I've been to Supersonic, Lighning Bolt and Sunn o))) + Om last year. I had never really been to Birmingham before to coming to Supersonic so I wasn't really sure what to expect to be honest. Myself and a couple of friends drove down to see Lightning Bolt and it was relatively easy to get to and we managed to park just up the road. When we came to see Sunn we got the train a room at the Britannia, and a taxi to the venue. Wouldn't normally as it was well expensive but it was Sunn + Om! It was right in the middle of know where and even the taxi driver wasn't sure where he was going. We had to walk back (couldn't find a taxi until we were almost back) and the city centre was absolutely dead. Maybe all your night life is on the outskirts of the city centre proper but you wouldn't see Nottingham that quiet even on a sunday night

You guys seem to have a massive city but the public transport of somewhere like Nottingham. Not everyone has a car/can drive/wants to stick to cola or water, or can afford a massive taxi fare.

General apathy is a big problem and if anyone knows who to combat it I'd like to know. When I was younger growing up in Gloucester you'd go to every(other) gig you could because there was nothing else and the one or 2 venues that put on gigs not aimed at our parents got a good turn out. Nottingham has (or had) something going on all the time and you don't feel the need to make the effort – if you miss an event something like it will be along again in a few weeks. I guess being spoilt for choice can be a bad thing sometimes.

SPEAK NOT ITS NAME.

There also doesn't seem to be as much of a local scene centred around strong “local” bands as there was a few years back. As well as supporting out of town touring acts, bands like Deadsunrising, Solway Fifth and Mistress would put on gigs featuring other “local” bands, on a weekend, at The Flapper, The Royal George & The Jug of Ale and charge £2 or £3 to get in. I'm sure there were more weekend “alldayers” 5/6 years ago too.

Also there's no longer any brum-centric forum to discuss independent music that I'm aware of. thecommunion forum was great but nothing's filled that gap as far as I know.
http://web.archive.org/web/20051225005248/www.t...

I myself know nothing about the wacky world of motorcar drivers, but there's a bloke I work with who lives in South Staffordshire and tends to go to gigs in East Midlands-type places mostly, only ever rarely heading into Birmingham. As a motorist, he reckons that the parking and the getting-in-and-out-of-the-city make it a nightmare. A specific example of this is that he (and another fella I work with who lives around that neck of the woods) went to the Derby gig of the Steve Earl tour a few months ago, rather than the Brum one. Apparently for them it was actually slightly quicker to get there and then more convenient when they did, despite being a lot further away.

I'm not sure quite how much value there is in me bringing this up (since it's clearly something that isn't going to be able to be changed/fixed), but it's all info I suppose.

There are smaller promoters who do put on fantastic local gigs (RAYA!), but unfortunately they do not have the following that capsule has. Local scenes need a focal point, be it a promoter, a club, a label… 924 gilman, dischord, CBGBs, etc etc… Capsule has the prestige and the standing within the musical community of Birmingham to become that focal point. What it would be good to see from capsule would be say a monthly residency at a venue at which ONLY local bands play. This would, in my opinion, provide a coherent point about which a local scene could operate. Party atmosphere. No genre lines, no this is doom night, this is punk night, this is avant garde night… then people might start talking to each other, people might start forming bands, swapping members, starting their own nights, labels etc….

4 cents in total

x

I also think that this fractiousness is damaging to people's appreciation of music, for a few reasons… first off, if there are only 15 people at a gig, and none of them really know each other, there are going to be very few people who are willing to show their appreciation, and by this I mean bang their fucking heads. Secondly, because these scenes are so small, people can rarely say they're a fan of local music, and the proportion of bands they like and records they buy from outside the scene will be higher than if there was a bigger/tighter scene. This leads people to identify themselves as fans of doom/punk/noise/whatever the fuck, rather than local music.

While I don't think there's anything wrong with liking any sort of music, or being a fan of certain genres, this mindset is damaging to what music is. Music was, up until some recent point in human history, a communal experience. It developed symbiotically with spoken language as a form of communication… and at some point, the two languages took opposite paths, spoken language allowing us to communicate concepts, music to communicate feelings… or so books (and that) tell me. I love records, I love recorded music, but it is a solitary communion between the artist and the listener if we stay at home listening to records. Music is not a compact disc, it isn't something you can write down. Written music is just an abstraction drawn from what music really is, which is something that only exists in a here and now, and which does not exist once it has finished. Music has evolved out of human consciousness to draw us together, that we might for a few fleeting moments be at one with other participants in that sound and revel in our shared humanity..

well anyway, how to resolve it? Make the bills more eclectic, number number one. Unquestionably. Birmingham has a rad rad reggae scene, reach out! How sick would it be to go watch some punk band supported by a local reggae act? And the thing with that would be that you'd bring fans from both camps to the show… I know reggae and punk is a cliche but I'm just throwing out ideas. If the problem is microscenes, capsule is in a fantastic position to reach out to other promoters, artists and draw them together. I mean, I hve my own personal preferences, but all music is music, and enthusiasm is infectious, and if one scene brings their enthusiasm to another, maybe we can catch that buzzzzzz….

second, and this is only an idea, but.. people need to stop leaving after they've seen 'their' band, ways to stop it? I don't know. Cake is a good idea, kudos. Also, raffles? People love prizes. Raffles after every show. Give away more cake. People love cake.

third, people need to become more engaged with their scene. How, I don't know. I JUST DON'T KNOWWWWW

well thats my two fucking cents aye

x

Mostly with gigs in the city centre or in digbeth this isn't too much of a problem as the majority of gigs do end in time, but at venues in the jewelery quarter or in moesley its makes it impossible to use public transport.

There did use to be a midnight bus several years back but that was cancelled. Its kind of a shame as the last bus is generally pretty full and I'm sure a later bus would be equally profitable for the bus company.