That's perfectly well put that's not what was said, it was just condemned out of hand as not even music and that seemed very much to me to be passing judgement. Your very sensitive if you think that's an attempt to wind anyone up.
I do sympathise actually but mindlessly attacking the quality of music rather than the situation is not a reasonable response.
There are a number of issues here, not just music but the well-documented struggle for pubs to survive and the change in licensing laws a few years ago.
I've played in bands for years on and off and the vast majority of where I have played have been in local pubs rather than dedicated music venues. Some landlords are of the opinion that if they put a decent band on regularly then word would get around and punters would come in from around the area to see the band and drink the pub's beer. We all know that pubs are suffering and they have to offer entertainment as well as decent beer, food and atmosphere. We've all seen that pubs are busier on quiz nights than other nights. Some have resorted to karaoke but I've seen a resurgence in pubs trying to offer another kind of entertainment by putting on live music which I believe is a direct result of the change in the licensing laws a few years ago. The law didn't just allow 24-hour drinking but changed the way that pubs can offer entertainment.
As an example look at the "Quack" night on Tuesdays at the Navigation where local musicians get together on a Tuesday night for an open mic night before a main act. I bet they get more people in on a Tuesday than the vast majority of other pubs in the area do during midweek. The George in Compstall has bands on on Fridays and Saturdays and has done for years. The Marple Tavern has take to putting bands on on Saturday nights. After its refurbishment, The Bull on Market St has started putting bands on again. Some other pubs also have live music but don't have the layout for a full band. For example, The Ringers has live music on regularly from small combos (e.g., locals Lazlo Baby) and their open-air Sunday afternoon concerts are excellent. You can see different kinds of live music in pubs all through the area as they compete for our business.
The trouble is for musicians, especially bands, is that there are fewer and fewer pubs and still the same number of bands so the money that landlords offer is coming down significantly. However a decent band can easily make back the money that a landlord pays the band by bringing in the punters.
The issue of noise is one that is completely different. My band is a five piece band playing rock covers. When you put on a band like this it can be shockingly loud. Many people have no idea how loud an unamplified drum kit actually is in an enclosed space like a pub. You have to have the guitars, bass and vocals match the level of the drums to get the mix right. When you put bass into the mix, because the frequencies are lower, the sound travels further and from a distance all most people hear is the bass. That's physics and there's nothing you can do about it. Many many musicians suffer from hearing damage after years of playing in these environments without hearing protection. I have always taken precautions and my hearing has been unaffected despite playing in enclosed environments at high volume.
Personally, there is nothing like live music and rather than moaning about it, I would encourage people to support the resurgence of live music by finding the type of music that you like and supporting the venues and the musicians that play there. If you want to see folk music go along to the Royal Oak on Strines during the week. If you want to see brass, drop into the Ringers on Sunday afternoon. And if you want to see a rock band at full tilt, come along to the Bull on August 31st and say hello to me!
