Hockey music.

Something which often gets debated over on the official Phoenix forums is the choice of music played before and during the games on match night. The biggest cause for complaint seems to be the usage of ‘non hockey’ music, or to put it another way, ‘pop’ music.

In the minds of many a hockey fans, loud rock music and ice hockey go together like apple pie and custard. For these fans, and I include myself in them, the visceral, primal ‘punch’ of rock/metal is the perfect aural accompaniment to the raw physicality we often see on the ice. A well chosen track can help boost the crowd, getting the adrenaline pumping, raising the noise levels, and soundtracking moments that will be remembered for a long time after the game itself.

In an ideal world, the warm up would be accompanied by high tempo, thrusting rock and metal tracks, hyping the crowd up, and building the atmosphere. Make it intimidating, dammit! Some Metallica, Iron Maiden, Slipknot. Not whatever bollocks is currently clogging up the charts. Some ‘RnB’? ‘Grime’? No thanks. And during the game, the music should fit the game. There is nothing worse than the play being stopped during an aggressive game, and some highly inappropriate music being played. When the crowd is high, playing ‘pop’ music often kills the atmosphere stone cold dead. As an example, when a fight breaks out, the perfect accompaniment to that could be a looped sample of the ‘FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!’ refrain from Marilyn Mansons ‘Fight Song’, or a good old fashioned blast of Pantera.

Some non rock stuff works, though, don’t get me wrong. Perennial crowd favorite ‘Jump Around’ by House of PAin is a Hip Hop classic which never fails to get the crowd responding. The same goes for any true classic hockey organ music. Or ‘The Hockey Song’.

Now, I admit that the music choices have to be representative of the crowd, but I do sometimes feel that playing ‘family friendly’ music just isn’t what the game calls for. Bya ll means, when we have a bumper crop of scout/guide/school groups in, play a bit more ‘pop’ shite, but in general, I’d rather it was kept heavy and loud. More Motorhead, more Kiss, more Maiden, Saxon, System of A Down.

Just please, less ‘pop’.

And finally, It does bother some folks that music will be played over the crowd chanting. This does happen quite often, and in my opinion is counter productive. I’ve lost track of how often the Choir Boys have been chanting, the play stops, they carry on…. and the P.A. crackles into life and drowns them out.  On these occasions, less is more. A big part of the match night experience is watching the crowd and working with it. Are they already loud and noisy? Choose something to keep them that way. Are they already singing? Don’t play over the top of them. Do they look like they need a boost? Give em something to do that. But above all, pay attention.

This blog isn’t meant as a e having a go at Marvin and the work he does on game nights, but a piece of constructive criticism. I firmly believe our match night experience is still the best in the league, but it could be even better.