Give something different a chance

A co-worker of mine once called Cape Girardeau "a music town." Right here in this space, in fact.

I agreed with him then, and I still agree with that statement. Thursday through Sunday and sporadically throughout the weekdays, one can stroll down Main Street and hear drums or bass or something thumping through the display windows at local bars. The "Live Music" section of the SE Live calendars typically equals the total of all the other events.

It's true: Cape Girardeau is a music town. But after going to a poorly attended hip-hop show last weekend and then hearing loads about the poor showing at the Scott City Red Cross benefit, I had to wonder: What kind of music town is Cape Girardeau?

It's a fickle scene, for one.

The weather should be right. No covers, please. The show not too late. The location not too far. The stars in alignment. Then we'll go see a show.

Some good bands go unnoticed and some spacious venues stay empty because we go with the familiar. Someone said to me that a lot of times bands aren't well attended downtown because they aren't advertised, that it used to be that the only way to know about a band was to stumble upon them while wandering around.

"No one knows what's going on downtown unless they're downtown all the time," he said.

I gave him an issue of SE Live.

As far as I can tell, it's a musical mutt (that's not an insult; I love a good mixed-breed).

The bluegrass from Southern Illinois and Kentucky travels west to us. The hip-hop and blues flow into Cape Girardeau like water through a funnel — St. Louis, Chicago, Memphis, Tenn. Jazz comes down from St. Louis. Somehow, indie rock has floated here from I don't know where. It's good. It's selection.

Cape is also a loyal scene.

Seeing the same faces when you go out? That's probably because you're going to the same places. People will follow their favorite band anywhere — talk to most people who have seen the Mike Renick band and they're likely to tell you that where ever the guys are playing is where they will be partying. On the flip side, most any patrons will sit through a random band just to refresh at their favorite watering hole.

That's great most of the time, but every once in a while it's nice to take a vacation, even just a brief hiatus, and experience a lil' something new. You never know, you might find a second-favorite if you belly up to a new bar and enjoy a different show.