Clubs, halls and other concert spaces are not just buildings with a stage. They are often regional shrines to the concert arts, bound together by the passion for music of clubbers' hearts in addition to bricks and mortar. In this series, we bring you the stories of selected Czech music clubs. Those places where blood, sweat and tears are not just a symbolism, but a practice. Those places where after a concert you like to have a drink with your fans at the bar. Those places where people like to stand in the front row and won't let go of the stage even when the circle pit is rolling down their backs. The clubs that are worth targeting for musicians. As soon as they can again.
Klatovy in the Pilsen region is historically known for its catacombs and permanent exhibition of mummies. Local music Falcon Club is also located underground and the rooms running out of the concert hall bear a slight patern of catacombs. Coincidence? I don't think so! But you won't see the mummies performing here, quite the contrary. Falcon's history includes many famous Czech and foreign names, such as Zrní, Ventolin, Prago union, Total Chaos (USA), Nasty Rumours (CH), Dj Pixie, Midi Lidi, Vltava, Mucha, Už jsme doma, Monika Načeva, Květy, Xavier Baumaxa or -123min.Falcon
By having fun with us, people will also help their neighborhood
Falcon club as an idea was founded in 2018 by a group of six members with the aim of changing the cultural environment of Ortel and Revival Klatovy. The six founding fathers Nikola Novák, Petr Bašta, Šimon Toman, Dan Milec, Jakub Tribula and Martin Opatrný had their minds made up. The premises of the former Sklípek had been empty for a long time and the Czech Sokol Community had been looking for a tenant for several years. They gave their vision a basic idea: By having fun with us, people will also help their surroundings. This means that when the club starts to make a profit, they will distribute part of the profits to other projects in the Czech Republic. It was not only thanks to this idea that they managed to unite quite a diverse group of people, from techno players to classical music fans, and after signing a long-term lease, the hard work began.
In all, over fifty different woodworkers turned out and each added their own measure to the creation of the Falcon Club. No fee. Four months later, Klatovy's first independent space of its kind saw the light of day. The founders set three top priorities for their club: quality beer, quality sound and quality air.
The original goal of helping to create a network of interconnected projects was unfortunately overtaken by the very question of existence in the situation of closed venues and the ban on social gatherings. Therefore, the club management launched a campaign asking for help in the form of subscriptions for tickets and drinks. You can contribute to the survival here.Jan Unger, Zrní
The concert hall can accommodate 200 visitors standing or 90 seated. The hall and bar area are visually enhanced by design elements such as illuminated channels in the floor.
"When the Midi Lidi arrived, I greeted them with a urinal in my hand... So it ended without a hug."
As a community club, the operators have struggled with incremental technical adjustments while in operation. During one of these adjustments, the band Zrní arrived before opening night. Martin stuck in one of the channels with a screwdriver. "I was digging in the sewer and fixing the lights so they would shine properly. The guys from Zrní had to cross me (there was a hole to break my leg) and one of them said, "Dude, it's gonna be cool in here. And it was so cool and intense that we all hugged like old friends when we left." says Martin. "We're not very good at these welcome parties with bands. When Midi Lidi arrived, Nikola greeted them with a urinal in his hand (he was putting it on the wall). It ended without a hug."
"This is one of those small clubs where you can feel that it is looked after by people with passion and love. Heartthrobs." Jan Unger (Zrní)
Nothing like having a story confirmed by multiple sources and your own perspectives at the same time. Jan Unger, frontman of the band Zrní, when mentioning Falcon says: "This is one of those small clubs where you can feel that it is looked after by people with passion and love. Heartthrobs. I remember when we first walked in there was a split floor where the local guys were just putting some cables away. We were afraid it was going to be more punk than we wanted. But it turned out that they were just finishing up at the last minute to make it really polished for the gig. And they made it! I'm a big fan of clubs like that. You can always feel it somewhere in the air, the reason why people do what they do."
Zrní concert with their new album was scheduled for spring 2020 Heavenly peace unfortunately, like the others, will not take place. And the guys were looking forward to show the band that they are not digging in the sewers anymore. Arrogant Twins still managed to make it to the concert last year. https://www.youtube.com/embed/9aafcptyF28
Melchior Quitt, lead singer and guitarist of Swiss band Bitch Queens, says of the club: "It's always good to see that small punk/rock venues are still alive. Club Falcon in Klatovy is one of them. Super nice people and place for all the freaks and outcasts. Make sure you go there and support the local scene!"
Fred Stengl, sound engineer of The Wild Roots and the Futurum Music Bar and Lucerna Music Bar clubs, also shared his direct user experience with us: "I was very pleasantly surprised by Klatovy Falcon. Upon entering, I was immediately impressed on several levels by the technical solutions, which showed that they were handled by someone who cares about the sound enjoyment not only of the audience, but also of the performers. The entire auditorium is pleasantly muted, as is the stage. These adjustments, which most clubs consider secondary or even unnecessary, and a well set up PA made the whole production a pleasure. As a sound engineer, I especially appreciated the fact that instead of dealing with the compromises that we often deal with in small clubs, I could spend all my time on the sound desk and the gig on getting the energy from the stage to the people as best I could."Bar
What would a club be without a bar? Refreshment after a concert performance can be achieved in various ways. In addition to the standard bar offer, you can taste products from quality smaller suppliers such as Vydařilý winery or Cider Bohemia.
When asked about bands' interest in performing and overflowing inboxes, they answer with a mathematical formula: "There are a lot of e-mails and a lot of people calling. Unfortunately, we don't have time to answer or read everything. We only do events on weekends (except for foreign bands on weekdays) and we close for 2 months during the holidays. So you only have 80 possible dates a year, and we try not to have 2 music events in a row on a weekend. So 40 gigs... And you can fill that up quite easily. So there's not that much room to give dates. We work with agencies especially when booking international bands that are coming around and have a free slot or something falls through."Shoes
The final advice from the Falcon team towards the bands is: "Honestly, I'd just as soon write that they're coming for free. There are tons of bands and whoever knows a foreign language has a huge European market in front of them, everyone wants to play. But the hardest thing is getting people to see a foreign band - you have to educate them hard and teach them to walk - that's the hardest thing clubs have to do. If a band writes me that they don't want anything to play for on the first line, I'll really listen to them at least. We rarely reach into the unknown, we usually spend the whole night composing and setting up the follow-ups. You know what has to come when to give the visitor an experience. Then you don't fit just anyone in."
The club has currently cancelled or rescheduled all events scheduled for spring 2020. For a list of news, follow Falcons Facebook or web.
And finally, a plea to you: do you have such a good experience with a club as musicians that you would like to recommend it for this "hall of fame"? Or, on the contrary, an experience so bad that every musician should avoid it? We'll look into those too. Write to redakce@frontman.cz.