When going to concerts, I find that I prefer the small venues.
Instead of sitting far away from the artist and barely being able to see them, everything is close-up, and it is a much more intimate experience. Of course, huge nationally acclaimed touring bands are great to see, but supporting small and developing bands is just as, if not more, important.
Just like supporting small businesses and buying regional produce, supporting local and expanding bands can boost the local economy and encourage the uniqueness of the city’s culture.
Most local bands play at bars or restaurants, bringing patrons in not only to see the music but also to encourage spending money on whatever the local venue sells. Thus, not only does the band get a lot of new listeners, but the bar or restaurant can also gain new patrons who might have not come in otherwise.
Denton is known for the local bands that sprout out of the city, and it always seems to have an ever-growing music scene. The small bands you can see are budding artists that I encourage you all to go and seek out. All of the big bands seen today started small and evolved their way up to the top.
Nirvana gained its initial success from a college radio station, Coldplay got its start at University College London (UCL) and Green Day started as a high school band. These are just a few examples of the vast number of critically-acclaimed bands that started locally.
Supporting the small, developing bands in your own town could help the band work their way up to the top.
One of the most common reasons to not go to see a band or artist is in the price of tickets. Ariana Grande is coming to Dallas at the American Airline Center on Dec. 9 and some of the cheapest tickets for the show, in the nosebleed seats, are around $64. Not too terrible, but still pretty pricey to be so far away. For some of the closer seats, I found tickets on TicketMaster that sold for $900 per seat. I even found one section that sold for $1,330 per seat, and that was not even including the fees of purchasing it online.
Needless to say, big venues and well-known artists can be very expensive, and many people, specifically college students, can’t afford to break the bank like that. Going to see local bands or artists at small venues is much more affordable.
For most of the bands that I’ve seen on the local level, their tickets ranged from $5 to $15. With that $5, I got to stand so close to the stage that I could see their set list on the ground. One concert I went to, guests got up on the stage and even dove into the audience. Of course, that doesn’t happen at every concert, so don’t be discouraged. My point is that you can get a lot out of the money you spend to get into one of these local venues by simply buying a ticket.
There are a ton of bands performing in Denton or surrounding areas — you just have to go and look for them. Andy’s Bar and Grill on the Square has a variety of shows coming up, Gas Monkey Bar and Grill  in Dallas offers a variety of inexpensive tickets to aspiring bands and Three Links Bar in Deep Ellum also has a wide array of show options. Since moving to Denton this August, I have seen The Bralettes and Ting Tang Tina perform at Andy’s Bar and Grill and the tickets were only $5.
Seeing local bands is a great way to diversify your music taste and support your city’s music industry and culture. Instead of spending an entire paycheck to see a well-known artist while sitting a mile away from the show, buy the inexpensive tickets and go see a new band in the area. It’ll be worth it.
Some other local bands you should check out include:  Meach Pango, Acid Carousel, Sub-Sahara and Trauma Ray.
Featured Illustration: Jae-Eun Suh
Article Originally Published by on North Texas Daily
Source: North Texas Daily