Doing Our Part for Recruiting
Writes a prospective undergrad: “From your blog, i can see that Ann arbor is an awfully
boring place to live in (hmm.. surprisingly..i always thought it was wild..
oh well.. 
) … is it really THAT bad? Then what do people do at night?”
Not having been an undergrad here, we’re not quite sure what they do when they’re not smashing frat-house windows or writing satire about killing East Coast Jewish girls. Any perspectives?
As a former undergrad: going to a show at the Blind Pig now and then, and, um…well, that’s about it for the night life. Knitting has its charms, though.
posted by Laura on February 18th, 2004 at 11:08 pmc’mon there’s a lot to do at night. You can play solitare in the Fishbowl. And if you’re lucky, one of your friends has an XBOX, and you can play HALO all night long. The possibilities are endless here in happenin’ Ann Arbor…
posted by Icy Hot Stunta on February 18th, 2004 at 11:20 pmI still find it hard to believe that aside from the Fleetwood there’s not a single place to get a bite to eat after 10 or so, that I know of, anyways. Other than a slice of pizza from a party store. Great Lakes Seafood on Carpenter is open late…but who wants to schlep out there?
posted by Laura on February 18th, 2004 at 11:39 pmThere’s a Steak and Shake at Carpenter and Ellsworth that’s 24 hrs, though that’s enough of a schlep from campus that perhaps it hardly counts.
Even the near campus Atlanta Bread Company that used to be open til midnight is now closing at 10 pm.
There is sushi at Sake Bombs Depot near Packard and State until 1 am. (Grocery store sushi, but they make it right there in front of you.) Not a lot of seating.
posted by Edward Vielmetti on February 18th, 2004 at 11:54 pmI just found about that Steak and Shake from your weblog. That is so cool! Or, after living here this long, it seems really cool.
posted by ann arbor is overrated on February 19th, 2004 at 12:16 amWow, you’d think there’d be a couple of places open just for people after they’d hit the bars. At least back home, Steak & Shake always had some crazy/weird waitstaff working late at night/early in the morning, so I never found it too comfortable of a place to hang out late, although I guess that could be a plus for some people.
posted by Anonymous on February 19th, 2004 at 1:15 amI just left Ann Arbor last August. I had plenty to do, including bars not patronized by frat boys (Heidelberg, Babs), a nice walk/bikeride through Ann Arbor’s pleasant and safe (yeah, they’re fine–no matter what people try to say) streets, Dominicks, simply hanging out on friends’ front porches, *walking* to movies at the State and Michigan theaters after drinks at Ashley’s or coffee at the many coffee joints around town, shopping at SchoolKids, Encore, and Wazoo (the former two being two of the best record stores in the Midwest), the Fleetwood, hanging out at any of the many parks within town, I mean, c’mon, there’s tons to do in Ann Arbor. All things considered, it’s more walkable/bikable than most cities and it caters to younger people. Get out of the house. You’ll find there’s plenty to do.
posted by John Honkala on February 19th, 2004 at 2:00 amCome on — you guys don’t know about Dennys? It’s on Washtenaw by Platt.
posted by Ben on February 19th, 2004 at 3:17 amEr, Denny’s being a 24-hour restaurant, not an example of something cool to do.
posted by Ben on February 19th, 2004 at 3:18 amI beg to differ, Ben. The delicate balance of sitting and eating, sitting and eating… Denny’s is an institution that must not go unappreciated.
The necto has great dj’s on thursdays, and you get the dance floor all to yourself! Generally however, killing 40’s on the front porch, schmoozing the Iraqi gas station guy at three in the morning, reading harry potter, and posting on bitchy blogs about covers it.
posted by Anonymous on February 19th, 2004 at 4:55 amThe Rendez Vous Cafe on South U. is open until 3 am. They at least have baked goods, although I’m not sure if they continue making their food menu until closing.
