My first proper record show consisted of two hours of mostly frustrating attempts to jockey for position at the crates I wanted to check out... like metal, country, jazz, and sections of the rock/pop.
It was a bit disheartening, upon entering with what I thought was the early-bird line-up, to see that there were already 50-100 shoppers already picking over the best stuff. What the what? Well, it was my first official record show (I attended one with a friend many years ago, just as a casual observer, not a collector or buyer), and maybe there was some special early entry deal I didn't know about.
After two hours of deking around crate hogs (is there no etiquette at all at these events, or is it typically dog eat dog?), I had enough and headed out with my measly three records. They're good ones, actually, and I got 'em at pretty fair prices, so I won't complain too much. But I had really hoped for all that time visiting and revisiting vendors, I'd have come away with closer to ten (or more) vinyl platters. While many of the sellers had reasonable prices and were willing to bargain, I felt some of them were overpricing their stuff. I saw some used (with visibly worn jackets) albums for $20 and up, and those weren't exactly Elvis or Beatles type stuff, either. And there were a few I was initially excited about, like Fragile by Yes... but there was a nasty scratch across the vinyl on one side. Nope. The same with a fairly reasonably priced Sgt. Peppers (The Beatles, duh)... scuffs galore. Old Kiss albums with jackets in deplorable condition were stickered with prices of fifteen and up. Who is gonna shell out for those? I thought there would have been more deals at the show, but not really.
Another gripe is how certain vendors just dropped boxes and boxes of unsorted records on their tables. I flicked through some of those, but it sure could have been made easier by at least sorting into genres, if not alphabetically. I realize that "by artist" is asking for a lot of work, yet some sellers did just that... thank you!
I went in there with a list of a handful of true "wants", and several more "nice to haves", but came away barely satisfied. I had a helluva time getting to the metal section at all the vendors, and had to come back again and again to see if I could get at their wares. When I did, I was disappointed at the beat-up copies of Number of the Beast and Blizzard of Ozz for fifteen bucks or more. Really?
I suppose I'll try the show next spring before I pass final judgement on these events, but I'm getting the feeling that Discogs.com is really the way to go. That's what I've done for the past year, ordering exactly what I want online, and occasionally taking a chance on an unknown cheapie or two.
So... my three new (used, original issue) acquisitions are:
Accept - Restless and Wild... this has been on my wish list for many months and when I saw it for just eight bucks, and a visual exam showed it to be in "very good plus" condition, I snapped it up. This was the first record to hit my turntable when I got home, and yes, this was a great decision. Great 80's metal that transcends the decades very well.
Devo - Freedom of Choice... one of the earliest successful New Wave bands of the 80's, these guys scored big with this release. I paid the most for this one, yet it was still a reasonable thirteen bucks... especially when you consider the really good condition of the record and its jacket. It sounds super clean and bursting with Devo energy. Love it. I mean "whip it".
And last but not least...
Emmylou Harris - Quarter Moon in a Ten Cent Town... ever since I discovered Emmylou's music several years ago, I've been a bit of a fan. I first heard her on a collaboration with Mark Knofler, then I grabbed a couple of comprehensive compilations. When it came time to add Harris' blend of country, pop, and folk to my record shopping list, I figured it was time to try a proper studio album. Through my research, this sounded like the most promising one, and at today's record show, lo' and behold, there it was... for a whopping five dollars. The jacket is pretty worn - though intact, but the LP itself is in really nice shape... sounds like a dream. And of course, Emmylou's crystalline angelic vocals soar on every tune. It's mostly a gentle, kinda sad album, but there are a few uptempo tracks, like the bouncy Leaving Louisiana in the Broad Daylight.
Even though I've griped considerably about this record show, I'm happy with today's purchases. I had hoped to find at least a few other albums, like some Cream, Kiss, Danzig, Dave Brubeck, and Voivod (a bunch there, but just too damned expensive)... maybe next time.
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