[NM_Bill]

The House of Blues is just too darn small to host the Stomp.

Only being able to inch yourself through the mass of humanity is surely a fire hazard.

It lessens my ethusiasm for the event & that is a damn shame for an old music junkie who has managed to attend most of them.

If you agree, we need folks to express their opinion.

[Salafaster]

I have mixed feelings on this. I'm not a fan of HOB in general (purposely never stepped foot in one until the Stomp) but you can't deny that they have great sound/lighting/stages at the NOLA venue, which is important. Yeah, it's tight, but so was the Rock 'n Bowl those last couple of years. The problem is where else would you have it? If you get into a place that is too large or expansive, you lose the intimacy and the sound quality usually suffers.

The answer may be to limit ticket sales to a reasonable amount but I'm sure HOB wouldn't go for it. I'll glady pay a little more per ticket to trim the crowds down to a more enjoyable level.

But, sure, I'll take originality and authenticity over manufactured corporate psuedo-funkiness any day.

[Ken G]

Has it been getting "tighter" at HOB in the past few years?

I've only been to one Stomp (2007 - my excuse is I have to travel from Japan...), but I don't remember it being dangerously or even uncomfortably crowded. I was able to get as close as I wanted to the stage for the artists I saw - and 2007 was just a one-nighter, too.

As Salafaster said, I also thought HOB was intimate and I liked exploring the "nooks and crannies" of the place. I agree that moving to a larger place might result in a loss of "vibe". (One thing though, I do recall the A/C being extremely harsh in HOB and we even stepped out for a while to heat up!)

Here's hoping 2010 will be better than any of our wildest dreams!

[Salafaster]

Last year was pretty rough as it got later in the night and if you didn't plant yourself near the front of the main stage early enough, it was virtually impossible to move through the crowd for a better position. And if you happened to be in the front and needed to get out, you practically needed the jaws-of-life to extract yourself.

Opening up a small third stage would definitely help to spread out the masses a little.

[NM_Bill]

[quote name='Ken G' date='05 June 2010 - 12:58 AM' timestamp='1275695914' post='626']
Has it been getting "tighter" at HOB in the past few years?

I've only been to one Stomp (2007 - my excuse is I have to travel from Japan...), but I don't remember it being dangerously or even uncomfortably crowded. I was able to get as close as I wanted to the stage for the artists I saw - and 2007 was just a one-nighter, too.

As Salafaster said, I also thought HOB was intimate and I liked exploring the "nooks and crannies" of the place. I agree that moving to a larger place might result in a loss of "vibe". (One thing though, I do recall the A/C being extremely harsh in HOB and we even stepped out for a while to heat up!)

Here's hoping 2010 will be better than any of our wildest dreams!
[/quote]

[JJLariat74]

Tips is way too small

Maybe Republic NOLA? I dont think they have the same square footage as HOB
Municipal Auditorium,,havent been there in years..hows the sound there?

[NM_Bill]

[quote name='JJLariat74' date='08 June 2010 - 10:02 PM' timestamp='1276030956' post='630']
Tips is way too small

Maybe Republic NOLA? I dont think they have the same square footage as HOB
Municipal Auditorium,,havent been there in years..hows the sound there?
[/quote]

[NM_Bill]

Well, the Stomp never was about the sound quality. Upstairs at the old Center City Bowl? Of course it was not about the sound quality. It was about the excitement of being there in the middle of it all, free to wander in and out. THe HOB has the fantastic location, but other than that, Stomp people (authentic) are not HOB folks, in fact, to the contrary as the HOB represents an institutionalized monied assets formula, a lot of Stomp people would rather attend it in a Juke Joint.

We're here to experience the founders up close & personal while they are still around. They can stroll around without the hyper star treatment. Don't ya' think some of them prefer being accepted as somewhat regular folks? They already have my undying respect & admiration.

[london calling]

I am no fan of HOB, however the Stomp needs a venue with two stages. Generations Hall would make an ideal venue. I'm not sure of the capacity but it has been used for Piano Night in the past.

[Salafaster]

I have no idea what the financial arrangement is between the Stomp and HOB, but it seems like the Stomp could also be much more profitable being held some place else in NOLA. I would hope that HOB is cutting a deal for such a charitable event like the Stomp (like providing the venue at little or no charge and just making their obscene profits on the food/bar sales), but who knows with these corporate entities.

