“House Shows” Take Off in Milwaukee as Bands Play in Living Rooms

Rick Richter’s living room in his empty house was, well, empty. Except for a few lamps collecting dust and a couple sets of string lights.

But it would not be empty come 7 p.m.

The living room has been known as the gathering place for ages. Families congregate there to share stories and laughs together. Monthly, someone in Milwaukee opens up their living room space for a night to a crowd of strangers who all have something in common: they love music.

Seven o’clock sharp, people filed in the front door, filling the room up quickly. A night of music-making was to begin shortly.

Now, there was some sound equipment and an electric keyboard in the corner of the empty room. The side of the keyboard read, “I AM CHRISTOPHER.” People began to surround the keyboard, creating a ring of bodies.

It was time for the show to begin.

“Welcome to Sofar Sounds,” one of the organizers said to the crowd.

Sofar Sounds and the concept of house shows

Sofar Sounds Milwaukee put on its monthly house show Oct. 9. But this is not the only show of this kind. According to their website, Sofar Sounds is in 187 cities worldwide. Milwaukee joined July 2014, making October’s show its sixteenth to date.

Sofar is an acronym, standing for “Songs From a Room.” It is a monthly event of curated music in a different location around the city of Milwaukee each month. Organizers carefully select performers for the night. Interested attendees are able to RSVP on their website for each city’s event. The location of the show remains a secret until the day of the show, when an email with the address is sent out. Attendees do not know the music lineup until they arrive at the location that night.

The recent rise of house shows, especially Sofar Sounds, cuts out the middleman, which is the venue. The money donated goes directly to the musician, instead of a venue making a profit. Large venues do not allow for much interaction between the audience and performer.

In this day and age, millennials are looking to the DIY (do-it-yourself) culture of being self-sufficient and not needing professional help. This mindset knocks down all capitalistic barriers and keeps the music and fan relationship close. Devoted music lovers are going to attend a show and not going to specifically see a band.

Sofar Sounds’ website asks attendees to devote all attention to the music. They strive to create an environment where music is respected. This means no talking or texting, just listening to the music and taking it in. Also, openers do not exist, as acts are booked based on talent.

“Normally people go to concerts, because they are huge fans of the artist or band,” Chandra Rudolph, the Milwaukee chapter City Leader said. “People who go to Sofar Sounds shows enjoy discovering new music and meeting like-minded people.”

 

October’s show lineup featured three singer-songwriters: Christopher the Conquered, Dried Spider and Good at Bad all from cities across the country and internationally. Each act played a 20 to 30-minute set of four songs.

According to Rudolph, this was the chapter’s first show in an abandoned house. Otherwise, they have been to many other Milwaukee neighborhoods, like Riverwest, Bay View and Walker’s Point.

“We try to go everywhere,” Rudolph said. The chapter hopes to make it to many more neighborhoods in future months. Rudolph hopes to hit the outlying suburbs eventually, too.

In particular, October’s East Side show had a guest list of 70. According to Rudolph, there is an estimated 10 percent no-show rate, so about 60 people attended.

October’s Show

Christopher the Conquered kicked off the night with storytelling in the form of piano-driven songs. Clad in a navy blazer and brown oxfords with a baseball cap, he opened the set with “What’s the Name of the Town?”

Before beginning his next song about a romantic couple breaking up, he prompted two audience members to act the scene of the story he was telling the audience for illustration. Many laughs ensued before closing out the set with a song about a record store he had been to in Ireland and the title track off of his new album, “I’m Giving Up On Rock and Roll.”

Originally from Des Moines, Iowa, Christopher Ford’s tour has him travelling around everywhere. According to Ford, this was not his first time in Wisconsin. He’s played in Madison before. However, it was his first time performing at a house show.

Next up was Matty Whitney, who makes music under the name Dried Spider. The multi-instrumentalist’s funk, R&B sound is classified as neo soul, which is a mixture of soul and contemporary R&B. During his set, Whitney utilized a loop pedal, which overlaid his live instrumental performance with pre-recorded tracks. This performance featured a saxophone, guitar, bells and a synth pad. Some of his songs featured all four different instruments.

At times during Whitney’s set, the sound was messed up and mistakes were made, but he continued without any hesitation.

Before beginning his second song of his set, Whitney invited everyone to sit down, causing everyone to become even closer to the person next to them if they had not already.

“You could even cuddle,” Whitney said, chuckling.

After his third song, there was a silence over the crowd for a couple of seconds before clapping.

“I really like that moment of consensus,” Whitney said.

Whitney is originally from Brisbane, Australia. He was visiting his girlfriend, Nika Nemirovsky, the third name on the lineup, Good at Bad. Whitney had been visiting her in Chicago for three months before returning to Australia.

Nemirovsky’s instrument of choice was her acoustic guitar. Her song, “Nothing’s Okay,” opened up the slower set. Instead of playing chord progressions, though, she only strummed chords and sang. Her loud vibrato of her voice filled the room.

Her closing song was about the Greek mythological creature, Medusa.

“I wrote this song before I read the story of Medusa and I was spot on,” Nemirovsky said.

As a Chicagoan, Nemirovsky told the audience she had only been playing music for a couple years. After meeting Whitney, she was inspired by him and began her musical project, Good at Bad. As her set closed, she made sure to thank the audience and other performers of the night.

“It’s great to see such passion and unbridled enthusiasm,” Nemirovsky said.

Planning a Sofar Sounds show

Nemirovsky was not only talking about the performer, but about the people who made the event happen. Every single person working the event does it for free. There’s a lot that goes into organizing and planning the monthly event, too. Behind the scenes, Chandra Rudolph, the Milwaukee chapter city leader, oversees everything, making sure planning is going smoothly. There is a person who handles the social media accounts for the chapter, photographers, videographers, a location scout and a program manager.

Justin Otto, the program manager, handles the booking of the acts. As a member of a local band, Heavy Leaves, Otto says he tends book bands based on what he hears or runs into at shows or just what he likes at the moment.

“Christopher happens to be playing a bar tonight in town, so it just happened to work out for his schedule,” Otto said.

Maggie Ikens is the location correspondent. This month’s location happened to be on Milwaukee’s East Side. Rick Richter was selling the house, and it was in the interim stage of being empty before new owners moved in, so he opened up his house on Bartlett Avenue for the event.

“It’s a great pop up,” Helene Fischman said. “I sometimes buy their albums from the show, but it isn’t the same.” Fischman is normally a photographer for the event, but took the night off to enjoy the music as an audience member.

According to Rudolph, every show is completely different. With a new location and a new lineup, each show is unique.

“Tonight was singer-songwriters and last month we had hip-hop,” Rudolph said. “We’ve had genres all over the spectrum and sometime we even put a couple completely different genres together for one night.”

As a music fan herself, Rudolph started a music blog called Secret Note Productions. Her passion for music is what led her to co-found the Milwaukee chapter of Sofar Sounds.

“It’s about hitting every neighborhood, every genre and curating a night that nobody can experience anywhere else,” Rudolph said.