Giles

I just wanted to get a sense of the clubs/music venues all you frequent, what time does the headliner hit the stage and generally end by?

Having been to a number of shows in the US and abroad: San Francisco, Philadelphia, Chicago, Toronto, London I got a general feel to the varying times clubs/venues start and end their shows.

My fave shows have been the ones in London and the college campus shows in the US - they have curfews. , sorry but the earlier the show starts and ends make me happier

Here in town (Washington DC) I cringe everytime when a band I want to see gets booked at the Black Cat - it means a very very late night (headline time generally start at 11), extra cab money to factor in for me to get home and general next day grumpiness (pour me an extra shot of expresso). I honestly don't think they care that they start their shows on the late end of the night.

With one less large venue - the 9:30 Club on occasion double books two different bands, one as an early show, the next show (doors opening at) 10pm - I missed the Supergrass show earlier in the year because this was booked this way (Supergrass on a Sunday at 11:30pm, no thanks... )
One friend of mine, has completely nixed seeing Friday-Saturday night shows because they start so late (he's not a night person).

so... whats your opinions and such. Does time factor in when deciding to see a band. With those with (day) jobs and/or school - have you seen more or less bands nowadays?

auto

Lately I have been arriving about a 1/2 hour after the doors open and have completely missed the opener. Strange.

Doors for a White Stripes show last year were 7:30pm. Arrived at 8:15pm and, not only did I miss opener Brendon Benson, I also missed the first few Stripes songs.

Giles

the only concert I arrived late to was incidently and ironically at the 9:30 - the Chemical Brothers literally started at 9:30.

I always miss the opener - the only opener I purposely went to see was Boy Kill Boy

scarredgod

i usually dont mind missing openers, but i hate when the headliner goes on late and cuts the show short because of curfews. a couple shows in philly i saw ended sooner than planned because it had to be over by midnight or they haveto pay all the workers for an extra day.

dont have 2 opening bands no one cares about if thats gonna make the headliner show shorter.

woofman

Yeah it depends on the venue and who the band is. Most of the local venues tend to follow a similar schedule: headliner goes on between 9:30-10PM. With the exception of a few (Little Brothers, High5), who usually start later, and that indeed makes for a long day the next day when you have to be at work in the morning.... Those cases it has to be a band I REALLY want to see in order to put myself through that hell the next day.

wendersfan

FWIW, I caught Beirut at Little Brothers on a weeknight a couple of months ago, and I think the show was finished by 10:00, 10:30 at the latest. Of course, they don't have a huge repertoire at this point. A few months before that my wife and I saw Beth Orton at the Newport on a Monday night, and the show was finished no later than 10:00.

Giles

I agree, it seems a little backasswards to support live music at the cost of losing sleep, and awkward re-adjusting the following day to the lateness some of these clubs start their shows.

ah that would be my ideal world to have all concerts end by 10:30 at the latest.

that was the case with when I saw Kraftwerk at the 9:30 - no support started at 8:30 just a little over two hours of music, out by 10:30 and I was able to get home by subway...

DVD Josh

I feel for GNR fans.

Rypro 525

I actually try to get there like at least an hour or so before doors open for club shows. Since I mostly go to metal shows, the closer you are to the front, the less chances you have of by accident getting into the pits, which at times can get violent, especially if you have hardcore kids show up (the douches that throw punches and do karate kicks in the pits.)

Chaza

If I haven't heard of the opener, I generally skip them. I pretty much always show up at least an hour after doors open.

Poink

The places I go most often like The Empty Bottle or The Hideout usually get things started around 10 (with a 9:30 "door time") w/ the headling act starting somewhere between 11 and 12. Usually finished by 1 a.m at the latest.

I don't mind the later start time. I actually prefer it since if I get off of work at 5 or 6, I still have time to have dinner, relax, etc before heading out. And if I'm working late where I close at 9 p.m, there's plenty of time to get to the venue before any actual music starts.

I rarely let my job get in the way of going out, having a good time and seeing a show. Music is what I'm working for whether if be consumption, viewing, or creating, so it's silly for me to opt out on a show because I have to work early the next day. (Note: "Early" for me is 9-10 a.m.). Two years ago I passed on seeing The Arcade Fire at The Empty Bottle because it was on "Black Friday" and I figured I'd be too worn out to want to do anything, or that I'd end up drinking myself to death, etc. Suffice to say, the work day wasn't bad at all and tickets were obviously non-existant the day of the show. Never again, I said!

mndtrp

Most shows I go to start around 7, and end around 11:30. Very rarely do they go past midnight. I'll show up 30 min prior to the show starting.

SeekOnce

The headliners typically go on around 9ish so I'll usually show up a little before then.

I've been to alot a concerts over the years and I used to get to the venues early. But after watching sooo many crap-ass opening bands and the long stretches of time between acts, I said to hell with that.

The Bus

I learned my lesson this week. I showed up to the Ladytron show half hour after it began and the opener (CSS) had already done their set. They were the main reason I went.

When I went to see Café Tacuba they started early. I saw only about 15 minutes of the show. But they let me in for free since it was almost over.

I just wish places were consistent so I would know when to go.

Rypro 525

in regards to club shows, never go by the ticketmaster time. Go by the door time on the club's website and add about a half an hour to an hour (depends on how many openers there are) and thats when the show starts. With the show I went to last night (the sancity of brothers tour), I got there around 5:50 or so (tried to get there earlier, but there was alot of traffic downtown), doors were supposed to open at 6pm but I assume since one of the openers dropped out, they oppened late. First band had problems with equipment and played maybe 7 or 8 minutes worth of music (they took a good 15 minutes trying to get the third guitar players amp working.) The show ended at about 11:15 with Unearth playing about an hour and 10 minute set.

Giles

where did you see them?

I know that the 9:30 Club always posts the times on their websitie - day of show. Thank god tonight's Massive Attack show starts at 9:30

Starsailor actually started their set ten minutes earlier than what was posted.

rw2516

I'm an old fart from the General Admission days of the 70s. We would show up at least an hour before the doors opened. The doors were never open on time and by the time the doors do open there were a few thousand people making a mad dash for the stage. These were auditoriums that held three to ten thousand. The really big shows like The Who, Pink Floyd, McCartney were in larger venues, approx. 15,000 and were always reserved seating, just stroll right in. I can't ever remember a show starting on time. There never was a start time for the main act, just the show itself. Usually doors opened at around 6pm, show starts at 7-7:30, over around 11pm.

Giles

however it seems like nowadays that people overwork, stay late at work, have late college classes, etc, etc,... that only seems to push some of these clubs to have their headlining band start extremely late.

areacode212

Oh man...I heard CSS for the first time when I saw them with Ladytron last week, and I thought they kicked ass! They put on a great live show...sorry to hear you missed it. They mentioned that they'd be back in NYC on Halloween. Maybe they'll head back over where you are too.

You can live vicariously through my pics of the concert.

Nausicaa

My favorite venue here in Chicago is Martyr's. It's actually a small pub with a great atmosphere and stage. I've recently seen Oregon and The Bad Plus perform there. Main acts usually start at around 9 or 10. They have great local music nearly every night as well. I also go to the Chicago Theater for bigger artists like Pat Metheny Group. Occasionally I'll go to the Metro or Vic (etc.) for more alternative/rock shows. I'm going to see Clap Your Hands Say Yeah tomorrow. That show starts at around 8 I think.

Obviously, I also go to the Green Mill quite often for the live jazz which, on weekends lasts for around 8 hours (until 4 am!) and way late on week nights too. This place usually gets too crowded though. Too many people go here for the novelty and not the music. For this reason I prefer Martyr's.