venue struggles & audience sizes

[SICULAR <SICULAR...>]

first of all ~ hoping the latest news augurs well for peace.

I think there are different, very particular issues and circumstances as far 
as club and concert attendance.  it's interesting to me to compare how Tonic's 
non-klezmer brunch shows (six nights a week) are doing. the club has built a 
devoted listenership and reputation for great, innovative programming. they, 
like Barbes, do retro movie nights on Mondays to keep momentum without simply 
booking live music for the sake of it every evening, or going dark. Tonic, like 
Barbes, has built actual community support starting from their very 
artistically-involved, levelheaded and devoted owners. and some klezmer 
brunches do 
well. but it's hard for out-of-town klezmer artists on a one-shot deal at Tonic 
to get the houses they'd like when it's not KlezCamp aftermath or some other 
auspicious date... occasionally the grapevine kicks in for particular visiting 
bands. still, it's a way to play NYC if you wouldn't otherwise have a booking 
with an honest, well-run venue (they even have a way-better house drumset and 
full back-line amps these days) that has its own built-in basic p.r.  I think 
the club pulls back on their support though when they see diminishing returns; 
for instance they used to have more of an actual brunch menu to go along with 
the Lower East Side locale.

one wonderful gig which we got right after September 11, 2001, which lasted 
that year and one more but disappeared this year, was very successful for us, 
but was part of a holiday programming bill that had to survive as all or 
nothing unfortunately.  Metropolitan Klezmer played Caramoor Center in Northern 
Westchester, the full eight-piece band, two matinees on a Sunday in December... 
both shows both years either sold out the room completely (2pm) or within a 
dozen seats or so (4pm).  It was the first time they'd booked klezmer in there, 
and they were very happy with us financially and artistically. but still the 
promo and all had to cover an entire series which didn't do well enough, so no 
three-peat this year. it could come back, I hope it will. it's a prestige venue 
and they have relatively high overhead for production and p.r., an excellent 
room with good press placement.  and this turnout coincided with an annual KCB 
Hanuka billing I believe at SUNY Purchase College not far down the road.

Again though, this was a special Hanuka featured show. during the rest of the 
year, things can be very hit & miss for ticket sales, esp. on weeknights.  
And we can't play out publically on weekends unless it pays enough, since 
that's 
when our musicians are likely to get real income gigs for private events, 
whether with klezmer or something else.  so committing to any prime date far 
enough ahead for programming and publicity purposes involves the presenter 
being 
willing to make enough of a commitment.  being a producer/club owner or manager 
involves a tremendous amount of risk, aggravation and sometimes gratification 
and profit.  I've heard that the (Western MA) Iron Horse will not even 
consider klezmer shows the last few years after disappointing attendance even 
for 
the Matix and NOKA.  and that was before 2001.

sometimes a show can succeed for the band but not the club -- don't get me 
wrong, we could all die of exposure, but some showcasing is worth it -- and 
sometimes the club does well on a basis that couldn't sustain the band (like 
when 
we had a fabulously attended release event in trendy Williamsburg on a 
"klezmer night" which we could never afford to play again, since the guarantee 
amount 
would only have worked for a small combo... that Galapagos klezmer slot 
disappeared before long, but our night they were surprised to have to pay us an 
extra pittance, since 10% of the bar sales actually did exceed their guarantee).

Finally, my experience with klezmer club shows teaches me one thing for sure: 
if there's a minimum table charge, best to allow the patron to cover that by 
ordering either food or drink rather than just drink... and that can be good 
for customer satisfaction, but the profit margin in these places is always 
highest on the drinks, whether alcoholic or not.  other than that, I don't know 
what a careful study of this subject really shows!  

If the Bottom Line does close, I wonder where some of their regular acts will 
now play? and how will those venues do better at staying in business and 
creating a comfortable and professionally-run atmosphere?  

Another venue issue, more for festival/non-profit/JCC type places, is when 
subsidies decline. That doesn't affect your average club, but does affect 
klezmer touring. Less to do with simple attendance numbers than with government 
allocations/policy and foundation/stock market doings. not that those shows 
wouldn't have to be profitable overall, but those producers can afford certain 
booking risks which purely commercial places can't.  These places are hurting 
now, 
not just the for-profit venues. And often the club appearances would have to 
work as "routing" stops which fill in the dates between these more 
financially-cushioned dates. Sometimes the merchandise sales make the 
difference in 
whether artists' costs are covered. 
=================Eve
- e v e  s i c u l a r  -
drummer/bandleader
ISLE OF KLEZBOS & 
METROPOLITAN KLEZMER
151 First Ave #145, NYC 10003
tel:  212.475.4544
fax:  212.677.6304
www.metropolitanklezmer.com

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