________

Site Feed

 
There have been some shakeups in the world of my employment. I have been pulled from my invoice printing/processing job and handed an administrative assistant gig. Minding the phones is more stressful than I would have imagined, but that's because I can't run the thing. Our transfer protocols aren't intuitive, and if you try to transfer to someone who doesn't pick up their phone you can get stuck in their voice mail. It's a quirky beast.

I called Alkermkes, and they interviewed candidate #3 today. So I haven't lost yet. Hope Hope Hope.
posted by Ben at (0) comments 3:29 PM

 
God damn. I popped in Bree Sharp's first cd here aty work while doing crappy tasks, and to recover from the mental exhaustion of listening to 6/22/94 w/additional filler and I got to thinking that it would be fun to see Bree and Rock out like some crazed fan. I dig her music a lot more than I really think that I should. It must have something to do with her sly wit, ample sarcasm, and the song "Cheap and Evil Girl" which I played an awful lot in my apartment last year. I guess that was a little too subtle.

Anyway, I went to her website just to found that she's played all across my part of New England in the past month, she's played Bates, Manchester, and the House of Blues (2nd to last show) in a nice spread. Hopefully she comes back so that I can go and rock out. I joined her street team just to be sure that I don’t miss another show. I need to hit one anyway to pick up her new record, More BS.

6/22/94 is without much question or debate one of the top 10 shows Phish has ever played, and is rightfully included in the LivePhish series as #10 despite the fact that there are numerous volume issues with the soundboard recordings. The unamplified My Sweet One is inaudible to the extent that it isn't even labeled as a track, and the a capella Carolina isn't much better. TMWSIY is also a bit to quiet. But that's really unimportant. They could have stopped the show right when TMWSIY and the volume issues started and teh show would still be in the top 10 ever. The first set is beyond solid, and the second set's 2001> Mike's Song -> Simple -> Catapult -> Simple ->Icculus -> Simple -> Mike's Song -> I am Hydrogen -> Weekapaug Groove -> is unreal. It's so good, that it's obvious during the Fluffhead that the band knows that it can't have a big finish to the set. They can't top the madness, so they do the intimate accoustic stuff, a big ball jam, and a couple straight rockers to keep the momentum going. It's an intense show, but feels even more complete than many phish concerts. While it's an enjoyable listen, there’s little more that the mind can take after finishing it. Tapping on an experimental demand->antelope from the next show only makes the 3rd cd draining. It's not even the Murat Gin. Nobody talks about the Murat Antelope (as crazy as it is). Even Bayliss remembers the Gin as a life-altering experience - he's not crazy, he's a professional musician. It may be why.
posted by Ben at (0) comments 3:58 PM

 
Other exploits this weekend involved a tour of Boston beginning Friday Night at an overpriced apartment on Beacon St. where we partook in an apple pie fest. Some first year immunology students had gone apple picking, and needed to eliminate their apples. Surprisingly, or perhaps not, they elected to do so by preparing a table full of desserts and inviting every student that they knew over to eat them (given that they were first years, this wasn't so impressive of a feat). It was tasty, but not especially diverse. I left two copies of the Assembly of Dust promo cd.

I ended up with some of these folk at the rock bottom where one first years somewhat older, and financially unreasonable, boyfriend decided to pick up everyone's tab. Despite the freeness, I was rather unimpressed by the brews. I guess nothing could compare to the HW Cask Conditioned porter that I had last weekend...

Saturday's wanderings were related to flyer/cding Alston and BU. The most notable finds of this journey were two shops with cats. A disorganized used bookstore housed two cats, and seemingly no people. The cats liked being pet, but weren't especially enthusiastic. We found happier cats in a Headshop on Harvard Ave. One happy kitten jumped around and practiced for football in a grid of spiritual stones. He was fun, his older store-mate was also an interesting character. Apparently, the kitten won't go out the open door to the street but the older cat sometimes visits the store next door.

On Sunday, after the movie, we went to another used book store with a rather plump cat. It was sociable but not as interesting as the kitten, or the king of all cats - Rocky.

