Syracuse Ska Forum

Dub is a Weapon

10pm

The Ohm Lounge
314 Franklin Street

http://www.ohmlounge.com


That's all the info I know. This group is a MUST SEE! I have seen them twice and they don't dissapoint. Highly recommended!

http://www.dubisaweapon.com

-Al

oh snap, is that place a bar or anything (basically what im saying is, is it all ages?)

if i can get in i might wanna go

likewise

hope there's no cover.

websites say it is free

yeah it was, i didn't stay though.

business men really isn't my kind of crowd.

(Log me on automatically each visit:)This has never worked for me even though i click it every time.



Thanks for the tip about the show tonite. sux that my whole gig is to sprea dthe word about reggae in NY state and i dont even know about a free show in my own city. anyway the band was good and nice and will be playing lots upstate in the future. a

http://www.dubisaweapon.com/

Yeah, talk about last minute warning ...

I'm guessing because no one knew about it, that's why there ended up being mostly suits there and not real fans. It sounds like a last minute booking. Amazing sometimes who you can get that way.

But hell, if they'll book bands like that in the future, I'd be more than happy to piggyback on their shows with an earlier all ages show with the same band. If the band gets what they need from Ohm Lounge, that takes the pressure off an all ages show and lets be serious, a 21+ show at a place like that would never be harmed by a Westcott show, ya know?

Interesting booking, definitely ...

Yeah, wish I could have gone to that show. Seems as if maybe DIAW is playing "a little different than the norm" ska shows. When they were in Rochseter they seemed to have a ton of those hippie-jam-band follows as well as they did in Buffalo. The Buffalo show was different then the norm since it was played out on a patio, had great food for sale, booze, plus paintings being painted on the side and raffeled off at the end of the night. Very cool night. The bands were playing against a metal fence that was backing the road. It seemed that I would see people walk by on the sidewalk and watch the band(s) from out there only to come in 20 minutes later as a paying customer. Nice venue and rockin bands. -Al

By the way...

I can't believe how much that place has changed.

I felt REALLY outta place there.

I tried to tell people about that. I accidentally stumbled in there the night of the RazSum acoustic show at Coffee Pavilion. It makes Armory High look like a dump, and Armory High was one of the nicer venues in town in its time.

That said, they're clearly aiming at the "hip" crowd that is willing to pay top dollar for a mixed drink, same as World martini bar in Hanover Square. It's really not the place to even drink beer, honestly. I'm not surprised they think DIAW fits their new style. At the risk of pissing Steven off, it strikes me as a conscious attempt to re-create Pop Riot aimed at a little older crowd. The decor alone is amazing. Check out their website for the photos.

The race has been on the last few years in Syracuse for the classiest place to hang out for those with the money to spend. I haven't been inside Ambrosia yet, but this seems a direct assault against their business model. Its not my style and not the style of most people I know, but hey, it serves a certain niche. Plus, Ohm Lounge will probably happily book The Hot Steppers, The Push (former Amy Ryan & the Operatives), The Directive (when they're ready to play live) and bands along those lines. The funniest thing to me is that the bidding war for Los Blancos will really escalate now (that's also the band of choice for the new owner of Planet 505), but since they can't play all these places every night of the week, it'll open slots for other "classy" bands.

More venues for live music is good for Syracuse generally. When the other places start losing business to Ohm and the new Planet 505, they'll be hungry for new angles and thats when we'll happily step forward.

On the ohm lounge:

Every show they do is 21+, every single one. Unless you can do some serious bargaining, any possibility of getting an all-ages show there will be zilch. They do cater to that hip older crowd.

I cant see los blancos playing there (although mark nanni's trio will be in there in september I think). The dinosaur might as well be on the other side of town in relation to that place. It is high-end, they haven't booked a blues act in there since it's opened. Some experimentalish folk stuff (I'm specifically talking about dufus) and some reggae for the yuppies to drink to and the white college kids to get blazed to fashionably, but not much else. A good room though, certainly. I feel like it is too hoity toity for ska, they won't realize what they're listening to, and seeing kids in suspenders and checkered shoes would mess with their vibe.

