Indie Rock?

I must admit that Central Vermont is fortunate to have served as a stop on tours for many sizeable music acts. I was fortunate enough to catch Bright Eyes, M Ward, Superwolf, Coco Rosie, the Pernice Brothers, and a few other indie acts at the Higher Ground Music Hall in 2005 after it relocated to South Burlington from Winooski.

But their winter schedule has so far been nearly empty of any type of indie rock; instead filled with the likes of RAQ, Strangefolk, and Addison Groove Project. I understand that Vermont has a reputation, and that one is most likely to find similar jammy sounds playing in the local smoke filled dorm rooms, but I believe that the palate of Central Vermonters is larger then this.

This line of reasoning (however selfish) prompted me to contact the owner of Higher Ground in search for an answer. Alex Crothers explained that brining indie rock to Burlington/Higher Ground is a chicken and egg game. Past indie shows have been lightly attended and have resulted in Burlington being seen as a soft indie rock market. Without the actual support for indie shows, they have no option but to book for the masses (hence another Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra show).

I guess I didn't need Alex to explain this to me, but the exercise was worth the opportunity to express to him that the indie market isn't dead, even though ticket sales are down. If we are going to get more indie shows in Burlington, we need to have folks coming out en masse to support the bands that are convinced to play Burlington.

A few opportunities are on the horizon:
January 25 - OK Go - Higher Ground, $10/12
January 26 - The Walkmen w/Mazarin & Lobot - Higher Ground, $10/12
February 8 - Aimee Mann w/ Chuck Prophet - Higher Ground, $25/27 (not necessarily indie, but worth mentioning)

I look forward to seeing folks at these shows. We'll see if we can change things. In the meantime, here are a bunch of shows for those willing to drive north of the boarder:
January 12 - Akron/Family w/ Timber - La Sala Rossa
January 17 - Feist - Spectrum De Montreal
February 1 - Low w/ His Name is Alive & Death Vessel - La Sala Rossa
February 7 - Supergrass - La Tulipe
February 22 - Animal Collective w/ Barr - La Sala Rossa
March 1 - Metric - Metropolis
March 10 - Nada Surf w/ Rogue Wave & Inara George- Cabaret Music Hall
March 15 - Stereolab - La Tulipe

The Walkmen - Little House of Savages.mp3
Death Vessel - Deep in the Horchata.mp3