"Remember that you damn well better have read the fucking book." - Trey Anastasio 6/22/94
posted by Ben at (0) comments 1:57 PM

 
Secondhand Lions is, without question, the greatest movie that I have ever seen about crass old men. There is an unbelievable amount of acting talent crammed into this film that it would be fun to watch even if the plot were vapid, and characterization completely neglected (see Once Upon A Time in Mexico for such a film). Fortunately, this film has a heartfelt and moving plot which manages to bring adventure to a dilapidated Texas ranch. The conflicts are real, and morality and ethics are presented as key considerations in a family movie that doesn't dumb itself down, or cutesy itself up to children. It's a movie about crass old men, who'd rather have shotguns than canes, and a boy that's frightened of the world who spends the summer with them.

Hopefully this film kicks off a great fall movie season, it's one of my favorite times of the year for movies. Serious films come back to the mainstream cinema, but not pretentiously serious films that were crafted to please the academy and win an Oscar. Establishment films can be interesting, but I grow weary of stylishly dower films and the critics apparent policy that films with meaning should show life as bleak, tortured and hopeless (see American Beauty, Gangs of New York, About Schmidt, etc...) unless they are set in the bleakest of circumstances, which is almost exclusively the Holocaust. Then it's ok for a small flame to burn in history's dark night.

The academy will overlook Robert Duvall this year, despite his three profound performances. (Gods and Generals - He's done it before, Open Range - directed by Kevin Costner, can't be good, Secondhand Lions - No one over the age of 15 can be idealistic, let alone a crass old man).
posted by Ben at (0) comments 12:50 PM

 
Woot! Slacker is really back in the Umph rotation. They've played it at least four times this month. Maybe they re-tooled it while recording the next album (the middle jam is very different) and now Bayliss can stand playing it. Woot! It's the song that got me really into the Umph. "The way you measure things all depends on whether or not you're working for another man's ends."

Check out the whole second set from 9/24
Set Two: Smell the Mitten > Divisions > Glory > Divisions > #5 > Divisions, Ringo** > Slacker > JaJunk > Winston
posted by Ben at (0) comments 3:19 PM

 
"American Political Dynasties as Indicators of Major Shifts in Socio-Political Paradigm" - History Thesis title, circa 2053. (-10 for use of the word paradigm, -5 for its proximity to the otherwise harmless word of Shift, barely passed defense)

I look at Jackson's presidency as the beginning of the Antebellum period. From there until the Kennedys race and class issues defined the nation. There was a period of immense prosperity and untouchability following the Kennedy administration.

Now, we have been touched. What will follow in the wake of the Bush Dynasty.

Note, this thesis student would really want a 19th century dynasty around the time of Hayes-Tilden. The Roosevelts cannot be considered a dynasty, as politically they were opposites. Maybe FDR was a one man dynasty.

posted by Ben at (0) comments 1:46 PM

 
There are a lot of recent political comings and goings that have me re-evaluating my position and party affiliation. No, I'm not going to become a Democrat. I haven't lost the capability to do math, but the current primary race is really captivating my attention. That coupled with New Hampshire's key role as the first in the nation primary, a duty I am only more keenly aware of in the wake of former governor Hugh Gregg's passing, really inspires a need to participate in this years primary. Unfortunately, it seems that the only way for me to do so is to become an independent and vote on the Democratic ticket - but not to help give McGovern the nod. If I did that, He might just win the whole thing. The situation is worsened by my place of residence.

Not only is New Hampshire a key state for the media attention, and it's ability to give campaigns the media momentum of concrete victories which mean infinitely more than the oft quoted, and opinion controlling polls. Too many people are lemmings who are interested in cheering for a winner, not the underdog. Here in New England, we've been cheering for the underdog since 1918. We know that the socks are cursed. We know that the Cubs have a better chance of winning the series, but we still are out rooting for our team and apparently still driving like celebratory animals down Sturrow drive even after they loose games to the Mariners. Here in New England, we want to root for the team and support the politicians that are closest to our hearts.

