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I can't really speak for anybody else, but in my case I can identify a nostalgia for mind-blowing and rebellious music. The reality, again just my opinion, is that most widely-selling rock was people doing a job and worrying about the same things as people doing normal jobs - keeping your nose clean, not appearing too weird, not alienating the customers and so on.
Over the past few years I've been reevaluating what music means to me, and for the time being it is made up of playing live, communicating musically and socially with fellow musicians and audience, expressing what it means to be small and human yet connected to something larger. I'm not a hippie and don't knit my own sandals, but I do find a lot of what I listened to when I was younger to be alienating and self-important. Nowadays I concentrate on the small, yet important things, like having running water that I can boil conveniently to make coffee that I can sure with friends in a warm house. Music is just another of those things that make life good.
Over the past few years I've been reevaluating what music means to me, and for the time being it is made up of playing live, communicating musically and socially with fellow musicians and audience, expressing what it means to be small and human yet connected to something larger. I'm not a hippie and don't knit my own sandals, but I do find a lot of what I listened to when I was younger to be alienating and self-important. Nowadays I concentrate on the small, yet important things, like having running water that I can boil conveniently to make coffee that I can sure with friends in a warm house. Music is just another of those things that make life good.
But every casino in the country has sold out theater sized rooms with groups from the 60's, 70's and 80's selling them out. Every age group is still going to these shows.
Anecdotal evidence isn't very convincing. Can you provide numbers on how many Millennials go to shows like this? How many people go see Katy Perry every night, or try to see Kayne West?
Remember, Sha Na Na played at Woodstock; that doesn't mean nearly half a million people sat in the mud for three days because they were fans of 50's rock & roll.
I can't provide numbers, but I have been to a couple of Tribute Bands' shows and can confirm that the age groups present are from VERY young, to older than myself. When I saw The Who, I felt old even though it was 35 years ago. I wasn't at Woodstock in 69, but there were certainly other 16 year olds there and not to see Sha Na Na, but to see music of all genres. Every concert has the whole spectrum, but I don't know the numbers.
Okay, now go to a Rita Ora or Ed Sheenan show and see how many people in their 50's you spot. My point is that your observations tell us nothing about what the demographics are nation-wide or world-wide. Maybe people are attending the shows because they're at casinos, and they've gone there for other reasons. You say "every concert has the whole spectrum", but again, that's only from your impression. If an alien were to crash-land in Kansas and walk a hundred miles in any direction, they might think the entire planet is flat and dry. It would certainly look that way to them, but they'd be wildly mistaken.
There's certainly some cross-generational interest in both directions of any musical divide. But that doesn't mean it's widespread.
Yes, I know I'm reacting to a post from months ago, but it tripped a thought...
Demographics can play out in surprising ways. Last summer my wife and I went down to a little club in Cambridge to catch a new young artist I had discovered and gotten really excited about - Jessica Hernandez and the Deltas. She put on a fabulous show, by the way, and I totally recommend seeing her and checking out her music. But what's relevant here was the crowd. Young, little-known indie artist in the most college town of college towns there is - I figured that, in our late 40s, my wife and I would be the out-of-place geezers in the crowd.
Nope. I think we were the YOUNGEST people there, apart from the band. Lots of gray hairs around the room. We chatted with a few of them before the show, and asked, among other things, where they had learned about her. I had first found her from a KEXP video on youtube; most of the people we talked to knew her from an NPR Tiny Desk Concert she did.
HAHA. I think it is very common to see older people at concerts, and I am also amazed when people half my age come up to us and say how great the band is.
I can't speak for everyone. But the last couple of shows I've been to with my teenage kids has been very enlightening. I can't generalize my kids to all "kids today". But I can't help but wonder what could be emblematic.
When I was their age, I couldn't wait to be old enough to go to big live shows. That's because my parents were the 50s generation, and didn't go to rock concerts. I had to wait until I could drive and pay for the tickets. And when I went, it was EVERYTHING. I'm actually pretty sensitive to overly loud volumes. But I would willingly put up with it to experience my favorite artists, live.
My kids? Couldn't care less. They sit down throughout the show, look bored or sleepy, look at their phones, etc... We've asked them what shows/bands/performers they would like to see, and they seriously can't come up with any. My son is into vaporwave. It's not like youtube "mix artists" are out touring. We took our kids to see Jason Isbell. It was hands down the best show I've seen in years. After the show my son mentioned that he enjoyed it. Really? Because I couldn't tell. He then said that he really likes music, but prefers to listen to recordings than see it played live. I didn't know what to say. Still don't.
EDIT: Per the OP, I'm still not sure what to embrace about all this. But clearly live music is not their thing. I'm a musician, and that just stings.
When I was their age, I couldn't wait to be old enough to go to big live shows. That's because my parents were the 50s generation, and didn't go to rock concerts. I had to wait until I could drive and pay for the tickets. And when I went, it was EVERYTHING. I'm actually pretty sensitive to overly loud volumes. But I would willingly put up with it to experience my favorite artists, live.
My kids? Couldn't care less. They sit down throughout the show, look bored or sleepy, look at their phones, etc... We've asked them what shows/bands/performers they would like to see, and they seriously can't come up with any. My son is into vaporwave. It's not like youtube "mix artists" are out touring. We took our kids to see Jason Isbell. It was hands down the best show I've seen in years. After the show my son mentioned that he enjoyed it. Really? Because I couldn't tell. He then said that he really likes music, but prefers to listen to recordings than see it played live. I didn't know what to say. Still don't.
EDIT: Per the OP, I'm still not sure what to embrace about all this. But clearly live music is not their thing. I'm a musician, and that just stings.
Basically this. Country concerts are doing very, very well with younger crowds.
