Sofar Sounds: The Coolest Thing You Haven't Done Yet

The concert scene these days can be a pretty exhausting experience. Huge venues jam packed with loud obnoxious people that opt to watch the whole concert through their smartphone so that all of Snapchat knows where they were sitting. All night you try to zone in amidst the screaming of incorrect lyrics, all the while bumping elbows with sweaty strangers that happen to be twice as drunk (despite venue beers costing 12 beans each) but half as invested in the music as you are. Tack on the elaborate non-epilepsy friendly lights/smoke machines/visual fx and you've got yourself pit stains, a migraine, and a bad time.

In 2009, a few guys from London had one of these negative concert experiences. Except afterwards, rather than pout or complain about it on social media, these guys had an idea that would ultimately turn into something so cool that even losers they don't know would blog about it. They decided to invite the band back to their place of residence, and as fate would have it the guys obliged. Right after the initial show these guys and a group of their closest friends hung out with the band, as it performed a whole set list from the comfort of their own home. Everybody talked a bit between songs, passed around some beers, and had a cool experience that was all about the music.

Now if some hippie told me that story out of context I'd hardly believe they even got the band to agree to come back home with them (maybe us Americans are less trusting/more hostile than the average Brit). But I most definitely wouldn't believe anyone who told me that in just 8 years this idea would have become an international occurrence. Later dubbed Sofar Sounds, short for, "Songs From a Room", this experience is currently being replicated at locations throughout 342 cities worldwide. And from New York City to Istanbul there is without doubt a reason this entire experience is one people of all backgrounds can't get enough of.

Basically here's how it works. If you're on the Sofar website, they provide you with a list of dates and times for any one of those 342 cities that you choose. From there, you pick a date and instead of breaking the bank for the Barclay's, you reserve a ticket with like 15 dollars. That's right instead of a monthly car payment, you pay the equivalent of like 5 twisted tea tall boys. Or 15 beers at Coogan's. They'll give you a confirmation to let you know that you successfully reserved a spot, along with the region of your city that the show will be in. What they won't do is tell you the exact address of the show, they wait to do that on the day of. And when you get the location notification in your e-mail your first time doing one of these, you'll probably be pretty thrown off.

That's because the locations these shows take place at are not what we're used to when we think live shows at all. Sofar takes amphitheaters and arenas, and replaces them with small intimate spots. To give you an idea I've gone to Sofar shows at a showroom for a denim company (complete w fire jeans displays), someone's loft apartment, a hip downtown office, and an old historic movie theater lobby. Small unorthodox spots to hear music where your seat is whatever blanket or backpack you brought that day, and where acoustics and sound systems are seldom used since you're 10 feet from the artists. To set the scene further imagine a night in a loud bustling city, and then a small group of people filing into a niche location like the ones listed. They crack open alcohol they bought from the bodega next door (BYOB for anyone still in college) and kick back on the floor like elementary school carpet time. A host introduces Sofar with the same story I told you in the beginning, and then brings out the first artist.

Now all the hipsters reading this (Nelson) are already intrigued by the fact that none of this is mainstream. But for the rest of you, Sofar is more than worth it because of what happens after you stop ooing and aahing that youre in a store after closing or in some rich guy's Cribs-worthy apartment. The same thing that pushed you to pick Sofar over Summer-jam-jingle-ball-gov-ball-ultra-ezoo-fest 500.

And that's the music. For the next couple of hours audiences are introduced to three or four artists, each with their own stretch of songs to perform. These artists are local, upcoming artists for the most part, but Sofar has hosted some household names like Hozier (the guy who wanted people to take him to church), Bastille (made song about a natural disaster Pompeii a catchy Billboard 100 song), James Bay (always wears great hats), and several more. Now those guys do all look and sound similar, but that's not representative of all of Sofar. I personally have seen a range including but not limited to rappers, EDM DJ's, folk family bands, and r&b soul artists (the sing with your eyes closed type soul).

No matter who it is though the experience of spending a night out seeing people step up to a microphone with no crazy set up, perform their songs, and interact with you between each one is a cool idea for anyone who loves music. Despite my delusions I know deep down that I have zero talent, so hanging out drinking my own 2 dollar tall-boys feet away from somebody who's crazy talented is easily the next best thing for me. No distractions, no excess, just music and people. And as hippie millennial cliche as all of my praise for it might sound (ELE peace sign emoji), I think Sofar is arguably the best thing to happen to music in a long long time.

www.sofarsounds.com

Editor's note: No I didn't get paid to say any of this, but @SofarSounds you guys could throw us fives or some free tickets/merch, your boy has loans to pay back.