This is particularly important, as NH is seen as a key battle-ground between Dean and Kerry. Dean seems too slippery, and Kerry too polished to really be my ideal choice of dinner companion. I'm certain whose politics are more in-line with my own. So thumbs down to Vermont. Thumbs up to Taxachuessets. I can't believe that I said that. This is certainly a sorry campaign. I'd rather support the man from Connecticut; but even in this nations synagogues, he doesn't have a prayer. My choices are limited.

It seems increasingly clear that the current administration’s ship will burn before it has a chance to sink. Colin Powell has all-but said that he won't be on-board for a second term. Slippery Dick Cheney is being less than honest about his ties to Halliburton. I wouldn't care, if he were up front and in the open. Yes they are still paying me a pension, and I -as a private citizen own stock - but despite my ties and this whole political cauldron they offer the best value in services for the Iraq contracts that they have won. In fact he could challenge the dems to find a better value. Unfortunately, the cloak and dagger routines seem to indicate that Halliburton is closer to Tea pot dome than political legitimacy. I hate to think that the second Bush administration will be compared to Grant's, but he isn't aiming to be another JQA. (Admittedly, JQA was no Polk, but he's still one of my favorite presidents and would have better served the nation with a second term than that Jackson fellow who beat him).

The current shakedown, and the outing of the closet republican running for a democratic nomination, and the grim part of me that wants to see the Austrian-talking head govern California are making me lament the current state of power politics. No longer are we electing men, but we're electing machines - teams of advisors, writers, consultants, visionaries, who are all part of a greater party machine.

I want a republican primary that I can care about, but the nomination is not just a foregone conclusion. It's so decided that there is no competition. I remember when I started following politics, when Bush I was campaigning for re-election there was at least some mildly amusing attempt at a primary. Dan Quale was even running against him (all part of some fool-hardy plan to get coin in his coffers for a 1996 presidential campaign, no doubt). In 2004 we will have no such choice. The party seems to have decided through collective inaction that the devil that we know is better than the devil that we don't. Unfortunately, G-dubs 9-11 buzz has been squandered in the past year. It started with Bush's failure to manufacture consent for the Iraq war at the UN. I still believe that the war was justified, although not for the primary reason emphasized in the UN (wmd). Now, the apparent absence of a viable plan for reconstruction, it's shoddy revision, and inconsistent definition amongst cabinet members. Rumsfeld should not be running around saying that we are not in the business of building nations. If we aren't, who is? the UN? Look at what they've failed to do with Africa! We nuked Japan twice, and 30 years later we were worried that they'd buy the Whitehouse. A defining moment of my childhood, was seeing a Mad magazine full-color comic of teh Whitehouse with a made in Japan inlay. There must be enough oil-money in Iraq that we can encourage economic growth. We should stop giving all of the reconstruction money to American fat-cats like Halliburton and start feeding the scrawny cats, of Iraq. It's an educated country with a sort of middle class. We should give some contracts to Iraqi engineering companies (admittedly, we should select companies where most senior employees were educated in Europe or America). Get the economy going again, and they can continue to grow. If the people are making a living, they aren’t going to grumble too much their government.
posted by Ben at (0) comments 12:42 PM

 
The fact that I was just handed three more CDs, from which I am to print half a tree's worth of documents really kills the positive attitude that I intended to bring to this post. I was going to remark about the sun, and the joy of eating lunch beside the renovated mills, watching Segways go by, and staring at the river which has swollen so that the rapids below the Waumbec mill have been swallowed. If I worked here permanently, I'd need a kayak in my cube so I could play in the copious rapids of Mill-yard Manchester on my lunch break. Unfortunately, I'm a transient who was just handed the crappiest of crappy jobs.
posted by Ben at (0) comments 12:48 PM

 
I'm waiting for another stack of invoices to print. It's just another way to pass off part of the work day, sitting in my cube listening to Tom Waits and wondering about the weekend. She's my Coney Island baby, she's my Coney island Girl. Dark gruff images of a red dress on a misty pier. Maybe it's not the best music to keep spirits up in a fit of productive bliss, ignorant of the world with the mind turned off in a back seat haze watching my hands as they flip, number and sort each page.