PS–There are plenty of frat boys at the Heidelberg these days.
posted by Alex on February 19th, 2004 at 7:41 amAlso, maybe this is just me, but what is all the fuss about Dominick’s? To me it’s like a grade-school cafeteria version of a bar, one that seems designed to prevent spontaneous encounters between strangers (which, at least where I come from, is sort of the point of a pub). Not to mention that only in AA would people be so enamored of a bar that’s never open.
posted by Nick on February 19th, 2004 at 8:07 amI feel sorry for the under 21 undergrads here who don’t want to just go biking and have seen every bad jam band at the Pig 3x:
posted by Leighton on February 19th, 2004 at 9:46 amThe Neutral Zone is too “High School” and the Elbow Room is to old and scary for them.
No wonder they’re smashing each other’s heads at house parties.
More to the point, Leighton, the Elbow Room (and all of Ypsi culture) requires one of those cars that students aren’t supposed to have.
posted by js on February 19th, 2004 at 10:07 amI’ve been over 21 for too long to really remember what exactly it was that I did before I could drink legally, but I think it probably sucked.
One point though, there are plenty of places to grab grub late at night, or at least until 2am. After that it’s Pizza House and its ilk.
At least the Halfass is starting back up, and they haev all ages shows that are pretty good.
js
Nick,
What are you talking about? Dominik’s is just as well designed to meet strangers if not more so than other bars.
The whole appeal of Dominik’s is it being an outdoor bar. Usually after 10pm or during the winter, outdoor bars seem to lose their appeal. I’m not saying Dominik’s is the best thing in the world ever, but it does have good outdoor seating, decent food and cheap drinks (for AA). I think your whining is a little excessive.
posted by James on February 19th, 2004 at 10:50 amAlthough something of an AA detractor, I found plenty to do as an undergrad. Most of what I did revolved around parties, which are facilitated by the number of undergrads who live off campus (i.e. in houses with room for parties). If you live in the co-ops, there’s a big party to go to every Friday and Saturday night. In fact, between chasing guys and chasing beer, I had a pretty darn good time as an undergrad. It didn’t seriously suck until I hit grad school.
posted by Anna on February 19th, 2004 at 11:14 amThere are plenty of bars, but not many with seating areas large enough to accomodate the greater body-fat index of us charming Michiganders. I am sick of having to carry my own grease gun just to slide into booths.
That is why I like Ashleys: the booths are already greasy when you get there. It is a great place, as long as you breathe through your mouth.
posted by Fat Midwesterner on February 19th, 2004 at 2:20 pmSure James, Dominick’s is great for spontaneous interactions. Except for the fact that there’s no bar, and that no one goes there without at least 15 friends in tow. I’m also not sure why a bar can’t be open past 10pm in the summertime, outdoors or no; back when I lived in, well, a city, Friday and Saturday nights out didn’t start until 10:30 or eleven.
I won’t comment on why I find an open bar more fun than a closed one.
posted by Nick on February 19th, 2004 at 4:32 pmI should add that Anna raises an interesting point. That is, most of the undergrads I encounter seem reasonably happy with AA, while grad students often seem more dissatisfied with it. Maybe the social atmosphere of the town is more the issue than what there might or might not be to do here. That is, I can go anywhere in town legally and I find it boring, yet those too young to do the same really like it - so maybe the issue isn’t that there’s nothing to do, just that there’s nothing to do for people without the large social networks one comes by easily in college. Just a thought.
posted by Nick on February 19th, 2004 at 4:45 pmBah, Ann Arbor is BETTER as an undergrad than once you’re older, I found. I didn’t feel any real urge to leave until after I graduated.
Late-night food: Fleetwood, NYPD, Pizza House, Jimmy John’s, Pancheros, Bell’s, etc.– plenty.
Lots of house parties, and lots of bars once you’re of age. And I do recommend living in co-ops– all the best people seem to be in them; I wish I’d done the same sometimes.
As for music, the Bling Pig, Ark, assorted coffeehouses, and larger venues all have decent music from time-to-time, depending what you’re into.
It’s quite walkable– lots of coffeehouses, record stores, restaurants and the like are in a compact area.
There are a lot of obnoxious yuppie/Greek types around; indeed, probably the majority. But you’ll find that anywhere, especially at schools that attract so many wealthy out-of-state and suburban students. You adapt to get along well enough with them at parties and the like, and you find people who have more in common with you too.
