A venue in London has reignited the age-old debate of set times, revealing their decision to no longer publish them.

Look, we’ve all been there. The chances are pretty good that at some point in your life, you bought a $20 to see a local band play live. However once the set times were announced, you decided that only the headliners were worth seeing, and planned your night accordingly.

While this is a very common thing for concertgoers to do, it has long been the bane of the opener, with support acts often finding themselves playing to near-empty venues, devoid of punters who – to paraphrase Spiderbait – came to see the other band play.

Back in November, UK punks Slaves brought this issue to the attention of the public once again, explaining their decision not to post set times.

“We don’t post set times to our shows. We were the support once,” they explained. “We wouldn’t be here if nobody turned up to watch us. so turn up when your ticket says and you’ll be fine.”

In the immediate aftermath, it became clear that opinions were divided on the topic, with the likes of triple j’s Good Nights even penning an in-depth response to the topic.

However, as NME reports, London venue The 100 Club has recently explained that they’ll no longer be sharing set times with the intent of getting punters to, well, support the supports.

“The 100 Club is no longer giving out stage times to any gig we put on,” the venue wrote on Twitter earlier today. “We want to support all bands that play here and so would like people to watch the support acts too. It’s a great way to discover new music.”

However, the response was probably not as wholly positive as they had hoped for, with people on Twitter sharing a number of divided opinions.

“So paying customers aren’t allowed information on the event they are paying good money to get into,” wrote one commenter. “Interesting way to treat them. Bit flawed this.” Meanwhile, another thanked the venue for “mandating how I should enjoy music.”

Surprisingly, the responses were nowhere near as vitriolic as your run-of-the-mill Twitter thread, with many respectfully noting that this idea makes the idea of going to gigs less of a practicality for those with disabilities, odd working hours, or those who may need to organise care for children.

However, the venue did respond to one commentator, noting that they’re “taking on board what people are saying and will make a further statement later this week.”

https://twitter.com/100clubLondon/status/1094953771606659076

As people noted during triple j’s response to the topic in 2018, this can indeed be a divisive subject, though eventually it does all come down to free choice.

While some noted they wouldn’t have discovered amazing bands if they had avoided the supports, others reasoned that if someone purchases the ticket to the gig, they’re allowed to decide how early or late they wish to arrive.

“Some people (like me) work late so I need to know if I can even make it to the venue as soon as I switch my mic off,” triple j’s Bridget Hustwaite explained in November. “I also used to drive from Ballarat to Melbourne for gig reviews, so knowing the set times allowed me to plan my travel time.”

“Going to gigs can be a big deal for people suffering from anxiety or any disability, some people aren’t comfortable in that kind of setting for hours on end and they shouldn’t feel guilty about wanting to just catch the main act!”

Whatever your stance is on the topic, it seems that this is going to be one subject that will keep punters talking for years to come.

Check out Spiderbait’s ‘We Came To See The Other Band Play’:

Get unlimited access to the coverage that shapes our culture.
to Rolling Stone magazine
to Rolling Stone magazine