Anybody still go to record shows?

Vinyl Record Shows Calendar of Vinyl Record Shows in the U.S.

 

St. Louis is also a two hour drive for me and I've only missed one record show there the past ten years or so. I even do the early entry at 8am, which tells you what time I have to get up on record show Sunday mornings.

 

The FMU Record Fair is indeed something I look forward to each year. ...Pancakes for breakfast at Chez Ma Tante; a couple of slices afterwards. Paulie G. just opened a slice joint across the street.

 

You've got to get there early as a rule; before the hoards invade. The thrill of a found treasure (at a reasonable price) can't be duplicated.

 

I go to one local show. It's been happening outside of Philadelphia since the 1980's. Back then, it was a MASSIVE event with hundreds of dealers who were selling everything from bootleg VHS tapes to posters to bootleg CDs to vinyl and everything in between. The FBI even paid a visit once in the mid-1990s, but the dealers were tipped off and nobody sold bootlegs of any kind until the coast was clear. That show is a fraction of what it used to be, and I am pretty sure it disappeared for a few years in the 2000s, but it's been back for about three years.

 

Congratulations on your commitment over time... particularly to the early entry and all it entails... waking early, a 2 hour drive... Not having to deal with things like a 2 hour drive is one of the reasons I live and put-up with all the various indignities and atrocities in NYC. As Iris Dement wrote and sang... "Easy's getting harder every day"; but that's a topic for another day.

 

I haven’t been to one in years. Qwerty nailed the reasons why in this post.

 

Ah, but Allentown's secret weapon is Double Decker, which has a beneficial presence at all the local record shows.
Double Decker Records

 

The FBI go after all kinds of Dealers. I wonder how many of the "special" agents walked out with some sort after wax... and reflected on their finds over a good cup of coffee and a slice of cherry pie.

 

I have to admit, part of the allure of getting there early is getting out of there earlier. With the two hour drive each way, I like to have some of my Sunday left when I get home. I'll also occasionally hit a local record store after the show.

 

Is this the one in Oaks? (that use to be in KofP) Any good, any more? (Use to be the largest in the US, then just the East Coast, then nothing).

 

I went the Keystone Record Collectors show in near Lancaster PA a couple of weeks ago. Prior to that, I hadn't been to a record show in years. I enjoyed myself and found some nice items for sure, but it's hard to match those early days before Ebay and Discogs where I found so many cool things. At this point, I have well over 4000 records and I'm limiting my wants to rarer/more expensive items and upgrades. Discogs is really spoiling me with making it so easy to find the best imports and rare items. While it is certainly fun to browse through crates of records, I'd rather spend my money on something really cool that I know I want rather than impulse buys at this point.

 

I am from the Philly area. Where and when is this record show happening again?

 

I guess that I'm the opposite. I haven't purchased anything on eBay for around 10 years and have never bought from Discogs. I love digging through record crates, not knowing what I may find. Half the time, I wind up with something I never knew existed before I found it.

 

That makes the assumption that no one who puts records out at shows is smart enough to realize that the lowest priced item on Discogs is still unsold, and probably priced too high. I know for a fact that I am and I'm not the only one at the shows I go to. I only wish that every kid with a phone would look up every record they are vaguely interested in from my booth on Discogs - they'd see they are all lower than Discogs prices before we start talking if they are buying a few, that they can see what the LP and cover looks like rather than guess from letter codes, and they won't have to wait for shipping.

When I go shopping at record shows all I want to see is something I have never seen before. Even after a half century of buying records it still happens almost every time.

 

My local record guy called with a new batch of 45s for me to go through a couple of weeks ago. He had a couple thousand singles and I had a blast looking through all of them. I wound up buying 30+ records from him and I'd wager over half were things I didn't even know about before I was there.