Maybe it is fitting music, soft swells of woodwinds and a distant piano. Murky waitsness relaxes the mind, and prepares the ears to hear some more involved pieces. Maybe Hampton Night 2. Maybe I'll want to hear more about the moon in the mist.

It's only 9 am and my craving for pizza and meat has returned. Ever since I first saw - out of paper - that domino's cheese steak pizza, I've wanted to sink my teeth into a succulent showcase of cheese and meat. Generally, I think of the burrito as the ultimate power food - combining meat, cheese, vegetables and flower in an enjoyable, but compact form. I guess that the prevalent, but non-ideal burritos of Boston have made me question my culinary creed.
posted by Ben at (0) comments 9:11 AM

 
As piper, builds, I write taking time for a bit of mental respite between flurries of data entry. I spent much of the last evening composing individual letters to each of the people I met during my visit to Alkermes. Hopefully they communicated my enthusiasm for the company, and my deep interest in the position. I don’t just want a job, I want that job at Alkermes. I think that my father would also like that job, although his experience has caused him to drift far from positions of such potential.

Word should come from Alkermes at either the end of the week, or sometime next week. We'll see. Will they break my heart, or will something stupendous start?
posted by Ben at (0) comments 10:45 AM

 
Must write, to exercise the writing muscle. 10 reps, 20 reps. I'd like to cut my hands off, so I can weigh them. What do you say? .

I've been thinking a lot about the value of time, and how I need to economize it since I'm a quasi-working man off in crappy temp land. I'm also interviewing for a job that will come with a hefty commute (so hefty, that it may disrupt my plans to see if I can bamboozle any fraternity brothers into moving to Boston and becoming my roommates). The idea of a commute possibly 3-4 hours a day really has me evaluating the value of time. Couple that with Jambase's interview ith Mike Gordon, where he talks about the necessity of cutting some things out of life so that others can develop more fully, and I'm very sensitive to the idea of wasting time. It is far too precious.

The writing muscle does need its work out, just as the running muscles need theirs. Unfortunately, it's much more difficult to define a successful workout for the writing muscle. Should every effort result in a grandiose prose sonnet of flowery visions, ghosts and harrowing meaning? Is it best to continue writing until my words can find a way to transcend themselves and acquire inadvertent, but profound meanings. If I am to become a 1000 monkeys, will I craft Shakespeare or will I simply go bananas, and run in circles screaming for my little red hat.

Here's some tings that I do know. Music is good. It allows emotion and memory to be stored and transmitted in the media of time. People are good. Event planners should seek to maximize their potential for possibilities, and not to craft a singular experience that can at best - only meet their expectations.

I also know that Mike Gordon's Inside IN is the best record I've heard come from 2003. It's textured, cryptically thoughtful, and moving in such a jazz/funk/rock manner that Yoshimi (which i love) seems trite. It may not be as timeless, or universally appealing as Abbey Road, but the record still has a lot of layers to its onion of virtue. Neil Young's Greendale is also quite good... I prefer the second half to the first, but I'm just a sucker for a megaphone.
posted by Ben at (0) comments 11:18 AM

 
This has been a banner day. Not only did I get tourdates (with a 20th aniversary show at the Fleet Center) but I also scored a job interview. Woo hooo!!!
posted by Ben at (0) comments 7:18 PM

 
There's a lot of fragmented thoughts in my head that I could write about, but I'm not sure where this will go... I walked into work today thinking about how I liked the feeling of a city that's on an economic upswing more than the feel of a city that's on its way down, even temporarily. In my life, I've seen both Nashua and to a lesser extent Manchester swing both ways. It's pleasing to walk down commercial street and see once dark or boarded windows illumined by the businesses that have moved into the old Amoskeag Mills. Even amidst a recession Manchester is still a growing city. It's not growing enough to help me, the entry level chem-e, but it is at least concerting.

