Vulcan Mind Meld

At the TED conference two years back, author Matt Ridley argued that history shows how the engine of human progress has always been driven by the meeting and mating of old ideas to create new ones

It's not about clever people, he said; it's all about collective smarts.

Something says he took both a Sociology and a Jungian Psychology class in college.

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16 Takeaways: Phish @ SPAC 2012

1. Phish, the Band

The label, of course, is that of “the world's greatest/biggest jam band.” But such a tag sells this group short; the reality being that this is not just a great jam band, but also a great rock & roll band as well. Plain and simple. Then we get to the “sum of its parts” equation; here is the epitome of what the word band is all about.

2. You Did, Huh?

“I saw them when they played at that joint on Caroline Street way back when.” If every person that uttered that line was actually there, the place would have needed to fit 2,000 people. It didn't. This and the many other local connections make it all very special. It is only appropriate that Phish becomes the first Special Event act to convene a three-night run at the facility.

3. Show Virgins

I ran across a great many Phish first timers, with most of them being locals. The reaction was universal, along the lines of “now I get it,” “simply amazing” or “WTF?” Welcome, where y'all been? Good stuff. The local zen can only benefit.

4. Jon Fishman, Drums

What separates your better jam band drummer from their straight ahead rock counterparts is their jazz sensibilities, hitting various skins all over the place and on different time maps. No better example is out there than this guy; the one in the tutu.

5. Page McConnell, Keyboards

With all due respect to the red head with the big smile, McConnell is the glue holding this band together. His chord meanderings bring visions of Bill Evans, providing the perfect roadmap for any given song's journey to somewhere. Maybe this is really better classified as a jazz band, hmmm?

6. Trey Anastasio, Guitar

One wouldn't likely rank Trey as a top axeman of all time; from a technical perspective at least. But does anyone make the dipsy-twiddle to rock-jam climax transition better than the way he does? It might come down to Trey and Jimmy Herron of Widespread Panic for that honor. Let's call it a draw.

7. Mike Gordon, Bass

When you look up on stage at the four, Gordo becomes someone you think is possessed by an external force, his life form taken over by a spirit intent on using him as a vessel to generate an emotional tsunami among the assembled masses. The funny thing is, such thinking might actually be true. Magically creative bass lines and runs, all night long.

8. Best Line of the Weekend

At the Formula 5 after-party on Saturday night, a pair of young men approached the venue's door for entry. One arrived with a six-pack of Pabst Blue Ribbon (naturally) in tow while his companion was armed with a half empty/half full bottle of Jack Daniels. When greeted by a staff member with a “you gotta be kidding me, right?”, the retort was a beauty: “ Oh, sorry man: I lost track of where we were.”

9. Greatest Comeback Ever?

No; not Phish. We're talking about the aforementioned PBR. As predicted in an earlier post, this was the beer of choice for this crowd. Just ask the DPW street cleaning crews; they can no doubt verify this theory.

As someone who knows a little something about this kind of stuff, I say we're looking at one of the most innovative and successful brand turnarounds in modern consumer marketing. Pabst was something you drank in the 60's and 70's only because it was there in front of you, one of many cheap domestic options of the day with nothing to really differentiate it from the dozens of others. By the 80's, it had disappeared from the national radar screen; I'm not sure if it was even brewed for awhile.

Then somehow in the past decade, it reincarnated as the quaffing favorite of both Jam Band Nation and the urban hipsters. Think about that dynamic. In addition, every blue collar bar seems to have it on tap, usually as the least expensive choice. Likewise, every music club and festival loads up on it as well, and it's the top seller.

Something like this doesn't just happen by accident. We need to know the name of the person who designed and executed this campaign. We have a medal to pin on his or her chest! The Nanoburgh Awards?

