Going on tour is fun. Seeing new places, eating crappy truck stop food, drinking local beer, watching hotel TV, going to after parties and developing a tighter set are just a few pluses of being on the road. Especially when the venue is surrounded by a good scene.
Playing with innovative local bands or conventional bands that are good always makes a good night. The worst is playing in a town that could care less about new bands. A town with a bad music scene sucks. You know there are musicians in the town with something to give but aren't given a chance since the locals want something either easily palatable or easily sellable. Those are the places with no vision.
I've only included five cities with good scenes that I like, but there are plenty more good cities to play in.
Denton, Texas
This is the town I honed my chops in. The old Good/Bad Art Collective had great shows, sometimes repainting or remodeling the interior to fit the band who was playing. It was very supportive. There was also a venue called The Argo that had Big-ass Beer Night featuring acoustic acts. The Dutch Treats, Asphalt the Recorder, Cavedweller, Little Grizzly, Mr. Wunderful, the Baptist Generals, William Pollard, Sean Kirkpatrick, Mwanz Dover, Will Johnson, Keith Killoren, Shara Worden, Lance Sinatra, Brent Best and other friends would play these nights and then drink ridiculously huge beers. It was a wonderful time. Unfortunately, a lawyer with the help of a cop who hated the venue helped bring that to a close. But, you can't stop the rock here. The old help out the new, new venues emerge and the kids appreciate the bands' efforts. Now there are clubs like Hailey's, Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios, Dan's Silverleaf, and more. I miss this town. I don't miss the overzealous cops.
New York City
I've had bad shows here and good shows here. Most of them are memorable. The venues that stay alive are the ones who treat bands well. The Knitting Factory closed but has reopened in Brooklyn. They remodeled an old venue and made it better. They take chances on bands and succeed. I love playing New York City shows. The people who come to the shows are people who moved here for a reason. They share a common vision of making cool things happen. Not just rock shows but variety shows as well facilitate the scene. The Bushwick Book Club, the Rubulad parties, Galapagos, Union Pool, the UCB, Ars Nova, Joe's Pub, the Parkside Lounge and more all contribute to the variety scene as well as the conventional rock scene. I love this city.
Austin, Texas
My band, .357 Lover, played 3 shows in a 24-hour period during SXSW. All of the shows were fun. We played in someone's garage and it was glorious. Stubbs is a great place to play as well. SXSW, as crazy as it has gotten, is still fun to play. Experimental music is encouraged here. You can do cool, innovative s**t in this town and get appreciated for it.
Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati, Ohio
I included all three of these because they are all good and are close to each other and begin with the letter "C". I've had good shows here. There are plenty that hate my music and plenty who like my music in these towns which is a good gauge for a good scene. Mediocrity keeps people at home.
Every Big Town in North Carolina
This is a rock n roll state. Every town I've played in - Raleigh, Winston-Salem, Asheville, Greeneville, Chapel Hill - was great. This is the state that nurtured Ben Folds Five. I once played a fake wrestling show in Raleigh and was asked to write songs about all of the fake wrestlers. It was great fun. The venues treat you well and the strangers are very kind, usually inviting you to hang out afterward.
I have more towns that I like and some I hate. I'll talk more of the former on another blog. The latter I'll keep to myself.