[Crawdaddy]

sorry, the House of Blues is a big improvement. The Stomp had outgrown the Rock n Bowl. The sound is not important? What? Musicians are there to be HEARD, first thing! I guess it's cool to dis HOB and I guess you are cooler than me but it is BETTER there, bottom line. You think it is too cramped, go see a Stomp night at SXSW at the Continental Club! That is jam-packed.

By the way, they will only be using the big stage downstairs this year, plus a stage outside. The Parish will not be part of the plan this year.

Sorry, I'll take great sound over being a hipster any day. I think you got it wrong - the musicians would rather have it sound good and have decent AC.

[the immoral mr. teas]

As I understand, the "House Of Rules" does relax some of their normal policies (re-entry all night, being able to go back and forth from the main room to the Parish) for the Stomp, so good on them. The HOB is fine, but the main room does gets crowded. The place needs to be crowded for the Ponderosa Stomp to survive though, right?
I'm sorry they apparently won't be using The Parish at the Stomp this year. Saw some incredible sets in that sweaty little room. That back porch stage is a hell of a schlep, too.

[NM_Bill]

[quote name='Crawdaddy' date='15 July 2010 - 12:40 AM' timestamp='1279150812' post='642']
sorry, the House of Blues is a big improvement. The Stomp had outgrown the Rock n Bowl. The sound is not important? What? Musicians are there to be HEARD, first thing! I guess it's cool to dis HOB and I guess you are cooler than me but it is BETTER there, bottom line. You think it is too cramped, go see a Stomp night at SXSW at the Continental Club! That is jam-packed.

By the way, they will only be using the big stage downstairs this year, plus a stage outside. The Parish will not be part of the plan this year.

Sorry, I'll take great sound over being a hipster any day. I think you got it wrong - the musicians would rather have it sound good and have decent AC.
[/quote]

[NM_Bill]

]Hey, we're all Stomp fans here & I'm not going to descend to fighting over semantics.

I don't really know how to respond to your assertions. The musicians are first & foremost there to be heard? Well okay, they are there to perform. I'm not one of them so I don't know if stellar audio reproduction is high on their list of priorities.

The Stomp started out as a raucous celebration at the Rock 'n Bowl venue where perfect acoustics didn't exist. As a lifelong music junkie it is always about the music. I wasn't conscious of hipsterism. Doctor Ike is a god.

I have managed to attend most of the Stomps. It certainly seems the crowd of attendees are into the freedom of hanging out with some interacting with each other & the artists we admire. Again that does not focus on audio reproduction. The affair is not a concert in that we do not sit in seating arranged in front of the stage.

I still maintain that the overcrowding at the HOB was & is absolutely above & beyond fire safety standards. If a fire marshall came in around midnight, he would certainly have shut it down. I did attend the year it was @ the Gibson factory in Memphis & loved the casual interaction & ability to get around. That relocation was not ideal but the execution was certainly close to ideal.

Not living in the area, I don't know about SXSW @ The Continental Club.

Again, I still invite any & all opinion among all of us dedicated fans.

[Salafaster]

I'm extremely disappointed to hear that the HOB upstairs stage will not be used this year. As far as the overcrowding situation, it looks like this will make it even worse than previous years. I hate to say it, but I'm starting to have slight regrets about buying my airline tickets for NOLA.

Also, the current list of artists posted hints that there will be more artists announced, but judging by the limited stage setup this year, how many more acts can there be?

[okca]

The 2006 Stomp was scheduled for Generations Hall, prior to Katrina; presumably there's some reason why it made more sense to start using the HOB in 2007 and onward.

I don't think anybody loves the HOB, but it may be the best choice available. It's enabled the Stomp to get out of having to deal with the ticketing, and the HOB has decent backstage facilities for the artists--the backstage areas for the artists were completely inadequate at the old Rock 'n Bowl.

One of my pet peeves about the shows at the HOB are the number of people who hang around the bar talking. Obviously the Stomp needs to grow beyond its original demographic of a few hundred record geeks from all over the world, but for quieter acts (like Lil Greenwood, Dan Penn, LC Ulmer) the conversations were really distracting. I don't think anyone's expecting a concert hall experience here, but some people seem to see an acoustic act as an opportunity to FINALLY get the chance to talk with their friends without the distraction of loud music.

Strange that they wouldn't be using the Parish this year. Is it booked for something else? I liked the outdoor stage when they had it in previous years. The outdoor area was the place where artists could sell their merch, but it was difficult to have much of a conversation with them because the piped-in music was so loud (and so generic).