Blips, Bleeps, Bloops- I Don't Get It

[DanL]

So I did this pickup gig last night with some friends, a benefit for a guy who has cancer, in a local bar. The band did a short set of mostly original synth based stuff and we threw in a couple covers like Gary Numan's Cars. I used my Nord A1 and Ultranova, the other keyboardist who wrote the originals had a Juno G and a beautifully restored Juno 106. We had guitar, bass and drums as well.

 

We were the only full band. The rest were solo performers.

 

I don't know if you'd call them DJ's or electronic musicians or what. Laptops with different controller surfacess, one guy had an older Emu tabletop VA, but that was about the only synth I saw. One guy had this huge setup. A pedal board that was at least 3x2' with a ton of stuff on it, a 3 tier keyboard stand with all kinds of gadgets. It took him an hour to set up and he performed for 15 minutes. We were like "he's done alreay?" The guy before the band went on had that whole "I'm a star" attitude- he went over his time allotment by 20 minutes- supposed to play for 45 mins and ended up doing 65. Everytime a "song" would end we'd think, ok, he's done, let's get ready. They had a video screen connected to a projector that they all used. This guy had some kind of fractal program that synced with the sound, and he was videoing the screen with a go pro. Not sure why you'd want to do that, but whatever lol.

 

What I didn't get was only 1 out of the 4 guys did anything that had any kind of tempo or clear rhythm to it. It really just sounded like random noise. The band was talking about it and wondering if 1- they didn't know about quantizing, 2- didn't want to use it- or 3- had no idea that what they were doing had no time at all. Loops that would start out in sync and then drift off, weird kick drum patterns that sounded like someone falling down the stairs with a drum. The guy who played for an hour had really nothing musical at all going on. He had one interesting evolving pad sound that he faded out on the last piece he did.

 

Strange, just really strange. I was expecting something more musical, like Deadmau5 type EDM, or maybe some of Klaus Schultz type spacey soundscapes. Nothing like that at all.

 

The band kicked ass, and it was fun doing an all synth rig with nary a piano or organ tone required.

[GRollins]

I have one question:

 

How did the audience react?

 

Grey

[piano39]

This isn't unique to electronic musicians. I have hosted plenty of open mics with the following scenarios, all guitar related:

 

1) young guitar hero arrives. Brings a contingent of 15 family and friends. Plays speed metal solos, with no other musicians on stage (because he never played with anyone). As soon as his set is over, he leaves, with his entire posse.

 

2)folk guitar strummers that know, maybe four chords. Everyone of the songs that they play sound the same.

 

3)songwriters that only play original music, can't play any songs that anybody knows.

 

4)drunks. Can't get through a song.

 

The common denominator- some people don't understand that they have to entertain the audience first. Showcasing their talent is secondary.

[Synthoid]

How did the audience react?

 

Yes... my question as well. That type of "music" normally leaves people feeling like this:

 

 

 

 

[DanL]

GRollins- the reaction was about like Synthoids gif lol. A smattering of clapping only because people realized a "song" had ended and they felt like that had to do something I guess.

 

I'm sure they had friends who came to see them.

[Tom Williams]

1) young guitar hero arrives. Brings a contingent of 15 family and friends. Plays speed metal solos, with no other musicians on stage (because he never played with anyone). As soon as his set is over, he leaves, with his entire posse.

2)folk guitar strummers that know, maybe four chords. Everyone of the songs that they play sound the same.

3)songwriters that only play original music, can't play any songs that anybody knows.

4)drunks. Can't get through a song.

The common denominator- some people don't understand that they have to entertain the audience first. Showcasing their talent is secondary.

I have to disagree here. The obvious common denominator, virtually guaranteeing failure, is that they play guitar.

[GRollins]

GRollins- the reaction was about like Synthoids gif lol. A smattering of clapping only because people realized a "song" had ended and they felt like that had to do something I guess.

 

I'm sure they had friends who came to see them.

 

The question was not facetious, I assure you. It's important to me to try to understand where peoples' heads are these days. If they were wildly enthusiastic, cheering, clapping, standing on their seats, demanding more, then I have truly outlived my time.