My visits to Portland, OR which is a city that is in decline really emphasized the shadows of squandered dreams. In retrospect, this is the grime that continued to darken Cleveland on even the sunniest day. My time at CWRU was not a time for growth in greater Cleveland. Yes, the suburbs continued to sprawl and the Browns came back home but LTV closed, and more industry was on the way. Little was starting, and the warehouses on Euclid and Chester continued to be demolished or left to decay into further unsightliness. There was no spirit of hope. No light of potential shown down on the city. The Plain Dealer blamed Case for some sort of brain drain by letting supposedly talented folks, perhaps like me, slip away to Boston's route-128 corridor or San Francisco. There just aren't enough high tech jobs in Cleveland to make us interested in sticking around, and paying unreasonable city income taxes.

The 128 corridor is so over crowded it's spilling onto 495, 93, and route 3 even crossing the border and following the Merrimack up to tax free Manchester. You don't need a Case degree to see the attraction of earning more money in a Tax free state, than earning less in low-cost, low-benefit Cleveland. Maybe if I really liked the Indians. I prefer the drama of a team that knows that it can come oh so close, but never actually win the world series. Not that I care that much about baseball.
posted by Ben at (0) comments 9:47 AM

 
This is truly the most awesome hack MIT has ever pulled.... a hack on Vegas, baby.

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/primetime/US/MITgamblers030915.html

This harrowing tale of high rollers, strippers, and geeks dating NFL cheerleaders makes me think that Case isn't nerdy enough.

In other nerd news, I believe that I may have seen a Segway at top speed. It was certainly fast. I was sitting a retaining wall eating lunch and watching the river, which has swelled a foot and a half since Friday for no apparent reason, and heard a woosh of air. I turned and saw a guy float by. Even at a speed which might be considered reckless in a tight pedestrian/parking area between the mill building and the river, the device made naught but the faintest hum. Silly applications of high technology can be quite charming.

And while I can't imagine a future where Segway's have utility, they are quite probably the closest thing we have to the oft promised flying cars. I, for one, am quite glad to see them.
posted by Ben at (0) comments 1:00 PM

 
Why is it that cubicles don’t have street addresses? I’ve been working here less than a week, and I’ve had to try to communicate my desk location twice with no real success. Yes, I’m sort of near Breakout Room 9, but that doesn’t really help anyone. Yes, I’m near Tom and Cathe – but a manager in another department won’t necessarily (and in one case definitely did not) know them.

If I were at 10 Dilbert Path, or at the intersection of Seinfeld St and Kramer way, all anyone would need is a map and I could be easily found. This map could be given to new employees when they get their parking pass, sign non-disclosure agreements, shake hands with HR – all that first day stuff, then they’d be set. The map would make a lovely cubicle decoration, or it could be stored for easy recall in Lotus notes.

Yes, I suppose map coordinates or even simply numbers could suffice; but street names are more fun.
posted by Ben at (0) comments 11:39 AM

 
I spent what will likely be my last weekend of the season at the lake in Maine. Kate and I climbed Mt. Tumbledown on Saturday. For such as short mountain, roughly 3000 ft, there is a surprising amount of geographical diversity. From crags, to chimneys, an alpine lake, granite smooth and rough there is plenty to see among the three peaks. It's no wonder it is such a popular climb. In addition to expected families, we encountered a large group from Colby's outing club and an overly militant Boy Scout troop camping at the lake. Kate was bitten or stung by some sort of venomous insect, and still has some swelling in her hand. Hopefully this can be treated by those Harvard people.

Sunday was more for relaxing at the lake, with canoeing, and reading comprising the major "events". Most notably, Kate and I took Rocky for another canoe ride. He seemed to enjoy it, and even started walking around on the gunwale. It was great to see him perched on the heart at the bow, staring into the water. It's quite an unusual experience for a Cat, I'd wager. I'm glad that he enjoyed it, and only once worried us that he was about to fall in. I think that spooked him a little too.
posted by Ben at (0) comments 10:35 AM

 
Spending about 10 hours a day at work, or in transit to it eats up a fair bit of time. Of course, school did the same - but it's a big shock to the system after the relative malaise of my summer. I guess my brain slowed down to a speed which can easily handle the rate of incoming job ads. Now it needs to speed up, and i need to find newer ways to relax, instead of constantly listening to tunes.
posted by Ben at (0) comments 10:40 PM

 
One nice thing about my current job, is that the company gives out free sodas. Now, I'll get coke for lunch. This isn't as pragmatic as the $0.25 power bars at Aspect, but I'll deal. Maybe, if I scrounge, I can find more cheap eats.

