Why is the concert scene always so dead in Jacksonville?

[Jason]

Well I for one had a blast in the mosh pit in front of the P.O.D. stage bashing around with my shirtless bretheren.    I'm sure I was the only young professional from the Jacksonville area though.  Maybe I'm just holding on to the good 'ol days of hard rock festivals from the 90's but half of the so-called top bands listed prior have little to no interest to me.

I just think you went off half-cocked linking certain "types of people" to the local concerts.  And I didin't notice anyone there polling the masses on their residency, age, education, etc...

And I'll never be caught dead with the likes of Coldplay and the Yeah Yeah Yeah's in my record collection or on my MP3 player.  Gimme all of the Disturbed, Korn, Shinedown, 5 Finger Death Punch, Slipknot, etc you can find and I'll blast it on my car stereo (windows down) as I pull out of the office park while sporting my band signed Korn t-shirt beneath my cornflower blue button up shirt, black slacks, and spit-shined Dockers. 

Sorry to derail the topic again

Ok, back to it!  As others have alluded or stated, the local population likely has little to do with the types of concerts we see here locally.  It has much more to do with the venue and the fact the the Jacksonville market in unique in the fact that it is a bit of an island.  The other Florida metros very easily pull from neighboring cities because of their close proximity. 

[Tacachale]

CityLife, the fact that you bought Coldplay tickets utterly negates everything else you have to say about music.

I'm kidding of course, but in the service of the point. There's no accounting for taste. Whether you've got exquisite taste (read: me), awful taste, or evidently good tasted marred by glaring flaws such as Coldplay, it's all the same in the end, what matters in getting the shows are the money and infrastructure. Towns, and even venues, that get the great acts also get the terrible acts - they have the cogs in place for these things to happen.

We're stronger in some areas and weaker in others. FWIW I'm definitely in the crowd that thinks our concert scene is pretty good, overall definitely better than it was 10 years ago, though I do wish it were better.

[CityLife]

Haha. Touche. I actually got the Coldplay tickets because my wife and her friend in Tampa are fans and wanted to go. I got them knowing I could either sell at a profit or bite the bullet and go. Fortunately demand is high and I am going to sell at 2x face. Could you imagine that kind of money being paid for tickets in Jax? People in Miami are paying $600 for lower level (not even floor) seats for Coldplay. People in Tampa are paying $250ish.

And regarding taste, I wasn't necessarily naming my favorite bands(though many were), mostly just acts I know are large draws and don't come to Jax. We've actually done ok on good bands lately like Modest Mouse, Fleet Foxes, My Morning Jacket, Vampire Weekend, Decemberists, Flaming Lips, TV On The Radio, Wilco, etc. But where we are lacking is the mid level or up and coming bands. I was just in San Fran for a few days and while I was there they had Neon Indian, M83, Radiohead, and a few other solid acts I forget. Obviously you can't compare Jax to a San Fran, but every time I'm in a bigger city I realize how much we miss out on good shows. Bigger cities typically have about 1-3 good concerts (for all tastes) per week at minimum. What does Jax have 1 a month? Go look at Jax's summer lineup on Pollstar. Its embarrassing really.

Things have gotten better here, but we do need a mid level venue and we do need more demand/better attendance when we do get good acts.

[simms3]

Wow a lot of you people have horrible taste in music.  Korn?  5 Finger Death Punch?  Slipknot?  Those are the big bands?  Not to be insulting, but the people I see listening to that stuff, at least publicly, are kind of...

And there is nothing wrong with Coldplay...tickets to Coldplay are some of the most expensive around.  I saw them last year in Piedmont Park and it was a good looking crowd.  The average income level and educational attainment of that crowd is probably 5x that of the crowd that goes to a Slipknot concert.

[David]

And that's what live music is all about. Attracting people with similiar education and income levels.

[scottjsmith]

Would love to see an open air ampitheater downtown somewhere, preferably on the river, or even something like the old Jannus Landing in St. Pete.

It's called Metropolitan Park, but the residents in St. Nicholas always complain...

[mtraininjax]

Saturday Night Seduction at Club 5

Bruce Chambers ran the best Halloween parties at Club 5. I agree, much better as a bar, but the neighborhood is probably better off with the fact that the Shad's fixed up the building and have brought in other shops to make it more diverse.