You definitely find things to to, and it isn’t like you usually have all the free time in the world when you’re in school, either, so sitting in the library or typing papers will take up its fair share of time.
Ann Arbor is overrated for most of us, but it’s a fun place to be an undergrad.
posted by Brandon on February 19th, 2004 at 4:46 pmNick, a friend of mine did a blurb on Dominick’s for Metro Times this summer, and she was told they don’t stay open late because A) they are in a residential neighborhood and B) they just really don’t want to deal with as much drunken behavior and vomit that increases as the night wears on.
Anyway, the point of Dominick’s is to drink outdoors when it is warm and light out– it’s a start to your evening… then you walk on elsewhere. I love it, personally.
Frankly, I rarely meet ANYONE at bars… I and most other people are usually there with friends, and sit at their own table. The main ones you meet folks at seem to be the really obnoxious, crowded ones on South U, from what I can tell. Although I probably just don’t know what I’m doing. I think I’ve picked up a girl at a bar a total of once, and that was at Scorekeepers. Parties are much more conducive to such things, it seems.
posted by Brandon on February 19th, 2004 at 4:51 pmI appreciate your perspective, Brandon. I’m just used to a different atmosphere. In Pittsburgh and in Santa Monica, the neighborhood pub IS the life of the neighborhood, and not just re:dating. The bars are where you make friends and get to know your neighbors - not to mention that sitting with a buzz on talking to people with stories you haven’t heard before is a great way to spend an evening. Obviously every place has its obnoxious “club” bars, and I tend to avoid them. But AA seems to lack mellow places where people are willing to interact with others outside their social circle. At least from the perspective of someone moving here from out of state to enter a PhD program (which are not really conducive to spending lots of time making friends and socializing).
posted by Nick on February 19th, 2004 at 5:26 pmI could use a place like that. Sounds great.
posted by Brandon on February 19th, 2004 at 5:40 pmI’ve been totally nostalgic for Pittsburgh ever since I got here (as compared to being nostalgic for NYC while in Pittsburgh). Nick, you are right that the local is the cornerstone of life back in the ‘Burgh. And that’s not necessarily a good thing! For that type of bar-life I think the 8-Ball kind of comes close. After your third trip there you start to recognize the other people that are always there too, and eventually you’re going to wind up talking to them–especially if you play pool (which I do).
While I agree that AA is lacking in stuff to do and good bars, decent restaurants, or an active live music scene, what makes these deficiencies really feel oppressive is that this town is full of mean, flaky people. I loved hanging out in crappy bars in Pittsburgh (and some of them are just crappy, not charming, hip, or ironic) because the people in them were warm, friendly, and welcoming. If I could find that here, I wouldn’t even mind going to Scorekeepers to get it.
posted by Alex on February 19th, 2004 at 6:23 pmI don’t know what my problem is… I only go to the 8-Ball when there is a show at the Pig. I always forget it is down there when I am thinking of bar options. I’ve heard the Heidelberg definitely has its regular crowd, too. My problem is that I often try to go to a different bar each time I go out for variety, but maybe that’s the wrong way to go about it. But I don’t play pool, unfortunately. Well, I have. And it wasn’t pretty.
posted by Brandon on February 19th, 2004 at 6:46 pmIthaca when I was there (1988-90) was also seriously short of places to eat late.
In Ann Arbor, there is NY Pizza Depot open to 4am, and only a block from my office. Brandon mentioned several others.
Dominick’s and Denny’s have terrible food. Denny’s strives to make you regret visiting there.
posted by Larry Kestenbaum on February 19th, 2004 at 7:48 pmAnna, nothing seriously sucks until you hit grad school. I speak from experience.
posted by frank on February 19th, 2004 at 8:51 pmI also found that in Ann Arbor there was a world of difference between going out on the weekends and during the week. Now, I know we can’t all go out during the week, but since my schedule allowed me to, I usually went out during the week and hung out at friends’ houses or Detroit or Ypsi on the weekend.
