The Black Keys + Gomez + Dr Dog @ The Arena

It’s Monday the fifth of January.  For many it’s the first day back at work after the Christmas and New Year holidays. The Black Keys are playing at The Arena, with a really good support band in Gomez and one of the worst named bands ever, Dr Dog, opening.  Although there are three bands on the bill, the doors don’t open until 8pm.  Faced with those facts, I know that this evening is going to be a struggle…

Maybe it’s the first day back, post-holiday blues, maybe it’s just normal Monday grumpiness, maybe it’s just the everyday struggle of getting older, but what is it with the late timing of gigs in Australia?  Weekends are bad enough, especially when Thursday is generally counted as the weekend when it comes to gigs, but I don’t want to still be out at a venue, watching the headline band I came to see, after midnight during the week, knowing that I’m not going to get to bed until after 1am and then have to get up and go to work in far too few hours time and feel like crap all day. 

I don’t know if it’s the same everywhere else, but noise restrictions and public transport necessities generally mean that in London and other UK cities you’ll usually be on your way home by 11pm during the week and even on weekends it’ll all be over by midnight in most places.  The Black Keys don’t start until after 11pm and are still going when I leave just after midnight.       

I see quite a lot of gigs and audiences just don’t seem what they used to be, there just seems to be a general malaise and lack at passion. Maybe it’s just the modern day musical overload, maybe it’s that with the competition for time in everyone’s lives, music isn’t that important anymore.  Maybe it’s too many average bands, maybe it’s unpleasant and/or souless venues with rubbish sound and poor sight-lines. Or maybe everyone is just too exhausted to fully engage and is thinking more about how they’d much rather be somewhere more comfy and in a horizontal position than stood up and watching a band play.

Some more photos on flickr.

Black Keys

Gomez

Dr Dog

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