silent gigs

Last night I came across an entirely new phenomenon (to me, anyway) - a gig where you don't hear the band
unless you wear headphones.
Got freebies to see the Dirty Pretty Things in Brighton, and it was a big
smirnoff promotion. I tried to refuse the headphones they were handing out on the door, assuming it was
just for the DJ or something, and they said, no, you'll need these to hear the band too.
It was a bit like listening to an 8-track demo, as the sound was entirely through the mixing desk. Take em
off and you hear nothing, a vague bit of singing in the distance. Stand under a door frame and the sound
goes all Norman Collier. Kind of killed any live atmosphere from the music. Free drinks and silly costumes
kind of redressed the balance a bit, but not entirely. I'd have been pissed off if I'd paid to see a band
I really like and had to put up with this.
I was puzzled because this venue is on the seafront, well away from any residential area. What's the point?

sorry about the apostrophes,

somebody was telling me this phenomenon started in France and has proven "popular"

Aphex Twin did this seven years ago in the conservatory at the Barbican, but that made sense because he was DJing and you wouldn't normally be expected to face the front and applaud between songs, so you could wander around, nod along, even read a book, without feeling like a tool. To do it with a live band seems like a buzzkill. Not that DPTs have a great deal of buzz to kill.

Not that DPTs have a great deal of buzz to kill.

Well basically theyre the libertines without the tunes or the anarchy

having headphones on made it the tamest gig ever anyway

But there are some bands (DPT being a good example) where it would be much BETTER to get to look at them without having to listen to them.

I'm very in favour of this idea.

supergrass are getting the same treatment in a couple of weeks

sounds fun for a house show, pretty stupid otherwise

google Silent Disco

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3132/2575578885_d24f70b2fd.jpg