I've seen a bunch of shows at the Metro and only once had a bad time. The sound is never totally great, but I've never found myself having a bad time or wanting to leave before the show was over.

The only totally awful experience I had there had more to do with the performers than the actual venue itself (Flower 10). My friend Nick got tossed during Chicago Underground Trio + Brokeback's set because he dropped his hitter on the floor. Probably the right band to smoke to, the wrong band to drop your steel hitter on the floor to.

-Jeremy

JayRyan, you probably haven’t spent that much time at the new black cat. The sound system is really bad and very inconsistent. The way in which they have the 2 bars lit upstairs gives the impression that if you’re at the bar then you are out of the room and therefore you can talk as loudly as want. Also, the lighting in the big concert room (bare white light bulbs shining down every 20 feet) makes the the whole room feel very impersonal.

I first met Joe Shanahan in Carbondale IL. This must have been in about 1977 or 78. He was a bartender and co-manager at a place called the Silverball. The Silverball had 2 big areas, one a bar that sometimes had bands and the other a pinball arcade.

I went there for the pinball. But then Joe organized "Punk Rock Night". I only went a few times...I'm not sure how often it happened...but we're talking 77 or 78 in Carbondale IL. There wasn't punk-rock-anything at that point in time. About a dozen of us would show up, have a few drinks, and roll around on the floor while Joe played Patti Smith, the Ramones, and so on. It wasn't much, but given the alternatives in town, it was way ahead of its time.

Anyway a year or so later I'm back in Chicago. In the early 80's Joe opened the Smart Bar and that grew into Metro and so on.

I can't say much about the Metro now having been gone from Chicago for so long. But Joe was always very nice to me, and so far as I can tell he got into the business he's in for the right reason...a love of the music.

JCohen wrote:JayRyan, you probably haven’t spent that much time at the new black cat. The sound system is really bad and very inconsistent. The way in which they have the 2 bars lit upstairs gives the impression that if you’re at the bar then you are out of the room and therefore you can talk as loudly as want. Also, the lighting in the big concert room (bare white light bulbs shining down every 20 feet) makes the the whole room feel very impersonal.

Does the J in JCohen stand for "Walter"?

The Black Cat mainstage isn't analogous with the Metro, the 930 Club is analogous with the Metro. They're practically the same place.

Having been to both the Metro and the Black Cat mainstage a whole bunch of times, I can tell you there is no comparison. I will take the mainstage anyday.

Comparing the two venues, the only regard in which I think the Metro is the superior venue is the look of the architecture. So if you're going to a live concert venue on the basis of the interior architecture details (not acoustic, but purely aesthetic) then for sure go to the Metro.

The Black Cat is owned and operated by its staff. People who love rock music. That's as good as it gets.

They have a really nice soundsystem for the mainstage - a nice big old Soundcraft (6000 series maybe? endofanera, a little help here?).

The drinks are perfectly reasonably priced for a city venue that isn't pure dive. I forget what the Metro charges, something like $5 for water maybe? And that much or more for a plastic cup of beer? That's one of the reasons I don't like the metro, the way overpriced drinks.

The parking situations are fairly comparable between the two, maybe, although I think it's probably easier to find parking at the Black Cat... though you're more likely to get your car broken into as well. If there's a Cubs game going on, parking near the Metro... forget about that.

After the show, for food, you've got Ben's in DC and Wrigleyville Dogs in Chicago. Fairly similar.

And the idea that the bars in the mainstage room give the impression that you're in another room? I don't know what gives you that impression. The music is loud enough that you'd have to be nuts to not realize you were in a very loud room with a live band playing. The idea of having a bar along the side wall and having the audience standing down the middle of the room... that's such a standard setup. And it's not liike people accidentally pay the cover charge and wander upstairs not realizing they're going to the live music room.

My theory is that the J stands for Walter.

j_harvey wrote:

jayryan wrote:schubas is also quite good..

Schubas is just missing something. I have seen half a dozen good bands there and played there two or three times, but never really had fun. I don't know if I have ever witnessed anyone having fun there. It almost feels like seeing a show in a church.

Can somone please confirm: has fun taken place at Schubas?

I saw Howe Gelb there (Schuba's) and it was one of the best shows EVER. I think that was largely Howe's doing. Although his shows can be spotty, this one was brilliant. At one point, he stopped playing his guitar in the middle of the song and pressed play on a CD Walkman which began playing a Coltrane solo. And he then continued on with the song he was playing. Even though both songs were in different time signatures, it was syncing up really well and turned out to be incredibly beautiful.

Sorta like church (the good kind - without religion)

What is “J stands for Walter”? It actually stands for Jonathan, thank you. I don’t think you’ve been to as many shows at the new black cat as I have. The bar areas in the main stage area are magnets for people to socialize. Which, I have no problem with, but when there is a quieter band onstage, those area can become obnoxious really fast. I can’t count on two hands the number of times I’ve seen this happen.

Also, there are a ton of people that now go there just because they love the idea of a live band providing the backdrop to their conversations. A $10 cover is nothing to these people.

And I’m sure they probably have good quality sound equipment, my reference to it was more directed at maybe they should learn how to use it better.

Great drink prices though.

Despite the drink prices and sometimes lame security, I’ll take the 9:30 club over any dc club any day of the week.

JCohen wrote:What is “J stands for Walter”? It actually stands for Jonathan, thank you. I don’t think you’ve been to as many shows at the new black cat as I have. The bar areas in the main stage area are magnets for people to socialize. Which, I have no problem with, but when there is a quieter band onstage, those area can become obnoxious really fast. I can’t count on two hands the number of times I’ve seen this happen.

