What time should concerts end?
06-22-15, 02:48 PM
#1
DVD Talk Godfather
Thread Starter
What time should concerts end?
Here's one opinion I strongly support.
I had tickets to see Titus Andronicus last year during CMJ (or Northside, forget which). Doors were at 8pm but they weren't going to be on until midnight. I left after the second opener.
06-22-15, 03:26 PM
#3
Re: What time should concerts end?
I remember in the 80's & 90's when concerts used to finish real late, sometimes the headliner would not go on until 1 or 2AM. Now the venues try to finish them early so they can make more money by having dancing until the wee hours of 4AM which is bar time. I don't mind late shows as long as it's on the weekend. When I go out, in addition to watching the show, I like to hang out late and have a few drinks with friends. Sometimes after the shows I'll go to a bar with friends and stay till closing. Just because I'm in my 40's doesn't mean I can't enjoy myself. After working all week I like to get out of the house.
06-22-15, 03:35 PM
#4
Re: What time should concerts end?
Japanese pop music concerts tend to start early and finish early. The one that started latest for me was last summer in Paris and it began at 7PM. When we all got out and headed to the Metro it was 9:30 PM and still light out!
06-22-15, 04:34 PM
#5
DVD Talk Godfather
Thread Starter
Re: What time should concerts end?
When I go out, in addition to watching the show, I like to hang out late and have a few drinks with friends. Sometimes after the shows I'll go to a bar with friends and stay till closing. Just because I'm in my 40's doesn't mean I can't enjoy myself. After working all week I like to get out of the house.
06-22-15, 04:46 PM
#6
DVD Talk Hero
Re: What time should concerts end?
Out here it's different. We saw Paul Van Dyk spin a set in 2013 and he only had Kristina Sky as an open and she spun for over 2 hours. He came on at about 1 am or so and spun until about 3am with no signs of slowing down. We left before he finished but that club would go for a few more hours since it was an "after hours" club. I read that Kristina Sky came back and spun from like 4am till whenever.
Regular concerts tend to finish at about 11pm or midnight depending on the venue and city. I usually don't care to hang out at the bar after a rock show, because I will have already been drinking during the show or before. We will get some street tacos afterward, though.
Regular concerts tend to finish at about 11pm or midnight depending on the venue and city. I usually don't care to hang out at the bar after a rock show, because I will have already been drinking during the show or before. We will get some street tacos afterward, though.
Last edited by Why So Blu?; 06-22-15 at 07:28 PM.
06-22-15, 04:56 PM
#8
DVD Talk Legend
Re: What time should concerts end?
Being concerned about the ending time seems to limit the number of bands. I went to many triple bills in the 80's and the headliner would never go on before 10. So then you're basically saying you want very short sets.
06-22-15, 04:59 PM
#9
DVD Talk Legend
Re: What time should concerts end?
I guess I've never been to a show that started later than 8. So in that case going to 11 or 12 gives a decent amount of time for the band to play.
06-22-15, 07:20 PM
#10
Banned by request
Re: What time should concerts end?
Opening acts should have a 20 minute set. Unless you're Prince or Metallica opening for The Rolling Stones, the chances of you as an opening act having more than 20 minutes worth of awesome material is nil.
Bands should play from 90 minutes up to a maximum of 3 hours, depending on who they are. I saw Lou Reed play for 3 hours and he still didn't hit every song I wanted to hear. On the other hand, does anyone really need 3 hours of Lamb of God?
Bands should play from 90 minutes up to a maximum of 3 hours, depending on who they are. I saw Lou Reed play for 3 hours and he still didn't hit every song I wanted to hear. On the other hand, does anyone really need 3 hours of Lamb of God?
06-22-15, 07:48 PM
#11
DVD Talk Legend
Re: What time should concerts end?
I don't mind a late concert if they're playing a long set, but I don't want to wait 2+ hours after some crappy opening act to see a headliner play.
And more bands should take the "evening with..." approach that some bands (most notably Rush) does. Play an hour or so, take a break, and play a longer set.
And more bands should take the "evening with..." approach that some bands (most notably Rush) does. Play an hour or so, take a break, and play a longer set.
06-22-15, 08:00 PM
#12
DVD Talk Legend
Re: What time should concerts end?
I agree 12 would be OK in almost all cases. But I saw people posting 10 or 11 and that's too early multiple bands or acts that tend to play longer sets. In those 80's triple bill examples it wasn't abnormal for the middle act to play for an hour. When you add in tear down/set up times, it doesn't take long to get past 11.
06-23-15, 12:19 AM
#13
DVD Talk Legend
Re: What time should concerts end?
Are you talking concert settings (like a large arena, concert hall, etc) or a nightclub? Very different venues. I'd say I've only been to about 7-8 shows in large settings my entire life, but hundreds of club shows. So I very much expect to not see the headline act until way after 11PM. I'm used to it, I guess. I recently saw X at a large non-nightclub venue, and was a little surprised that I had to be there at 8 to see them.
06-23-15, 07:17 AM
#14
Moderator
Re: What time should concerts end?
Depends on the day of the week. On a weekend, midnight, otherwise, 11:00 pm.
06-23-15, 09:27 AM
#15
DVD Talk Special Edition
Re: What time should concerts end?
Concerts should end when they're over, not by a specified time. It's one night out of the week. Not going to kill you to stay up late.
06-23-15, 09:34 AM
#16
Moderator
Re: What time should concerts end?
