Houston’s indie blues
The sad, depressing story of a city of four million people minus an indie scene from the Houston Press. An insane incident of police over-reacting in ‘06 to a club show didn’t help but John Nova Lomax’s well-documented research points to more problems: “mediocre bands, terrible radio, second-rate venues, poor public transportation, killer sprawl and a diverse populace of mildly paranoid, cynical souls.” Not to mention some eye-opening info about how diversity may not always be what it’s cracked up to be.
That article was a good read here in H-town last week. Houston’s music woes have been well-documented for a long time, and I applaud the Press for not trying to boil the situation down to one single issue.
I think that the city’s woes are somewhat exaggerated, but there definitely is a problem here. It makes sense for smaller indie bands to just play Austin, where they know they will draw a crowd. And, I have to say that even though I was going to a show a week here during the spring, since Radiohead played town in May I have not been to a show in Houston until tonight (Less Than Jake). The only other concert on my personal calendar for the rest of the summer is Nine Inch Nails in August.
On the other hand, both of Houston’s medium-sized clubs are very good venues, and both also have a smaller room which books bands. It’s a shame that most of the smaller bars that host indie acts here are terrible venues, but the city does have an excellent “scene” venue for punk/metal kids- The Java Jazz Coffeehouse. Which, naturally, sells no coffee and books no jazz.
Comment by Chris Conaton from Houston, TX — July 17, 2008 @ 4:48 pm