 

I'm sure that I'll offend someone by saying this (I usually do), but I find "sampled" music to be artistically bankrupt. Yes, I'm looking at you, rap & variants. If you actually have talent, show me. Compose your own damned music. The stuff my daughter listens to (fortunately) doesn't (usually) have samples, but it's not much better; it only has these simplistic, mind-numbing three or four note riffs that drone, unchanged, throughout the entire "song" while someone recites low-quality poetry over it. There's no musical development whatsoever. When you get done, there's little or nothing to hum or whistle. Nothing to take home with you. Yes, I get the idea that the instrumental part is there as background to showcase the poetry, but that's always been true of songs with lyrics. It doesn't mean that you can't have an actual melody.

 

The beep stuff, to me, is just a variation on that same mindset. They don't really have anything to say, but they say it loud and often and noisily. The question is whether the audience is receptive.

 

Even some of the earliest, least-developed rock tunes had riffs, melodies, and some sense that a tune needed to develop. By the time the Beatles came along, things were already in full swing. Jazz? Oodles of ideas and development. Folk, bluegrass...you name it. All have some sense that there needs to be music in your music, so to speak. Not the beep stuff. It worries me.

 

Grey

[stoken6]

I broadly agree with you there Grey. As an intellectual exercise I sometimes ask myself "what would it take for you to like hip-hop, Mike? Or EDM, Mike?" And I think the answer is two-fold:

 

- Play live. Repeating 44100x8 samples ad nauseam every two seconds is intrinsically boring, and the ebb and flow of a live, organic groove is intrinsically fascinating

- More than one loop. Sonata form, the great symphonies, Tin Pan Alley and Elvis, all managed to contain more than one chord progression per work.

 

I get challenged by hip-hop lovers: "you don't understand Mike, it's the voice of the street, the voice of protest". Oh yeah? Well so are "What's Going On" and "Living For The City". Compare and contrast...

 

Lyrically, there's plenty to like and admire in hip hop and rap. And outfits like The Roots, bringing live musicianship to the genre, certainly help. But they're certainly the exception.

 

So there's a slightly more controversial than usual post from me - I'd welcome reasoned, mature debate on the subject. Thank you KC for your time.

 

Cheers, Mike.

 

 

 

[pjd]

Ummm, lack of musicality?

 

I've heard Blips, Bleeps, Bloops that are musical and convey an emotional message. So, it's not the sounds themselves.

 

I'm not against amateur musicians. Nor am I against amateur musicians who play in a public venue -- it's a good learning experience.

 

However, today's music making tools are inexpensive enough that anyone can try their hand at it. Without musicality (taste, whatever), the result isn't going to be pretty. Forcing a kid to take piano lessons at least exposed them to a critic (the teacher) who, hopefully, could help the pupil develop a sense of musical aesthetics and standard of performance. Even better, the ability to be self-critical. Modern tech seems to skip the whole teacher/pupil musical education thing.

 

Way too philosophical for a Saturday afternoon. Where's the football? :-)

 

-- pj

 

Music technology blog: http://sandsoftwaresound.net/

 

[GRollins]

However, today's musical making tools are inexpensive enough that anyone can try their hand at it. Without musicality (taste, whatever), the result isn't going to be pretty. Forcing a kid to take piano lessons at least exposed them to a critic (the teacher) who, hopefully, could help the pupil develop a sense of musical aesthetics and standard of performance. Even better, the ability to be self-critical. Modern tech seems to skip the whole teacher/pupil musical education thing.

 

I had a little formal education, but didn't get much out of it. The fault, in this case, was mine. I wasn't ready. Nowadays, I'm more "ready" but can't afford the time or money.

 

Informal education, on the other hand, I had by the bucketful. I listened to, and tried to emulate, people who had chord changes...hell, they even had chords, rather than monotonic beeps in their music. Rock, jazz, and classical.

 

I'm not sure that the "teacher as critic" idea is as important as the idea of learning that there are notes and that notes can be combined into chords and that notes can be used to form melodies that can be played on top of chords...in other words, rudimentary music concepts. It seems to me that this is what's missing. People want to make music, but they've only got 90% of the ability of those who they listen to, who in turn only had 95% of the ability of those they listened to, who in turn only had 88% of the ability of those they listened to...the end result being that their musical standards are much degraded, in a step-wise manner, from their betters.

 

And, yes, low prices have eased the entry of many who should have stayed on the couch, listening.

