Category: Music

  • Everyone hates The Docks…

    … even Belle & Sebastian, apparently. A couple comments from their Tour Q&A page:

    Stevie: Yeah the venue was terrible, I’m really sorry, I’m actually really pissed off the truth be known. We won’t be back.

    Sarah: I think it would be ok with a third less people in it, but I’m sure we will do whatever we can to play somewhere a bit less long and thin where we can see all the audience and they can see us if they choose to.

    There’s also the near-unanimous agreement on the Docks’ crumminess on the B&S forum.

    Seriously, who on earth thinks this is a good place to see a band? Least of all when it’s booked to capacity (and beyond?).

    I’m distressed that I still seem to be wrought with bile after seeing one of my favourite bands.

  • Belle & Sebastian @ The Docks, Feb. 25

    First, a public safety announcement: At all costs, avoid going to any concerts at The Docks in Toronto. First, it’s inconvenient: The TTC doesn’t go anywhere near it, so you either need a car, cab fare, or boots that are made for walking. Thankfully we managed to get a ride with a friend, but that doesn’t make it entirely better: Drive up the road to the club and you pass a parking lot; pass that one, and you come to a second lot, right next to the club. That lot, however, was full, and at no point was there a person and/or sign to say “Lot ahead full – park here!” at the first lot. Consequently, everyone drove to the end of the road, had to turn around, and then drive back to the first lot, which was now seeing people trying to get in from both directions.

    Walking from the lot to the club wasn’t too bad, and the time taken getting there and parking seems to have allowed the line to dissipate. There are about 20 opportunities to slip on ice, and the lineup seems to go around a corner and across a flight of stairs – god knows how many people have decent grounds for a lawsuit.

    The facility itself is designed with a dance club in mind, and consequently is atrocious for actual concerts. It’s a long, rectangular room, with the stage at one end. The quality of view suffers quickly the further you move back, so nearly everyone wants to be as close to the front as possible. The problem is compounded by the sound board smack in the middle, which creates a bottleneck on either side – good luck trying to get in or out. It was also divided into drinking and underage sections, which necessitated a line of fences down the middle, with only one entrance and one exit – both of which were at the very back of the club. The overall effect is that if you want a good spot, you need to get there several hours before the show, line up, run to the front of the club, and not give up your spot at all.

    Let’s not even talk acoustics. Not the worst, but the sound guy seemed to be trying randomly positioning dials and knobs in a desperate attempt to get a solid, consistent sound. Yay for actually miking Sarah and her violin properly (last time I saw Belle, I could barely hear a word she sang), but nay for being unable to understand any on-stage banter.

    The band was still their usual fantastic selves. They played a mix of the new album, The Life Pursuit, and older material, with a particular emphasis on the all-time classic If You’re Feeling Sinister. For the first show of the first tour of new material, the new songs were pretty good: Suki in the Graveyard was particularly fun, and White Collar Boy did well.

    But with Belle, it’s almost always the old songs that tug at the heart and get the blood flowing. Aside from the emphasis on Sinister – including an encore of Me and the Major and the beloved Get Me Away From Here I’m Dying, they trotted out some oldies from Tigermilk: She’s Losing It and, most surprisingly, Electronic Renaissance. Arab Strap was bypassed entirely, but Fold Your HandsWoman’s Realm made an appearance, as did EP tracks Loneliness of a Middle Distance Runner and the funk-tastic Your Cover’s Blown.

    But despite the wonderful band playing the lovely songs, the feeling of “I don’t want to be here” continued to build throughout the show. On top of the crummy view and so-so acoustics, people kept talking during songs – really, who pays $40 to see a band and then doesn’t even bother listening? If there’s one experience I don’t want to repeat, it’s watching and listening to one of my favourite bands in the world while thinking “I totally fucking hate this place.”

    My temptation to bail before the encore was strong, but I resisted it and was rewarded for my perseverance with Get Me Away From Here I’m Dying, one of my all-time favourites.

    It was all worth it. It’s just not worth doing it ever, ever again.

    Oh, and the New Pornographers opened. They’re okay. Fun, but a bit to hygienic and somewhat homogenous. As far as openers go, they’re okay.