I was lucky enough to have friends in Detroit, so I spent a lot of time there. Detroit, BTW, is much more interesting than Ann Arbor. Too bad there’s no train, because Detroit could easily cure all y’all’s Ann Arbor doldrums.
On another note, it’s a shame that so many of you were mislead about what to expect in Ann Arbor. But my question is, (and I don’t mean to be confrontational) why move to major university in a smallish town if you value what you all seem to value? I’m in the process of applying to grad schools and there’s no way I’d go anywhere that’s not in a big city where I don’t have to deal with that whole “campus” thing? Did people give the impression that Ann Arbor isn’t like that?
posted by John Honkala on February 19th, 2004 at 10:54 pmI came to Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan because in my field this is a Top 5 program and I’d like to get a job when I’m done with graduate school. Plus they offered me 5 years of guaranteed funding. Sometimes there aren’t “top tier” schools in great, exciting places. Sometimes we don’t get in to the schools that are in great, exciting places. Sometimes the schools we do get into in great, exciting places don’t offer us enough money. As you move through your application process I think you will come to find that your options are seriously limited if location is your main criteria. This is a problem when you’re looking for work on the academic job market as well–because hell, doesn’t everybody want a job in New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington DC, etc? Most of us can look forward to careers in places like Minneapolis and Phoenix, if we’re luck, and Des Moines and Topeka if we’re not. So get used to geographical disappointment.
posted by Alex on February 19th, 2004 at 11:26 pmThere really aren’t that many grad schools in big cities that do the kind of research I wanted to do. I turned down a couple programs in great cities because they weren’t as good.
I don’t mind hanging out on a campus, but Michigan’s is really not up to the level of a lot of other (private, I guess) campuses in the kind of facilities and recreational opportunities it has, because of budget constraints or whatever. North Campus in particular is not that exciting. And, as for the town, I was led to believe that Ann Arbor was a perfect little town that had everything you could possibly want, and I thought that even if all of that was false, it would just be another Champaign - a placid Midwestern town with cheap rents.
posted by ann arbor is overrated on February 19th, 2004 at 11:28 pmI’d just like to dispute the notion that ann arbor doesn’t have an “active live music scene”, because it definitely does. Between the Blind Pig, Elbow Room, Neutral Zone, Canterbury House, Firefly Club, Ark, UMS, WCBN, occasional shows at the Michigan Theater, shows at house parties, folk and jazz festivals, and the many, many free concerts presented through the music school, and others I’m sure I’m forgetting, there’s plenty of good music to be had around here if you know where to look for it. And that’s not even mentioning detroit.
What ann arbor does lack is a lot of good venues. And, to be honest, there’s a lack of ann arbor denizens who appreciate interesting music. I’ve heard so much cool stuff when almost no one was there to hear it. Maybe in this sense the scene is less active than other places… lots of people making music, no one around to hear it.
posted by speicus on February 20th, 2004 at 2:06 amHey, I think I just figured out why I like ann arbor. Sure, it’s pretentious, but here’s the thing: it’s so transparently pretentious that it’s laughable. The pretentiousness of a place like new york or boston is so multilayered and nefarious that it takes years to pierce. In ann arbor, it takes me maybe 10 minutes of interaction with someone to see if they’re genuine or not. And once you get down to the genuine core of ann arbor, it’s actually a pretty interesting midwestern town, if a bit claustrophobic.
posted by speicus on February 20th, 2004 at 2:11 amI’m definitely leaning toward a larger city for grad (Master of Urban Planning) school… I think there comes a point in most of our lives when we’ve done the college-town thing and want more. I admittedly applied to a few schools in smaller cities due to having good programs (Cornell, UM) or in metro-areas but not the central city (Berkeley, Maryland, Harvard [okay, so that’s pretty damned close]), but I’ve definitely focused on major cities… Especially for me, someone who has only lived in a city of 35,000 and a couple college towns, I am ready to head for the real deal if it works out funding-wise. Coming from where I came from (Holland, MI), Boulder and Ann Arbor were initially eye-opening and seemingly amazing, but I’ve come to realize there are more real places with even more to offer. And heck, I may even apply to EMU and stick around lil ole Ypsi– it may not be big, but despite EMU it is more of a real city and less of a college-town than AA is. At this point I feel I need to follow the money more than anything, and may apply to MSU despite localtional disadvantages. You need to set priorities, and I can’t afford not to put the minimzation of further debt first. Location and program quality/fit balance out the rest.