I miss the stylenes days. My dad used to play there with his blues/swing band all the time and it was insane. These are the earliest musical memories I have, being only 17 and all. But I definitely remember Eileen and the whole crew.

As for Ambrosia:
I do not like their wait staff (stemming from an incident involving them refusing to stop filling my water glass), but the sushi is the only close-to-quality stuff in Syracuse. Besides certain sushi it's hard to eat veg*n there. Steve Samuels is definitely a whiz in the kitchen though.

So I don't know, ska is all about the proletariat. Ska Danny, you should consider booking shows in Hanover Square next summer, or early this autumn. Getting a performance permit should be no problem, and you might be able to get the Cultural Resources Council to subsidize it, maybe even to the point that you can bring in a touring act.

Peace.

Ohm Lounge Thursday, September 15, 2005 Los Blancos


I agree w/ what everyone said it very highbrow going for the world bar crowd and they have it. 250k in renovations, it looks nice. awful als bartending staff post exodus and a big brass knuckles couch. it was creepy to have the band playing with 99% of the "pretty" people ignoring them and about 7 of us actually watching them. the bar,it's said, will turn a profit next year. so seems they will be around . if they keep booking free reggae i'll be there. would i prefer it in a more roots setting? sure but in a reggae desert like this, i take it where i can find it. ras a

yeah, strange show indeed. i dug the live dub. they're a great band. i dunno how i really felt about the guitar solos the lead guitarist kept on taking. it really didnt fit in with the dub sound but whatever. it was quite uncomfortable watching them along with 6 or 7 other people with the rest of the bar giving more interest to their martini's. i only stayed for the first set and then had to leave. ohm really did a spectacular job promoting that show. i didnt even see it listed in the weekend section of the paper. i have a feeling that if it had been promoted better then we would have seen a better turn out. i do feel really uncomfortable in that bar though. its just too hip i guess. it would be a great venue to see bands but its never going to be styleens or armory high. i remember being 16 or 17 and swinging on the rafters singing "there's just something about mckaig's smile!" to saves the day at one of the new years shows waay too long ago. i don't think those type of shows are going to happen there any more unfortunately.

go go gergie signing off.

I've been to Ohm a couple times now..and I have to say I like it, but it took me a little while to get used to it. I can see where you are coming from about the "hip crowd" and all that, and I agree. BUT, I didn't feel particularly uncomfortable going there dressed like a scumbag like I always dress, some kinda band t-shirt and shorts. There were some people dressed up a bit, but the more I looked around it seemed very casual. Drink prices are not unreasonable for that area, certainly not more expensive than Awful Al's or Blue Tusk. I think they said that the most expensive beer on tap was Guiness at $4 or something...don't quote me on that.

I got a chance to talk with one of the owners (apparently..my friends knew him) and got a little bit of a rundown with what they're doing. As far as shows go, they are trying to be different and sort-of keep throwing people off. It sounds like it's working well so far judging by everyone's responses on here. They do not want to announce shows in advance, and would prefer them to be word of mouth only. This especially applies to national acts apparently. There is never a cover, this is a big plus in my book. If I show up, and it sucks for whatever reason, I'm gone. My impression is that they want people to come to Ohm for the possibility that a great band will be playing that night. They seem to want it to be a "what-if" thing, that will keep you coming back. They don't want to draw a huge crowd one night for a band, and have it be dead the next night that nothing is going on.

I don't think their booking bands is really trying to compete with music venues. This might be an opportunity for bands like The Slackers or even The Toasters (for example, the list could go on) to play a nice free 21+ show. Maybe you (SkaDanny) could work something out for them to play an all ages earlier in the day....
-Mike