Squonk wrote:
Too many to choose from, but like Bob, would rather see a great musician in a small Pub type setting, at least where I could order a good pint of bitter!
Would love to see some music greats unplugged, having a pint and being as natural as possible.
I don't care for big arena shows myself, but there are all sorts of options and permutations. In the UK there are lots of small theatres, 300 to 800 seats, that sort of size. That's still OK, though often that kind of venue is reserved seating, so getting there first doesn't necessarily get you into the front row.
We booked tickets in advance for Carthy, but it was unreserved seating so we got to the pub early, had a meal, then joined the queue - which was about 15 strong by that time. It was a tiny venue so we were never going to be far from the action, but we ended up in the 2nd row, mere meters away from the action.
We also got right up front for a Richard Thompson Band show in Wolverhampton (capacity 700). But we stood outside the venue door from about 12:30 (for an 8pm show!) and then when we got inside forget about reserved seating, there wasn't any seating. Alert! That show was really, really loud - so some sort of ear protection can come in handy if you're seeing an electric band at close quarters.
I haven't foresworn the bigger venues completely. We saw two shows at the Royal Festival Hall last year - I think that seats about 3000. The first we near the front anyway. The second we were about 1/2 way back and it wasn't that bad. We saw the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain in a big church up in Hampsted. A couple of thousand in there with the extra seating they put in (though the organisers were very kind and kept good seats for us because we had come so far). But something like Cropredy where you stand in a field (or put your deckchair down) and look at a big stage over theeeeeeeeerrrrreee.... Thanks, I'll pass.
My real point is that whilst you're in London or New York to see Leonard Cohen you'd do well to look at what's happening in some of the many smaller venues around town. Those venues and circuits service a different audience and a different set of performers, often "niche" acts who make a strong musical statement that's not everybody's cup of tea.
