.
Sound engineers who mix singers' voices so they're inaudible buried in the mix? Frustrating incompetence.
People holding up their phones to shoot video during the whole show? A pox on our digital age.
Bands with young fans playing 21+ venues? Thick-headedly exclusionary.
Shows with more than two opening acts? There's this concept called overkill, and your bill with six acts instantly diminishes any interest I'd have in attending.
Venues taking merch cuts from artists? Malicious thievery.
People pushing their way closer to the stage or generally not having a sense of others' space? Just pure assholery.
Ticket fees that cost more than the actual ticket? Makes me want to try Ticketmaster executives at the Hague.
Online tickets getting scooped up by resellers? Another added charge in said Hague case.
But the most easily fixable thing about the modern concert-going experience that, by and large, promoters and venues stubbornly refuse to acknowledge?
Concerts start too late.
I'm not saying this from a grumpy "Old Man Yells at Cloud" mindset, but an altruistic one. As a notorious night owl who usually doesn't go to bed till at least 2 am, I'm rarely tired or dragging as concerts crawl into late-night hours. But that's not the case for 99.9% of concert-going folks I've interacted with over the years.
Sure, there's a youthful sweetspot when basically nobody cares when a concert starts. But then most people turn 25 or so, start to have "real" lives, and the prospect of a late night devoted to live music seems evermore daunting.
From an attendee perspective, there are many things that can suck as a show drags into the late night hours. First and most obviously — people get tired. Even if your favorite band is playing an epic marathon set, if you're used to going to sleep at normal hours, your mental engagement isn't going to be in peak form as the minutes tick away. And that's before even getting into the issues of potentially having to hire a babysitter if you have kids (and worrying about things going late) or dealing with drunk folks getting more rowdy as the night progresses.
But those are all issues to deal with at concerts. The bigger issue is how late start times actually depress attendance at shows.
Back when I was still organizing and playing shows, my emails with venues and promoters would often go something like this.
"Can we please start the concert at like 7 pm instead of 9 pm? I know for a fact we could get more people to come to an earlier show, because I've literally had people tell me that they won't come because it's too late."
"No."
"Why? Like, we would make you more money if we started earlier."
"We start shows at 9 pm."
It got to the point where I was nearly having concerts canceled because I'd vigorously push against their idiotic, opaque business practices. I'm sure there's some internal rationale behind such decisions, but there was never any satisfying explanation.
The bottom line is: More people would go to shows if they started earlier. If more people go to the show, that's more paying customers. If there are more paying customers, there will be more people to buy drinks and merchandise. Literally everyone would make more money.
If you loathe economics being brought into the live music equation, then this logical progression might be more up your alley: More people would go to shows if they started earlier. If more people go to shows, the scene is healthier — locals make more playing shows, and touring bands are more likely to return. If the scene is healthier, more venues can open or stay open. If there are more venues, there are more spots for a variety of musical artists to take the stage. If there are more venues, more artists and more people going to concerts? Well congrats, you now have a thriving music scene!
While earlier evening start times on the weekdays are essential to get many busy folks to more concerts, there's also a chance to go really early on the weekends. The few times I've gone to shows that start at like 5 pm on a Saturday, it's been a joy. Everyone's energetic, the performers seem fresher, and by the time things get done, you've still got the whole night left for more fun activities (heck, you could even go to another concert!).
And while of course some concerts should be held later (beyond outdoor festivals, ravers don't exactly want the beats to be dropping when it's still light outside the venue), a communal push for earlier shows could be a shot in the arm for the entire music industry.
While I can't force this New Year's resolution upon the venue and booking power brokers, I dearly wish that I could. If we soft-standardized door times for 6 pm and shows to start at 6:30 or 7 pm, we'd be living in a world of even more shared musical bliss. ♦
Save the Date!
In case you missed it, here are some big Inland Northwest concerts already announced for this year
Jan. 18: Parker McCollum at Spokane Arena
Jan. 21: Bryan Adams at Spokane Arena
Jan. 23: Plain White Ts at Knitting Factory
Jan. 29: Pink Martini at the Fox
Jan 29: G3 at First Interstate Center for the Arts
Jan. 31: Slothrust at District Bar
Feb. 12: Postmodern Jukebox at the Fox
Feb. 18: Dropkick Murphys at Spokane Tribe Casino
Feb 18: Silversun Pickups at Knitting Factory
Feb. 22: TobyMac at Spokane Arena
Feb. 23: Sarah Jarosz at Knitting Factory
Feb. 28: Beartooth at Knitting Factory
March 7: Jess Williamson at District Bar
March 8 & 9: Zeds Dead at Knitting Factory
March 14: Blake Shelton at Spokane Arena
March 15: Brandon Lake at Spokane Arena
March 21: GWAR at Knitting Factory
March 24: Melissa Etheridge at Northern Quest Resort & Casino
March 27: Danny Brown at Knitting Factory
April 6: MercyMe at Spokane Arena
April 26: Cody Johnson at Spokane Arena
May 12: Needtobreathe at Northern Quest Resort & Casino
May 15: Boyz II Men at Northern Quest Resort & Casino
May 25 & 26: Illenium at Gorge Amphitheatre
May 31: Red Hot Chili Peppers at Gorge Amphitheatre
June 6: Taking Back Sunday at Knitting Factory
June 29: Noah Kahan at Gorge Amphitheatre
July 14: Blink-182 at Gorge Amphitheatre
Aug. 13: Sammy Hagar at Northern Quest Resort & Casino
Aug. 23: Tyler Childers at Gorge Amphitheatre
Sept. 14: King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard at Gorge Amphitheatre