However, I'll say the other iteration of modern rock currently exists in the jam scene. That's where you'll find a lot of groups mixing rock, metal, funk, blues, electronic, folk, and more. That's also where you are going to find the up and coming talent of today's youth that isn't in the pop vein.
It does depend a lot on the kids. I've taken mine to lots of shows (it helps to sell the wife on spending money on concert tickets for bands I want to see, if it's an experience for the kids too...). It helps that I like to check out new bands, and it's been fun to go with them to see Kasabian, Cold War Kids (several times), Young the Giant, the Arctic Monkeys (twice, plus once seeing Alex Turner's side project), or Black Keys (also twice). But they also had fun going to Yes and Rush tours. They would pause to do a snapchat or something briefly, but didn't spend the show on their phones.
The funny thing is, it's actually toughest going to shows with my wife. She's much more the one that you think isn't enjoying it during the show, just stands or sits there and stares while everyone else is bopping around or singing along. But she actually does enjoy it, and surprised me a couple of times by suggesting that we go see someone that I thought she hadn't been enthusiastic about before. She's more likely to be annoyed by audience antics, would much rather be in an assigned seat, while I enjoy the energy and chaos of being down in the GA floor.
Rock and Roll is far from dead in San Francisco... 8 out of 10 nights of the week there is a ton of shows happening in the Bay Area. National and International Touring acts are always coming in and through. Regional acts loom large. Local bands still heavily engage in the local club circuit - though admittedly, the # of clubs is diminishing.
Personally speaking, the biggest dilemma I have with it all is that playing too frequently diminishes the chances of good crowds - but more critically, kids just do not give a crap about a bunch of 50 something locals jamming, regardless of the venue. I have played to too many empty rooms.....
I was recently coerced into playing bass with a Grateful Dead cover band started by my 19 yr old son and a bunch of his local, college-aged pals. They needed a bass player, I have a convenient Studio in my house with all the gear needed and I'm a long time head.... (But I play lots of other kinds of music and lots of other instruments too.)
They decided to call this band "Ted & Company!" Our first gig is March 25 in SF and I'm hoping age disparity is not an issue!
Hey Hey My My - Rock n Roll may be dying slowly, but it will never really die...
Personally speaking, the biggest dilemma I have with it all is that playing too frequently diminishes the chances of good crowds - but more critically, kids just do not give a crap about a bunch of 50 something locals jamming, regardless of the venue. I have played to too many empty rooms.....
I was recently coerced into playing bass with a Grateful Dead cover band started by my 19 yr old son and a bunch of his local, college-aged pals. They needed a bass player, I have a convenient Studio in my house with all the gear needed and I'm a long time head.... (But I play lots of other kinds of music and lots of other instruments too.)
They decided to call this band "Ted & Company!" Our first gig is March 25 in SF and I'm hoping age disparity is not an issue!
Hey Hey My My - Rock n Roll may be dying slowly, but it will never really die...
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Yeah. But it's not for lack of trying. My wife is more of the concert goer than I am, and is the one most upset by the kids not being engaged at the shows. We've also taken them to see live music since they were infants. So maybe it's not novel enough to them. Or maybe it's their way of rebelling against their lame parents. She is still dead set on them "learning to respect the performers for entertaining them", etc... She really wants to do some big festivals as a family. It's important to her. Last week I finally just said that they are old enough to stay at home by themselves now, if they aren't having any of it.
Speaking of rebellion... I recently put together a spotify playlist of popular-yet-not-mainstream 80s songs. Included, say, Smiths songs, but not How Soon is Now, for example. Anyway, I've always loved the song "Eighties" from Killing Joke, and it's on the playlist that the kids have heard several times. The other day I come waltzing into the kitchen, singing "Ahee-ties! I'm livin' in the ahee-ties! I puuuuush!", replete with bad exaggerated british accent. My daughter's at the sink, doesn't even look up. Just says "I hate that song." Can't give a good reason. Other than the fact her dorky dad likes it and is making an ars of himself singing it at 630 in the AM.
So I'm sure that's got something to do with it.
My 15 yr old has a choice of Styx or Slayer (they play back to back nights in the summer). Jury is still out. There's hope, man!!
I not only want to go to your show. I want to live in SF. Who do I need to speak to about that to make it happen?
I not only want to go to your show. I want to live in SF. Who do I need to speak to about that to make it happen?
More People Fleeing Pricey San Francisco Than Any Other US City
I can for sure attest that a lot of folks are fleeing my town due to costs.
The tech boom has destroyed the culture that was here and many of my pals have departed, mostly across the bay.
But those of us who have a toe hold are still around.
This mostly affects the local music scene - the big acts come here precisely because there is so much $$ floating around here.
The tech boom has destroyed the culture that was here and many of my pals have departed, mostly across the bay.
But those of us who have a toe hold are still around.
This mostly affects the local music scene - the big acts come here precisely because there is so much $$ floating around here.
Agreed, i've heard plenty of truly great rock music over the last 15 years. It's just not the same as it used to be, it "smells funny" so to speak. Look at the jam band scene. Hugely popular with plenty of rock oriented instrumentation. Bands like Phish, Widespread Panic, Moe., Gov't Mule, Umphrey's McGee, and the list goes on. I've also looked to the neo-prog scene during this time to hear groups like Spocks Beard, Marillion, Transatlantic, and the Flower Kings. Chops for days with those groups. Then you get into bands somewhere in between hard rock and indie. Coheed and Cambria and The Dear Hunter come to mind. Truly high quality stuff if your willing to look into it.
To add to that, I am 32 and am very familiar with the classics of the 60's/70's. I spent my days brushing up on Yes, Rush, Genesis, Allman Bros, Zappa...you name it. My listening has just progressed over time and never stopped. I never hit a point and stopped going further. These days i listen to alot of jazz and EDM.
