"scene"

[Adam Rixey]

On 6/2/06, Brian J. Parker <brian.j.parker at gmail.com> wrote:
> On 6/2/06, maria <rpd_girl at yahoo.com> wrote:
> > Philly, Toronto, DC
> >
> > How do the "scenes" compare? If you were to go to a show, which would be the best bet?
>
> As Adam said, this question can be read many ways.  If, say, I wanted
> to go see Editors when they toured (which I did) badly enough to
> travel to one of those three cities (which I didn't quite), I would
> choose Philly because it's pretty close and easier to get around than
> D.C.  Philly also enjoys a number of large events and one of the
> subculture's best music stores, thanks in no small part to the efforts
> of Patrick "Big Daddy Ferret" Rodgers.

Wha?  I've always found DC at least an hour closer to Pittsburgh, and
there's no chance of taking a wrong turn into New Jersey and then
being forced to pay to leave Jersey.  :P  Really, though, I don't know
why people think DC's hard to get around in.  Sure, I get lost, but
it's always in the outlying areas like a poorly-marked exit in
Arlington or Crystal City.  DC itself is just a grid with streets
numbered consecutively, and diagonals named after states or dead
people.

Patrick is a big advantage for the goth-type shows in Philly...I
honestly don't follow that scene very much any more so don't know what
DC's is like.  The closest I've gone to anything like that down here
is to see The Wedding Present and I guess the Decemberists.  But we
did get acts like Sisters of Mercy, I just skipped 'em.

> D.C. probably offers a bit more variety, particularly as far as club
> nights go, especially for the electronic music lover.

Indie rock, too -- there's a huge amount.  I guess if somebody's
travelling for a show, they may also want to check out Baltimore.
It's just as far as DC, and sometimes gets acts that don't hit down
here.  Like Tapes 'n Tapes next week, who have me seriously
considering the evening rush hour nightmare to get up there.

One nice thing about scenes of this size is that there are multiple
club nights catering to different varieties.  There's the insane
uber-sp00ky one for people who think they're vampires and want a dress
code, the fetish night for diaper afficianados, and then something for
people like me who want something more low key and where the DJs don't
take themselves seriously.

-- 
Adam Rixey
arixey at gmail.com