10. The Dead Shadow

A very tired argument is the long-running “Dead vs Phish” nonsense. Rooted mostly in the good old days nostalgia of the aging Dead Heads, its general theme is that Phish is nothing more than an inferior v2.0 of the original space cowboys. To this, there are only two replies necessary:

1. Get there (see #3, above)
2. After; please reflect on: a) how those long phreak-groove sessions you just heard reminded you of the old gang; and b) how the stop-and-go's and hard blasting crescendos didn't …

11. Economic Whatever

The Idiot Chorus of the Usual Suspects was not to go unheard from this past weekend. Their chant: a demand that the city of Saratoga Springs should somehow be “reimbursed” by somebody (SPAC, Live Nation, Phish, ticket buyers?) for the extra public safety expenses incurred as a result of these three massive concerts and the accompanying horde of followers that encamped locally over that period. How one responds to such nonsense --- or even why? --- are both legitimate questions, but we'll give it a go here:

Talking Point # 1: a convenience store owner having to call his beverage distributor for emergency re-stocks --- three times.

Talking Point #2: a local resident who rented his home out for the three nights – for $3,000.

Talking Point #3: hotels and campgrounds within a 30-mile radius were all sold out – obscene rates and all. One local motel owner boosted his per-nite charge from $120 to $300. They all made similar moves. No one seemed to blink.

Nanoburgh's sister event-production company (398Productions) even got in on the fun, hosting midnight Phish after-parties at the Parting Glass. Here's a look at those numbers:

• 300+ people walked into the venue on each night, at a time when it would normally have been closed for the evening.
• The crowds ate and drank – heavily – thereby boosting the venue's coffers nicely, as well as that of their local suppliers.
• Extra work hours (and income) were therefore generated for the venue's staff
• Each night also provided an extra pay day for: a band; a sound man; a lighting technician; door and security people and a show producer.

Now take these examples and dare project some semblance of scale across both the city and county, for all economic activity generated by those visitors that came for these three shows. Next, make some sort of estimate of where that newly gained monies are next spent by the people who just received them. Tally all of that up and add it to the mix. Repeat a couple of times. That there is what's called an economic multiplier calculation. Finally, make an estimate of sales tax revenues that end up in the city and county treasuries as a result of many/most of these purchases. Need we go further? Did we break-even here on paying for those extra cops yet?

For sure, this type of an event presents tough challenges to its host city. But so do the Olympics, the Super Bowl or the race course for that matter. But go whine to any other municipal official in New York, and you're sure to get a “now that's a problem I wish we had here” response. From the smart ones, at least.

12. The Economics of Traffic Control

There is one problem preventing the city from taking full advantage of the economic opportunity presented above. It's called traffic policy.

At the end of a SPAC concert, car traffic is often directed AWAY from the city. That's right, most exits result in one being forced to head south for the sake of maximum car flow and a mission of getting as many cars onto the Northway and Rt 50 ASAP. This is a problem if one lives north of SPAC, of course. But it also acts as a serious detriment to encouraging someone to head downtown after the show to drop some green there.

13. Intangible

Saturday's show was broadcast live on XM Radio. That's globally, folks. Now what's that worth to the Goodwill line of the city's Balance Sheet? Any CPAs in the audience?

14. The Emerging Police State

Don't get us started here. The last time we checked, alcohol was a legal commodity in this state. Not to mention the fact that alcohol is allowed in the Spa Park on all non-concert days. And what exactly is the rationale for treating these visitors as if they were an invading army of Huns and turning the place into a de facto war zone? How would this same action play if alcohol was also banned at the horse races? Shush; don't dare give them any ideas. And people are complaining about extra public safety costs (see #11)? This initiative could alternatively be viewed as a glorified make-work project for the law enforcement industry. Oops, sorry: we got started ...

15. Show Poster

Quite possibly the best SPAC poster ever? Mr Rich Kelly at work. Bravo!

16. Best Weekend Moment

At the Friday night after-party featuring The Garcia Project, a pair of tickets to Saturday's Phish show were up for grabs. They were provided by the good folks at Decresente Distributing. The winner was a young man named Safe Korwell-Ure.

Celebrating with the lucky gent, we found an interesting story. He is a new visitor to this country, having somehow landed in Virginia. There, he got caught up with a bunch of Phish heads, who invited him to tag along on the long drive to Saratoga for a weekend at the circus. Along he came, without even an admission ticket nor much of an idea who Phish was, for that matter.