I must say that I love the view of the mills and the Merrimack from the window near the restrooms which are by the gym. The perspective catches just enough trees to frame the water and separate the blue from the brick.
posted by Ben at (0) comments 10:21 PM

 
The first day of work was pretty good, aside from the fact that my work consisted of nothing other than printing. RiverSide resources is an intersting insurance company, located in a renovated top floor of one of the Ammoskeag mills buildings. Unfortunately, my section is in the partitioned portion of the building, and not the lengthy open exercise in perspecvtive that houses HR and some other folks. I wonder if my great grandfather walked these same floors...
posted by Ben at (0) comments 10:20 PM

 
This afternoon I'll begin a 2.5 week temp job doing data entry for an insurance related company in Manchester. I feel just about like the Miss Tinkle's Overture from moe.down sounds.... Its nice that the agency gives out enough notice to iron some pants.
posted by Ben at (0) comments 11:49 AM

 
Here are some other scrappy tidbits of the past weekend. Certainly, there's nothing of note happening in my employment search drained mind.

I have declared war on Marmalade, or perhaps on jam. After a fish dinner that escaped disaster to become passable, Kate, Brianne and I went to a Crepe shop for dessert. It was the first time any of us had been there. My skin was burnt by the secretions of a strawberry marmalade crepe. We won't discuss what it did to my tongue.

Open Range is a very well developed movie, with a nice deliberate pace and some great visuals and ethical questions. There are some editing botches, which stood out to me - I don't usually catch them. I would have like a little additional history about the Free Range / Rancher conflict but it would be difficult to present a developed background on that front in a visually interesting fashion. I really enjoyed the use of hats - traditional and innovative.

Rising Low was everything I had hoped for and more. Mike Gordon's documentary was simultaneously informative, entertaining, and offered more than a little music appreciation 101. Extra points for the blue button.
posted by Ben at (0) comments 4:38 PM

 
Deep sea fishing out of Gloucester was even more fun than I expected. It was a birthday gift for myself, and my younger brother - 363 days younger. While we didn't see any whales, we did land a bunch of fish. We kept 6. Three cod and three haddock. I also boated a mammoth Pollock (3-4 feet) but it escaped the boat before we could properly stow it. Of well. The best fish always gets away.

While I wouldn’t go deep sea fishing every weekend, I do think that I’d enjoy doing it again. I certainly wish that I’d gone in Florida over spring break. I really like a lot of gulf fish. Cod and Haddock aren’t exactly my favorites, but I’ll enjoy them anyway.
posted by Ben at (0) comments 10:52 PM

 
Another birthday has come and gone, although all of its celebrations have yet to pass. I feel rather positive. I haven't been with my family on my birthday for the past 5 years, and it's often been overlooked by friends as it falls in the midst of a very hectic rush week. My family made a very pleasant salmon dinner with local corn and much happiness. Simple moments of joyful remembrance. It was also the first meal in quite some time that we'd had as a family without guests or girlfriends. While I always enjoy the presence of the ladies, it does change the dynamic. Of course, I'm no less silly when they're not around. Sticky ribbons still end up on my head, even if I'm not inspiring delightful laughter.
posted by Ben at (0) comments 10:23 AM

 
A Free Market Objection To Proposed Ticketmaster Auctions

Recently, Ticketmaster announced that they will be rolling out a new program where people will be able to bid on "the best seats". While it's unclear if this announced program is intended to be a radical shift in the ticketing giant's retail strategy, or if it's intended to be a high profile program involving only a small percentage of tickets for a given concert. Regardless, it sets a precedent that is uncomfortable for many concertgoers, many of whom already complain about service fees that often exceed 25% of the ticket price. Of course, some might argue that ticket auctions are the logical extension of the free market system. While this seems to be the case on the surface, the isolated market of the auction is built upon a strong foundation of activities and policies, which stand in restraint of trade.