 

Standards are slipping slowly. Music is getting structurally simpler. Rap is predominately about rhythm. Melody is an afterthought if it exists at all. The pop portions of the stuff my daughter listens to do have melodies, but they sound distressingly similar, to the extent that I walked into her room a couple of weeks ago and began singing the lyrics to one of the popular songs against an entirely different song! She thought it was hilarious, fortunately, but missed the point--a large fraction of the music she listens to is cut from boilerplate themes and melodies that are literally interchangeable.

 

There was a video on YouTube a few years back that took the top country songs from each of the previous six years or so and overlaid them, one on top of the other, in Pro Tools. They fit perfectly. Mind boggling. If I get time, I'll try to find it; I need to have that link at hand, anyway, for any number of reasons.

 

But at least in that case there were melodies and chords and some development.

 

Yes, I'm well aware that I sound like a crotchety old fart, but things like that video lend credence to what I'm saying and it's hard to deny that rap has little in the way of melody. And beeps and boops? I suppose that you could categorize that as an offshoot of musique concrete or something, but I doubt seriously that its supporters even know what musique concrete is, much less feel that they belong to that movement.

 

Yes, R2D2 is quite capable of expressing profound emotion with a fairly limited repertoire of beeps and boops...but is it music? That's the question.

 

Grey

[iluvchiclets]

I heard good music differently three years ago - back then, the standard of playing to me was the fuzz and purr of a Wurlitzer Electric piano (or Hammond) and slick, syncopated chops by seasoned musicians. I love Chick Corea, Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock, and players like that who have history.

 

Then I discovered electronic music in 2015, and I found myself enjoying Morton Subotnick's "Silver Apples..." record. (That record is kind of the epitome of the bleep/bloop recording.)

 

I was embarrassed and confused. What had happened to me?

I made this confession to some other musicians. One of them set me straight, saying, "Hey, it's only natural that your ears finds sounds that are new and different to be exciting."

 

And he was right! Now I love Lyle Mays and Captain Beefheart with no guilt...

[GovernorSilver]

I heard good music differently three years ago - back then, the standard of playing to me was the fuzz and purr of a Wurlitzer Electric piano (or Hammond) and slick, syncopated chops by seasoned musicians. I love Chick Corea, Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock, and players like that who have history.

 

Then I discovered electronic music in 2015, and I found myself enjoying Morton Subotnick's "Silver Apples..." record. (That record is kind of the epitome of the bleep/bloop recording.)

 

I was embarrassed and confused. What had happened to me?

I made this confession to some other musicians. One of them set me straight, saying, "Hey, it's only natural that your ears finds sounds that are new and different to be exciting."

 

And he was right! Now I love Lyle Mays and Captain Beefheart with no guilt...

 

Morton Subotnick - who looks fantastic for an 80-something year old btw - played at University of Maryland's Clarice Smith Arts Center a couple of years ago. The auditorium was packed with an enthusiastic and appreciative crowd from all walks of life. He played an updated version of Silver Apples and other pieces on his Buchla + laptop rig, taking advantage of the surround sound system.

 

It took me a while too, to hear the difference between somebody lazily messing around with electronics, and electronic music made with true intent and creativity - Subotnick was one of the masters - albeit a classically trained composer - who opened my ears.

 

Hearing music like his tuned my ears for listening to the likes of Messaien, whose music can sound bloopy and bleepy too, even the stuff played entirely on acoustic piano.

[burningbusch]

I heard good music differently three years ago - back then, the standard of playing to me was the fuzz and purr of a Wurlitzer Electric piano (or Hammond) and slick, syncopated chops by seasoned musicians. I love Chick Corea, Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock, and players like that who have history.

 

Then I discovered electronic music in 2015, and I found myself enjoying Morton Subotnick's "Silver Apples..." record. (That record is kind of the epitome of the bleep/bloop recording.)

 

I was embarrassed and confused. What had happened to me?

I made this confession to some other musicians. One of them set me straight, saying, "Hey, it's only natural that your ears finds sounds that are new and different to be exciting."

 

And he was right! Now I love Lyle Mays and Captain Beefheart with no guilt...

 

Morton Subotnick - who looks fantastic for an 80-something year old btw - played at University of Maryland's Clarice Smith Arts Center a couple of years ago. The auditorium was packed with an enthusiastic and appreciative crowd from all walks of life. He played an updated version of Silver Apples and other pieces on his Buchla + laptop rig, taking advantage of the surround sound system.