Surprise of all surprises, it ends up that this Garcia Project show was his very first experience in hearing a live rock and roll band, in-person! No kidding. After his good fortune and lucky ticket stub, Phish became his Show #2. To say he was overjoyed would be an understatement. We couldn't have rigged this drawing to come up with a better result.

The Most Unfair of Professions

A dear pal of mine is a musician of some regional notoriety in the Appalachian mid-south, one of many from that neck of the woods I've run across over the years when dabbling in that hobby-biz of mine.  I don't know what's in the air or water down there in Tennessee that produces such fine and talented human beings (tobacco?), but I can testify that there are fields full of them.  As an added bonus, all  of the female members of this tribe are most beautiful; both inside and out.

Anyway, this particular gal rang me up out of the blue the other day after too-long an absence from my radar screen. After getting updated on the big changes in her life (a new hubby = the luckiest guy in the world), the talk naturally turned to her songbird persona.  To my dismay, I learned that she was pretty much OUT of the business, having basically tossed in the towel.  No more touring, no more recordings, agent, manager, publicist, label, band or road van. Nothing but the occasional solo show (the so called 'chick on a stool') in the local area, rarely venturing more than an hour from her front door to a small gig here or there.  It's no longer a profession; it's back to being a sideshow -- just like it was during her college days twenty years ago.

In this case, we are talking about an artist who at one time was signed to one of the major record labels (back when that meant something), which then went about funding at $50K each her music videos and slotted her as the opening tour act for one of the major stars of our era -- all as a means of boosting her into the stratosphere.  But it's a tough business, with luck and timing and other intangibles having precedent over raw talent as the key qualifiers for success.  Unfortunately, fate was not kind to our dear friend.  The first album didn't sell, the label quibbled over what genre tag she belonged in and things got shaky when talks began on whether they would exercise their option on Album #2. That decision finally got made when industry consolodation reared its ugly head and the label was merged with an even-larger major, and economies of scale kicked in.  You can guess where this story went: offices were closed and rosters chopped.  Our girl was a casualty of both, and suddenly she became a One & Done (album) statistic. For the next ten years, it was the indie route: lower production budgets, small rooms, self-management and dealing with idiots like myself out there as opposed to the bandits (i.e., the  Live Nations and Clear Channels of the world) holding the keys to the mint.

There are no guarantees in the music business, just like there are no guarantees in that larger sphere called life. But in most professions, the cream of the crop rises to the top, at least to some degree.  There is little doubt that a Major League baseball player is a more talented athlete than a pine-rider down in the AA bushes.  Your better sales people make better money than the plugs; the more efficent office clerk is first in line to be office manager, the creator of superior graphic design masterpieces will tend to get the association awards at the end of the year, and on and on.  In general, there is usually some sort of connection between merit and reward.

But in music, all of that tidy logic is tossed out the door like a cat coughing up fur balls. Ace songwriters and crack musicians often play for the proverbial "$100 a man" while the Demi Lovatos, Justin Beibers and Sugarlands out there pocket millions a year. Locally, a shockingly popular cover band earns $3000 per night to play Mustang Sally and other lowest common denominator hits made famous by others. Original creativity goes unrewarded while hype and mass market brainwashing is.  But we shouldn't be surprised: these same people consume their basic goods from WalMart and the mall, absorb network television and their destination for fine dining is the pavement outside a chain restaurant on Gasoline Alley.  Sheep are more easily herded from Point A to Point B than are foxes seems to be a fitting allegory.

As I put in more and more years into the aforementioned music-biz dabbling, the type of conversation as shared above becomes more and more common for me. The system is broken -- for a whole number of causes -- and the money doesn't flow to those most deserving. But if the masses don't care and the deck remains stacked against the Unchosen, it will never change.

Now who wants to hit downtown to shake our booties to some Golden Oldies at a $3 cover?  Order me an ice cold Bud and I'll be right there.





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Random Blah-Blah-Blahs (June)

Long Live

Q: If eMail Marketing is so dead, then why does Twitter send me regular "Here's What's Happening On Twitter" updates ... via email?  As does Facebook with its traffic stat reports ... and Linked In ... and ... and. Hmmm?



