Upcoming/Recent Shows

Watched today’s set and had the same feeling -first time this year I truly missed being at a show. Got a little emotional a few times to be honest. What’s a Hold Steady show without hugging a stranger? Glad the band did these though. You could tell it meant a lot to a lot of people.
I have a neighbor who is also a fan (I found this out when I ran into him at last year‘s sound check) and the weather was decent enough on Thursday that we were able to watch Thursday’s show in my backyard. Was great to have even just one (1) person to share it with.
 
Hopefully our local music venues will survive. The recent relief package did include grants up to 45% of gross revenue from 2019. Hopefully it will be distributed properly!



December 21, 2020
STATEMENT FROM HEADLINERS MUSIC HALL, PRODUCTION SIMPLE AND THE NATIONAL INDEPENDENT VENUE ASSOCIATION REGARDING PASSAGE OF THE SAVE OUR STAGES ACT
Louisville, KY (December 21, 2020) – The Save Our Stages Act, sponsored by Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) in the Senate, Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT) and Rep. Roger Williams (R-TX) in the House and championed by Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) with 230 bipartisan cosponsors in Congress, including Representative John Yarmuth and Representative Harold Rogers, just passed as part of the COVID-19 Relief Bill. The Save Our Stages Act will provide financial assistance to independent venues and promoters including NIVA Members Headliners Music Hall and Production Simple, which have been crushed by the pandemic’s shutdown. The Save Our Stages Act will enable these locally owned businesses to hold on until it is safe to gather, reopen fully, and once again return to serve as economic engines for their communities. We look forward to this being signed into law.

The legislation provides critical help to shuttered businesses by providing a grant equal to 45% of gross revenue from 2019, with a cap of $10 million per entity. This grant funding will ensure recipients can stay afloat until reopening by helping with expenses like payroll and benefits, rent and mortgage, utilities, insurance, PPE, and other ordinary and necessary business expenses.
“This is the lifeline our industry so desperately needs to emerge from a devastating year,” said Dayna Frank, Owner & CEO, First Avenue Productions and Board President of NIVA. “Without independent venues and promoters across the country working to engage their communities, staff, and artists, our voices would not have been heard – we are thankful for those tireless efforts. Careers came to a standstill overnight, and people continue to face personal hardships, which is why legislation like this and extending Pandemic Unemployment Assistance is essential. Our immense gratitude goes, in particular, to Senator Klobuchar, Senator Cornyn, and Senator Schumer, for securing the future of independent venues and promoters for generations to come.”
Few gave this brand new organization with no staff and no lobbying experience any hope for securing emergency aid. Undeterred in its fight for the industry’s survival, NIVA worked with Akin Gump, led by Casey Higgins with collaboration from Ed Pagano, to bring the fight to Congress. “Without Akin Gump’s belief in our cause and advice on how to get this done, we could never have gotten the Save Our Stages Act passed,” said Adam Hartke, owner of The Cotillion and WAVE in Wichita and co-chair of NIVA’s Advocacy Committee. “They fought for us like they were us. The entire industry will forever owe them a debt of gratitude.”

This was a true grassroots effort. NIVA members reached out to their fans letting them know of the dire situation: venues having no revenue and enormous overhead potentially leading to their shutting forever. People responded – in an overwhelming fashion. NIVA thanks those across the country who sent 2.1 million emails to their elected officials expressing their support for the Save Our Stages Act. All 535 Congresspeople heard from their constituents through SaveOurStages.com.

The outpouring of support from the music community was also loud and clear, thanks to more than 1,200 artists who signed letters to Congress, amplified the message on their social media accounts, donated proceeds from livestreams and merchandise sales, and played #SOSFEST, including Foo Fighters, Miley Cyrus, The Roots, The Lumineers, Brittany Howard, Dave Matthews, Reba McIntire, Leon Bridges and Nathaniel Rateliff.

While the amount of people and organizations that lent support are numerous, NIVA specifically recognizes and thanks the Academy of Country Music, Akin Gump, American Association of Independent Music, Americans for the Arts, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Association of Performing Arts Professionals, Ballard Spahr LLP, BandsInTown, Bill Young Productions, Broadway Across America, The Broadway League, CAA, Carnegie Hall, Country Music Association, DiMA, Etix, Eventbrite, Future of Music, HelloMerch, Holland Law, Jägermeister, League of American Orchestras, Lyte, MAC, Music Biz, National Association of Theatre Owners, National Independent Talent Organization, National Music Publishers Association, OPERA America, PACC, Paradigm, Prism, Recording Academy (Grammy Awards), Recording Industry Association of America, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, See Tickets, SESAC, Shukat, Arrow, Hafer, Weber, & Herbsman, LLP, Songwriters of North America, Sony, SoundExchange, Spotify, Universal, WME, WMG, YouTube, and every fan and NIVA member that carried our message.

“We’re forever thankful to Senators Cornyn and Klobuchar for crafting the legislation, Representatives Welch and Williams for sponsoring the companion bill in the House, Senators Rubio and Cardin for spearheading support in the Senate Small Business Committee, Representatives Valázquez and Chabot for shepherding the bill through the House Small Business Committee and Leader Schumer for his unending support,” said Hartke.

