Since 1999, The B-Side has been the predominant venue for local youth performers. The venue prides itself in offering up-and-coming musicians the unique opportunity to bring their art to a real audience. Shows are held in the venue attached to the Neutral Zone in downtown Ann Arbor weekly on Friday or Saturday nights and are usually attended by mostly teens.
“The B-Side is like life: it’s as fun as you make it,” said Jordan Vale of Space Based Adventure, the most recent in a long line of local ska bands to come out of the B-Side. Vale played trumpet with his band on the first live album recorded in the venue, and has played there many times before and since. “The crazy, livelier kids would really add excitement to the show and make it a good time for all.”
Christian Koch, a junior at Community High, has played in many acts at the B-Side and appreciates it similarly to Vale. “[My bands] have played a couple times in Ypsilanti, Milan, Dexter and Toledo. None of the venues were as nice or chill or had an original atmosphere like the B-Side,” said Koch, adding, “The B-Side is primarily run by the teenagers who volunteer there, which helps make the B-Side what it is.”
As part of an effort to be “teen-driven,” each show is curated by a member of a teen-facilitated group called the B-Side promotion team. “We put together concerts for all kinds of bands, ranging from hip hop to folk to metal and teen garage bands to national touring artists. All of the concerts are planned by teens who volunteer at the Neutral Zone,” said B-Side promotion team facilitator Ben Lawton. “We discuss future plans for the venue, talk about past and upcoming shows and come up with new strategies and ideas for our business.”
Lawton, a sophomore at Community, is charged with leading the promotion team in building on the past successes of the B-Side. Even though times and acts have changed, the goal remains the same. “The B-Side tries to find the hottest local bands, specifically teen acts,” stated Lawton. “Many artists have become known through the B-Side and gone on to perform at other venues around Ann Arbor. Since we have new bands almost every Saturday night, we steadily bring in many regulars as well as new attendees at every show. This gives the venue a great and fresh environment, and allows us to appeal to musicians of any genre.”
Ingrid Racine has been involved with the B-Side since the venue’s earliest shows and now serves as the adult advisor to the promotion team. “[I act as] someone who has more experience booking and promoting shows, and can serve as a resource and give a little guidance when needed. However, meetings are facilitated by teens and teens have the final say in pretty much all major decision making,” said Racine.
Since its conception, the B-Side has been a place for talent to gather and be appreciated. The Neutral Zone originally hosted performances out of its original location on South Main Street. The first show from the B-Side stage was a fundraiser for Commstock, an annual celebration of Community High School’s last day of school.
“The venue has an interesting ebb and flow in terms of which shows do really well. In the early years, hip hop shows with Funktelligence, AML and One Be Lo would be really packed,” said Racine. “Also around that time the Ninjas, After School Special and the Misters were around: teen bands that developed a strong following and had good draw. A lot of [Neutral Zone] alumni really glorify this era. The old space was more intimate, had a very different vibe.”
One band that got its start and quickly drew consistent crowds at the B-Side was The Ninjas. Stephan Wunderlich played guitar, sang and wrote songs for
The Ninjas, and played in over a dozen shows at the B-Side. “[The B-Side] was a place you wanted to hang around,” he said. “No matter the type of show, it always felt fun to just be moseying about with your friends or mosh-pitting until your big toenail got kicked off because you were an idiot and wore sandals to a mosh pit. The things I remember most fondly are the intense heat and moisture of hundreds of smiling faces all coming together to have a good time.
“I’ve performed in venues around the country and of course tons of different places around Michigan, but the B-side has always retained some serious respect when it came to all ages venues. I remember tons of bands that weren’t from Ann Arbor always working their tails off to try to get into the Neutral Zone because they knew it would be a great show. The B-side’s crowd was what gave it its magic. If it weren’t for the people listening and dancing their pants off there would be no point,” said Wunderlich.
In 2006 the Neutral Zone moved from its South Main location to its current location at 310 East Washington. The B-Side virtually had to start over. “It took a few years to settle into the space,” recalled Racine. “I don’t think we even had a stage for about a year. We’ve really improved on the sound system since we’ve been here, and the space is looking more lived in, but we’ve got a ways to go.”
Shows have continued in the new space, and new notable bands have risen including pop-punk bad boys Echoes, instrumental funk quintet Sole Transit and the aforementioned Space Based Adventure.
Recently, however, there has been a noted trend of falling attendance at B-Side shows. “Last year and the year before, the atmosphere was a lot more hype. There were more high-energy bands, more high-energy people came to shows and defined the atmosphere. Now [the atmosphere] is very chill. People are sitting on couches and conversing while bands are playing,” noticed Dan Sagher, the bassist for Sole Transit. “With [the graduation of] the class of 2011, Echoes and Space Based Adventure both left, and that left quite a void in the Ann Arbor youth music scene.”
Even with the recent lull in attendance, Max Bonilla, Community High sophomore and B-Side promoter, is optimistic for the future of his venue. “Lately we’ve been having an up rise again. I’m really happy about it,” said Bonilla. “Now what’s odd is we have a lot of Skyline bands that are coming in, as before it was Community based.”
Stephan Wunderlich has his own diagnosis of the problem plaguing not only the B-Side, but venues across the country. “I think it’s systemic of the iPod and Internet culture we live in,” said Wunderlich. “I can sympathize with concert-goer’s viewpoint of ‘why would I want to pay to go see this band?’ when we can walk around with our whole music library torrented off the Internet for free in our pocket and listen to it at our own volume in whatever order we want in whatever environment we want. It’s easy to start to understand how we might have trouble as a culture perceiving what could be special about going to see a live show, but it’s not something that can’t be overcome.”
Similarly to Bonilla, though, Wunderlich is optimistic. “I think the live music culture will awaken again, but it’s going to be up to the performers to find a way to connect with the audience and make it special for them again,” Wunderlich speculated. “You can never take the magic away from the shared experience of a bunch of people in the same room blanketed by sweat and flashing lights and distill it into an MP3 player.
“If you don’t believe me head out to the B-side, or any venue really. All you need to bring is the attitude that you’re going to have a good time and I guarantee you’ll leave feeling like something special just happened.”