 

It took me a while too, to hear the difference between somebody lazily messing around with electronics, and electronic music made with true intent and creativity - Subotnick was one of the masters - albeit a classically trained composer - who opened my ears.

 

Hearing music like his tuned my ears for listening to the likes of Messaien, whose music can sound bloopy and bleepy too, even the stuff played entirely on acoustic piano.

 

This is a music of almost limitless freedom, which is both its greatest strength and biggest weakness. It can be equally challenging for the composer and listener. Every piece of music should have a reason for existing. The composer (or improvisor) should be able to say what he/she was attempting to accomplish. Why did you spend time to create it? Why should I, as the audience, invest my time in listening to it?

 

Busch.

[RobP2]

It was a few years ago that I saw how things were changing. My band played a large festival in Cambridge, The Strawberry Fayre, it's the largest free festival in the UK.

 

We and many other bands, played on small stages dotted around the site. Once we had done I wandered around and found the main stage. Big set, huge PA stack and a large crowd of people waiting expectantly. I thought "this band must be worth seeing" so hung around.

Ten minutes later on comes a DJ who plays some CDs, mostly what I think of as "car alarm" music. Crowd went wild.

 

There were more people in that crowd than were watching all of the rest of the bands combined.

 

Partly also confirmed by a conversation with my brother, a promoter in London. He can book a DJ for a quarter of the price of a band and a lot of young punters don't notice the difference.

 

I'm not against techno music, hell, I used to go and watch Suicide! But I do wonder what this current trend will lead to. Where has the creativity gone?

[I-missRichardTee]

Ladies and germs,

This is not that complicated.. creative people are rare, musical ones too.. with technology being where it is with pre recorded snippets, this cacophony we increasingly endure, is sad, but no surprise .

The melodic is the rarest of gifts, and even among musicians a lyrical player is not common. so think how far below the hierarchy of musicians ( Bach Lizst Hendrix Satchmo ) these clowns with tech toys are.

[High Diving Act]

A coworker of mine was telling me two years ago his son was going to a DJ Production school in LA.. we live in Toronto Canada so this wasn't like a local thing.. he was forking out thousands for it and some DJ Production gear because it was his sons "dream". I asked if his son played any instruments or sang.. he said no. I asked if he had ever heard any of his sons composition.. he said no. Ladies and Gentlemen.. exhibit A. Mind blown.

[I-missRichardTee]

I am posting a video of a genius level clinical psychologist Toronto professor who addresses creativity, He sheds much light, at least for me.

[iluvchiclets]

...this cacophony we increasingly endure, is sad,...

 

What I was trying to say a few posts back was that one person's cacophony was another's Claire De Lune. I once felt certain styles of music were invalid or useless, but now I realize I can hear things differently.

 

...think how far below the hierarchy of musicians ( Bach Lizst Hendrix Satchmo ) these clowns with tech toys are.

 

I really don't think they are below or above each other, rather could we imagine them beside each other? If we listen with burningbusch's criteria:

 

"Every piece of music should have a reason for existing. The composer (or improvisor) should be able to say what he/she was attempting to accomplish. Why did you spend time to create it? Why should I, as the audience, invest my time in listening to it?"

then every piece of music that can be answered by these questions is not greater or less than another. I like Sonic Youth, (AC/DC, The Beatles, and so much more) and I also have an obsession with Maurice Ravel.

 

They each are very valuable, but I don't think one is greater than another because they are so different. I listen to them each differently - for example the way you listen to Emmylou Harris is different to the way you listen to The Roots.

 

 

[I-missRichardTee]

...this cacophony we increasingly endure, is sad,...

 

What I was trying to say a few posts back was that one person's cacophony was another's Claire De Lune. I once felt certain styles of music were invalid or useless, but now I realize I can hear things differently.

 

...think how far below the hierarchy of musicians ( Bach Lizst Hendrix Satchmo ) these clowns with tech toys are.

 

I really don't think they are below or above each other, rather could we imagine them beside each other? If we listen with burningbusch's criteria:

 

"Every piece of music should have a reason for existing. The composer (or improvisor) should be able to say what he/she was attempting to accomplish. Why did you spend time to create it? Why should I, as the audience, invest my time in listening to it?"

then every piece of music that can be answered by these questions is not greater or less than another. I like Sonic Youth, (AC/DC, The Beatles, and so much more) and I also have an obsession with Maurice Ravel.

