moxham123 wrote:You are correct in that people buy into the rhetoric and now use the current economic status as a reason not to go see bands. We hear that excuse all the time. However, other forms of entertainment regionally are not suffering as badly. The movie theaters are still full and eating out is a form of entertainment in west central PA and the restuarants are still busy on the weekends. This summer, the festivals have seen bigger crowds but corporate sponsorship money was cut back and that is what enables festivals to survive.
I know that we have seen a dramatic drop in attendance at bars for all bands over the last two years and many have cut back on bands due to the econmic situation. Bars and private clubs in general have seen a huge decrease in business and they all attribute it to the economic fear.
What we have seen though is that bars and clubs that serve dinners do better and bars that are smoke free are seeing increases in crowds as well as the bars that have earlier band hours.
As a bar owner (or his wife), I disagree with most of this.
Bar business is better than the restaurant business. Non-smoking facilities are hurting more than the smoking ones are right now because the smoking bars are out there and that is where they want to go.
The economy in whole is not causing a decrease. This has happened before when the US went into a recession and/or depression. Alcohol business actually increases. I think if you look at the numbers for alcohol sales in general, you will find that this will still hold true in the past year. Food sales have dropped. Families are not going out to eat as much as they used to or if they are, they are looking for cheap and quick.
Some of the things that have changed that will affect bar business in recent years include home technologies. Take football for a great example. 5-10 years ago, sports bars were the place to be to watch NFL games. With new technologies at affordable prices and DUI crackdowns, people are having their own gatherings in their homes. Going out to watch the games don't happen as much.
I should say that we are not hurting right now and we are holding our own in today's economy. But our band nights have dropped off in attendance. These people that came out before to bands aren't coming out to see them at our place. They will go somewhere else where they can smoke. Take a band like Serious Jones. They can draw a great crowd at Mojo's. Mojo's allows smoking. But when they play at our place, its not quite as big of a turn out.
Local festivals in the Philipsburg/Houtzdale area have seen a huge decrease this year. The vendors were crying the blues. This would even include the Clearfield County Fair. I heard that attendance was really down for it this year as well.
I don't think that people are in "fear" over the economy. I know that personally, I grew up and decided that I need to take responsibility for our own financial shape. It's not the economy or the government that has screwed up our bottom line. It is our fault. Most of the country lives beyond their means and their needs are what other countries would consider luxuries.
--->JMS