WHAT’S NEXT

Independent venues and promoters were the first to close in March, and they are still shuttered with no income and massive overhead. Ninety percent of NIVA members reported they could be forced to close forever without meaningful federal relief; hundreds have already permanently shuttered, never to return again. This relief comes none too soon.

NIVA hopes to work with the Small Business Administration to ensure the emergency relief is dispersed as Congress intended, that the instructions and process to apply for grants ensures that only those organizations that fit the description in the law are funded, that there is a keen eye to protect against fraud, and that the process is implemented accurately and as expediently as possible.

Since it could take many weeks, even months for the funding to flow, the NIVA Emergency Relief Fund, with The Giving Back Fund as its 501(c)3 fiscal sponsor, continues to raise money to assist the venues at greatest risk of permanently going under as we wait for Save Our Stages Act to be implemented. Special thanks go to YouTube Music and Anheuser-Busch InBev which collaborated with NIVA for #SOSFEST, raising much needed bridge money, and Jägermeister for its recent donation of $1 million. Even still, the NIVA Emergency Relief Fund requires $2 million more in donations to fulfill the immediate and urgent requests for help. Anyone wishing to donate can do so here.

About NIVA

Formed at the onset of the COVID-19 shutdown, National Independent Venue Association (NIVA), now represents more than 3,000 independent venues and promoters in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. These independent venues and promoters were the first to close and will be the last to fully reopen. NIVA's mission is to preserve and nurture the ecosystem of independent live venues, promoters and festivals throughout the United States. To learn more about NIVA’s quest to gain federal funding for independent venues, visit https://www.nivassoc.org/take-action. The National Independent Venue Foundation has been created to focus on separate, supplemental initiatives, such as the NIVA Emergency Relief Fund. The NIVA Emergency Relief Fund is a tax-deductible way for individuals, companies, and foundations to contribute. The NIVA Emergency Relief Fund directly supports the preservation of the independent live entertainment ecosystem that presents music, comedy, and the performing arts, helping these critical spaces survive through the Coronavirus pandemic.

 
Long post incoming.

Went to see Daughters + Lingua Ignota + Haunted Horses on Monday. I'm absolutely grateful and thankful for the opportunity, because this 3 part show became my favorite concert of the year as of now.

Haunted Horses

The show was considered a two-headliner show, with these guys being the opener. I can't say I was too enthralled with them, but the music had some catchy noise elements. Although, I could not make out a single word the vocalist shouted (his primary method of lyric delivery). I don't have too much to say about them as their set was a little under 30 minutes.

View attachment 24876

Lingua Ignota


This was the set that I was most anticipated and excited to witness. It ended up being wholly fulfilling and then some.

It took ~12 minutes to get Kristin's stage props/equipment ready. An opaque tarp covering a table and piano as well as another tarp (with several holes punctured in it, probably from extensive touring) supported by two poles as a background comprised her set, with her occasionally going behind the tarp. Very minimalist. The setlist spanned 8 songs from Caligula.

She began the set with the final stanza of "Do You Doubt Me Traitor" which sounded absolutely wretched and borderline evil. Totally silent crowd...I could hear peoples' breath trembling. She then went behind the the tarp, took off her pink (bath?)robe and performed "Faithful Servant Friend of Christ" and then returned to the stage in transition to perform all of DYDMT. During the second stanza of the song (How do I break you, before you break me? refrain), she was thrashing her microphone against her body and the piano amidst her screams and it evoked the idea of pain and suffering. It all became so clear...a harrowing personal allegory. I almost broke into tears upon this realization.

She then transitioned to "Butcher of the World," which she commenced by planting her arm on a dude's shoulder in the front and screaming into the crowd. She then went to the other side of the stage and screamed in other concert goer's face (without utilizing someone else's body as a support). She then grabbed a corded lamp underneath the piano, turned it on, put it around her neck, and hopped down into the crowd. She made her way to roughly five rows back from the stage, and the crowd made some room for her to lash and clobber the lamp against the ground. She then went back to the stage to finish the quieter, classical section of the song while playing the piano, and remained there for the two songs after ("May Failure Be Your Noose," and "If the Poison Won't Take You My Dogs Will"). Her voice for these two selections was mostly clean and extravagant, but flipped to woeful and chillingly torturous when appropriate.

She closed with "I Am the Beast." The progression of this track came to head coupled with the relentlessly noisy electronically programmed backing and her bone-chilling screams. When she emitted her final series of vocal cacophony, she banged her mic into table repeatedly which may caused more distortion in the audio mix. It became almost...ambient. She threw part of the tarp off the table and beat her mic against her body briefly before launching her mic against the tarp set up in the background, causing the poles to tumble which revealed another dim lamp. She ambled over to the lamp, covered the lamp with her body, and (seemingly) caressed it for ~30 seconds before simultaneously turning it off as the harsh noise abruptly ended. The applause was deafening. Unforgettable moment.

Kristin Hayter is a force of fucking nature.