posted by Brandon on February 20th, 2004 at 2:48 amYeah, as Alex and others say, the funding thing and program quality make it really hard to turn down schools in less-than-desirable places. My department here is the best of its kind in the country, and even though I came within a hair’s breadth of going to Berkeley for quality of life reasons the program and the univ. have not disappointed - the funding and research opportunities here are really, really good. As far as AA, I was told the same things AAIO was told, and likewise figured that even if they weren’t true it would be like Chapel Hill.
Seriously, though, Brandon, my advice to you would be to go for the best program. Living in places like AA can suck, but grad school is strictly temporary, and you maximize your choice of locale in the future if you get the best training available. Not to mention that going to grad school in a large city can be extremely difficult because of all the distractions - I did an MA in southern CA, so this is the voice of experience. If nothing else AA is a great place for getting work done.
Re: speicus’ comment about the local music scene, I think when most people complain about it they’re referring to the lack of local bands, which really has to do with the lack of venues - people don’t start bands if they have nowhere to play. AA’s music scene is lousy to the extent that your only options consist of paying $25/ticket for shows at the Pig or the Ark - this in contrast to Pittsburgh where everyone has a band and all their friends get guest-listed. As far as Detroit, I have heard great things about their scene - my problem there is that it’s such a sprawling place, and not having friends over that way it’s sort of bewildering to someone not familiar with the area.
posted by Nick on February 20th, 2004 at 8:47 amIn defense of my comment about the live music scene here: I don’t like folk music, I don’t like Irish music, I loathe jam bands, and I don’t care for jazz. That leaves me pretty much SOL in this town unless The Dirtbombs or somebody else from Detroit makes their way down here. And national acts definitely don’t come through here–at least not the ones I want to see. There is sometimes a good show at the Elbow Room in Ypsi. But as an ex-New Yorker, I really hate the idea that I have to *drive* to get places. Ypsi isn’t so bad, but driving 1 1/2 hours roundtrip to go see a band in Detroit is a real let down. And even so, I go to Detroit pretty regularly for the rock.
posted by Alex on February 20th, 2004 at 9:14 amWell, if we’re on the subject, which are the best small live-music venues in the Detroit area, and where specifically are they?
posted by Nick on February 20th, 2004 at 9:29 amDig this, Nick:
posted by Brandon on February 20th, 2004 at 12:19 pmhttp://www.motorcityrocks.com/hear.htm
Nick,
Magic Stick, Small’s, Alvin’s, Lager House, Shelter.
The reason that AA music scene is “lacking” as you put is that there isn’t a venue in town that consistently brings in national indie touring acts. The Pig stopped doing this a while ago, and it all stems from the FCC’s removal of the guidlines for the number of radio stations that a corporation can own in a given market.
Clear Channel controls the vast majority of the high profile shows that happen in Detroit (and the on-air advertising that supports them), and they believe that Ann Arbor is the same market as Detroit. As a result, a band like the Shins will be booked in Detroit while AA is ignored. Clear Channel still has one or two shows a month at the Pig, but you will always notice that these band’s tours have skipped Detroit.
The music situation is much more complicated than you realise. I’m sure that JS has a bit to say on this subject.
posted by todd on February 20th, 2004 at 12:33 pmNational acts don’t come here because there isn’t a large enough market to support coming here. I’m not even talking about Clear Channel, commerical radio stuff, I’m talking about popular indie/rock bands. Bands that sell out venues of capacity 300 maybe. The venue situation in Pittsburgh was fairly pitiful as well, but we still got Dead Moon, Electric Frankenstein, the Supersuckers, Nebula, and Neurosis. None of those bands would ever play here because they probably wouldn’t draw more than 50 people.
