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| The club hand stamp |
One of the great things about Sacramento is that we get a decent number of concerts each year of varying degrees from arena shows to little dark clubs. I really enjoy music, but I realized this weekend that I don’t have the attention span necessary to attend a concert. One of my character flaws is that boredom is always creeping around the edges of my awareness. It’s difficult for me to wait because I get bored. Sitting through songs I either don’t know or don’t like is sheer torture. Add to that being out past my bedtime, and I get cranky.
Someone needs to tell these “washed up” rockstars that their fans are now in their late 30s and 40s. We all have full time jobs, most have kids, and can’t stay up as late as we did in our 20s. Not just because we have responsibilities, but we’re freaking tired!
I remember a comedian saying that a rock show whose target audience is in this demographic should start their concerts at 6:00 PM. That is genius! Being out of the house past 11:00 is a stretch for most of us. Yes, I know how that sounds, but I really don’t care. I prefer to be asleep in my cozy bed instead of in a smelly, sweaty club whose fire exits are poorly placed. You can’t talk to anyone in there because the music is too loud, so if all the socialization is negated, why am I outside of my sanctuary?
Seriously, people on the club circuit who were formerly playing arenas, start your shows earlier and you’ll get more people to show up. Plus, we all have more discretionary income than we used to as teens and college kids, so if we aren’t itching to go home, we might just hang out at the merch booth after the show and pick up a t-shirt or two.