[BridgeTroll]

And that's what live music is all about. Attracting people with similiar education and income levels.

Thanks David... I was tired of saying it.  Unreal...

[fsquid]

Can't listen to the coldplay.  But then again, I have balls.   I agree with the others, are we really basing what is "good" music based on the ticket price?

[CityLife]

Would love to see an open air ampitheater downtown somewhere, preferably on the river, or even something like the old Jannus Landing in St. Pete.

It's called Metropolitan Park, but the residents in St. Nicholas always complain...

St. Nicholas is probably a much younger area than it was 15 years ago (or whatever it was) when the amphitheater concept was shot down. I have a friend that has a place near the river there and a lot of her neighbors are late 20's and 30's. I have a feeling there would be less opposition to that idea now. And if there is, those who don't like it can always move to St. Johns County. And I can say that, because when the wind blows north I can hear Metro Park/Stadium/Suns Games just as loudly as they do.

[CityLife]

Can't listen to the coldplay.  But then again, I have balls.   I agree with the others, are we really basing what is "good" music based on the ticket price?

If Seth Rogan didn't say that in 40 Year Old Virgin, Coldplay wouldn't get nearly as much flak as they do.  A Rush of Blood to the Head is a darn good pop album. They've definitely dropped in quality since then, but the new album has some decent songs. But yea by and large they are a little more for females than males. Still they're a good pop band who has ripped off U2, Radiohead, and Arcade Fire among others, and freely admit to that.

For the record, when I talked about prices of Coldplay, I was using it as an example of demand and how much more money is in those areas. Not necessarily taking Simms standpoint.

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

Aside from Simms, this is some of the most elitist babble I've ever read on here. 

and here it comes:

Wow a lot of you people have horrible taste in music.  Korn?  5 Finger Death Punch?  Slipknot?  Those are the big bands?  Not to be insulting, but the people I see listening to that stuff, at least publicly, are kind of...

And there is nothing wrong with Coldplay...tickets to Coldplay are some of the most expensive around.  I saw them last year in Piedmont Park and it was a good looking crowd.  The average income level and educational attainment of that crowd is probably 5x that of the crowd that goes to a Slipknot concert.

Yeah, but the Slipknot crowd would kick your ass, take away your overpriced Coldplay tickets and toss them in the urinal.  The next morning, they'll put on thier suit, sit in their corner office and watch the market.

I guess everyone who rides a Harley and wears leather must be poor white trash as well. 

[fsquid]

Can't listen to the coldplay.  But then again, I have balls.   I agree with the others, are we really basing what is "good" music based on the ticket price?

If Seth Rogan didn't say that in 40 Year Old Virgin, Coldplay wouldn't get nearly as much flak as they do.  A Rush of Blood to the Head is a darn good pop album. They've definitely dropped in quality since then, but the new album has some decent songs. But yea by and large they are a little more for females than males. Still they're a good pop band who has ripped off U2, Radiohead, and Arcade Fire among others, and freely admit to that.

For the record, when I talked about prices of Coldplay, I was using it as an example of demand and how much more money is in those areas. Not necessarily taking Simms standpoint.

I didn't even see your post before that, but I do agree with your post.  I've actually never seen 40 year old virgin.  This Seth guy needs to stop ripping off my ideas.

[Tacachale]

Anyone who criticizes other peoples' music and then says "there's nothing wrong with Coldplay" has just lost that argument for themselves. They've lost it so bad that not even non sequiturs about their ticket prices and the supposed educational attainment of their fanbase can save it.

Seriously though, individual tastes aside, if we suddenly woke up and started attracting acts like Arcade Fire, Band of Horses, Radiohead, etc., at the same time we'd also start attracting various different acts of various different styles, including ones that suck. CityLife (who appears to have pretty good taste IMO) mentioned several good bands playing in San Francisco. I can guarantee that Korn and Slipknot have also played big shows in San Francisco. As have Enrique Iglecias, 8Ball & MJG, and Hank Williams III. A strong music scene brings variety. Terrible, terrible variety.

[Anti redneck]

^ Well the rock concert scene is definitely dead. I think it's even safe to say the hip-hop concert scene is dead.

AhA!  Perhaps the subject of the thread should be modified... to... "The concerts I would like to see scene is dead."

If it's not a variety, then it's a dead scene IMO.