Finished
I pretty much have to go to this because it’s in Kalamazoo and also this poster is adorable and Blair is pretty cute, too. Except I feel tragically un-hip because fuck if I know anything about the music scene in Kalamazoo.
Blair is playing a show with Toby Foster and is way too shy to publicly freak out about it so, you know, y’all should freak out for ‘em.
The music scene in Kalamazoo involves heavy alcohol usage, the drama that usually accompanies it, and sometimes bros fighting punks because they’re both unable to deal with their insecurities. I’m probably going to this since J-Ruggs is playing which means that the crowd will be less bros and more hippies. I have no idea where Milhouse is located but park far away from it since somebody may pee in your gas tank. Bunch of savages in that town.
I don’t know if this was a joke, or maybe just a bit of exaggerated misinformation, but Kalamazoo has a lot to offer that is not anything related to what you described. I’m not going to deny that I am aware of out-of-control shows, but if that’s your only experience in Kalamazoo then I’m sorry. Milhouse is currently a livingroom only show space, hosting mostly acoustic or otherwise small music projects. This has been a sit down, enjoy the music, respect your company sort of show space from the get-go. If you’re interested in getting the address, send me a message and I’ll send it to you. Hopefully if you come to this show your experience is more positive, and perhaps you wont badmouth an entire music community based on a certain realm of the culture that I would describe as nowhere near representative.
Lastly, our community has been organizing many of our shows collectively over the last year through a group called DITKalamazoo. I recently wrote a well-recieved response about DIY Ethics at shows, which was responding to mostly one instance of aggressive behavior, and reminding people of generally good goals in a DIY community. http://ditkalamazoo.com/2012/01/26/diy-community-ethics/ I found that many people involved in Kalamazoo were on the same page as me when it came to violence and aggression. Much of our scene at this juncture in time does not tolerate the sort of mistreatment you described.
Much agreed with the above.
Seconded ^^. Not sure who this person is but it sounds like they have a huge chip on their shoulder. I’m sorry that person’s experiences have caused them to have a poor opinion of our scene, but it is most definitely not like that in the slightest. I can only speak about my experiences and those of the friends I am closest to, but we all seem to wholeheartedly agree that Kalamazoo’s scene is strongly focused on creating community based on love, respect, and trust. If you have any questions, feel free to shoot me a message! I’ve been in the scene for about 5 years now or so and can speak toward any concerns anyone might have regarding this lovely city.