Square Peg / Round Hole

While on the Twitter subject: I get it --  and I always got it.  The 'it' being the stream-of-consciousness sharing via this handy dandy infrastructure dreamed up by a couple of dreamers. Then again, Facebook's Wall posting serves the same function, does it not?  But that's for those two behemoths to battle over.

What I don't get ---  or better: what I don't buy ---  is the ultra hyped commercial, promotional and monetization value that Twitter allegedly brings to the table. I've called this bluff myself with my own campaigns, as have others close at hand.  I'm not seeing it.  If anyone out there has a first hand case study that shows otherwise, let's hear about it.

Same with Twitter being the supposed new form of journalism. I'm not buying it. A big reach....


I'm Living in My Own Private Idaho

Speaking of journalism (notice these nice transitions?), I hereby pose this as a contrarian view to the popular wisdom as to what ails the mainstream print news profession:

Contrarian Theory: The inter-tube is NOT the primary driver of people abandoning and neglecting the traditional print news media (i.e., declining readership). Instead, I contend that the #1 factor is that people simply don' give a shit anymore.  This is especially true for local news journalism.

Supporting Argument: Communities continue to lose their deep connectivity and social capital. People now move from 'burgh to 'burgh, and they do it more and more frequently.  One's neighbors are no longer people you went to school with; nor is there one single degree of separation between them and you via common acquaintances. Meanwhile, there is less a likelihood that one will "make new friends" in the new town due to the fact that there are fewer mechanisms for doing so compared to generations past -- ethnic clubs, trade unions, business associations, etc. Strangers live among strangers in today's Anytown, USA.  So when one happens upon a newspaper, it is filled with unknown names and unknown faces involved in activities and organizations of no consequence. One simply can't relate to the stories any more than he or she can relate to the new and temporary community in general.  Many just don't care --  it's as simple as that.  Heck, they don't plan on being here for more than a few more years anyways, so why invest in the Emotional Capital? Without this type of passion, how can a business that specializes in telling locally-centric stories hope to succeed?

Thirty years ago, I could pick up the daily newspaper in my birthtown (The Saratogian) and recognize almost every name mentioned. Today, I don't know any of them.  Who the hell are these people?


A Newspaper Once Operated Here

Speaking of the Saratogian (yee-haw, he does it again), we read of the fact that its Lake Avenue facility has been sold to a developer and the arrangement supposedly gives the paper three years to find a new base of operations to which it moves.   No doubt, the troubled chain that owns the local rag is taking advantage of the bubbly local real estate scene as a means of bandaging its bloody balance sheet.  The old cliche of "rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic" suddenly comes to mind for some funny reason

Prediction: said rag relocates to a tidy suite of rented work space under a trade deal with some commercial realtor as more and more of its functions are handled by its sister paper down in Troy in a consolidation effort. The current building is soon thereafter demolished to make room for a 38High Rock, Part 2 type of condo mishmash. The Village Idiots then begin their rah-rah about how this is just another example of Saratoga's vibrancy as the metro-NYC crowd ponies up to trade their downstate addresses for life in the foothills. More of the aforementioned strangers arrive to live alongside other strangers and live off the largesse provided to them by their family inheritance, with most of them well past their peak productivity years and perfectly content to schedule their daily lives around their morning strolls to get a Broadway coffee.  The city's brain drain continues, the age demo gets older and the neighborhood around Saratoga Hospital continues to transform from residential to professional as the health care industry cluster there expands to serve this aging Boomer demand.  The air gets stale as the safe and sanitary gentrification elephant continues its slow motion rampage.  Some major magazine ranks Saratoga in the nation's Top 10 Retirement Communities.

Consider also the fact that these new condos butt right up against the Caroline Street nightlife district.  Can't a guy get some sleep in this town?  Now won't that accelerate the movement to tame this chaos?  Commissioner Mathieson will be lionized as he moves to close the bars at 11PM  --- and for an hour during afternoon nap time.

Meanwhile, this once great city finds itself without another physical representation of what it means to feel like being a part of a local community.  So don't be shocked if the same fate awaits the Post Office building up the hill.  Maybe one more coffee shop?

