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| Jam band scene: overdone and underwhelming |
Kevin DeLury
Entertainment Beat |
I’ll admit, Boone
isn’t as boring as most people would make it out to be. If
you look hard enough, there will be one form of entertainment or
another happening on any given night.
There’s always an ample supply of music such
as Zoso or The Dave Matthews Cover Band, as well as the usual staples
of Grand Torino, Acoustic Syndicate and Disco Biscuits, who make
their yearly rounds to Boone.
The Cinema and Draft nights are always fun, digging
up old classics and cult favorites for a meager $1 admission. |
It seems
as though there’s always a bluegrass or country festival taking
place nearby on the weekends.
Unfortunately, if Dave Matthews cover songs, bluegrass
or jam bands don’t appeal to your tastes, and you’ve seen
one too many movies, you’re in for some very painstakingly
boring weeknights.
When I arrived at Appalachian, I didn’t expect much of an underground
music scene. I figured that it wasn’t in high demand, and if
there’s no demand, what’s the point of bringing those
bands up here?
Slowly though, and much to my amazement, I saw a steady flow of
underground bands heading up the mountain. First Codeseven, then
Underoath, and the list continued to grow.
Eventually I discovered homegrown underground acts such as Burn
the Shields, The Karloffs, and Brentwood.
To add to my surprise, these shows were full of Appalachian students.
Behold, a scene was born.
Unfortunately, the battle to get more diverse acts up here is still
an uphill one.
I commend A.P.P.S. on their efforts to bring underground music to
Boone, such as the recent Alli with an I show, and past acts such
as The Radio Years and NicoFiends. The shows at Whitewater still
present a problem: no dancing.
I can empathize with their situation. If you bring harder-edged
music up here, the stigma will almost certainly follow it. I am
talking about moshing.
Without fail, there will always be a testosterone addled group of
guys who, with no idea of what the underground scene is about, show
up for “punk night” and conduct some bizarre ritual that
looks like the twisted hybrid of football practice and a decade’s
worth of stereotyped MTV “moshing” popularized by wretched
nu-metal acts.
In the end, it leaves the real music fans frustrated and possibly
injured. Some people just don’t get it. Now, kids aren’t
even allowed to dance in solo pits. Yes, there are actual dance
moves people perform in which no one gets hurt.
So now tamer acts visit Whitewater. These groups are fine, and I
enjoy seeing them play, but this can’t quell the increasing
demand for harder acts.
I constantly talk to students who ask me when heavier music is going
to come to Boone. I honestly have no idea. Organizers of school
events don’t want any kids getting hurt or—even worse—school
property getting damaged, and unfortunately there are no other venues
close to campus that would dare hold such an event.
For the briefest of moments, it looked as if Cafe Portifino would
be the answer to this problem, but unfortunately they are more concerned
with drawing a crowd that will buy beer than helping out a fledgling
scene.
This goes out to any student fed up with the never-ending torrent
of jam bands. If you want more underground shows, or anything besides
the standard fare up here on a regular basis, get involved. If there’s
one thing I’ve always loved about the underground hardcore,
punk, indie and hip hop scenes, it’s the resourcefulness of
the kids in it. Cliched as it may sound, if there’s a will
there’s a way.
In Boone, the odds are against a scene. But nothing good ever comes
easy. So, do we as students sit around and complain about the lack
of anything to do or get together and try to make something worthwhile
out of this town?
Remember, there was a time when even The Klondike Cafe, the virtual
Mecca of all things safe as milk and conformist, held punk shows.
Who’s to say that Boone couldn’t be a cool place to live
again? |
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