I don’t know why some places do it, but I’ve been ambushed by live music before. There’s a Thai place near us that used to have a jazz trio one night of the week, but I’d forget what day of the week and they wouldn’t have a sign saying “live music tonight” so you’re eating and all of a sudden: oh no, is that guy setting up a microphone?
There was an Ethiopian restaurant in DC that featured an Ethiopian Jazz band, and I thought it was the coolest thing in the world! It depends on the restaurant, and the music.
Despite my bad attitude about restaurant music, I’d enjoy checking this out. Any idea if it’s still around?
Well the apres-ski in Austria is fairly well behaved if incredibly boozy but surprisingly, AC/DC works really well. Our little ones were bopping around to “Thunderstruck” like a natural. Also, this afternoon we were travelling on the “G-link” cable car in Wagrain, they pipe music into the cabin as it crosses the valley and we had 130 people take part in an amateur rendition of the Gypsy Kings “Volare”…“how does everyone know this?” asks my daughter. “they just do” I reply, “and now you do too!”
I’m actually a huge fan of Ethiopian jazz and would also be interested in knowing the place. Even with the huge Ethiopian community in DC, it’s hard to find their jazz (but I would knowingly be going to hear the music, so my position remains the same).
I didn’t even know Ethiopian jazz was a thing.
There is a series of albums Ethiopiques volumes 1-28ish that are great overview. http://www.amazon.com/Ethiopiques-(Buda-Series)/e/B000APEEKW/ref=dp_byline_cont_music_1
If you saw the movie Broken Flowers with Bull Murray, the movies haunting theme is by Ethiopian jazz musician Mulatu Astatke and if you make a Pandora station of Astatke, you’ll hear a lot of other Ethiopian jazz musicians.
ETA: Ethiopian jazz was created by Ethiopians in the US, primarily in DC area, going back to Ethiopia and fusing jazz with traditional Ethiopian music. NPR had a really cool piece about it years ago.
I will plant myself firmly on the fence for this one.
I’ve never been to a place with piped in music that I couldn’t carry on a conversation over.
I’ve rarely been to a place with live music that I could carry on a conversation over.
Mariachi bands “roam” so they may only stop you from talking for one song or so. A harp player or acoustic guitarist don’t seem to be an issue for me. Occasionally my wife and I will go to a local place because we know we love the band that will be playing and know up front we probably won’t be talking much.
That said… not too long ago the kids were all home and a relative was in from out of town and I was looking forward to catching up with everyone, but we went to a place with a band that was so loud I couldn’t even hear the waitress. I just pointed to the menu and gave up any hope of hearing what my kids of SIL had to say.
Live mariachi bands in Mexican restaurants ruin my fantasy of that style of music being performed by guinea pigs wearing starched white shirts, formal jackets and little wide-brimmed hats.
A relatively quiet piano (preferably in the next room) minus vocals is tolerable, but I’d happily do without it.*
*although it’s still better than having to listen to an endless succession of Frank Sinatra songs, which seem to be de rigueur in many allegedly finer restaurants.
Slows down digestion.
I usually don’t mind live restaurant music as long as I know about it beforehand. What I do hate is when they’re setting up all the equipment. Then you have to hear all the sound checks, microphone squeals, etc. It seems like a very amateurish setup when this happens.
A few years ago I saw a group consisting of two guys from Mali(?) (they spoke French) and three guys from Memphis. They did seperate sets then a combined set featuring “roots” music. It was wild hearing the overlap of traditional blues and African music.
I will go to see my son’s bands when he’s playing a local restaurant, but besides that count me out. There’s a local pizza place that has a 1/2 price dine-in night accompanied by an acoustic guitar guy doing Jimmy Buffet covers. I went to pickup a carryout order once and was happy to pay twice as much to take it home.
Sometimes my husband is one of those live musicians. The restaurants he plays at have dedicated nights where they have live music, and they put out a sign advertising it, so it shouldn’t be a surprise for anyone. He plays about 50% covers/50% originals. And since he’s been playing guitar for 30 years and song writing for over 20, he’s worth listening to.