I have no explanation for why there aren’t more garage bands. Perhaps the geist of Ann Arbor just turns everybody folky or something.
There are also sometimes good shows at the Magic Bag. But mainly I go to the Magic Stick or Lager House.
posted by Alex on February 20th, 2004 at 1:38 pmAlex,
I’m actually not finding geographical disappointment to be a problem. But that’s because I’m not applying to top tier schools.
Maybe it’s my major, but in my experience, there’s not a whole lot of difference between schoools (except for resources).
posted by John Honkala on February 20th, 2004 at 1:46 pmAlex,
Those national indie acts are specifically what I am talking about. You cannot get a single band that is near the top of the CMJ charts without going through Clear Channel. I’m talking Shins, Death Cab, Postal Service, Dismemberment Plan, etc. etc.
Clear Channel rules all of the different formats in America. If you can sell it, Clear Channel owns it. Ask anyone who is in a touring band.
posted by todd on February 20th, 2004 at 3:20 pmAlex, I’m pretty sure the Supersuckers have played the Elbow Room. Or am I thinking of Slobberbone? They always get mixed-up in my mind.
There are definitely bands in Ann Arbor/Ypsi that play rock of various types– Saturday Looks Good to Me, The Avatars, Porchsleeper, and The Original Brothers and Sisters of Love are a few of the more prominent ones that I’m personally into, but there are many others with lower profiles. Some of these are booked at semi-obscure places like Rubber Soul, and the Elbow Room sure has a heck of a lot of rock. Anyone who says there is no rock in AA/Ypsi just isn’t looking very hard. The Blind Pig does have at least a few good shows a month, I find. There is obviously more going on in Detroit (more than most large cities even), but Ann Arbor is far, far smaller… expectations of scale are important.
posted by Brandon on February 20th, 2004 at 3:22 pmHell, tonight and tomorrow at the Elbow Room look pretty good. I know it’s Ypsi, but it’s still way better than driving all the way to Detroit.
posted by Brandon on February 20th, 2004 at 3:28 pmDon’t get me wrong, I love TOBASOL, but they do not belong in the same sentence with Supersuckers and Electric Frankenstein. And I did say that there have been some good shows at the Elbow Room. If you wanna argue about rock, what’s good, and where to see it, perhaps you should just email me directly so we don’t bore the other readers with our music geekiness.
posted by Alex on February 20th, 2004 at 3:36 pmFair enough. Correction: The Supersuckers actually have played The Blind Pig, not the Elbow Room (as far as I can tell from Google).
posted by Brandon on February 20th, 2004 at 3:43 pmIn response to Todd (I haven’t lived here long enough to comment on who’s played where), I’m more referring to small venues and small bands - in other words, a local music scene with local bands actually playing. Many of my friends in LA work for ClearChannel, so I’m well aware of the situation when you’re talking about larger venues or bigger bands. What I’m getting at is that having locals playing out at small places in town can be kind of cool - part and parcel of a town having a culture and an atmosphere to it, I think.
posted by Nick on February 20th, 2004 at 3:59 pmLast year, Leopold Bros. experimented with Wednesda night shows. TOBASOL did a series that included shows with The Essex Green, The Gourds, and Andrew Bird. Of Montreal also played there. They discontinued it, though, becuase of noise complaints and a lack of interest.
posted by John Honkala on February 20th, 2004 at 5:23 pmI love(d) Kindercore, but I never liked their bands! Aside from the Agenda of course. And I have no idea if the Suckers have ever played Ann Arbor–I’ve only lived here for 6 months. But the fact that there wasn’t much interest in the Wednesday night shows at Leopold’s only proves my point: there’s not a market to sustain touring acts in this town, so of course they’re not going to come.
