Next Big Thing
I'm curious: What do people make of this event? http://www.hmvnextbigthing.com
I like the concept but the volume of acts is as overwhelming as my inbox (an unrelenting barrage of names I've not heard of, from people that I have no idea who they are or whether they have a clue what music I like or the site covers...), it's a little more digestible than something like Camden Crawl with 50+ venues with 300 bands or something like that. Has lots of acts who're kinda 'on the radar' and several i've not checked out...
I ask, partly, as I've thought of doing a similar series/season of shows with more DiS-friendly bands but keep deciding it won't be worth the time/risk and maybe isn't right for London. Curious whether people like things like this, even just as a list of acts to listen to, rather than go see or whether you like to discover bands at things like this or if it just seems a bit 90s?
I'm probably gonna goto a few, anyone else?
- Relevant artist taggings:
- Marina & the Diamonds »[x]
- The Kissaway Trail »[x]
- Ellie Goulding »[x]
- In Photos: Marina & the Diamonds @ HMV Forum, London
- DiS Does Pop Interviews: Marina and the Diamonds, Jessie Ware and Ruby Goe
- In Photos: Marina & The Diamonds @ Manchester Cathedral
- DiS Does Pop #8: Is retromania ruining pop?
- Marina & the Diamonds - Electra Heart
- DiS Does Pop #7: The 10 Commandments of Teen Pop
- Reeperbahn Festival Preview
- This Week's Singles: 02/08/10
The Kissaway Trail
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Almost all of those are bands from the tips lists.
It's funny that the Kissaway Trail have popped up at several showcase gigs already this year. I'm assuming that their label thinks that their new album is going to break through. I hope it does, their last album and live shows are great.
Oh, and I'm going to the Kissaway Trail show, btw.
£10 seems pretty overpriced for a lot of those gigs
Do they really have to call it Next Big Thing...
Sounds like some douche came up with it.
i've heard they're the next big thing
New album
is #10 in the midweeks.
Mystery Jets > whateverthenextbigthingactuallyis
^ this ^
like the idea...
just means fare too many gig clashes, especially as the dates go over the shockwave gigs.
I limit myself to 2 or 3 a week as my old bones can't take it!
If it's cheap enough, I love these kinds of things
The price should take into account the fact that most people don't know who these bands are (hence them being the NEXT big thing), but I think big showcases are often the best way I stumble upon new bands I really like who I wouldn't have seen before.
The best example of this for me was going to the Liverpool Sound City festival last May, where you buy one wristband and get free entry to all the gigs on across Liverpool over 4 nights (as well as the conference). I ended up finding 5 or so particularly great bands that I've been following since, mixed with many I knew before. Great value for money, and great fun generally!
Can be worth doing
Speaking journalistically, it's good to have the tipped acts play around the same time to give you the chance to check them out in the traditionally otherwise quiet gig period of Jan when so few other gigs are on.
But, with so many people doing them, it can be absurd that the same acts play the same showcases - Q and MTV have both had their new talent Londong gigs this week; I can immediately think of Rox and Marina And The Diamonds playing both, and they'll then be appearing at Next Big Thing in a fortnight too.
If it was to be a showcase week for new bands, I'd suggest doing it at a more random time like post-festivals in Sept/Oct to give people chance to see who might be worth tipping for next year.
^this
The amount of groups that are putting on 'showcase' events featursing the exact same bands as if they've unearthed this untapped talent themselves is pretty silly.
To be honest it's a bit of an overcrowded market.
As John says above in London alone Q, MTV, HMV, the Camden Crawl, Artrocker (if they still have their festival week) and various others I've not thought of do these kinds of new band showcases.
So unless the DiS one was going to be subtantially different (and I'm not entirely convinced the bands DiS tips are entirely distinct from the ones being tipped elsewhere) then you might struggle to find your niche.
Maybe if you found somewhere outside London/Manchester/Cardiff and did a week of gigs of this ilk it could work though. Not sure where. Bristol or Leeds maybe?
Sheffield might be easiest place
as Rob Webb and co already do stuff up there. might be an idea for November time, still not sure.
plastiscines
next big thing !
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha...