I went to the last one and thought it much better than one I attended a couple years before--higher quality wares in general. I will probably attend this one as well. I didn't buy much at the last show several months ago - partly because I am really just filling in certain blanks in the early post psych era, many of them now rare and costly. There were a couple dealers who had such stuff, but it was astronomically priced--I guess the notion was that one should negotiate. But, it was a good show. I do think the last WMFU show I attended in Brooklyn had a far deeper selection of esoteric records, at a price, of course. Maybe just my New York bias showing- but I'm very happy to be living in Austin now, and it is great to have the used record stores here. A lot of the jazz here seems cheap; not super priced stuff, just Pablo, ECM, etc. which seem to be overlooked in favor of classic rock. I'd really like to go to Utrecht, but I think that would be a costly junket (not so much the travel, but a lot of the stuff I buy is from the UK, Germany, etc., and is more readily available there).
If you come across a UK pressing of Cressida Asylum in a high state of play (original, not a reissue) let me know. :)
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Less and less good sounding old original records and more re issues and more new digital master vinyls. :-(
Matt M
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For those in attendance, post thoughts and impressions to the rest of us.
At one time, this was the premier Record Show. |
Trytone, please post a reminder the week of the event for those of us who otherwise can only remember it two or three weeks AFTER the fact. Your booth is probably the main reason I go to the show (when I can remember to go). I hope to see you in a few weeks.
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@tostadosunidos So grateful for your support. @mattmiller I am not sure how to reply. I am usually so busy that I rarely get much time to shop so it is hard for me to match up with your experience. Also not sure what genres you are after. I am primarily a classical dealer and my percentage of reissues is tiny. I do get the impression from talking to some and this may be the case in all large record shows that since the embrace of the internet it is harder for dealers to get rich collections and easier for some dealers to sell the best items online rather than limit their inventory to those that happen to stop at their tables. Would love some feedback from the hard core shoppers that attend the sales in New York and overseas as to whether this supposed trend is happening there as well. |
@trytone - my experience, for the big ticket items, is that most dealers put them online to reach the broadest audience. (Similar I guess to vintage wine market, though I really don't dabble in that). The rare stuff in prog/early rock/post-pysch fusion is, based on my experience in the last couple years, far more evident at the WFMU show than the Austin show, but I think part of that is the market. (Neither show in my experience offers realistic pricing for these-i.e., no bargains, but at least you get to examine the record). I suppose most of these are "negotiating prices" and have seen serious buyers walk away with a rolling bag full or stuff or nothing, depending on their pocket book and their particular level of "need" for certain records.
I know some people "score" at shows and find valuable or desirable pressings cheaply, but most of the stuff that is regarded as "collectible" is a known quantity, both to dealer and buyer. I don't "collect" for the sake of it, more interested in listening to the stuff, but once we get into 4 figure records (or even high 3 figure at this point), I'm out.
The other attraction to online is that you can target what you want immediately. Of course, there are those who can spend days at a show and search through every bin. I don't have the energy for that, and eventually lose interest. I'm not buying to resell, and figure the inter-dealer trading before the show also accounts for some of the traffic in the high value stuff. |
Just a reminder the show starts this Friday. Hope some Audiogon fans will stop by my tables to chat(table numbers 67-69). |
While reading this I was thinking what would I buy for $750-$1000 ?
There is absolutely nothing I am aware of ! I could, theoretically speaking, afford one or two records.
However, I could buy one or two guaranteed first generation master tape dubs in perfect condition.
Vinyl just doesn't sound that good, it's not worth it. |
Inna- I agree. I do have quite a few records that are worth a lot of money. I bought them when they were cheaper and sometimes, just got lucky. Once a record gets that valuable, you also have trepidation playing it, and that defeats the whole point-i'm not a collector, as such, I buy the stuff to listen to it.
This is the main reason I'm actually going to enter digital after they many decades of being a hair shirt vinyl guy. That Leaf Hound record I mentioned in the other thread is a prime example- the price is somewhere between 4-6k dollars. Perhaps you could get it for less, but it is still crazy money, at least in a high state of playing condition. It will be an interesting journey on the digital side. I'm not abandoning LPs by any means.
I do most of my shopping online for used records. The value of a show is to bring a lot of vendors together in one place with different wares. The trick is knowing what to buy-- I only know what I know.The best way to go to a show is to go with someone who is really knowledgeable in areas outside of your sweet spot. They can identify and suggest things they've found that I would have otherwise overlooked. I've gotten some very interesting jazz records at shows for almost nothing. And, if they are cheap, I'm willing to to take a chance on something. I usually don't walk away completely empty-handed, but I wind up buying stuff different than I the things on my mental 'list'-- |
I will maintain the tradition too. Digital is getting better and better, and after all more than half of what I listen to is digital, there is nothing I can do about it. Sometimes I find great performances on youtube recorded with a phone, and there are no official releases of those concerts. One example is Paco de Lucia concert in Istanbul in 2006, I think. He was at his absolute performance height. How do I get the recording of that concert? I have no idea, but that would be worth paying for. There are other examples, including some outstanding Middle Eastern music performed in that region. There are also of course performances by Miles Davis and John McLaughlin that were never released either. But somebody’s got the master tapes. |
@trytone -were you there Friday? I spent several hours at the show on Friday, starting at around noon, and even kept an eye out for you--perhaps I just missed you. Sorry. I did buy a few things, got to see some familiar faces and meet some characters. There are always characters at record shows. Half the fun is the people.
One of the better booths for old psych and early prog was Rockodrome? Records out of San Antonio. I know they have an online presence-not sure about a brick store.
@trytone -if you are local to Austin, I’d be happy to get together another time. I’m not far from the Continental Club in SoCo. |
@whart Sorry I missed you. Was there all day from 8Am till I finally got away to shop around 4:15. I have the three tables next to Direct Audio(the dealer with 6 tables of new Mobile Fidelity vinyl). I am near Dallas and not Austin. If you do not come back this weekend I hope to see you at the next show |
Man, I don't know how i missed you- i was talking with those Direct Audio folks--. You should see some real traffic today and tomorrow, yesterday was relatively quiet (except of course, in front of the very bins I was digging in). A lot there, worth going for anybody in the area.
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Just saw this--less than an hour left so I guess I'll skip this one--damn, I was hoping to go but I know so many vendors have already packed up. I hope it went well for you.
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Guys-
how did the show work out? I attended a few back in the 1990's.
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I missed Trytone, though I was apparently next to his booth. So, take anything I say with a grain....
Rockodrome from San Antonio had some serious hard/prog/avant grade stuff, Flied Egg original, Cressida s/t from Australia on Fontana (rare) at reasonable prices- I pulled both, but gave them to the guy next to me (already have a UK Cressida and Flied Egg at 150, a good price, isn’t serious enough for me- it is a wacky record). The dude from So Cal who has the uber collectible stuff was there. Most interesting, a young long haired guy was there on behalf of the organizers of Coachella- his mission, buy 30,000 records to redistribute at cost or a loss at the next festival- he knew his stuff on the obscuro rock stuff. He had a camera crew following him for a documentary.
Big show. I only went the first (early admission) day, and it was pretty lightly attended, i figured they’d get the heavy traffic over the w/e.
One dealer did have several Strata East pressings which I’ve been chasing, but if you figure he marked them up to 5x market value, there was no room to negotiate (and they weren’t the rare ones).
I bought a couple records. I think you do ok at shows if you are willing to get down and dirty, you’ll find stuff- maybe not what you are looking for, but bargains nonetheless. I’m buying more selectively these days, and the stuff I’m after is a known quantity, so very little likelihood of a bargain. Same at WFMU, which had a bigger spread of UK and European pressings from the ’60s and early ’70s- pre prog, post psych proto-metal and psych folk, but pretty serious prices. No free lunch.
It is an easy show for me to attend- I now live in Travis Heights, so I can walk to the Long Center here in Austin.
Tomorrow, Crimson plays Bass Hall up at UT. Looking forward to that.
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