Why is the concert scene always so dead in Jacksonville?

[Tacachale]

For example, the Florida Theater is amazing, but as an old movie theater with fixed seating, it's just not prime for modern amplified concerts

I've noticed a weird thing at the past few shows I've seen at the Florida Theater.  No one knows how to act during the concert.  Pockets of people stand, pockets of people sit, and both sides argue.  I saw Jeff Tweedy call out the crowd for this.  I saw Tom Waits have to say, "Ok, I'm going to do the talking now".  I saw someone yell "fuck you hooch" to Fleet Foxes, so loud that the singer had to address it. 

I've seen thousands of concerts of all different types of bands, and I've never seen anything like the crowds in Jax at the Florida Theater.  It's like everyone feels that the concert is about them, and any pause in the music is a chance for them to yell their funny/witty/"freebird" comment or whatever.  It almost warrants a full sociological study, cause I can not figure out what is happening.

I was at those Wilco and Fleet Foxes shows, and I agree, it's strange. It's really just the way the theater is set up. There's no pit with removable seating for people to stand, so people in the front can't decide what to do, and the way the acoustics are, every asshole who makes noise can be heard throughout the whole place. It's still a awesome venue though, it's gorgeous and very intimate.

[gatorm]

For example, the Florida Theater is amazing, but as an old movie theater with fixed seating, it's just not prime for modern amplified concerts

I've noticed a weird thing at the past few shows I've seen at the Florida Theater.  No one knows how to act during the concert.  Pockets of people stand, pockets of people sit, and both sides argue.  I saw Jeff Tweedy call out the crowd for this.  I saw Tom Waits have to say, "Ok, I'm going to do the talking now".  I saw someone yell "fuck you hooch" to Fleet Foxes, so loud that the singer had to address it. 

I've seen thousands of concerts of all different types of bands, and I've never seen anything like the crowds in Jax at the Florida Theater.  It's like everyone feels that the concert is about them, and any pause in the music is a chance for them to yell their funny/witty/"freebird" comment or whatever.  It almost warrants a full sociological study, cause I can not figure out what is happening.

Wow I had to register just to completely agree with you there.  The Black Crowes last year had to beg the audience to react in any way to the concert.  It was like a funeral in there. 

Also during the Derek Trucks show a couple months ago I was grabbed by the security guard and very rudely told I had to sit down in my seat or be kicked out of the show.  They have no idea whatsoever how to present a rock and roll show or treat their patrons.  I'll NEVER go back. 

Contrast that to the Tampa Theater, which is set up the exact same way but run much better.

That said, the St. Augustine venue is great.  I'd much rather drive 45 minutes south to see a show there than go right across the river to the Florida Theater.

[cline]

While I agree that the St. Augustine Ampitheater is a great place to see a show, I feel like that acts brought in have not been as good ever since the county fired the old promoter/manager (Ryan Dettra) a while back.  He could bring in some great shows.  I believe he is back to running Cafe 11 now. 

[CityLife]

Its dead because people in Jacksonville and to a lesser extent Miami, Orlando, Tampa aren't as musically cultured as people in big cities elsewhere. Heck half of our "hipsters" just dress that way for the style and have no clue about music. I'm routinely disappointed at turnouts when I do see good acts here. My Morning Jacket is arguably considered a top 10 live band in the US and they barely sold out half of the St. Augie Amphitheater. They just did 2 sold out nights at Madison Square Garden. TV on The Radio is one of the better indie bands of the past 10 years and there were maybe 250-500 people at the Florida Theater to see them recently. Anyone remember that music festival at Metro Park about 5 years ago? Tickets were dirt cheap (like 20 bucks) and there were some decent acts there like Spoon, Polyphonic Spree, Against Me!, The Stills, The Bravery, Keller Williams, Arrested Development, Rooney, Pepper. Doesn't sound like much now, but at the time a few of those groups were fairly popular. Hardly anyone went.

People in the music industry talk and look at figures. I'm sure travel costs have gone up exponentially, so it may not be worth taking the risk of adding a Florida leg to tours. When a lot of acts do come to Florida, a lot of the time makes sense to go to Orlando, Tampa, South Florida, or Gainesville/Tally instead of Jax. Until more people start attending good shows and UNF students branch out from the Salt Life, we will continue to get bypassed a lot of the time.

[CityLife]

While I agree that the St. Augustine Ampitheater is a great place to see a show, I feel like that acts brought in have not been as good ever since the county fired the old promoter/manager (Ryan Dettra) a while back.  He could bring in some great shows.  I believe he is back to running Cafe 11 now.

I didn't know that, but it makes sense now. Come to think of it I don't think I've been to a show there in a year or so. Why did they fire him? Attendance issues?

[Tacachale]

While I agree that the St. Augustine Ampitheater is a great place to see a show, I feel like that acts brought in have not been as good ever since the county fired the old promoter/manager (Ryan Dettra) a while back.  He could bring in some great shows.  I believe he is back to running Cafe 11 now.

