New Music West: Is it worth your time?

Last night, as I watched Texas rockers White Denim effortlessly win over an audience who had clearly gathered to see Tapes N' Tapes (watch this video and kick yourself for missing it). I was reminded of the greatest in indie-music highs: seeing an unknown band for the first time and being completely blown away. From a regular concert-goer's perspective, theres nothing nicer than coming home with a new disc and trying to match each track to the songs you heard live, rather than mumbling now nonsensical lyrics to a melody you and every undergrad in Vancouver has listened to online...

29 Productions will try and recreate this elusive feeling for fans once again this year, as from May 14th-19th they present the latest incarnation of the annual New Music West festival; a celebration of up-and-coming, often unsigned local talent. With 265 bands spread out over the next four days, including a plethora of local unknowns and a few international showcases, the schedule is pretty overwhelming. There'll also be free pre and post-show "networking parties," with a festival-covering wristband running you $30.

However... with a list of acts that will leave temples scratched (and beer flowing?), a clear focus on the commercial side of things, and Music Waste just around the corner... for the local gig-lover is this 'festival' really all for naught?

Begun in 1990, NMW has undergone a few changes in ownership and some shifts in focus over the years. This year's showcase has its roots firmly planted in the local scene; with almost 200 homegrown acts, it seems like every artist in town will be making an appearance. We're lucky to have the kind of space needed to accommodate so many musicians, managers, marketers... and fans: things will be happening at 25 different venues around town.

I was more than excited for the festival, as I feel underexposed to the local scene myself... and $30 is a damn good deal for four nights of music. However, after a long scan through the schedule in the latest WE, I realized I'd only heard of three bands! Two of the acts aren't even from Vancouver: we all know Ontario's Tokyo Police Club... and the confident rock of the Alaskan (!) band Portugal the Man has been well-hyped, but has failed to really move me. Finally, I've blogged a bit about the amazing new sounds of Vancouver's Brasstronaut before, who play Friday at the Media Club. Here's the song "Requiem for a Scene" from their April performance:

Whats up with the rest of the locals? While it's to be expected that I haven't heard of many -- as I'm no expert on the local scene, and many of these acts are making their debut -- trying to decide if I should attend (or what to recommend to all you readers) left me grasping at straws. Without the will to skim 265 MySpace pages, I checked out the facebook group, which was merely scattered by "i rock it on thursday. chek out my tunez here:" wall postings. As Quinn said over at FBS:

"There are a handful of great bands playing... but most of the line up caters to people who think going to the Roxy and hearing the house band play while they play the numbers game is "seeing live music."

Still, next year it'd be nice if the promoters could think about offering music enthusiasts some kind of better guidance as to who these artists are. There's also a number of workshops (which cost extra), focusing on everything from songwriting to production. Part of me feels like the show is all about the industry, with local fans and concert-goers a distant afterthought...

New Music West is also making news for being the first "Massive Multiplayer Online Music Festival," with select acts being broadcast digitally inside Virtual Vancouver (some kind of Second Life clone geared towards the singles crowd, from my glance). I guess I understand trying to take the concert's profits online; but what, am I gonna buy their t-shirt for my online-avatar? Or does all this technical wankery just distract from the lack of compelling art? Only the most desperate hipster could want to 'enjoy' music via an online virtual world; this really seems made for the manager/marketer sect exclusively.

Oh, the festival is also carbon neutral. It would have taken a whole lot less energy to cut the acts by at least a third; focus instead on developing both the quality of the music, and the strength of our city's fanbase. I think that would be in our artists' best interest... this might just scare away their potential customers.

For all my sarcasm, I'm still all about fostering creativity, and I do understand the profit-driven world we live in; our young artists need this stuff, it just doesn't make for the best concert-going experience. I'm sure a few nuggets of hidden local gold will emerge out of the NMW sieve, but I'll be patient here and let the industry types do their work this weekend. I'll be holding out for Waste, though... along with a lot of this city's best musicians.

The festival runs from tonight until Sunday - for a full schedule and all the details, visit New Music West.

header photo of either Corey Haim or Corey Feldman at the Plaza Club courtesy of M-J Milloy. Why do I have so much luck with flickr?