Promoter plays last Bishop show

The words “Goheen or go home” were printed on every hand in the room.

These hands warmed glass bottles and interlaced with other concertgoers, while magenta light fell on the main stage.

Sticky and the Bees singer-songwriter Andy Goheen shut his eyes, held the guitar tight and sang softly to the crowd. 

“I just want to eat a sandwich/ But I never have bread/ Condiments are scarce/ and the pickle jar is empty,” Goheen sang.

“That’s the sentiment I have in a lot of my songs,” Goheen said. “I’m trying to calm my own anxieties in a way, while at the same time make fun of them through song.”

Perhaps better known as the In-House Concert Promoter for the Bishop, Goheen has been working at the bar since it opened in 2009, a year after he finished his studies in music performance at the IU Jacobs School of Music.

After two years of introducing musicians, such as Paleo, and bringing popular groups, such as post-rock band Tortoise, to Bloomington, the 25-year-old quit his job in December in preparation for his move to Chicago in February.

In light of Goheen’s departure and last performance in Bloomington, local musicians Busman’s Holiday, Ziona Riley, Austin Hoke, Evan Latt and Mike Notaro convened for a farewell concert Wednesday at the Bishop. 

A crowd of about 50 gathered, comprised mainly of students. Much of the crowd are personally acquainted with Goheen or at least have benefitted by his promotion.
 
“I met Andy a year ago,” regular concertgoer Lisa Cantrell said. “He’s a really good promoter. He’s really good about inviting people on Facebook.”

But Goheen said as much as he appreciates Bloomington’s creative scene, he is excited to move on.

“For the most honest reasons, my girlfriend is moving there, and I’m following her,” Goheen said. “Bloomington for me is, after all, a transitory town. I’m looking to get into music education at the elementary school level (in Chicago) and I’m going to try my best to stay away from concert promotion. It’s a lot of work.”

Goheen said the hardest things about being a concert promoter are making sure the bar’s calendar is filled, negotiating scheduling, paying the bands and marketing the event.

Dan Coleman, owner of Spirit of ’68 promotions, will be taking over Goheen’s duties at the Bishop in February.

“Dan’s been doing this for a long time, too, so I believe it’ll keep getting better,” said Elise Percy, a close friend of Goheen’s.

In 2010, Goheen and Percy toured across the U.S. as e.p. hall, Percy’s solo
musical project.

“Andy has a unique ability — an encyclopedic knowledge of bands,” Percy said. “He has truly been the patriarch of the local music scene. He’ll be missed, for sure.”

While Sticky and the Bees played a characteristically slow set, brothers Lewis and Addison Rogers of Busman’s Holiday set feet tapping with their happy-go-lucky folk rock set.

The difference in musical styles seemed to embody Goheen’s impending move with a melancholy farewell from Sticky and the Bees and the more upbeat melodies of the jovial Rogers brothers.

“I’m happy for him,” junior Greg Simpson said. “Bloomington is a great springboard, so I know that wherever Andy goes from here, he’ll do big things.”

As Goheen stepped off the stage for the last time, he thanked his friends and bandmates for a great run. 

“For learning all my songs in a short period of time and being my friend even though I’m weird,” he said.