Sam Grisman has STFU meltdown
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I've seen the guy before and looked forward to tonight's show at the Caribou Room in Nederland, Co -- which is a bar / small music venue in a mountain town full of freaks outside Boulder that has gestated more than a fair amount of newgrass bluegrass bands thru the years. (Leftover, String Cheese, Yonder, etc.)
So the townfolk are extra music minded. And these people have been cooped up all winter and today, due to the first warm and sunny weather, everyone has spring fever. The audience was ready to party. Women were dressed up. People were excited to see each other. Yes the crowd was on the chatty side, but it's not a sit down and listen place at all. There are multiple bars close to the stage.
Well here comes high and mighty Sam acting like he was playing a tiny theater in Nashville or someplace and boy did he act like a pretentious dick. Insisting everyone be completely silent -- or else -- between every song. Basically constantly berating the crowd. There's a way to talk to an audience and he has certainly not mastered It (But he will let you know at every opportunity how he heard Jerry and his dad playing in his basement as a kid.)
Fuck that guy. If his name wasn't Grisman, he'd be lucky to be washing dishes for Grahame Lesh. Half the audience left because they didn't want to be scolded like children over and over and over again. Including me. Sam got paid. And lost fans tonight. Maybe he can use some of that paycheck to buy some ear monitors.
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Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Philzone Refugee
4.2
4.2
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Dr. Benway
id pay twice the ticket price
id pay twice the ticket price to have an assured STFU meltdown at a show that i dont have to instigate myself
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Ken D.
His dad would do that too.
His dad would do that too.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Alan R
I'll never mention the name
I'll never mention the name Sam Grisman and the words, "can read a room" in the same sentence. You can"t force a Saturday night crowd of inebriated people in a bar setting to behave like they are in Church on Sunday morning by insulting them.
Note to Sam: Always have a plan B.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Alan R
I just had coffee at the
I just had coffee at the local hotel breakfast bar with the opening act, Colorado-based singer-songwriter Benny Burl Galloway, and even he agreed it was a fiasco that could have been averted. Instead, unfortunately, by the end of the night everyone was pissed off -- performers, promotor, and audience.
I had a good time regardless. And on this trip to Nederland I learned that Rollinsville is where it's at if you are ever up this way. Check out the Howling Wind brewery for music and drink
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Mice elf
Benny is a great and
Benny is a great and underrated songwriter
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: aiq
Concerts were better when
Concerts were better when alcohol was absent.
I'm with Sam.
https://youtu.be/ut3ltKvr54I?si=zhEeyDeTPgVOyTcY
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: fishcane
Team Sam here. I don't care
Team Sam here. I don't care how long you've been cooped up, STFU when an artist is performing
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Philzone Refugee
Did Sam fail the Acid Test?
Did Sam fail the Acid Test?
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: ParadiseWaits
Was it a meltdown? When I saw
Was it a meltdown? When I saw him he did ask the crowd to be quiet between songs but he wasn't being a jerk about it. JMO if you want to rage and be boisterous an acoustic band is a bad match for your vibe.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Tim
Sam Grisman is hero
Sam Grisman is hero
fuck fuck fuck fuck concert talkers
stadiums, arenas, bars or even around a campfire If someone is playing and singing music SHUT THE MOTHER FUCK UP
Basic common courtesy
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Philzone Refugee
Sam seemed like an earnest
Sam seemed like an earnest young man at Dawg's 80th birthday. He did a great job managing the 30+ musicians sharing the stage and in his own performance.
Come to think of it, in introducing his opening set with his friends (including Billy Strings and Alex Hargreaves) playing instrumental classics from the DGQ songbook, he asked people to withhold their applause until after the songs so everyone could hear all the music.
Maybe he's the music version of Seinfeld's Soup Nazi character?
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Semolina Pilchard
Sounds like an opportunity to
Sounds like an opportunity to rebrand and move some merch.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: An organ grinder’s tune
well, here's the thing...
well, here's the thing...
he alternates between 1 mic total acoustic, and then electric...i guess that can be confusing for the crowd.
i mean if you are going to do that format, you need to choose venues better. my supper club is pretty damn quiet, as are venues that more cater to that intimacy. most clubs definitely are not like that. without alcohol sales, these places wouldn't exist.
all the venues are not McCabe's guitar shop...
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: ParadiseWaits
lol I saw the Meat Puppets at
lol I saw the Meat Puppets at McCabes
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Mice elf
I fucking love the puppets
I fucking love the puppets
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: ParadiseWaits
Me too! Elmo was just a baby
Me too! Elmo was just a baby when I last saw them live.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Lance minimum goad Newberry
From the tone of Alan's
From the tone of Alan's report it sounds like we're talking about two different things.
It's one thing for a performer to expect and ask for basic respect for the performance, it's another when the artist ignores the setting, loses their cool and rips into an audience, and it sure sounds like in this case the artist lost it.
Calling out one or two obnoxious or oblivious groups in an otherwise respectful crowd is one thing, but there is no upside to berating an entire audience, even if it's deserved; the energy in the room will turn ugly, the show will turn sour and the artist will always come across as the ass.
At least at this point in his career Grisman isn't in the position to pick his venues, but he is a professional and in this case it sounds like he lost his professionalism and created an ugly scene.
I despise talkers as much as anyone and it's easy to criticize from an arm chair, but as Alan said, a pro has to be able to read a room, so probably the best thing would have been to just surrender to the energy and play it like a hootenanny, finish the show, get paid and move on.
On a personal level, I won't go see an acoustic group in a GA standing venue. I once made the mistake of seeing Del McCoury at the Great American Music Hall and I had to bail because the partying crowd just wouldn't shut up. Still, Dell just smiled and kept saying, "Ya'll sure are having a good time tonight!"
It sounds like Sam could learn a thing or two from a pro's pro like Del.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: aiq
I have Kimock's STFU coffee
I have Kimock's STFU coffee mug.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Alan R
what Lance
what Lance
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Alan R
said
said
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Alan R
Im on the plane home so my
I'mbon the plane home so my last post may not have gone thru, but Lance summed it up very well.
There also may have been a bit of the Billy Strings effect in play -- the newcomers to bluegrass might have expected more of a rager. As mentioned, many of the seasoned locals expected more of a Vince Herman presentarion.
I'm not defending the chatty audience, just pointing out that Sam could have pivoted instead of subbornly insulting the crowd after EVERY song. At one point he said something like," I dont care of you get a DUI, just leave now." To the entire paying audience. And it wasnt just what he said it was how he said it. I'm pretty mellow and easy going and even I got to the point of wanting to shout out, "No, YOU shut the fuck up, you self entitled nepo asshat." And I like the guy.
And Turtle was correct -- he was using a single condenser mic -- the very wrong tool for this particular environment. (When I saw Yonder a few weeks ago at a small sit down theater, I was hoping they would employ one.)
As always, if you want to be successful in the bluegrass biz, maybe take some lessons from Del.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Randy
Admittedly not my best moment
Admittedly not my best moment. Saw Merl and his band at the OG Sweetwater in the 90s. I was way overserved and had a table right up front. He called me out a couple songs in and I fortunately STFU afterwards.
Live and learn.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Floating Flasher
I'm just curious if
I'm just curious if heretofore you believed that Sam grisman could read a room
Or have uttered that sentence
Anyhoo, no horse in this race for me
I'm glad you had a good time, Alan
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Dr. Benway
At one point he said
i already like sam grisman, you dont need to make him sound even cooler
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Lance minimum goad Newberry
Benway is modern.
Benway is modern.