bandNada on a budget is a new feature where staff writer Rob Lanterman attempts to have a night out on $30. Each event must include a show or local music-related event, and in due time he’ll discover just how to live: on a bandNada budget.
So there I was, a lone man in Brooklyn going to the whateverth-wave emo show with only $30 to spend! The $30 was bestowed upon me by bandNada Inc. to see if it's still possible to have a night out in New York City for 30 smackeroons. DIY should be affordable, after all.
And thus, I chose a show at the Broadway with a bunch of emo bands, a genre I am much too infinitely familiar with. The bands playing tooth bones, ok, cuddle, Look at the Bones (who were friends), and Yes Yes A Thousand Times Yes (who I am a fan of; from here on referred to as Yes1K).
I will be documenting my expenses here but also at the bottom of this article. How’d it go? Follow along to find out.
Yes Yes A Thousand Times Yes, the touring band, live at The Broadway
Level 1: Pre-Show
So first things first, you have to consider transportation. In this very specific case, I got lucky, because two of the turnstiles were broken and, in true New Yorker fashion, the people™ complained and a large line of us were let in for free.
$30
- $0.00 (transportation)
───────
$30 remaining still wow!!
The venue was about an hour from my office. So I headed there directly from work, contemplating my life decisions and listening to something or other on Spotify bandNada. The Broadway famously has good food, but not “you only have $30” kinda food, so I headed down the street to my favorite Brooklyn hole-in-the-wall taco stop, Taco Bell™. I got a cheesy bean & rice burrito.
$30
- $3.15 (Taco Bell™’s Cheesy Bean & Rice Burrito)
───────
$26.85 remaining
I scarfed that down and headed to The Broadway. 6 PM Doors? Cool, I’m there around 6:15, which would normally give me about 45 minutes to socialize and get a drink before the band starts. Unfortunately, I read the flyer wrong, and doors are actually at 7 PM. So I did what I do best, and awkwardly sat alone at the bar. On the bright side, it was happy hour still.
$26.85
- $7.73 (Happy hour beer + shot deal)
───────
$19.12 remaining
I then realized I needed to pay admission for the show. I headed to the ATM to grab some cash, but that’s when I realized how difficult this budget might actually be.
$19.12
- $2.50 (ATM Fee)
- $15 (Show Admission)
───────
$1.62 remaining
Holy shit. My budget was already depleted and the show hadn’t even started yet. With, at the very least, transportation costs, was I going to go over budget?
Probably, I thought. But I’m no quitter, for better or worse (often for worse). And this is New York City, where magic happens. Case and point: I resumed my sitting at the bar, and two alcohol professionals approached me seemingly out of nowhere, carrying a tray of Espolòn (Mexican tequila) shots.
“Would you like a free shot?” they asked. Not one to question divine providence, I graciously accepted. Of course, the catch was that they needed to get a picture of me holding the shot to impress their corporate masters. That’s fine, I thought. It’s not going online.
That’s when they asked, “Would you like some sunglasses, a hat, and a bandana as well?” “I would love to but I am on a strict budget tonight,” I said.” “It’s free,” they responded, to which I said, “Absolutely - can I get a copy of the picture?”
That’s when this was taken.
$1.62
- $0.00 (Shot & Swag)
───────
$1.62 remaining still!
With luck like this, maybe I’ll find a way to make it work after all, I thought to myself. But no matter - the show was now about to start.
Level 2: Show!!
tooth bones at The Broadway
Part 1: tooth bones
Once the first band started, I realized that this wasn’t just an “emo” show - it was a full on math rock show for teachers and anime fans.
The first band was a three-piece act called tooth bones (it should be noted that Look At The Bones was another band on the bill, so jokes about Bones bands were made, though no jokes about boning for some reason 🤔). The frontperson of tooth bones informed the crowd this was their sixth time playing original music in front of people. They were extremely talented, and presented by breaking just about every scene rule in the book: Headset mic, headless guitar, their fretting hand over the top of the neck.
I don’t have a problem with people breaking superficial scene rules, but if you do, let me promise you that the band was so good, they earned it. They were completely themselves, didn’t act like jerks, and I promise you my sixth show playing original music included not a modicum of the talent they possessed on stage. It was sincerely tooth bones.
Still, I noticed myself tipping over during their set, and came to the realization that I was tired. I went to the back, where I found my good friend Desmond of the band Career Day. I got some water to drink (keeping my mouth occupied), and finished out the rest of the set sipping water and talking with Desmond about what was going on in front of us.
Self explanatory
Part 2: Yes1K
Not wanting to nod off again, I walked down the street to see if I could get caffeine for under $1.62. As it turns out, I could.
$1.62
- $1.56 (new flavor of Mt. Dew)
───────
$0.08 remaining still!
Holy shit. I was doing it!! I was doing it!! There was still transportation, however. But who knew what would happen. Yes1K played and, as I knew they would be, they were good. The most notable part of their set, however, apart from them just being really good, was the bass player (a high school science teacher) explaining to us that teeth are, in fact, not bones. For more on this, see this article from Cleveland Clinic lol.
Look At The Bones live at The Broadway
Part 3: Look At The Bones
I’ve known Rohan of Look At The Bones for a while, but have never seen his band live. With $0.08 at my disposal, I stood next to Desmond and watched them play. The band had more pop-punky song structures in their set, although they played them like a math rock band, complete with tapping and twinkly little doo dads and syncopated stops-and-starts. They ruled. Notably, they also had a video playing behind them that had clips from Zoolander, and other random things I don’t remember so well.
At some point, Rohan (who is the guitarist and singer) shouted out his friends who were tabling with free zines and stickers that promoted progressive causes (and one zine about Dolly Parton). I took all the free shit I could.
$0.08
- $0.00 (said free shit)
───────
$0.08 remaining still!!
Level 4: Going Home
“Would you like a ride home?” Desmond asked. I appreciate this about Desmond, because we don’t live too far from each other. He had work at 5 am, so we would be missing the last band, OK Cuddle. But with $0.08 in my budget, and a friend offering me transportation for free, I played the beggar, not the chooser. So I opted to skip the last band and take my free ride.
$0.08
- $0.00 (Transportation)
───────
$0.08 remaining still!!!
A poorly made collage of good merch table photos
Level 5: Reflection
The thing about doing things on a budget like this is you have to roll with the punches a bit. I learned a lot here, and seeing as this was the first bandNada on a budget, I assume I’ll learn more as I do more of them.
Anyway, here are my key takeaways:
- $15 shows are more expensive than I thought, especially in NYC
- Always keep your eyes peeled for free shit, because it’s around
- I am not built for more than 1 or 2 math rock sets in a night, no matter how good the bands are.
Have you been to shows in NYC on such a small budget? Please share your cheap rock n roll, alcohol, and subway tricks below.