 

They each are very valuable, but I don't think one is greater than another because they are so different. I listen to them each differently - for example the way you listen to Emmylou Harris is different to the way you listen to The Roots.

 

 

I always find this pov interesting, and would love to believe it.. but I am not quite there, I still believe that some in music, are more gifted than others.. a rare few, to a spectacular degree. And the notion that we are all have equal potential in creativity, does not match my experience.

[ProfD]

I'm sure that I'll offend someone by saying this (I usually do), but I find "sampled" music to be artistically bankrupt. Yes, I'm looking at you, rap & variants.

 

On this forum, I believe the majority share similar views regarding Hip-Hop.

 

I'm in the minority on several levels here but I enjoy hanging out at KC nonetheless.

 

In my time here at KC, I have defended Hip-Hop as a viable musical artform. I *know* for a fact that it is no different from other styles of music that are minimalistic in nature.

 

Music is about conveying and tapping into emotion. Whether it takes one note or two chords or bleeps, blips or drones, its all about how it resonates with the listener(s).

 

Jazz is filled with notes and chords yet it is an acquired taste for most. In fact, a Jazz music festival has to bring in other styles of music to draw interest.

 

Country music is built on the same patterns, themes and subject matter that are 60 years old now. Rock music is still the same three chords and lyrics as it was 60 years ago.

 

Sarcastically, I just painted three genres of music with a broad brush. I *know* there is more to those styles of music. Just a matter of researching i.e. listening to it.

 

Hip-Hop music has a history. Anyone with a real interest in understanding should study it.

 

Otherwise, as with all music, if it's not your cup of tea, don't drink it.

 

Trust and believe, the Hip-Hop community isn't offended. At 40 years old, it's all grown up.

[Dave Weiser]

On this forum, I believe the majority share similar views regarding Hip-Hop.

 

I'm in the minority on several levels here but I enjoy hanging out at KC nonetheless.

 

In my time here at KC, I have defended Hip-Hop as a viable musical artform. I *know* for a fact that it is no different from other styles of music that are minimalistic in nature.

 

 

One of my favorite tidbits from working the Kurz booth at NAMM for a decade: at least once per show a suspicious piano dealer, usually an older gent, would seek reassurance from me that the keyboard being shown did not have "any of those rap sounds" included. Each year my bullsh*t answer became more outrageous and silly.

 

 

 

 

[Synthaholic]

Rap is poetry set to a beat. They are not "songs".

[Delaware Dave]

On the contrary, rap is rhyming set to a beat, it is not poetry.

[Synthoid]

A coworker of mine was telling me two years ago his son was going to a DJ Production school in LA.

 

Becoming a DJ requires training?

 

 

[Delaware Dave]

Our band also played a benefit last night at an Elks lodge. When I get there this guitar player comes up with a rig and asks me if it is alright to setup on the side. So my first thought is that there are multiple bands playing. We started talking and it turns out that he was just there to play the national anthem. So he sets up, he has a fender strat, a fender 'concert' combo amp, a powered bass cabinet and 11 pedals (chorus, delays, overdrive, and stuff I can't even explain). Set it all up and never tried out anything. When it was time to start he was nowhere to be found so we decided to start. Right before we drop our first note he runs down throws the guitar over his shoulder, turns everything on and starts playing the national anthem. The guitar was out of tune so he would play a note from the song (I think) then tune up a string, play the next note and tune up another string, and continued doing this until all the strings were in tune. Then he proceeded to play what I think was an on acid Hendrix version of the Star spangled banner that lasted close to 10 minutes, using all 11 weapons in his arsenal. When he finished he shut down and took a seat. I'm wondering if he came from Dan's benefit after he was finished there.

[ProfD]

On the contrary, rap is rhyming set to a beat, it is not poetry.

A few lyricists come to mind...Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, Chuck D, Biggie, Nas, Jay-Z, Common and Kendrick Lamar. Their work is definitely poetic.

[Delaware Dave]

I wouldn't know that shxt if I stepped in it..

[El Lobo]

Randy Newman said he liked rap music because it was like playing tennis without a net.

[GRollins]

I see rap as at least a partial throwback to '50s era Beat Poetry. In that sense, there's nothing new about it whatsoever. (And Beat wasn't new, either...but that's a rabbit hole we need not enter...)

