On: October 17 at 01:55 PM
Honoring the 209’s talented music scene with a high-energy, fan-friendly awards show is a good idea.
Unfortunately, the Modesto Area Music Association awards Oct. 17 was not that show, nor was the shiny new $48.2 million Gallo Center for the Arts the best venue for it.
This year’s MAMAs were sluggish at best and seemingly stifled by the formal Gallo Center, which has the atmosphere of an upscale high school auditorium.
After about 90 minutes I lost patience with the slow pace and headed to the lobby, which had fewer people but more excitement as musicians, promoters and venue owners mingled and networked. The awards inside the theater were being broadcast on a lobby television, so we could still keep tabs on the honors.
At least one nominee chose to stay in the lobby to watch the winner be named in their category.
Still, the MAMAs have great potential. It’s the biggest, best-known and most-organized music awards show between Sacramento and Fresno.
Here are some ways the MAMAs can be improved in the future, followed by a list of the Oct. 17 winners.
Find a different venue. The formal atmosphere in the Gallo Center lends itself well to symphony performances, plays and other events during which the audience is expected to stay silent. It is not a venue where you’re encouraged to stand up, dance and cheer. MAMA organizers need to hold the show in a venue with an open floor as well as seating. If it were in Modesto, the Stockton Empire Theatre would be perfect. The Fat Cat Music House and Lounge in Modesto is the next best thing.
Let people dance. Some fans and musicians said security told them to leave the Gallo Center theater and head to the lobby because they were dancing. That immediately sucked excitement from the show.
Kick it off with a high-energy performance. The MAMAs opened with an engaging but low-key performance by a musician with an acoustic guitar who, unfortunately, was never introduced. It set a subdued tone for the rest of the show. Organizers should have considered starting with the Valley Rhythm Section, who were second on the bill and did a powerful cover of “Respect.”
Don’t invite the CPA or city or county officials to the podium. Most awards shows introduce their accountants to discuss how votes are tabulated. They don’t give their accountants the mic, however; CPAs aren’t known for their ability to hype up a crowd. But at the MAMAs the CPA addressed the crowd in a nervous monotone for several minutes. She was followed by Modesto city and Stanislaus county officials who were more interesting but did little to get the audience energized.
There was one interesting moment when Keith Boggs, who works in economic development for Stanislaus County, told the crowd that tourism, music, arts and culture accounts for $410 million in revenue in the county each year. In 1998, when Modesto was just beginning to develop its downtown, that figure was $270 million.
Speed things up. The MAMAs were drawn out by speeches and artists performing multiple songs, and as a result, it took 45 minutes to announce the first winner. That delay seemed to bore the audience. In the future, organizers should keep announcer and winner speeches to two minutes at most and limit performers to one song, like at many other awards shows.
Don’t show music videos. I left the theater while a music video by the Solar Powered People was being shown on two large screens at either end of the stage. Why watch it at the MAMAs when I can see it on Youtube?
Increase your marketing and publicity. In past years I’ve seen advertisements and press releases for the MAMAs well in advance of the event. Nominees also have campaigned actively on MySpace for votes.
There seemed to be less publicity and fewer MySpace posts this year, however. The show’s CPA announced that about 6,000 ballots were cast for nominees during the month-long online voting process.
Meanwhile, a total of 1,600 votes were cast in 209Vibe.com’s new online voting system on Monday alone.
Winners
Urban: Moonshine Bandits
R&B/Funk: EARL
Alt/Indie: Solar Powered People
Hard Rock: Athens
Power, Punk, Pop: Peaceable Jones
DJ: Bobby Sanchez
Blue Collar: Suicide Shift
Blues & Jazz: DJ Slate and Rocket 88
Jam Band: Soup
Unplugged/Americana: Jon Valenti
Small Event: B93.1 Acoustic Christmas
Large Event: X-Fest
Café-Restaurant: Queen Bean Coffee House
Venue: Fat Cat Music House & Lounge
Lifetime Achievement Award: John Griswold
Comments
You forgot The Dave Wallace Memorium Award.Not many Modesto Musician's have played with the bigs- like Dave did. May he rest in Peace.
Excellent review Ian. With a few exceptions , the musical choices were really lacking originality , experience and in many cases musicianship...some wanted to "keep on humping you"...for 5 minutes! I agree , the videos should've been short clips to keep a weeknight show rolling faster and hopefully next year they will get rid of the acceptance speeches...its not an oscar.
thanks for this article. stay clear of the smut...go straight to the point. It was an enlightening article. THANK YOU...
in your opinion, who should've won for best dj?
I think you about hit the nail on the head.
Liked the article.
Good catch - the story's been updated. Thanks!
Joe Barretta didn't win Best Blues/Jazz, it was DJ Slate & the Rocket 88.
Rachel Renae was the artist that started the show. Her band ran into problems joining her, and I find she was courageous to tackle the job on her own. She deserves recognition. Sound problems needed to be worked out ahead of time, and the techs could have supported the musicians better in this area. The sound was not right for some of the instruments, and this could have easily been worked out in advance of the performances. If you are showcasing the best, give them the best! Watching from Modestoview.com was a bonus for those who could not be "in the house". It was helpful to have the visual of artists listed in each category as the names were read. Many of the presenters took this seriously, and dressed to kill! Thank you! Allen certainly carried himself well as the Master of Ceremonies, and it was appreciated that he would check into the chatroom during the show, to connect with those watching the event. Many commenters in the chatroom were asking who Chris Murphy and Chris Ricci were. Sorry guys, for coordinating an event, it still helps to introduce yourselves. If you did prior to the streaming, my apology. It seems that for a gathering of performers, some artists can take lessons on giving acceptance speeches that are not slurred by copious amounts of alcohol, or at least designating someone to give the main acceptance speech, for a large group. For things to get better, groups should be monitored for such imparements prior to going on stage, and reminded that it is an honor many others would have enjoyed...show some R...E...S...P...E...C...T...! Perhaps the shorter video clips (say, ten seconds worth?) could be used to introduce the award recipients, so that it 'kills two birds with one stone'...introduce the audience to a sample, without beating them senseless over the head with genres they did not bargain for. (Another benefit of watching from home? Volume control!) Overall, I'm glad to see the categories are experiencing some growth. I propose that the publicity for what the MAMA Awards are should be an ongoing process, as venues and musicians are rarely the same from year to year. Have those in the running carry voter cards for each event, dated, so cummulative reviews can be applied, instead of the last minute push for votes. Modesto and the surrounding areas need to step up the support of live musicians everywhere. It isn't hard to find a worthwhile performance, if you listen for it. The Gallo Arts Center needs to get over the dancing issue, or create a safe dancing zone...their security ushered me off the SIDEWALK out front before they ever opened the building to the public, for dancing and singing one evening with friends...so much for support of the arts! Congratulations to all who participated! If you see a musician pouring it out there for your enjoyment, please show them with a caring contribution how you feel. Let the music grow! JKM
Nice review. How long has this site been around? -Motown Mojo Editor