I just had my first-ever experience with a bar where the staff made everyone in the room shut up before the band started. At the Hungry Brain, here in Chicago a couple weeks ago. It's a very small room, maybe the size of the backstage.

Other than that one place, I have never been to a bar that had a stage and a bar in the same room, where they didn't have noise issues with a quiet band onstage and a large group of people drinking and talking. I can count on one finger the number of bars I've been to that broke that mold.

JCohen wrote:Also, there are a ton of people that now go there just because they love the idea of a live band providing the backdrop to their conversations. A $10 cover is nothing to these people.

Wow, is this the Mousetrap set? What kinda quiet shows are these people going to and destroying?

JCohen wrote:And I’m sure they probably have good quality sound equipment, my reference to it was more directed at maybe they should learn how to use it better.

Dennis always did a fine job, that I'm aware of. Maybe he doesn't work there anymore?

JCohen wrote:Great drink prices though.

Despite the drink prices and sometimes lame security, I’ll take the 9:30 club over any dc club any day of the week.

And for me, I wish I coulda seen the Hot Snakes and Mission Of Burma/Oxes shows on the mainstage instead of at the 930. To each his own then.

Do you play in a band?

j_harvey wrote:

jayryan wrote:schubas is also quite good..

Schubas is just missing something. I have seen half a dozen good bands there and played there two or three times, but never really had fun. I don't know if I have ever witnessed anyone having fun there. It almost feels like seeing a show in a church.

I've seen some great shows at ex-churches. But yeah, Schuba's is like, "cold" or something. I don't know, I just don't feel comfortable there. I think it's just too clean and professional for me. I don't like it.

I haven’t been to any of these places in a few years since I no longer live in Chicago, but seeing that this thread was started in 2003, I think I may have some relevant rants…

I am not a musician and do not have any experiences with dealing with these places in that capacity, but I have shot some little no-budget films and music video thingies at these joints and have dealt with these people at that level.

Lounge Ax, hands down, was the best! I did several things there, either my own or working on someone else’s. I did some live band stuff there, but also a narrative thing once during their non business hours. They literally opened their doors, not only to musicians, but the entire Chicago creative community, no questions asked, except maybe “what can we do for you?” and it never cost me a cent. For this reason, the closing of Lounge Ax, is one of the saddest stories in Daley’s attempt at homogenizing Chicago.

I only shot 1 live thing at the Metro and have to say it was an amazing experience. I was prepared for the worst but had no choice in the matter… that’s simply where the band was playing… and I was utterly shocked how cooperative the staff was. It was a fairly big shoot, big crew and a lot of gear. The staff treated us like one of the bands, loading our stuff in and out, giving us our own space down stairs, our very own tub of beer and even at one point telling me, “Just let us know what you need. Tonight you guys own the place.” Shocking! So this is what it’s like being a rock star? I am not refuting any of the stories on this thread about the experiences others have had. I share those stories as well. Sure, going there for a show, the staff is way cooler than me and I feel like I’m the butt of some inside joke they’re sharing, but, hey, I don’t live there, I’m just stoppin’ by for a couple hours and then I have a home to go to… but that’s why I was so surprised by this experience and had to share it.

The Empty Bottle, on the other hand, wow! I’ve shot a few things there, but it was a few too many and I vow never to return. Not even to see a show. The lighting is non existent, the sound is terrible and there is really no good angle to shoot from. Too, Bruce is such a control freak, he insists where all the cameras should go and knows how to best record the audio. I should give him a directing credit on everything I have done there. I went to him once to shoot a narrative thing during non business hours (Lounge Ax was no longer an option). He was fine with that provided I cover his costs (electricity and his staff member that was going to baby sit us) and that our production insure him for $1 million. Yeah, of course I thought the amount of coverage was absurd, but it’s not very expensive to do that and I didn’t think it was an unreasonable request to cover his costs, so I agreed. Just a few days before our scheduled shoot I met with him to give him the certificate of insurance and pay him his costs up front. It was then I learned a very valuable lesson: Before agreeing to pay for something, ask how much it is. He told me his electricity was $650. I was like, “What?” We’re only shooting two days, not a fucking month. And he wanted $20 an hour for his staff person. My jaw hit the floor. It’s like if you didn’t want us to shoot at your place you should have just said so. And not that I have a problem paying his staff $400 for the 2 days (although I didn’t really have it), I just had serious doubts they would even see all $400. And it’s just a crappy place to shoot in anyway.

Coincidently, his staff person who was going to baby sit us was married to my lead actor and was in the band that was going to be in the scene. She also worked at the Blue Bird (rip), suggested we go there instead and agreed to baby sit us for free. That’s exactly what we did; everything worked out just fine, didn’t cost us anything and, after shooting, the first round of beers were on the house. That’s always a plus in my book.

I only did 1 live thing at the Double Door. Everyone was helpful, it was a pleasurable experience, it’s a far superior place to shoot over EB and I would go there again.

Sorry for the rant. I guess I had this building up in me for a while. I feel much better now.

steve wrote:In any case, truth is an absolute defense. This might be why the dude can get away with calling Bush a 12-foot reptilian monster without repercussion.

yes, truth is a defense. also, the statement about Bush is OK, because you are free to state your opinion, as long as it is clearly your opinion, not a misrepresenation of fact. You are also free to state that, in your opinion, the Metro sucks the dead cock of Liberace. Also, public figures like GWB have significanly less protection than non-public figures do.

this Metro place sounds suspiciously like a long-departed and not-missed shithole in Boston called the Channel. Steve, I believe you played the Channel. Once. That place was a shit sandwich on shitbread, with dogshit sauce. And the sound was bad too. They did get some good bands, though.