June 24, 2009
Hello, my name is Chase. I'm from the East.
In this part of Arizona there's a very defined line of separation between Phoenix and Tucson. Aside from the obvious college rivalry that exists between ASU and UA, people squabble over authenticity, aesthetic, atmosphere, even the superiority of geographic location.
Tucson is hippy/artsy. Phoenix is more cosmopolitan.
Tucson sits at the foot of mountains. Phoenix is in a valley.
Tucson's nightlife looked dead. Phoenix is alive at night.
Yadda, yadda, yadda.
I learned a lot about these mindsets during my recent trip south to Tucson to see Sunset Rubdown perform at a sweet nightclub called Plush.
I'll concede with the locals, there are obvious differences between the two cities. But, I think there's another problem Arizonans need to solve. Of the two concerts I've attended here (The Handsome Furs and Sunset Rubdown), both crowds were (in the words of Dave Frank) "offensively lame."
Here are some examples:
At The Handsome Furs:
One of the openers, The Cinnamon Band (consequently, from Staunton, Virginia), was playing...and then turned to the crowd and said, "Hey guys you can come closer to the stage." And it was true, the nearest person was probably 6 feet away from them.
People hesitated, but before long one man broke the silence, yelling, "Yeah but your box amp is too loud!"
Not only did the crowd refuse to move forward, creating an awkward tension between the band and the audience...but some idiot came to a concert and complained about the volume. Needless to say the Cinnamon Band was pretty sarcastic throughout the rest of their set...and rightfully so.
Later...
The Handsome Furs were playing. By this time everyone was packed in and it was pretty lively. Dan Boeckner stopped between songs to talk about how much he loved the desert and the cacti and such. He said he was really wowed by the "Jumping Cholla" cactus, that seems to attack people.
But a guy in the very front row, shouted and began to explain, in excrutiating detail, how they don't really attack people, but the biological reaction their spines have when they brush up against something makes them appear to attack.
...
Someone in the audience yelled an obscenity about the explainer and assured Boeckner of the cactus' danger.
At Sunset Rubdown:
So the band is playing, the crowd is alright. Between songs Spencer Krug looks up, obviously excited to be in the desert, and says, "Do you all ever just find yourselves driving through the desert and listening to The Doors? Because that's what we did today."
And some idiot (about 4 feet away from him) says, "Why would you drive through the desert -- and why would you listen to The Doors?!"
Oh Jesus. Mark Perkins and I exchanged horrified glances, him ashamed of his hometown, me disgusted by the Southwest. Even worse, Krug looked just as mortified.
To add insult to injury, the crowd barely cheered for an encore. They just sat there, occasionally shouting something (i.e. Mark and I)...it was clear the entire band was put-off. But they were feeling forgiving, I think, and played one more.
Even still, the show was a lot of fun:
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I'm trying to nail it down. Maybe it's regional? Certainly not. How could that be possible? Does the entire southwest suffer from this lame-crowd syndrome?
There are amazing things about Arizona. The desert is as cool as people who've never seen it imagine it to be. The art scene in Phoenix is consistently rated among the top ten in the U.S., and the number of things to do forces me to make tough decisions each weekend.
Still, when I introduce myself, I'm always thinking of ways to slip my regional background into conversation. There's still something about the locals that make me proud to originate from a separate region. When it comes down to it, the offenses at these concerts would never happen in Detroit.
Labels: Arizona, Handsome Furs, music, Phoenix, regions, Sunset Rubdown, the Southwest, Tucson, videos
by Chase at 1:13 PM |
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