Somebody get the historical plaques made up to place on each site.


Is that Indian for...?

To hear something once can be deemed a fluke.  To hear the same thing twice, one starts to notice. Three times, it becomes a downright movement.

Three times now in the past month, I have heard Saratoga being tagged with a slightly modified handle: Milfatoga.

I can picture our less worldly readers hitting Google right about ... now.


Batting Third

Baseball teams put their biggest slugger into the cleanup spot; number four in the batting order. But the entertainment industry has a different approach. A long running rule for performing artists has been to place the best tune in the set list in the Number Three spot, for some reason.

Interestingly, I notice that local television news broadcasts are following this same method.  The weather segment is what they define as their key eyeball-draw. In a rare viewing of the opening minutes of two different examples recently, I notice that both of them placed the weather tickler story ("It's HOT out there! OMG we're gonna die!") --  right there in the three hole.



Old School - New School

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's approach to economic development seems to be via these regional councils which go about making long wish lists of desired projects and then submits them to a juried awards system which is a bit light on explaining its methodology as well as its over reaching aims and objectives. Conveniently, every region seems to at least get a substantial consolation prize when the dust clears.

So how exactly is this new fangled process fundamentally different than the age old legislature Member Item system?


Cutting to the Chase

Did anyone ever actually play the Mousetrap game instead of just going ahead and building the fancy contraption?  Nah.


Timescape


"I'm not interested in paying you for your time, I want to pay you for your success."


"Do not confuse activity with accomplishment"

These are two of my guiding principles when dealing with prospective employees or contracted resources offering to get involved in any of my business units in some sort of sales/revenue-generating capacity.

But most of the time it is like speaking in an unknown foreign tongue.  For some reason, everyone thinks their "time" is the key element to this dynamic. "I need to get paid for my time" is a common refrain.  It matters not if that time results in money coming in the door as a direct result, whether they are any good at the needed task or not.  Many even have a rebuttal to my approach, something like "even if I don't make a sale, I am out there promoting your product/company."

The Bottom Line: promotion is for the Marketing Department or ad agency. If one does not have confidence in his or her own ability to "make things happen" and base their financial well-being on their own skills and abilities, then they most likely are in the wrong profession. Like, maybe retail?

Competent sales rep's are the hardest people to find for most organizations. That's because there are very few people out there that are any good at it.  You never know the answer to that question until AFTER you hire someone.

Related Story: a woman recently told me that she would take the reins as our lead sales exec if I would "at least cover her expenses."  I replied that this seemed like a reasonable request and could be done.  My assumption, of course, was that she was referring to the costs directly related to the sales process, such as gas and toll money, the occasional client lunch and postal & copy fees for mailing out our collateral.  Turns out, she was referring to her "living" expenses, namely her mortgage, cell phone, groceries, medical insurance, car payment and so on. Four grand would do it. Be advised, this involves a small little nano-biz that is a part time endeavor for everyone that has ever been involved in it.  I kid you not ...



Not in synch with the local poseurs, but....

I miss the Saratoga Diner on South Broadway, known long ago as the Spa City Diner.  I'll miss it even more when a Red Lobster or Chili's or Hooters takes its place.




RM

Attention Saratoga Degenerates: Poker (with money!) Hits Town Next Month

We got a little advance notice of something you gambling degenerates in Saratoga (and there's a bunch of you) should be made aware of...

But let me get this one straight: it costs nada / zip / nuttin honey / zero to enter this poker tournament, but it has $1,000 in purse money? WTF, sign us up, bro!

Sunday, July 15th at The Parting Glass.  Full scoop for this baby is RIGHT HERE.

I'll see YOU at the final table!

FOLLOW-UP....

Here is a story that touches on the 'legality' of this event as well as the means in which business activity is enhanced by a simple loosening of government bureaucracy....



