Laundromatic

Espers – Meadow

The secret is out: bands enjoy touring non-traditional locations. It thrusts their names into the spotlight, attracts diverse audiences, makes preexisting fans feel special about seeing a favorite musician somewhere “intimate.” I almost fainted when rumor spread that Espers was planning an all-planetarium tour some years ago.

Spontaneous, super-secret shows by bigger bands are appearing more frequently in places such as New York and, on the other end of the spectrum, acoustic musician Matthew Fogle recently wrapped up a tour of laundromats that launched in his native Kentucky.

All this got me wondering how far was too far. Would I spend money to see Wilco on a “Water Reclamation Plant” tour? At what point does it go from “Sweet, a band I enjoy is playing a show behind a bar downtown” to “Gross, a band I enjoyed is playing a show behind a bar in a dumpster?”

What environment would be your deal breaker? I’m sticking with the water reclamation plant.

[Buy Espers, Myspace]