View attachment 24881View attachment 24883
View attachment 24879View attachment 24878

Daughters

Prior to Daughters taking the stage, I was able to get a front row spot after a generous man offered his spot for me to swap. That spot did not last too long, though.

They held no bars back by commencing with "The Reason They Hate Me," and that's where the violent crowd pushing started. I couldn't get a picture, but Lex briefly screamed at me while violently headbanging...kind of a surreal moment. Seemingly everyone adjacent to me knew the lyrics to their songs, it was loud as FUCK (and I did not have earplugs).

Lex began using his mic in fashions I have never seen be used before. From what I remember: used it as a lasso that spanned three-quarter's the length of the stage, beat it against the rhythm guitar amplifier, shoved it in his mouth while muttering something unintelligible, had it wrap around his neck and back in a hula-hoop fashion, gagged his lead guitarist with the cord, and beat the element of the microphone against his forehead to the point where he was bleeding. I really hope that mic was 18.

Throughout the set, Alexis Marshall doused himself with bottles of water and unbuttoned his shirt more and more as the show progressed. Eventually, when the show progressed to "Satan in the Wait," Lex fell into the crowd during the instrumental break and the crowd-surfing began. At least three other people, from what I saw, were also crowd-surfing during the same song. I was also pushed into back by from the weight of all the pushing that was happening, causing me to land roughly in the 4th row from the front. Being 125 lbs is not fun sometimes.

The final song "Ocean Song" was performed and the pushing mostly settled down. Although at this point, my body temperature had risen at least 25 degrees or so and I was incredibly sweaty. I was almost out of energy from being thrown around. The song prolonged for what seemed like 15 minutes. Lex was shirtless, was so wet that it looked like he came out of the shower, and was thrashing his mic against his own band members. It just seemed so visceral and certainly horrific. The other band members left the stage with guitar and bass players leaving their last note prolonged. Lex threw his mic into the nearby guitar amp, picked it up, threw it into the drumset, then trudged to the amp knobs and experimented with knobs and made the existing noise more abrasive and vociferous.

What a fantastic show. What everyone is saying about these guys live performance holds up. Mental, deafeningly loud, and fucking incredible. A must-see if you are even mildly interested in their musical alchemy.

View attachment 24882View attachment 24884
View attachment 24880View attachment 24877

Post-show
I took some time to catch my breath and went to chat with some other folks. It was a pretty unorganized line to the merch table, so that helped while waiting. I overheard many who were enamored by Kristin's set and how they hadn't heard her music prior to the show. Some really nice people including one person who was behind me halfway through the Daughters set making sure that I didn't fall down from the pushing. The reception from everyone seemed to overwhelmingly positive, and it's absolutely clear as to why. Lingua Ignota was my favorite performance of the year, usurping the Julia Holter concert from March this year.

Soon after the line to merch mostly died down and 99% of the crowd had vacated the venue, to my surprise, Kristin came to the table!!! ❤❤ ❤ When it came to my turn to get merch, I got a Daughters shirt, and asked Kristin to sign my copies of her records. She even asked me for my name to personalize them. After receiving the signatures, I asked her a couple of questions about the tour and another gentleman joined in (who happened to be someone I spoke with before the doors opened) on the conversation. I was only able to sustain the conversation for about three minutes before security needed us to leave. I was able to get a handshake and a thank you from her before departing. She was genuine and nice about it. I am grateful. I will not miss her if/when she comes to Portland in the future. :)

View attachment 24888
I came back to this post because Lingua Ignota!!!! LOVE this write-up and the pictures @Rip_City. If she ever needs someone to carry her crown when she's not actively wearing it, I volunteer as tribute.

Also: 'Boundless Love'.....
 
Last edited:
I’m actually going to a show tomorrow! My buddy KC Turner is a promoter in the SF Bay Area and has been doing these amazing backyard/driveway shows and I’m seeing Glen Phillips of Toad the Wet Sprocket in a friend’s backyard.

more info of the concert series here:

 
9th Row Beacon Theater for JB.
The calendar is starting to fill up!
Nice! I failed in the Chase presale for Julien, but got lucky in the MSG Insider presale for the Beacon show. Might get Philly tix to see her as well.
if shows actually happen this fall, Sept is looking pretty good ❤️
 
9th Row Beacon Theater for JB.
The calendar is starting to fill up!

*raises eyebrows suggestively*

Mp7WSTJ.png
 
Black Pumas show here in Chicago originally scheduled for January 2020:

Rescheduled to March 2020 (non-covid related)
Rescheduled to August 2020 (a few days before the March 2020 date right at the beginning of covid)
Rescheduled to April 2021 (after we all realized covid wasn't going anywhere)
Rescheduled to October 2021 (just now, thankfully - I wouldn't have been comfortable going to a concert this month despite being vaccinated)
 
Black Pumas show here in Chicago originally scheduled for January 2020:

Rescheduled to March 2020 (non-covid related)
Rescheduled to August 2020 (a few days before the March 2020 date right at the beginning of covid)
Rescheduled to April 2021 (after we all realized covid wasn't going anywhere)
Rescheduled to October 2021 (just now, thankfully - I wouldn't have been comfortable going to a concert this month despite being vaccinated)
 
Back
Top