July 15: Free Entry
New Ruling Opens Way for Cash Prize Events and New Businesses

$1,000 Poker Tournament Slated for Parting Glass

(Saratoga Springs) …. After a full day of elimination play, the poker tournament is down to its final table. There, eight stern-faced card sharks are looking to outfox the others in successive rounds of Texas Hold 'Em, with a pot of cash on the line for the top finishers. Finally, the last round is won, a single player has all the chips and the onlookers burst into applause. A champion is crowned.

Where, now, might one envision the above scene unfolding? On late night cable television, possibly? Or maybe a Vegas, Atlantic City or Native American casino? All would be logical options.

Now, how about the possibility of this unfolding locally in a place that bills itself as “Saratoga's Original Irish Pub,” otherwise known far and wide as The Parting Glass? Well, not only is it a possibility, but reality, as that downtown establishment will be hosting the $1,000 DILLIGAF / Parting Glass Open Poker Tournament on Sunday, July 15 at 1PM.

With $400 earmarked for the tournament winner and purse payouts awarded down to the 20^th place finisher, the question becomes: how can such a scenario possibly be legal in New York, which is just now starting the long and complicated process of modifying the state constitution to allow poker and other cash card games in racinos and casinos as a legalized form of gambling? The answer lies in what is the player-friendly aspect of the Parting Glass contest: it is absolutely, 100% free to enter.

Using the standard risk /reward dynamic as a means of defining 'gambling' has long raised the issue of whether a Free-To-Play But Real Cash Prizes event is legitimate; a question that has remained unanswered as New York gave conflicting opinions on the matter. But that all changed in November, when the State Liquor Authority issued a Declaratory Ruling that, in essence, authorized such events in licensed premises under its supervision. Take away the risk (entry fees, cover charges, table cash), it stated, then all is legit – even if one is offering prize money.

Although several SLA-licensed venues around the state have since convened tournaments that offer soft prizes (point accumulations leading to a casino trip, etc), the July 15^th Saratoga event appears to be the first (in the Capital Region at least) to offer a substantial amount of cold hard cash.

“We've been running smaller poker sessions on Wednesday nights for a few months now,” said Linda DiBlasio of The Parting Glass. “But about a month ago, the people that bring music shows in here walked us through the complicated SLA rules and taught us how we could offer cash prizes.”

From there, all that was needed was a tournament sponsor who would help to fund the prize pool in return for the promotional publicity that would come with such a move. Enter the DILLIGAF lifestyle clothing line of Lake George, NY and Miami, FL.

“The poker demographic is perfect for our brand of in-your-face t-shirts, hoodies and caps,” related DILLIGAF principal Bill Massry, a Saratoga native. “This Parting Glass gig will help us launch our new poker-themed line of clothing.”

Making all these connections come together was the local music & events company 398Productions, which has since formed a spinoff called the Free 4 All Poker Tour to take this sponsored-tourney concept on the road to venues throughout the state.

A new entertainment option for the city's residents and visitors, a new clothing line introduced and a new company being formed --- all taking place right here in Saratoga Springs.

For full tournament info, rules, purses and entry, visit www.Free4AllPokerTour.com

 

Lake George Music Series Announced

Fridays at the Lake (Lake George Village) 
Max Creek, Jim Weider highlight 10-show rock/blues series 

Free live music will once again fill the air in Lake George on Friday nights this summer as organizers today announced the lineup for the third annual Fridays at the Lake concert series.

This year's edition, which takes place in the placid lakeside amphitheater setting of Shepard Park in the heart of the Village, serves as an upgrade from previous years as the emphasis shifts from local acts to regional touring artists. Highlighting the schedule are two dates featuring music heavyweights.

MAX CREEK

The classic and beloved jam band MAX CREEK opens the series on June 15. Recently seen in town celebrating their 41st Anniversary in a fan club takeover of the Fort William Henry Resort, the Connecticut-based group has performed thousands of shows around the globe and recorded over a dozen albums. Their signature boogie-jam style has made them favorites on both the club and festival circuits. Creek Heads are sure to descend on Lake George once again.

