Performing in an Intimate Setting Has its Perks

by Julia Park



It doesn’t take a dictionary to figure out what a house concert is: It’s a concert. In a house. Duh. But getting from the definition to the real deal is a bit trickier. Where can you find a house concert in the Bay Area? Who do you have to know? And what’s it like?

With the click of a mouse, you can find house concerts anywhere across America or Canada. And as it turns out, there’s a burgeoning house-concert scene right here in the East Bay. Get on the mailing list, and you’ll have about a month’s notice of upcoming gigs, possibly in your own neighborhood.

Drew Pearce, a local writer and guitarist, hosted his first house concert in September 2001. "My birthday was two weeks after 9/11, and I wasn’t in the mood to celebrate, but I didn’t want to mope around by myself either. So instead of having a regular birthday party, I invited my bandmates and musician friends to come up to my house in Healdsburg for a hootenanny on my back porch. It ended up being more of a party than a performance after all, and that feeling of community was the perfect antidote to the anxiety that was kind of in the air after the attacks. After that, I just decided to start organizing those gatherings on a regular basis to try to recreate that vibe," he recalls. Now he regularly hosts house concerts all around the bay.

“It’s a LISTENING SITUATION. It’s not necessary to use amplification, so there’s a more TRUE and PURE sound that reaches the listener.”

House concerts are best suited for singer-songwriter performances: a guy or a gal with a guitar or a piano. But duos, trios or bands can do just as well, and other kinds of music— folk, bluegrass, jazz, funk, hip-hop or pop, or just about anything "unplugged"—are perfect for the house-concert setting. What you probably won’t find is anything too loud: hardcore, thrashing punk and metal are not exactly suited for the living room. Because that’s where house concerts take place: in spacious living rooms, family rooms, maybe on an outdoor deck, but usually indoors to contain the sound and not annoy the neighbors.

"I love house concerts," Oakland jazz chanteuse Natasha Miller says. "It’s one of my favorite venues to perform in because of the intimacy, and honestly? Because of the attention from the audience."

Irina Rivkin, the producer of Rose Street House of Music, based in Berkeley, hosts performances around the East Bay. She loves house concerts because of "the intimate atmosphere and spirit of community, and the fact that people really listen, so every word can be heard; the meanings of the songs have a space to land, as opposed to some clubs where the words get lost amongst the other sounds. As a musician who puts a lot of thought and emotion into songwriting and lyrics, that’s really important to me."

"It’s a listening situation. It’s not necessary to use amplification, so there’s a more true and pure sound that reaches the listener. [Plus] there’s no technical hassle," Miller says. And for the performer, "You make better, longer-lasting and more devoted fans at a house concert because of the relationship you establish with the audience," she says. Most, if not all, of the money collected, often a door fee or perhaps a suggested donation, goes to the artist.

"Another positive for the audience is the chance to meet and talk to the featured performers in a party atmosphere. In some cases, if they’re playing at the open mic, it might even be a chance for them to perform for the performer. So it’s very egalitarian," Pearce says. "Considering the number of people that have opened up their homes to house concerts in the past few years, the number of venues for acoustic music in particular, has improved dramatically," says Pearce. "Some clubs shy away from booking this kind of music because it tends to sell more tea than beer. As a former performing songwriter myself, I can tell you that having a venue that is appreciative of the musician and focused on the music is a very big plus."

"The major negative is that’s it’s hard for house concerts to be wheelchair accessible," says Rivkin. Rivkin has expanded Rose Street events by taking them to public, wheelchair-accessible venues, such as Berkeley’s Ashkenaz.

"From my experience, I’d say the Bay Area is the ideal place to host house concerts. But they’re also happening in Seattle, Boston, Austin, Iowa and everywhere across the country. So wherever you can find 20 to 50 people who want to get together and listen to music, you can put on a great show," adds Pearce.

Want to host your own house concert? You can ask a local promoter/performer like Rivkin to set you up, or if you already know a talented performer or two, host it yourself. There are guidelines and tips available with a simple Internet search, or check on Craigslist (www.craigslist.org) to see postings for local house concerts.

Ongoing Series

Sally Greenberg’s House Concerts, Berkeley, www.sgreenberg.org/concerts.htm

Rose Street House Of Music, Berkeley, www.rosestreetmusic.com

Brask House Concerts, Fremont, www.braskhouseconcerts.com

Drew Pearce House Concerts, (Various Locations), www.myspace.com/drewpearce