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I Saw Them When

Posted at 3:14 PM on July 24, 2007 by Jacquie Fuller (18 Comments)

Every conniseur of indie music is, at heart, a bipolar sort of fan. On one hand we (and by we, I mean "I," unless you're with me) want to see our favorite bands succeed. We want to see the dollars roll in, to see them pull up in a comfortable tour bus instead of a crappy van. We want the critics singing their well-deserved praises. We're willing to put up with the Volkswagen commercials. But when you discover a band, isn't there a part of you that feels like a kid who found a chest of pirate loot buried in your backyard? Part of you wants to tell your friends and part of you wants to squirrel that treasure away all for yourself.

So when I heard Arcade Fire were playing the Roy Wilkins in September, I felt torn. $100 a ticket for the floor? Seriously? Granted, like a lot of folks, I found Arcade Fire via the hype surrounding their first album, Funeral. But after one listen, I had the good sense to get my butt to one of their live shows while I still had the chance to see them in a small venue, even if it meant driving six hours (yes, six!) to see them in Phoenix when I was living in southern New Mexico. That show knocked my socks off, and I got to see it all from a distance of four feet without waiting in a long line.

Ditto for Spoon, who'll be playing First Ave in October. As a native Texan, I was afforded ample opportunities to see the Austin band play little dives, once even to a crowd of about thirty on their Kill the Moonlight tour. As a result, I'm divided. First Ave is a great happy-medium venue for a band a lot of folks want to see (it's no auditorium), but do I go to the show and ruin those tiny-venue memories? The ones where--swear to god--I could smell Britt Daniels? (You don't have to tell me I'm creepy--I already know this.) By the same token, is it possible for me to be anywhere else but First Ave, knowing the band nearest and dearest to my heart is in town? What's a girl to do?

Tell me I'm not a whiney baby or a music snob. Tell me you think about this stuff, too. Tell me--what bands were you able to see before they got "big?" Where? Under what circumstances? And do you still love 'em enough to pay 100 bones to see them again?

(P.S. If you're not willing, listen to The Current at work this week--between 9 and 5--you might win tickets to see Arcade Fire!)

Comments (18)

How can you not be a music snob living in the TC's? It's unavoidable with the plethera of music around here. Because of that, I just can't spend over $30 on a show (that is, if I can't weasel myself on a guest list;). There are, of course, exceptions to every rule. For me, it was Elvis Costello last year at O'Shaunessy with Alan Toussant. For you, it may be Aracade Fire. I may try for the free tix but I'm not spending $100 of hard earned cash to see the show.

Posted by Carla | July 24, 2007 3:57 PM

wait... are Arcade Fire tickets seriously $100 for the floor??

Posted by greg | July 24, 2007 4:38 PM

$100 for Roy Wilkins??? Forget it! Get outta here! And No Way!! Total ripoff folks. I saw Snowden and (almost) Kings of Leon for $25 at First Ave. As bands get bigger and their shows move to bigger venues their ticket prices should PLUNGE as they're usually not worth seeing that way. Total Ripoff. Well, Arcade Fire, see ya next lifetime.

Posted by Amy | July 24, 2007 5:47 PM

I cannot beleive the Arcade Fire are playing at Roy Wilkens!! How did MN get jipped on seeing them perform in a church or a beautiful venue (State Theatre?!?) like everywhere else on their tour?? Who booked this show? The ticket price is ridiculous considering how crappie the venue will be. Not to mention most people like myself saw them for just $20 at First Ave 2 years ago. VERY disapointing:( Could it be they've already sold out? I shudder at the thought...

Posted by JENN HARRIS | July 24, 2007 6:02 PM

Since I'm on the air that night, that takes care of the conundrum of whether or not to go. It sounds like it's going to be a great show, though. BUT....it's at Roy Wilkins. I think someone was asleep at the wheel when they booked at the Roy. They could have sold out XCel, for crying out loud. It just bugs me that Arcade Fire and LCD Soundsystem, who have released the two best albums of 2007 so far, are playing together, yet at a terrible venue and for such an exorbinant price (and on a night I work, but that's a different story...)

Posted by Mac Wilson | July 24, 2007 8:03 PM

$100 to see any rock band is silly. $100 to see the Arcade Fire is laughable. $100 to see them at Roy Wilkins is absurd.

Posted by Wells T. | July 24, 2007 8:52 PM

OK - I have to ask: did Britt smell bad?

Yeah, $1 is way too much to pay for a Roy Wilkin's concert. Boo.

