First Show At The Library

Oct 1, 2009 News
Written by: John

So we had our first show at The Library and it’s definitely a venue I would like to play again. The sound is great, they installed nice new lights, the staff is helpful, the beer is cold, and because of the size of the room you would never know that it’s a smoking bar.

This was a last minute show, so that means we had to race to gather our gear and then race to get to the club at a reasonable time. In fact, I’m quite impressed with the band, we were able to pack all of our gear and get to the club in about an hour.

We arrived at the club around 6:30 Wednesday evening and began the long process of loading our gear in, and that’s when I remembered, The Library has tons of stairs to climb to get in the doors, which is the only draw back to the club that I’ve found. We lugged our 300 pounds worth of gear up the stairs without complaint because of the mild excitement of playing a new club. Moving as fast as we could so we could set up and open the show.

As we were loading in, The Library was finishing up the installation of their new lighting system. Which, once I saw the lights in action, I thought they looked amazing. We spoke with Sheri, the booking manager, and got settled in. She seemed grateful that we came to help out the club because of the dropout of another band.

One thing I will never understand is why a band would skip out on a show after they have confirmed. I understand that shit happens and things come up, but it seems like every time we play a show there is always a band missing.

I recognized a few of the bands from The Library’s open house, even one that wasn’t playing but just came out to support us, Common Era. I was really cool of them, apparently they were asked to play the show as well but couldn’t (so they didn’t confirm), but were curious of who was playing. When they found out we took the spot they came out.

As for the actual show, it wasn’t a crowded night, but a decent turnout for a Wednesday, and as usual, we rock the house. From a bands perspective, you could hear everything clearly through the monitors. From the crowd response, it must have sounded pretty good out there because people seemed to be enjoying themselves. I was told after the set, by a friend who goes to nearly every show, that the sound was better than most clubs.

Adam commented later, “One of the coolest parts for me was looking towards the backstage area while we were playing and only seeing some guy’s foot tapping along with Fellow.”

The way the stage is set up at The Library and the building is designed, people can be on any side of the stage. There is a loft area that wraps around the stage and the band room underneath that. Occasionally, someone on the loft behind the stage would talk to us during the set, and they let us know it sounded great up there as well. And it was really cool to have the other bands watching from behind the stage. I thought it really added to the experience, and at least for me, made the show better.

We finished our 40 minute set, unloaded our gear, and prepared to watch the other bands rock. The way the stage is designed, it makes it quick and easy for band transitions. Meaning there is less waiting for the audience. Meaning you get more music for your money. And the music is why you went to the venue in the first place.

All-in-all, The Library in Historic Soulard is an awesome venue to play and also being a local music fan, it’s a great place to see music. No matter if we are playing there or not, I suggest anyone interested in local music to visit The Library at least once and make up their own mind.

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Tags: Last Minute Shows, Show Review, The Library