NY Times Sings Praises of New London Music -- Mostly

Rick Koster, TheDay.com - It was nice to see the Times taking note of our little town and it's wealth of musicians and live music clubs.

Jan 18, 2010 12:00 PM - Did y'all see the mostly appreciative article in Sunday's New York Times about the New London music scene?

If not, it's here. A few quick observations.

I thought the writer, Phillip Lutz, did a pretty nice job summarizing what's going on, particularly with jazz, indie rock and burgeoning improvisational sessions.

I do think Lutz missed out on the very strong Americana/roots movement that's been developing over the past few years from the Blue Collar Happy Hour at the Bank Street Café. I'd suggest the Americana bands constitute a very strong presence, and a slowly thawing interaction between the roots folks and our long-established indie rock scene is a very healthy and intriguing sign.

I also feel like Lutz's description of the Garde Arts Center and its director, Steve Sigel, was a bit misleading. Lutz essentially covered the bases, but I could see how an innocent reader might infer that the Garde sits empty like the Lighthouse Inn — possibly because of Sigel's disinclination to book indie rock bands, and because the Garde cannot compete with the steamroller succession of big-name acts at Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods/MGM.

In fact, Sigel is right not to book indie bands. At least of the local variety. This is a a city full of clubs that cater to indie rock, almost to the point of oversaturation. Now, if Sigel wants to book someone like Sonic Youth, who would obviously draw more than New London's indie clubs could comfortably hold, that's one thing. But you could just as easily indict Sigel for not signing Slayer. It's easy to say, "Hey, Steve! Why isn't Grizzly Bear in the Garde? Or Steve Earle? Or Yes?" It's easy ti say that, but logistics and bankroll are just a few of the big considerations.

As for Lutz stating that "hundreds of the theater's 1,400-plus seats have routinely gone unsold" since the casino theaters have opened their doors, that's a blanket oversimplification — at least unless Lutz was willing to name the dozens of very cool and across the board acts that have played the Garde over the years.

If 400 seats are unsold on a bill that, for example (and I'm just guess-timating) might include the subdudes and BeauSoleil — and maybe there are big shows going on the same evening at Foxwoods and/or the Sun, is that the Garde's fault? Or Sigel's?

Anyhoo, it was nice to see Lutz and the Times taking note of our little town and it's wealth of musicians and live music clubs.