I occasionally attend multiple concerts in the same week. yes, it's my choice, but I shouldn't have to decide to not see a show because I won't get home (from a show a few miles from my house) until 1:00 am or later.
06-23-15, 09:51 AM
#17
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Re: What time should concerts end?
I disagree with this immensely. I've been to lots of concerts where the opening act was as great or more of a draw than the headliner. Just of the top of my head, I've seen The National, Metric, Stars and Broken Social Scene as openers. I'd be horribly disappointed if any of those had showed up and only played for 20 minutes.
06-23-15, 10:07 AM
#18
DVD Talk Special Edition
Re: What time should concerts end?
Exactly. The band chooses when to start. You choose whether or not to go. Early starts for gigs are often a pain in the ass in big cities. I'd rather get to bed late than have to leave work early and fight traffic to get to a concert that starts early.
06-23-15, 10:08 AM
#19
DVD Talk Special Edition
Re: What time should concerts end?
I disagree with this immensely. I've been to lots of concerts where the opening act was as great or more of a draw than the headliner. Just of the top of my head, I've seen The National, Metric, Stars and Broken Social Scene as openers. I'd be horribly disappointed if any of those had showed up and only played for 20 minutes.
06-23-15, 10:13 AM
#20
DVD Talk Legend
Re: What time should concerts end?
Same here. Personally I've seen a few 60-90 minute opening acts with a another 30 minutes of tear down/set up before the headliner could take the stage. The best example was when Cheap Trick opened up for Heart. CT had their own full stage setup and played for a full 90 minutes. Heart didn't even take the stage till 10:00, and they played till about 12:30.
06-23-15, 10:23 AM
#21
Moderator
Re: What time should concerts end?
06-23-15, 10:58 AM
#22
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Re: What time should concerts end?
http://rvanews.com/entertainment/why...on-time/125291
Most enlightening, though, is the last entry in the piece's comment section, by a guy heavily involved in music here:
Dealing with bands is like trying to nail jello to a wall. And bands, no matter what type of music they play, are adult kindergarten. Something about playing music together lowers the group’s collective IQ.
What you also have also to take into account is that the more people that are involved with something, the higher the possibility that things won’t run on time. Places that do have shows start on time usually are catering to older audiences with small bills (1-2 bands) featuring music of the subdued, best-heard-sitting-down variety. These types of shows are much easier to run.
The underlying issue in Richmond is that venues (that aren’t craft breweries) have to be two things at once; they have to be a restaurant and a club. This complicates matters because running a restaurant and running a music venue are two entirely different things. If a venue could just be a venue, things would be able to run a lot smoother.
Also, success in the music business is measured in pools of vomit. It doesn’t matter what type of music the band(s) are playing; If a band gets on stage and kills kittens and the bar makes a killing at the bar, said band will be killing kittens at the club with regularity. And yes, restaurant owners, even those that just serve food, make their living off the alcohol sales. Adding alcohol to the mixture of anything is going to hinder punctuality.
Having said all that, live music will never be like going to the movies. I’ve been going to shows for 30-plus years. Sometimes they start on time and sometimes they don’t. That’s just how it is. As someone who books music, I do make very effort to have shows run on time, but as the old saying goes, shit happens.
If you have strong feelings about how a show should be run, start booking bands yourself.
What you also have also to take into account is that the more people that are involved with something, the higher the possibility that things won’t run on time. Places that do have shows start on time usually are catering to older audiences with small bills (1-2 bands) featuring music of the subdued, best-heard-sitting-down variety. These types of shows are much easier to run.
The underlying issue in Richmond is that venues (that aren’t craft breweries) have to be two things at once; they have to be a restaurant and a club. This complicates matters because running a restaurant and running a music venue are two entirely different things. If a venue could just be a venue, things would be able to run a lot smoother.
Also, success in the music business is measured in pools of vomit. It doesn’t matter what type of music the band(s) are playing; If a band gets on stage and kills kittens and the bar makes a killing at the bar, said band will be killing kittens at the club with regularity. And yes, restaurant owners, even those that just serve food, make their living off the alcohol sales. Adding alcohol to the mixture of anything is going to hinder punctuality.
Having said all that, live music will never be like going to the movies. I’ve been going to shows for 30-plus years. Sometimes they start on time and sometimes they don’t. That’s just how it is. As someone who books music, I do make very effort to have shows run on time, but as the old saying goes, shit happens.
If you have strong feelings about how a show should be run, start booking bands yourself.
06-23-15, 11:16 AM
#23
DVD Talk Legend
Re: What time should concerts end?
There have been only a couple times when it seemed likely that the band was late. The tear down/setup after the opening act is long since complete, and still we stuck sitting and listening to recorded music over the PA system. They would never admit what was going on, but it was pretty obvious at the time. But in those cases I don't remember it ever being longer than a 30 minutes delay.
06-23-15, 01:11 PM
#24
DVD Talk Special Edition
06-23-15, 01:48 PM
#25
Moderator
Re: What time should concerts end?
here in DC - the Black Cat actually rescheduled it's entire Mon-Thur - shows so that folk could take mass transit back home, a lot of folk (without cars) were complaining. 9:30 Club also tries to factor this in. Although funny story, the Badly Drawn Boy concert just dragged on like forever, that as it stretched over it's 2 hours and 30 minute running time, folk were leaving by the droves, he noticed this and was like "what's up" - the retort from some random guy "last subway man"
I personally hate going to see Baltimore shows - they always (unless it's Ram's Head) start on the very late side.
I personally hate going to see Baltimore shows - they always (unless it's Ram's Head) start on the very late side.