 

Is it music?

 

My personal view is no, but that's because I view melody as an indispensable ingredient of "music." That's not to say it isn't "art," which I think it clearly does qualify as...but music, per se...that's a much harder sell for me.

 

Okay, I've been waiting, but no one's brought up drum solos. Is a drum solo "music?" Slippery slope. Is a quick fill "music?" I have no problem with that. A five minute solo "music?" I can hang with that. I saw the Allman Brothers at the August Jam back in 1974. They (2 drummers) started in on a solo. After about 20-30 minutes, I got bored and went outside the perimeter (Charlotte Motor Speedway) to our car. Talked to one of our group who had stayed at the car for about 30 minutes. Could still clearly hear the drums the whole time. Went back in so I could see the band rather than just hear them. The solo went on for another five or ten minutes before the rest of the band came back on stage. Rough it off at an hour. To me, that was waaaaay overdone. Perhaps if I was a drummer, I'd feel differently. Yet, that crossed an invisible line for me, and it was just one song.

 

My problem is when an entire art form is based (almost) entirely on rhythm. As in 100%. Okay, 98% if you allow for the monotonous synth lines. I like looking at the pretty girls in the videos, but that's about as much as I can get out of the stuff. Am I the wrong race? Maybe. Am I too old? Maybe. Am I hopelessly not "with it?" Maybe. All of the above? Maybe. But I just can't find anything to grab hold of (excepting the girls...and I'll never meet them, anyway) and it's not for lack of being exposed to it, given where I live. There's just no there, there...for me...which I suppose is the necessary disclaimer, as there are phalanxes of people pursuing the pleasures of the pulsating beat. They're happy, and I guess that's what counts. It just doesn't work for me.

 

The thing I find most grating, however, is the sampling. Sampling just doesn't fly for me on any level. Ever. Hell, Robert Plant has a song on one of his solo albums in which he samples older Led Zeppelin songs--to which he certainly has a rightful claim. I still regard that as an artistic failing on his part. Dude...show me what you can do now, don't fluff out your current material with what you were doing ten or fifteen years ago!

 

Grey

[GovernorSilver]

I heard good music differently three years ago - back then, the standard of playing to me was the fuzz and purr of a Wurlitzer Electric piano (or Hammond) and slick, syncopated chops by seasoned musicians. I love Chick Corea, Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock, and players like that who have history.

 

Then I discovered electronic music in 2015, and I found myself enjoying Morton Subotnick's "Silver Apples..." record. (That record is kind of the epitome of the bleep/bloop recording.)

 

I was embarrassed and confused. What had happened to me?

I made this confession to some other musicians. One of them set me straight, saying, "Hey, it's only natural that your ears finds sounds that are new and different to be exciting."

 

And he was right! Now I love Lyle Mays and Captain Beefheart with no guilt...

 

Morton Subotnick - who looks fantastic for an 80-something year old btw - played at University of Maryland's Clarice Smith Arts Center a couple of years ago. The auditorium was packed with an enthusiastic and appreciative crowd from all walks of life. He played an updated version of Silver Apples and other pieces on his Buchla + laptop rig, taking advantage of the surround sound system.

 

It took me a while too, to hear the difference between somebody lazily messing around with electronics, and electronic music made with true intent and creativity - Subotnick was one of the masters - albeit a classically trained composer - who opened my ears.

 

Hearing music like his tuned my ears for listening to the likes of Messaien, whose music can sound bloopy and bleepy too, even the stuff played entirely on acoustic piano.

 

This is a music of almost limitless freedom, which is both its greatest strength and biggest weakness. It can be equally challenging for the composer and listener. Every piece of music should have a reason for existing. The composer (or improvisor) should be able to say what he/she was attempting to accomplish. Why did you spend time to create it? Why should I, as the audience, invest my time in listening to it?

 

Busch.

 

A fair and well considered post.

 

I think part of the problem, as reported in the OP (Dan?)'s post is that whoever booked the show probably messed up.

 

I can understand the desire of some show promoters to put together a diverse lineup of acts on the bill. But most tend to book acts that operate in a similar area of music. Otherwise you get stories like drunk and angry concert attendees nearly rioting because they want to hear death metal, but the opening act is an instrumental post-rock band. Or the scenario depicted in the OP.