 

Wrong town to pick on,as we may be not Austin,but,as my kid said after two years in Plano,she made a lot of friends but there is something to be said about an education in the Northeast. Now she works in Manhattan and lives not far from where Sinatra was born,and loves it.
That Double Decker store that zphage mentions in post 133 is just a few blocks from where I type this. Always things to spend my budget allowance for music. From fifty cents to $100s,it may not be the most organized place,but new stuff go online and, sometimes minutes later,sold(and they don't hold anything).
We also have four CD/LP shows annually,and two 45/78 shows,once again,walking distance from here, and DD has no presence that them. A decent diner nearby,a great little Mexican place,lots of cheesesteak places nearby,a visit here for vinyl exploring and eats can be a great day. My oldest always called Allentown Stinkytown,but there are more than a few places for live events minutes away. Add to the proximity to NYC & Philly,and this is one affordable place to experience art.

 

I guess I must be in the minority but I feel really lucky to have the Phoenix Record Swap meet every other month. It was this past Saturday and it was extremely busy!! You do see the same dealers but there are also a nice mix of new ones as well. I always seem to walk out with something. If you're ever in the area I highly recommend that you check it out. I think what helps it succeed is that there is a lot of press about it. They advertise quite a bit and I think that really helps.

 

Every month I go to the Pasadena City College (PCC) flea market which has an extensive record section. I very rarely go to the Buena Park show anymore. My interest in LP's has become so focused such that there are very few holy grails I'm still looking for. But the PCC "show" is free and fairly local. I used to buy bootlegs there but so many of 'em are available free online these days. My focus has shifted to CD-R needle drops of long out of print records that have never been commercially available on CD.

As for LP's, a few vendors have a box or two they've labeled "overpriced". I gravitate towards those. If it ain't overpriced, I don't want it - not because I like to throw money around but because these are where the mint condition rarities are.

 

I frequently go to shows in the Seattle area. There are 2 long-standing ones in the spring and again in the fall.

There have been 2 newcomers as well. The "Big Dig" which is more geared towards funk & classic soul collectors & DJs. That one is really hit or miss, usually miss for me.

The new KEXP (local independent radio station) Record Fair is 2 years in and has been great. A lot of the same dealers as the spring/fall shows but you'll find more 90's-current artists along with the classics. More rock/funk/soul focused and draws a younger crowd.

I went to the WFMU show last year because it coincided with a work trip. Found some pretty rare stuff but the prices for some of the dealers were way too high.

Trying to get the Austin record show into the mix this year, we'll see if that pans out.

I'll agree with some others that while you have access to more things via the web now, you can't beat finding want list records in the wild at shows.

 

Wha? As someone "from" the Northeast who lives in Baltimore and attends the Allentown,PA 45 & 78 Collector's Show twice a year, I'll agree to disagree.
Double Decker Records is a good store (although when I asked them if they had any Redd Kross, they handed me a hip-hop CD by Rick Ross), Allentown
is a fairly depressing burg full of sullen, unattractive people. I go to the gas station to buy a six-pack in Austin and the lady behind the counter looks like a
weather girl on Univision. And folks, Allentown is not the place to go if you want top quality Bar-B-Q or authentic enchiladas either. The only half-decent
restaurant I've ever found there is The Bay Leaf, which would be in the lower middle of the pack in Central Texas. The schools (and college sports) are better
in Texas too. Allentown = A nice place to visit (but only when there's a record show or gun show going on). On the other hand, I go to Hamburg, PA often to do
serious shopping. Cool set-up around there and worth the day trip.



...not the same as:

 

Good store. Lucked into some great U.K. 45s there in 2016.

 

The Dallas area went from one guy running an area show, to having no record shows for about 10 years, and by no shows I mean not consistent, or any good, to now having two shows that are done at least twice a year each. They seem to be doing well, but the last one I went to, and I went to only because I won free admission, I think anything over $5 to attend is ridiculous, I wandered around wondering what the hell I was looking for. Every itch I have I can scratch online. I did buy a still sealed Lux soap box with the Beatles on it, but that was only because I got a heck of a deal on it. Thumbing through boxes of mostly overpriced records, or "junk" is not my idea of fun anymore, and if you had told the 25 year old me I would say that one day, I would have said you were nuts. It's not like I have stopped buying media, it's just the show isn't the best medium anymore, IMHO.

 

It's nowhere near how great it was in the 90's, but it really depends on the dealers and a whole lot of luck. Last year at different record shows I got a mono VU & Nico peeled banana torso cover G/G for $4 and a mono White Light/White Heat LP only VG- for free.

 

They are very entertaining