Teengirl Fantasy at the Gargoyle, 2/12/12: Review

• I am a Wash U student and didn't see one flier on campus. Maybe you work on actually updating a website and Facebook page so people know about this stuff because I would have gone.

• For the record, I would have killed to play this show. I had no idea it was happening. Whatever people were doing to promote this, they need to find a new medium. All I can say is that I USED to know what was going down at The Gargoyle and now I don't. No disrespect, but that is what will step up presence at shows. I am sure there are plenty of people who would have been interested in this show if they could have been reached via social media, etc.

• "Telling that the most noteworthy or legendary event that has happened in that place in the past decade has been a riot at a mash up DJ gig" First off, that was not a riot. It was an overzealous rent-a-cop that tased a drunk guy who decided to take off his pants. There were no other problems with the crowd, who all left the venue without incident. Second, the reason that it was legendary is because Girl Talk played a 2am set at a frat house to make up for the premature ending to the Gargoyle show. Are there any legendary events over at the Billiken Club in the past decade? I can't recall any, and I think we're all in agreement that the Billiken Club is a much nicer place. The Girl Talk fiasco was more a result of the circumstances than the venue.

• It's a shame they didn't end up revamping the Gargoyle when they added classrooms to Mallinckrodt after the dining hall moved. There was talk about moving the Gargoyle to the old seating area that doubled as a dance studio (near the south end of the building) but that obviously didn't happen. Too bad the acoustics in Graham Chapel are so crazy. Didn't stop U2 and the Velvet Underground from playing there ages ago (or José Gonzalez a few years ago).

• As a member of the gargoyle, some of these criticisms have base, and others are off. We put up a lot of posters, we have tabled in dining halls, and we have tried to advertise a lot. The student body knows about these events. Its simply that most of them have no musical taste, would rather get drunk at a frat, or has too much work. The concert probably should not have been on a sunday, but we are trying to change this. We're trying to get funding for better sound equipment and a better venue, but it's hard.

• And sometimes taking the big college money gig isn't the best choice.... they at least got their gas and hotel money but at what price? The Gargoyle has been an atrocious room for music for decades now. Telling that the most noteworthy or legendary event that has happened in that place in the past decade has been a riot at a mash up DJ gig (Girl Talk). Having seen shows in that room since the beginning of the 1990s (Stereolab, Buffalo Tom, Bikini Kill, Yo La Tengo, etc) while always happy to see them secure artists that might have otherwise skipped St. Louis, any enthusiasm was immediately dulled and 'reality checked' knowing I was going to see a band in a horrible space, with horrible sound and most likely with at least 50% of the crowd being horrible disinterested students. If you could have a beer in the place at least maybe you could dull some of the pain of being there but that isn't even allowed. I appreciate the booking committee that has done an impressive job with the booking all of these years and I know that most of this is out of their control. That said, there is more to booking a room than signing the contracts and greeting the band upon their arrival.

• I had some similar experiences during my time at WashU. I was one of about 20 people watching YACHT and Chairlift at one show. There was another punk show that was almost empty (maybe the Death Set?) You never know how the draw will be. Mountain Goats was filled to capacity when they came, and I thought there wouldn't be many people there. I didn't know they were still popular with the college crowd.

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