Jim Weider - The Master of the Telecaster

July 20th marks the appearance of Jim Weider's Project Percolator. Fronted by the lead guitarist of Rock & Roll Hall of Fame legends The Band and the Levon Helm Group – and including former members of Santana, Todd Rundgren's Utopia and Alicia Keys – this quartet brings to the party an instrumental, progressive rock style that has been compared to both Jeff Beck and Roy Buchanan. Attendees will leave knowing why Mr. Weider is dubbed as the Master of the Telecaster by Rolling Stone and others. He even has an amplifier named after him!

Filling-out the ten show lineup is fast-ascending Vermont rockers Twiddle, multiple Metroland Best Of winners Sirsy, the Berkshires all star combo Rev Tor Band, electronica keyboard wizard Jeff Bujak, the buzz worthy Wild Adriatic, Albany favorites Stone Revival Band, a themed Blues Night and a still-unfolding Season Finale celebration on September 7. All shows are free of charge and family-friendly.  The nearby Shepards Cove night club acts as the rain site.  Showtime is 7PM, with most headline acts slated for 8PM. Lawn chairs and blankets are welcomed; alcohol and tobacco are not.

Fridays at the Lake is a production of Dave Ehmann's Improv Records, with assistance from Robert Millis of 398Productions. Financial support is provided by local government entities and the generous and music-loving members of the local business community.

Concert series information and schedule is available at www.FridaysAtTheLake.com

SCHEDULE

Fridays At The Lake 

Shepard Park @ Lake George, NY 

June 15: Max Creek

June 29: Jeff Bujak 

July 6: Sirsy

July 20: Jim Weider's Project Percolator

July 27: Twiddle

Aug 3: Rev Tor Band

Aug 10: Wild Adriatic & Closer Still 

Aug 24: Blues Night

Aug 31: Stone Revival Band 

Sept 7: Finale Party: Capital Zen and more (tba) 

(Opening Acts TBA) 

Nanoburgh's Springtime Money Beg!

If that Alan Chartok guy can beg for money every two weeks on WAMC, why can't we do the same here at the 'burgh?

The winter version was such a success, let's do it again!

Support indelendent local journalism; donate to a Blogger today! Here or elsewhere ... (although we won't be expecting any $ from the folks at Siro's).

Saratoga: Heaven or Hell ? (part 1)

 Forming an opinion about something is all about 'perspective:' where you've been or where you're coming from is the key determinate. So it is when one looks at the current status of any given location which one chooses to live in  --  or is considering such -- in drawing an opinion on how that location rates when compared to others.

The city of Saratoga Springs is no different. Yet one can take note of an interesting divide between two segments when each one voices an opinion on the livability or state-of the Spa City. If one's perspective is that of a transplanted resident, with a lifelong perspective having been formed in the rat hole of New Jersey or Long Island, for example, Saratoga seems like an oasis in the desert, with a small town feel missing from those compared-to environs.

But the general consensus of long time residents -- not to mention those that lived in the city in years past but no longer do so -- is that the town has gone to hell, and is, in fact, starting to resemble those aforementioned rat holes than it is the vision encumbered in their nostalgic memories. 

So, where's the reality? As always, it is somewhere in between the two poles. 

But it is in this spirit of debate that Nanoburgh hereby launches a new feature, one which serves in each edition a specific example of one good thing about the current day Saratoga  and another specific example of one not-so-good thing.  This new feature is billed as:

Gone to Hell vs Slice of Heaven

 

Gone to Hell: Siro's

After serving for decades as the classy destination restaurant for the track crowd, an ownership change in the 80's brought with it the very bright idea of kicking the property's backyard space into an open-air/post-races hang --- and the party was on. Siro's became the August "see and be seen scene," with everyone in the region and beyond having a story to tell relating to a visit there. There is no doubt that it played a major role in the revitalization of Saratoga's track scene that kicked-in at that very same time frame.

Sure, the overpriced drinks were obscene, but what the hell? We're dealing here with a clientele that just got done tossing wads of $20's at horses galloping in a big circle. This is a celebration of the greatest racing meet in the world, goddamit; and for the dwindling few that still care about such a fact, that is important shit. Siro's supplied the perfect spot for just such rejoicing. There's just something about watching a hammered Wall Street punk slugging down a $400 bottle of champagne while doing the "woulda-coulda- shoulda" recap on his wagering follies that warms the heart. You just can't beat it.

