Less Live Music in Campbell

A stroll through downtown Campbell at night will delight your ears with a chorus of laughter, happy voices and, of course, a variety of music.

But recently there has been a trend being established regarding what types, or type, of music one hears.

Synthetic beats have replaced drummers while melodies created on computers have taken the place of guitars, basses, trumpets and saxophones.

A single DJ with a laptop, two turntables and maybe a keyboard has replaced an entire band at many local establishments.

It is quite clear that live music is now a rarity where once the chords from a vibrating guitar string could be heard at each end and all along Campbell Ave.

A quick yelp search reveals maybe a dozen local live music venues in the city, only here or four of which can truly be said to be in downtown.

Of these venues, there are brew houses and wineries for relaxing as well as fancy or ethnic restaurants where the music is really just a complement to the dining experience.

When it comes to bars or clubs, places to party and dance, there really is not much variety.  Electronic Dance Music has taken over.

While this trend brings some clear advantages over more traditional sets, it has some people worried.

DJ booths are much easier to set up than stages for live music without having to account for space and acoustics, and paying one DJ is cheaper than paying an entire band.  So it makes sense to do this from a financial standpoint.

There is also less worrying about technical problems with less to set up, and the likelihood of a DJ messing up a song is far less than that of a band hitting a wrong note or rushing a rhythm.

Just as importantly, the robot music works.  These businesses want to attract young, energetic people who are going to buy lots of drinks and spend lots of time at the club dancing and hanging out.

This demographic has been listening to EDM more and more.  Its simple draw brings in the right audience, and patrons who are not fans of the genre tend to put up with it in this setting.

However, is this ruining the hotbed of culture in downtown Campbell?

Live music used to be common to find up and down the main strip. Establishments played jazz, rock ‘n’ roll and country not just weekends but every night.  There were not just house bands playing but top class musicians from the world over.

It’s difficult to say whether or not this trend is good or whether it will even continue.  Perhaps DJ’s are the popular musicians of the day and in the future will be played in rare establishments for particular audiences the way jazz is now.