That said, I totally get being annoyed at a loud music in a restaurant. Most people want to talk to each other when they go to a restaurant. Loud music drives me crazy no matter what the venue.
I guess it depends on what I’m doing and why I’m there. When I’m with my husband, I can count on not having a conversation at all with him if the musician is playing originals. He wants to listen. If it’s covers, I can usually keep his attention about 50% of the time. He loves the live music. I’m ambivalent.
I hate with a passion any music, live or recorded, that’s too goddamn loud. *Anywhere *(with the exception of concerts, dance-oriented nightclubs, and other places where loud music is expected).
If people can’t hold a conversation over your playing, you better be someone they will tell their grandkids about hearing. If not, get over yourself. It’s a chow hall, not Carnegie Hall.
Am I a music hater? Hardly - I play music in bars and sometimes restaurants. I use a small, self-contained PA that amplifies my voice and guitar just enough that I’m audible. If people want to listen more closely, they can pull up nearer.
I do turn it up when I play in loud honky-tonk type places. I also play a different repertoire, and throw in some harmonica.
But in restaurants, it’s mostly quiet standards (Beatles, Ellington, Gershwin, Jobim, etc.), with an increasing emphasis on instrumentals. One of my long-term goals is to be able to play an entirely instrumental repertoire.
I concur that drummers are often part of the problem. But the main reason for too much loud music is deluded narcissists practicing for American Idol who don’t realize they got hired to add a little atmosphere to the venue. Hint: if the waitstaff are struggling to take orders, you’re not doing your job. If you’re not playing loud enough, people will tell you.
PS: I’m old enough to remember when people were delighted to hear music in public unexpectedly. If you happened upon a piano and sat down and played a tune, people would stop and listen, smiling at the spontaneous treat. Today, with music blaring from every electronic pore to get us to Buy More Stuff, we seek refuge from it.
I hate it.
There was a great restaurant friends and I used to go to (3 One 7 in Parramatta for any Sydneysiders who are interested). They had great food, an extensive menu. Lots of dishes which were gluten free or could be made gluten free, important for one of our group.
We haven’t been there for months because the restaurant, in its wisdom, decided to have a band playing every damned night of the week. Loudly. Even the tables outside aren’t fare enough away from the noise.
I love music. I quite often like it loud. But I don’t like it when I’m out, dining with friends, unable to speak to or hear those friends because of the music.
You would think that Subway would be one restaurant where you wouldn’t have to ever worry about encountering the scourge of live music, but I walked into the one near where I work just the other day and there was some teenage twerp noodling around on a guitar. I came there to enjoy a crummy submarine sandwich in peace, by golly!
In addition to performers’ self-centered deludedness that I mentioned in my first post, I’m seeing additional reasons for why so many people detest live music:
Amplification technology
Around a decade ago, new non-directional radiator PA systems became available. These are much better at getting the sound dispersed than the systems which have been around forever. The first time I played through one, I was astonished at how easy it was to control the volume level uniformly throughout the room, without having to worry about feedback. I think that if more musicians used such systems in low-volume venues, they’d annoy fewer people.
Repertoire
Too many musicians don’t play music that’s appropriate for quiet places. They’ve learned stuff that’s right for loud bars, and when they land a gig in a sedate restaurant, they assume it’ll be fine if they just turn it down (assuming they follow through on this). Songs like “Great Balls of Fire” and “Bad to the Bone” are perfect for when you want to grab people’s attention. But even if you play them at low volume, they’re not what people in quiet dining rooms want to hear.
Clueless, cheapskate owners
To operate a restaurant, you have to know how to produce good food and drink. This doesn’t translate over to judging the quality of performers. So lots of venue owners can’t tell the difference between a good musician and a mediocre one (or one whose repertoire isn’t right for the place). If a crummy performer will play for less than a good one, he’s probably got the gig.