At the college I went to we would hire national acts to come play on campus. We got Sonic Youth, Cypress Hill, Tribe Called Quest, John Spencer Blues Explosion, Fugazi. Is there anything like our good old “Concert Committee” here?
posted by Alex on February 20th, 2004 at 5:39 pmI have plenty to say about this, but the evil computer has eaten my long, well thought-out posts twice.
posted by js on February 20th, 2004 at 6:32 pmLong story short- a couple things tend to keep music from really taking off here. One is that the venues which have good music are too far to walk (especially during the winter) from campus. Another is that there are a lot of local bands here that do quite well. Most of them just happen to suck (Funktel et al). The third is that there just isn’t a huge music community here with any sort of cohesion. The nature of college towns is part of that (people are here for four years, then split), and the split campuses are part of that too (I think if the music school was on the main campus, more students would go see bands).
Further, there are always a lot of great shows going on. Just most of them tend to be house shows and little gigs. Things get better in the spring and in the fall, and over the summer there’s a decent amount to do.
Also, the “music comittee” is the EQMC, which puts on shows at the Halfass. They tend to bring in people like Jib Kidder and Japanther.
Finally, Michigan is a poor place to live if you want concerts from outside, anyway. While there are a decent number of touring bands that stop here, many more just go through Ohio on their way to Chicago, and skip Mi. entirely.
js
Come on, JS, most touring bands really seem to make a Detroit/Ann Arbor area stop, it is like the 6th largest metro area in the country. Our geography of being a peninsula makes us not on the way to anything (except Toronto), but the vast majority of Midwest tours will come here.
The problem with Wednesday night shows ala Leopolds is that students, even moreso than people who just work, have a hard time making it out on weeknights, what with homework, reading, papers, etc. At least I did. Now that I just work (albeit at 7 AM) I can more easily make it out on a weeknight if someone I really want to see is playing, and even to Detroit if someone I reeeaally want to see is playing, but in general Fridays and Saturdays seem to be by far the most viable nights for live music.
As for the UM “music committee,” I believe that was the Major Events Office or somesuch, but it was cut a year or two ago after putting on a lot of poorly-attended money-losing shows at places like Hill and the Michigan Theater. I mean, we still get some of those big-name folks college kids are into– Ben Folds is coming to Hill for instance.
I think part of the problem is that college kids have bad taste in music, so the bands that do the best here are indeed the shittiest… everyone seems to love Donkeypunch, Funktelligence, Smokestack, Rootstand, or just crapass cover bands playing “Sweet Caroline.” Ugh. The good stuff is out there, though. Just comb Current– I always find many good and a few great shows around town every month. I don’t know where one finds out about house shows… the only shows I’ve ever been to at houses were really crappy cover/jam bands. I just don’t know the right people, more likely.
posted by Brandon on February 20th, 2004 at 8:15 pmBrandon, on a regular basis I watch bands that I’d love to see (Ted Leo, Lightning Bolt, Beck, the Flaming Lips, etc.) do their US tour and never stop in Michigan. Sure, they tend to hit us every once in a while (all of those bands have been here within the last two years), but not as often as Cleveland.
posted by js on February 20th, 2004 at 11:14 pmAnd college kids also run WCBN, one of the best college radio stations in the country. (And they’re the people who know where the house parties are at). I’ve got my own rant about them, but they’re alright.
js
One thing to remember about ann arbor is that a lot of the kids who play music here came out of Community High School, which has one of the best modern jazz programs in the country. Too bad if you don’t like jazz, I guess, but if you do there’s a shitload of good stuff (including avant garde, fusion, etc. — did anyone catch Sparkle Motion on the 14th?)
posted by Ben on February 21st, 2004 at 8:31 amMan, not only do I know most of the people who went through Commie’s jazz program, there is not a good jazz scene here for anything but bop. The Firefly cancelled Avant nights, the Canterbury books only intermittently, the Kerrytown concert house is a) generally too expensive, and b) only decent when Dave books Edge-related stuff. And the Bird? Great place to see over-rated sidemen 30 years after their primes, lousy place to see real, vibrant jazz. And fuck Paul Keller.
posted by js on February 21st, 2004 at 10:59 amjs
Thanks, Alex - I have to out myself as a nonfan of jazz, jam bands and folk as well.
posted by ann arbor is overrated on February 21st, 2004 at 2:05 pmJS, true, not all college kids like shitty music. But there seems to be a good number who do that dominate the predominant booking tone of the Blind Pig, unfortunately. And WCBN is great (well, depending on who is DJing… sometimes it is pretentiously unlistenable (”Noise ’til Noon”!?)), you are right.
posted by Brandon on February 21st, 2004 at 3:18 pmSomebody in or around Ann Arbor has got to have at some point had good taste in music because I always find good stuff at Encore. Three years in Chicago and I still haven’t found a better used record store, BTW. I miss that place.
posted by John Honkala on February 21st, 2004 at 4:31 pmI love Encore. I am amazed how much good music people are trying to get rid-of. I’ve probably sold maybe 10 CDs in my entire life– I guess some people just aren’t as attached to albums as I am.
posted by Brandon on February 21st, 2004 at 5:53 pmI have never found anything good at Encore. Maybe it’s just me? I buy used stuff from Wazoo all the time.
posted by ann arbor is overrated on February 21st, 2004 at 6:17 pmIf I bring a list of a few dozen discs I’m looking for, they always seem to have at least a couple in stock at Encore. And I’ll agree that while Wazoo has fewer used discs, the ones they do have seem to be a better selection.
posted by Brandon on February 21st, 2004 at 7:13 pmDude, I scored prime Gary Numan at Encore! My sister found some good Bowie bootlegs there when she came to visit as well. And they surprised me with a sealed copy of a relatively hard to find ESG vinyl re-release. So I have no complaints about Encore; they’re definitely in the plus column for AA in my book.
posted by Alex on February 21st, 2004 at 10:57 pmWazoo actually annoys me a bit. I hate having to flip through their plastic sleeves. School Kids is also wonderful, especially if you like country and/or folk.
posted by John Honkala on February 22nd, 2004 at 6:20 amMan, Encore is only decent for the stuff that hasn’t been filed yet. By the time it gets to the shelves, it’s been filtered through every damn hipster in town.
posted by js on February 22nd, 2004 at 1:45 pmAs far as Chicago goes, Val’s Halla in Oark Park is really good. And there used to be a place downtown (in the loop area) that was three stories tall, and the whole third story was used stuff (mostly vinyl). I think it was called Cherry’s or something like that. I’ve looked for it again, but I think that Tower replaced them.
js
I really don’t care for Schoolkids… they have discs packed-in so tightly that you can’t flip through them to see what they are. It’s always just seemed a little disorganized to me. Has anyone ever been to that place under Afternoon Delight on Liberty? Any good?
posted by Brandon on February 22nd, 2004 at 3:54 pmUnderground Sounds has great selection, but is a bit pricier than any other used spot. But if you want The Microphones’ Mount Eerie on vinyl, it’s pretty much the only place to go.
posted by js on February 23rd, 2004 at 11:30 amSchoolkids used to be the best record store in town, where Wizzywig and Poshh! are now (dumbest spelling award to Poshh). Then between Steve’s mismanagement and the other guy’s rapacious drive, the store fragmented into Schoolkids and SKR classical, then just SKR. It died a long, ugly death, but lasted longer than Tower or Wherehouse.
js
As an undergrad who (gasp!) doesn’t drink, I have to admit that the options are pretty damn limited. I happen to be doing a dual degree in two ridiculous programs, so a lot of weekends get taken up with homework anyways… other than that, hmm. I think I went to a frat once when one of my friends was playing in a band there. And I’ve gone out to eat a lot… Panchero’s and Tio’s have Mexican, Starbucks and Bubble Tea are open relatively late. And, well, if someone you know has a car, there’s always the excitement of Meijer.
posted by Sam on February 25th, 2004 at 11:44 pmI happen to think that change is good for Ann Arbor! We are growing as a city and if that means that careless business owners like those of SKR are booted out and new, innovative businesses like Poshh and American Spoon are in, then we are definitely progressing in the right direction! GET WITH IT!!! Poshh is the best clothing store in this town and it’s going to be around for the long hall and I hope that more retail comes to the area! We need to be a more diverse city in regards to selection and we are definitely moving in that direction. GET out of the old and enter the NEW!!!
posted by Syndey on May 31st, 2004 at 12:20 pm