But another ownership change a couple years back has Siro's on the fast train to shitsville. Whenever you hear the word "investment group," one can usually smell trouble; and the whiff here wasn't pleasant; This new group (mostly out-of-towners, of course) includes a couple minor league actor types along with a sprinkling of racing figures and others.

Right off the bat, this spelled trouble. The "we got great news" announcement of this changeover brought with it the remark that the yard's live musical entertainment would be "upgraded" to include "some of the best tribute acts on the east coast." The example of a Billy Joel act was even offered. We kid not.

The first casualty of this dumbing-down the masses philosophy was Saratoga's very own treasure, the legendary Commander Cody. For year, the pioneer of 70's western swing meets rock and roll boogie-woogie had the honor of kicking off the party season with the opening day performance slot. But the guess here is that no one in this new "investment group" even heard of our guy, and the Commander was unceremoniously booted from the lineup. His remarks from the stage at his recent Parting Glass performance, where he lead a crowd chant of "Fuck Siro's," tells us that he's not too happy about it either.

Siro's truly jumped the shark last August, when former heavyweight champ Joe Frazier was dragged into the joint and up on the stage to briefly front his old lounge act, the Knockouts. Just a few months away from his death, Smokin' Joe proceeded to deliver a few croaking sounds before being helped back down. For those of you who think that hearing one more rendition of Mustang Sally will make your head explode, this one might have done the trick.

Add to the mix the "you want your picture taken?" and other assorted hustles that are now a part of the scene, and there should be little question as to why the real party crowd has headed down the block to The Horseshoe in recent years.

But that doesn't concern this new Siro's ownership bunch. Can we say "expansion" or "extending the brand?" Yep, you guess it: they just opened up a NYC Siro's franchise, whereby they will attempt to recreate the Saratoga experience right in the 'hood of those downstate types for a year-round groove.

It's kinda like a tribute act in its own right, huh?

Slice of Heaven: The Parting Glass

Rocco's was where you got your pizza in town. Hell, it was automatic: whenever someone said “let's get a pizza tonight” anywhere within the Saratoga city line, it was an order for whoever was closest to the phone to ring up the joint down on Lake Avenue down near the Fire House and make it happen. But you had to go get it; I don't think they ever had delivery. That was fine, because that gave whoever was charged with pickup duty the chance to catch a quick pop at the bar, where one could always find the City Hall and Saratogian newspaper peeps at their constituent service posts on any given night.

1980 was the year Rocco's switched to the Parting Glass, with a motivated and hard-working family taking over the site. With an Italian food - meets - Irish beer and music mix, the Glass was an immediate hit and a welcome addition to the Spa City's social scene. The two back rooms were opened up and thus was born both a performance space and a large dart room. The locals and the tourists bought into the whole thing.

Somehow, this same family has kept it going all these years later, which is a major accomplishment when considering the wear and tear that is inflicted on the human psyche from being in just such a business. The Italian menu has given way to a more pub grub offering, but it's still good and that's all fine. It IS a pub, ya know? Likewise, the music has expanded a bit from the pure-Irish approach. The list of performers that have graced that stage over the years includes such international big shots as Alison Krauss and Union Station, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Tommy Makem and many more.

Nanoburgh's sister company 398 Productions has long been a supporter of the Parting Glass, having placed a number of shows and business affairs in there over the years. The music section is a gem, with great small-room sound and lights. The staff and management are top notch. We will surely continue that support. It is warming to see how the local business community continues to do the same, with a constant flow of business mixers coming through the doors.

Long may you run....

Ask Joe Bruno - There They Go Again

Dear Joe,

Any comment on the new indictment handed down today, which will result in your re-trial?

- Frank at the Bank


Dear Frank,

Those sorry @!** mother -*%**@**#@!((*&* sons of **&&%%#$# wait til I get a hold og their %%$#$&#*&# &#### sorry &^$$#R..((&&&**&%%$ !!!!!* I never heard such $**# -*(*^^%% bull**&*&@ @@ in all my *&&%$$ life.