Posted by Ms. Mantooth | July 24, 2007 9:55 PM

Wait just a minute here...are we saying that we've found a venue with *worse* acoustics than Target Center??

Posted by Mac Wilson | July 24, 2007 10:06 PM

Wilkins Auditorium bites for sound quality I’ve been to Target Center once to see Jimmy Buffet (my mom wanted to go) and it was okay, but Wilkins is awful. I was very disappointed to see Arcade Fire/LCD Soundsystem were booked there. I predict that it will be a disappointing show.

I saw REM “back in the day” on the “Life’s Rich Pageant” tour I believe at Wilkins. One of the worst shows I have ever seen. Camper Van Beethoven opened and they were awful as well. Too loud for the venue, and the sound was just bouncing all over the place. I think I paid something like $15-20 to see them at the time.

I guess I’m cheap when it comes to seeing shows. I LOVE Chris Isaak and I saw him at First Ave. in 1987 and he rocked. I would have loved to have seen him at the Zoo last week, but I don’t love Chris Isaak $55 a ticket’s worth.

Posted by Frick | July 25, 2007 9:38 AM

Britt Daniels smells like cotton candy and rainbows. And if you're willing to sit in the balcony, you can pay $60 to see AF/LCD.

Posted by Jacquie Fuller | July 25, 2007 9:41 AM

I’ve been to Target Center once to see Jimmy Buffet (my mom wanted to go)

Sure, Frick, blame it on your mom! ; )

Posted by Tony Lopez | July 25, 2007 10:17 AM

Tickets for the upcoming Modest Mouse show are $40 apiece here in Columbus, OH. Band of Horses are opening and "Everything All The Time" was my favorite record of 2006.

However, I'm leaning toward not going to this show for a couple of reasons: the ticket cost and....

I've seen Modest Mouse several times before. I live in Columbus, Ohio, but between 1987-2003 I lived in Boise, Idaho. The last time I saw MM was about 10 years ago or so at a small Boise bar with Built to Spill for $5. That's pretty hard to beat :)

I saw lots of bands in Boise during the early 90s heyday. All the Seattle bands made regular stops in Boise while a lot of other bands thought Boise was a waste of time. Mudhoney was another favorite...I never paid more than $5 for those shows...

I could go on and on about this stuff, but this Modest Mouse ticket cost makes me yearn for the good ole days...

Posted by heather | July 25, 2007 10:49 AM

I’ve been to Target Center once to see Jimmy Buffet (my mom wanted to go)

Sure, Frick, blame it on your mom! ;

(whining) but it's truuuueee!! Ya gotta believe me!! She wore her foam rubber shark head and everything!

Posted by Frick | July 25, 2007 11:37 AM

Heather, I know what you mean. Part of why I moved to Minneapolis was for the great local music scene and for the touring bands. When I lived in southern NM, I always had to travel to see touring bands--either 3 hours to Albuquerque or sometimes 6 to Tuscon. I love living in Mpls and having all these great shows available to me. The downside, though, is that a lot of other people live in Minneapolis for the same reason, and I have to share bands with them, which means bigger venues. Sometimes I miss shows in smaller towns, where the bands are appreciated by only a select few. But there's a downside to that, too, like when I saw Modest Mouse in El Paso and people actually started--swear to god--moshing.

Posted by Jacquie Fuller | July 25, 2007 11:41 AM

wait folks. I almost just bought some presale tickets for $50.90 and supposedly the tickets are $37.50, $50 with fees....hmmm....may go back and buy some when they officially go on sale saturday. That's not TOO bad for TWO good bands. The venue still sucks though.

Posted by Amy | July 25, 2007 12:22 PM

OK, complaining about $100 AF/LCD tix at a terrible venue is one thing. But 1st Ave really too big to enjoy Spoon? Trust me, if you can ignore the odor of the Ave itself (I mean that as a compliment), you can smell Britt Daniel from the front of the stage, if you want to.

Personally, I'm thrilled that Spoon, which could probably sell about 2/3 if not all of the State or Orpheum, chose to play 2 shows at a great rock club. It'll be a better show than it would have been at, say, the Entry.

Posted by Brookdale Boy | July 25, 2007 2:12 PM

Brookdale Boy, you're right! I, too, am glad they're playing two shows--it's extremely generous given that they could have just played one big show at some auditorium. That part really is just me being a whiney baby. I may have to just suck up my "I've been a Spoon fan since Telefono" pride and camp out on the sidewalk outside First Ave for spot right below Britt's pits.

Posted by Jacquie Fuller | July 25, 2007 3:50 PM

Very good site. Thanks:-)
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