I didn't know that, but it makes sense now. Come to think of it I don't think I've been to a show there in a year or so. Why did they fire him? Attendance issues?

Personality conflict mostly. He'd been clashing his superiors at the County and ultimately parted ways. He went back to Cafe 11.

[mtraininjax]

When a lot of acts do come to Florida, a lot of the time makes sense to go to Orlando, Tampa, South Florida, or Gainesville/Tally instead of Jax.

Hey we did get Shania Twain to play outdoors in the Jags Stadium in 1999. In twang we trust!

We can knock out Tally/Hogtown, if we can grow the local universities and the area becomes a mecca for shows.

[fsujax]

i lived in tallahassee for six years and i honestly dont remember them get any better concerts or more concerts than Jacksonville.

[copperfiend]

As an example, my wife likes Glee (I know, I know). Matthew Morrison from the show scheduled a concert at Jacksonville and subsequently canceled, likely due to low ticket sales. I entertained the idea of taking her until I went to buy tickets and they were $50 (!!!) each through Ticketmaster. Nobody in their right mind would pay that much for such a second-rate show, but that doesn't mean it couldn't have sold out at $15 a pop. Instead of allowing prices to naturally fall to a happy equlibrium level though, they just canceled the whole damn show. You see this is a lot in the smaller markets.

He cancelled his entire tour, which included a stop in Jacksonville.

[CityLife]

i lived in tallahassee for six years and i honestly dont remember them get any better concerts or more concerts than Jacksonville.

The White Stripes were one of the biggest rock bands in the world and played at FSU while you were there.  Club Downunder at FSU got more good shows single handily than Jacksonville did as a whole in my time there, but with the state budget cuts they don't bring in as many good shows these days. Gainesville has also gotten quite a bit of good shows that Jax misses on.

[fsujax]

i dont remember that. Guess I really didn't care. I did see Alan Jackson there.

[Anti redneck]

What Jacksonville is missing is a great mid-sized venue for the acts that are too small for the arena, but too large for the theaters/clubs. St. Augustine is just killing it with their 3,500 seat ampitheater.

3,500 seats, eh? Not to hijack the thread, but damn, school four would be a great place for an adaptive reuse into a little amphitheater

Well, they are building an "amphitheater" and water feature adjacent to where the 200 Riverside development is going

I like how you quote "amphitheater". That means it's not good enough, right?

[Anti redneck]

What Jacksonville is missing is a great mid-sized venue for the acts that are too small for the arena, but too large for the theaters/clubs. St. Augustine is just killing it with their 3,500 seat ampitheater.

Some easy, short-term fixes could include making the ground level at the T-U center and Florida Theater into removable seats and maybe new sound systems. Those venues are not that bad.

[tufsu1]

yeah, let's install removable seats at a theater that hosts broadway shows....what a great idea!

[RockStar]

For example, the Florida Theater is amazing, but as an old movie theater with fixed seating, it's just not prime for modern amplified concerts

I've noticed a weird thing at the past few shows I've seen at the Florida Theater.  No one knows how to act during the concert.  Pockets of people stand, pockets of people sit, and both sides argue.  I saw Jeff Tweedy call out the crowd for this.  I saw Tom Waits have to say, "Ok, I'm going to do the talking now".  I saw someone yell "fuck you hooch" to Fleet Foxes, so loud that the singer had to address it. 

I've seen thousands of concerts of all different types of bands, and I've never seen anything like the crowds in Jax at the Florida Theater.  It's like everyone feels that the concert is about them, and any pause in the music is a chance for them to yell their funny/witty/"freebird" comment or whatever.  It almost warrants a full sociological study, cause I can not figure out what is happening.

Wow I had to register just to completely agree with you there.  The Black Crowes last year had to beg the audience to react in any way to the concert.  It was like a funeral in there. 

Also during the Derek Trucks show a couple months ago I was grabbed by the security guard and very rudely told I had to sit down in my seat or be kicked out of the show.  They have no idea whatsoever how to present a rock and roll show or treat their patrons.  I'll NEVER go back. 

Contrast that to the Tampa Theater, which is set up the exact same way but run much better.

That said, the St. Augustine venue is great.  I'd much rather drive 45 minutes south to see a show there than go right across the river to the Florida Theater.

I think what you're seeing is a transition period. The Florida Theater is starting to pick up younger acts, but then you still have older patrons who are contributors and benefactors and season ticket holders who will go to a show, but not necessarily be big fans of the band/know all the songs/any of the songs.

When I was at Elvis Costello the other night, half were standing and rocking out and half weren't. Maybe they should seat all the season tic holders on one side and have the other half for usual sale...

As far as aggressive security, I think that's a one off thing. He might've been signaling you to sit and you didn't notice while you were getting your blues rock on. The point is, you say you'll never go back but that's a little like cutting off you nose to spite your face. A fan not buying tickets discourages bands from returning and hurts the common cause of getting great shows to Jax, regardless of venue. And there's going to be bands that you'll want to see at FT.

So, other than your run in with the law, how was the show?