Sean Agnew - R5 Productions

PLAY Magazine
March 7, 2007



COVER STORY

The Independent

JOSHUA VALOCCHI
Contributing Writer

Sean Agnew stands outside the First Unitarian Church at 22nd and Chestnut streets before a show.
Photo / Eric Tomorrow

Sean Agnew's R5 Productions is filling a void in the Philadelphia area

Philadelphia has always harbored affection for the scrappy underdog. From Rocky Balboa to the Broad Street Bullies to the 1993 Phillies, gritty longshots have managed to capture the imagination of the entire city. The dark horse has the uncanny ability to evoke widespread devotion completely antithetical to the outsider’s perception of Philly’s rough-and-tumble attytood. After all, we did pelt Santa Claus with iceballs, bombard J.D. Drew with batteries and applaud Michael Irvin’s career-ending injury (to be fair, though, the latter pair deserved what they got).

Enter Sean Agnew, a punk-rock kid who survived suburban adolescence to emerge as Philadelphia’s reigning ambassador in the DIY concert and promotions arena. A trifle more than ten years ago, Agnew noticed that an alarmingly high percentage of independent musicians were skipping Philadelphia on the East Coast legs of their tours due to the city’s dearth of smaller to mid-sized all-ages venues. Instead of simply whining about the perceived snubs over organic varietals at Last Drop, Agnew took action and began booking shows in the basement of the First Unitarian Church.

“I started off relatively small,” explains Agnew. “When I began bringing bands here, I never imagined it would blossom into anything like this.”

“This” is R5 Productions, the booking and promotions enterprise that began almost haphazardly in 1996 with a handful of shows in a church basement. Today, R5 books several shows each week — sometimes handling multiple concerts on the same night — at four venues throughout the city: Starlight Ballroom, Johnny Brenda’s, Trocadero and, of course, the First Unitarian Church.

Thursday’s Of Montreal gig at the Trocadero marks R5’s 1000th show. Although the repertoire of R5 shows has expanded from the original strictly all-ages format, the majority of the concerts remain open to all, adhering to the core tenet of R5’s mission.

“It just seemed like there was nowhere for kids in and around the city to attend live shows,” says Agnew. “What we wanted to do at the outset was fill that void by presenting quality bands in an all-ages friendly atmosphere.”

A cursory glance at the chronological list of R5-produced shows (r5productions.com/oldshows) clearly illustrates that Agnew came through on his promise with flying colors. What that list fails to demonstrate, however, is that the history of R5 in the City of Brotherly Love is not without its share of hassles and heartbreak.

“The early shows at the Church went fairly well,” explains Agnew. “I think that can be attributed to the fact that we were still basically flying well below the public radar at that point.”

In 1999, the University of Pennsylvania reviewed the results of a study conducted on behalf of the school to determine the extent and effects of drinking and drug use among the student body. One of the recommendations made by the review panel centered on establishing an all-ages venue on campus where students could enjoy live music and other events in an alcohol-free environment. After being tipped off to this development via a friendly email, Agnew began negotiations with UPenn administrators to spearhead an effort to involve R5 Productions.

After months of meetings and background investigations, UPenn agreed to a deal wherein R5 Productions would become the sole booking entity for a venue located on the 4000 block of Walnut Street. The venue would be under the University’s ownership, but R5 would retain a fair amount of autonomy where matters of booking and production were concerned. The deal was R5’s golden ticket. Not only would they be given more or less of a permanent home for their operations, but the backing of the powerful administration of an Ivy League university. It was almost too good to be true.

“The Board and the faculty members involved were really impressed with our operation,” says Agnew.

“Everyone was just blown away by the fact that we could run these shows with hundreds of kids in attendance without any alcohol. A lot of people were just amazed that so many kids out there were really in it purely for the love of music.”

The day of the lease signing finally arrived, and to hear Agnew explain it, everything came tumbling down. “I received a call that day basically saying that the signing would be delayed a day or two. No big deal, I thought — I just assumed the lawyers were cleaning up the details.”

“A few days later, however, a representative from Penn’s legal department called and told me that the entire deal was off. Apparently, a board member was convinced that we were drug dealers and were using the shows as a way to lure kids into our dens of iniquity.”

Agnew now scoffs at the ludicrous nature of the allegation, but at the time, it threatened the existence of his entire operation.

Upon receiving this devastating news, Agnew immediately rallied the troops, posting a request on R5’s website for letters of recommendation and positive stories about personal experiences at R5 shows.

“Within 12 hours, I received 1,400 testimonials,” Agnew says. “I was completely overwhelmed by the response.”

Agnew printed out all 1,400 emails — which included endorsements from members of Penn’s Board and City Council — and delivered them to the real estate agent handling the deal, Penn’s Office of the President and several media outlets.

Following a University review and coming on the heels of a slew of media coverage (including a front page story in the Daily Pennsylvanian), negotiations resumed and eventually resulted in a second agreement between Penn and R5. This agreement gave R5 booking rights at 4040 Walnut Street, where Agnew would produce shows for the better part of 2000.

After a University-sanctioned move to the Rotunda led to yet another battle for Agnew and R5 — this time with a campus-based student group — ties were severed between Penn and R5 in Fall 2001.

By this time, however, R5 had become an established name in DIY circuits nationwide and band requests continued to pour into Agnew’s inbox. Barely missing a beat, Agnew and R5 re-established operations at the First Unitarian Church and the parade of all-ages shows marched on.

Over the years, R5 has met with resistance from a vocal minority in the community and has endured a handful of shutdowns compliments of the Department of Licensing and Inspection. Every time they’ve been dealt a blow, however, the R5 crew has gotten right back up, continuing to live in the “show must go on” spirit.

Today, R5 retains a booking monopoly on the Church and the larger Starlight Ballroom. Agnew also promotes shows with the R5 tag at Johnny Brenda’s and the Trocadero when those venues are a better fit. The crew was responsible for bringing Bright Eyes to the Academy of Music in 2005 as well as hosting the annual Punk Rock Flea Market.

Reaching the 1,000 show plateau is no small feat for any concert promoter. That R5 has done it without compromising their mission or their morals borders on miraculous.