bands on the floor can be loads of fun if the scene is tight and mainly composed of like minded people/friends....look at alfred's post....seriously that looks like a sweaty blast....some of the most fun shows i've ever been to were basement/house shows...but then again we all knew each other and were there to have a good time

You're saying CBGB's didn't have a stage?

No.

CBGBs is not the end all of punk rock......for years there have been basement shows....you can still find them in every town you go to.....thats whats great about underground music.....its underground....its people booking their own shows at their own place on their own terms....and for the most part i feel it ends up being a great time

personally i would much rather see a band like....Drunkdriver on a floor with like minded people (who be the only type of person there)....yeah it would be rowdy....and people would get hurt and blood would flow....but thats part of the fun....nobody would get malicious......

on the other hand seeing a band with a bit more diverse following like say Supersuckers....still for the most part an underground band....in the fact that they don't get much media attention.....but still a very diverse crowd comes to their shows....i love seeing them live....but at times i hate the crowd....just annoying people and would hate even more in an intimate environment

Sorry for nosey but why haven't you ever been to a concert?

I'm poor and musicians that I enjoy don't really play near me. Also... loud noise can give me severe headaches, and I don't like being in large groups of people.

Exactly. Once upon a time there was no such thing as a stage and performers performed right at the same level as everyone else. Then one day someone got fed up with with not being seen by their audience and had the clever idea to build a platform so that everyone had a better view. Whoever that person was, they had come up with a really, really useful invention. Why shun it?

This. So much this.

For my 2p, if you're playing a gig and you have a stage to use (Which would usually denote that you're at least attempting to be either professional or reach a larger audience than "The ten people at the front"), you should be using it. Its there for a reason, it makes EVERYONES lives easier, from fans through band through sound guys (Yes, amazing as it sounds, some people expect to be able to hear the music at a show, rather than aimless noise, as happens in a lot of small gigs even WITH the benefit of a stages acoustic assistance), it sounds better because your gear is being lifted off the floor and won't reverberate as wildly, and your gear will feed back less.

But hey, if you want to ignore all that and sound like **** and have only the biggest burliest *******s at the show actually see you or have any fun, be my guest. I won't be going to your terrible pretentious elitist "We must do things this way otherwise people will think we are not truly into our music" show anyway, so whatever.

Theres also a great invention that the manchester Apollo stumbled upon almost by accident - Its a sloping floor. Place used to be an old cinema. They have a stage AND a sloping floor, so everyone in the ENTIRE AUDIENCE can *always* find a place from which they can see the whole stage, rather than being stuck with the tall dude at the front blocking everyones view. Now thats progress, and more venues should be doing it.

i think i misunderstood the op......

i have to agree....if you're playing at a a place with a stage for all means.....use it....but i still concur that small shows where the band has to play on the floor and everybody gets rowdy and has fun....is well fun :)

some of the best shows i've been to were in basements/vfw halls/tiny art spaces...all on the floor all great times

Yeah. My thread is I hate when bands won't use the stage not I hate when bands don't have a stage. House parties, subway tunnels, sidewalks, parades, I've come across great musical experiences at all these and love that kind of scene. Not to mention, some of the best 'concerts' I've ever seen were in bands' practice spaces and studios.