Things you suddenly realise have disappeared

[Stumpy Pepys]

I'd prefer this not to turn into a crap nostalgia thread. But things whose disappearance has left you genuinely scratching your head.

1. Sunroofs
I'm genuinely clueless about cars and we don't own one (although we hire them sometimes), but I can't remember the last time I saw a sunroof. What happened? Did air conditioning just improve?

2. Bands playing universities
Has this stopped? I used to go to loads of gigs at universities and polys. If so, when did it happen? And why?

[Snake Plissken]

Still there just bigger in some cars.

Arenas and mid-size venues happened.

[Evariste Euler Gauss]

No idea why sunroofs have stopped. AC sucks compared to fresh air, save on those days - very rare in most of Europe - when the outside air is too hot to be refreshing even in super-windy mode. The fact that my car made in 2004 has one is one reason I'm fonder of it than the much newer and slightly grander car we bought a few years ago, when we were told a sunroof option was unavailable. I reckon my obvious disappointment at the lack of sunroof option, which caused me to look as if I was going to go elsewhere, saved me a few grand when the salesman suddenly realised he could offer me a "deal".

[Toby Gymshorts]

Sunroofs eventually leak. In design terms, they're awful, and have been replaced by panoramic glass roofs which, whilst nice to look at, still need AC to be bearable.

[Evariste Euler Gauss]

I absolutely hate that trend. Short of a having a soft top, which I never have, you can't beat the sunroof experience, motoring-wise.

AC is a bloody nightmare. It might as well not exist if I'm travelling by car with my missus as she refuses to let me switch it on on the basis that it gives her problems with dryness around the eyes.

[WOM]

Both ours have traditional sunroofs vs panoramic ones. I've actually never had a sunroof that leaked, including an aftermarket one.

[Hot Pepsi]

AC is essential. I wish it weren’t, but a car is like a greenhouse.

[Stumpy Pepys]

Still there just bigger in some cars.

Arenas and mid-size venues happened.

There used to be lots of mid-sized venues in Manchester in the 80s at least, but bands would still play the University and the Polytechnic.

[Toby Gymshorts]

Both ours have traditional sunroofs vs panoramic ones. I've actually never had a sunroof that leaked, including an aftermarket one.

You've probably been lucky then. Anything which relies on what is, effectively, a gasket will eventually fail. Tilt and slide versions are usually a bit more reliable than the "lift" versions.

[Sits]

AC is essential. I wish it weren’t, but a car is like a greenhouse.

This, in Australia.

[Gangster Octopus]

Very disappointed when we bought our last Yaris (2008) and didn't have the option of a sunroof. Apparently it was a decision by Toyota based on EU safety regulations.

[Nefertiti2]

parliamentary democracy

[Benjm]

Cardiff and UEA still get reasonably recognisable live acts (not at the moment, obviously). In theory ULU in Bloomsbury does but their booking policy is quite patchy.

[Hot Pepsi]

Fairly big acts play universities here because universities have big basketball arenas.

[johnr]

Without wishing to be too parochial, in answer to the second line of the OP I'd have to say 'my hair'.

[Southport Zeb]

There used to be lots of mid-sized venues in Manchester in the 80s at least, but bands would still play the University and the Polytechnic.

I think around half the gigs I've been to in Manchester over the last decade or so have been at the university.

[Fussbudget]

QMU at Glasgow Uni still does lots of gigs.

[Walt Flanagans Dog]

2. Bands playing universities
Has this stopped? I used to go to loads of gigs at universities and polys. If so, when did it happen? And why?

Some universities still maintain live music venues. The Manchester Academy complex (which has I think four different venues) is run the Manchester University Student Union and was in decent health before Covid. Leeds Beckett, Newcastle University, Northumbria University (ex Poly) and the QMU in Glasgow all still have gigs, as did the Art School in Glasgow (sob). No doubt others do but I pay less attention to them. But overall there has been a big decline and you won't see the sort of tour announcements that you'd get in the 70s, 80s and early 90s where most of the dates were university/poly dates.

The biggest factor in the decline of the university circuit has been capitalism, basically. Particularly the rise of the Academy Music Group*, who have targeted the big cities, which of course tend to have the biggest student populations. In turn AMG is majority owned by Live Nation, which means if you are an up and coming band (or even a fairly established one) affiliated with Live Nation you are going to be steered into the AMG venues and away from the competition.

*Manchester Academy is often mistakenly assumed to be part of the Academy Group but it isn't, though the latter would love to get its hands on it.

[Benjm]

QMU at Glasgow Uni still does lots of gigs.

I forgot that I went to see Ladytron there a couple of years ago, although that was moved from the ABC after the fire.

[ursus arctos]

Fairly big acts play universities here because universities have big basketball arenas.

And because those universities are located in areas that lack similar venues.

Compare NYU, UCLA or Northwestern to Penn State, Oklahoma or Auburn.

[Hot Pepsi]

Yeah.

I saw RHCP, Pearl Jam and Smashing Pumpkins at the basketball gym at American University in DC. There are many other venues in DC.

But that was 29 years ago.

Not as many shows come to the Jordan Center at Penn State and, reportedly, it’s because there just aren’t that many acts that can fill a 10,000 seat arena or even an 8,000 seat arena. It’s hosted Taylor Swift, Kanye, Bruce Springsteen, Garth Brooks; Metallica, etc. But there aren’t many of those. And a lot of them would rather play Hershey or skip central PA altogether.

Basketball arenas are, in my experience, not good for concerts. And that might be a factor too. I don’t know if young people want to go to big concerts, or concerts at all, as much as our generation did.

[ursus arctos]

Was that after the MCI/Verizon Center opened downtown, or will the Caps and Bullets still playing in Landover?

The DC Armory had hosted the Beatles (among many others), but it wasn't as big and may have been effectively derelict by that time.

[Hot Pepsi]

That was shortly before the MCI center opened, but Bender Arena is a lot smaller than that, and the place wasn’t full so I don’t know if the tour would have played MCI Center if it had been available.

A lot of university basketball arenas aren’t directly controlled or even owned by their university, so the concerts are often booked by a different company, not the student programming association. But if it is booked by the SPA, then they won’t sell tickets to non-students/staff unless there are a few left over.

[Amor de Cosmos]

Both ours have traditional sunroofs vs panoramic ones. I've actually never had a sunroof that leaked, including an aftermarket one.

Same here. The Volvo (6) and Kia (3) both have sunroofs (or whatever they're called these days.) I've never experienced a leaking sun-roof either. Even on my old Peugeot which would usually leak anything given the opportunity.

[Gangster Octopus]

Ha! It's evil naysayers like Toby Gymshorts who've destroyed the sunroof industry...