In a free market, consumers select goods and services from an infinite number of suppliers. They can make their choices based on personal preference, price, style - whatever they wish. Vendors set their prices by considering their relative demand and supply of product. Price is independent of production cost. Free market vendors simply stop producing a product if they won't make money on it. Consumers will choose not to purchase inferior products which are priced above their value, unless there is a scarcity. In a truly free market there is no scarcity because a new vendor will step up and produce additional product until the supply and demand are in equilibrium.

Clearly, we live in a finite world that can, at best, approximate a free market. To consider the forces of the free market, one must have a global viewpoint. Considering the business of live music as a primary example, one can find a near infinite supply of groups playing in a sufficiently infinite number of venues. Note, that each city has an equilibrium number of bars, clubs, arenas and stadiums reflecting the entertainment habits of its residents. On the small-scale bar/small club level where there is limited ticket distribution, often below Ticketmaster's radar we can see free market forces at work.

Bands and venues set prices to attract people to hear the music and buy beer. If a band is priced too highly, they don't draw a large crowd and may not have enough money to cover their expenses. If they price themselves too low - there's a full house of happy customers but an apparent potential of lost money. The next time the band is in town, they'd raise their prices correspondingly or they'd play a larger room and hope for an even greater crowd. Either way, the band will leave the town for a period of time and play elsewhere for different fans because most fans don't want to see the same band every week.

Of course, some bands have found ways to make each show a one of a kind event to encourage repeat business. It's a great approach for an unfettered market, but may lead to frustrated traveling fans when the band starts playing larger venues (over 1000 people). Most venues at or greater than this size have exclusive ticket distribution contracts. All of their tickets are sold either at their box-office, or through the distributor. This is a reasonable system. If there is reserved seating, you can't have two distributors simultaneously selling the same seat. In principle, the distributor system is in keeping with the free market. Distributors could compete for a venues business by charging smaller fees and offering different services - phone, internet, and retail sales. Unfortunately, the current marketplace for ticket distributors is not well approximated by free market principles. In fact, the current system consists of one large distributor, Ticketmaster, and a few smaller outfits like NextTicketing. While, in fact, the system is not a monopoly; it essentially acts like one.

There is only one national ticket distributor, which hold the contracts on every major arena in the country, and most of the clubs. The smaller vendors are being edged out of the market because they cannot negotiate contracts with the national corporations that own many venues. Ticketmaster secures the business of all of ClearChannel’s venues with one simple contract, which prohibits ClearChannel owned venues from working with another distributor. Ticketmaster may be the best vendor for the Shoreline Ampitheater a 22,000 seat venue Mountain View, CA but it is impossible for Clear Channel to select them as a distributor unless they hand over tickets to all of their venues, including the Orpheum theater in Boston, MA which is 1/10th the size and may be better served by a smaller regional distributor like Next Ticketing.

Like Standard Oil at the turn of the century, Ticketmaster has eliminated its competition by strong arming its customers, non-competitive buyouts and setting unreasonable prices for it's services, which consumers cannot avoid paying if they buy tickets. Ticketmaster even gets fees for tickets purchased at the venue box office.

Jamband, String Cheese Incident is picking up Pearl Jam’s anti-Ticketmaster cause and suing them for efforts to significantly limit the numbers of concert tickets that they have been able to sell through fan clubs. Ticketmaster refuses to recognize any club that does not charge a membership fee in the traditional fan-club ticket sales which have in the past amounted to 1/3 of the seats in a venue. Internet technology has developed at a pace that bands can distribute their own tickets at a lower cost to their fans, than Ticketmaster. Right now the touring acts, themselves, are the only entities in the live music business with the national reach to offer effective competition in ticket distribution so Ticketmaster is seeking to eliminate fan-club ticketing. Fans of bands like the Grateful Dead, Phish, String Cheese, and Bob Dylan have been able to receive fan club tickets without actually signing up for much more than a mailing list since the 1980s.

Admittedly, turning the fan club ticketing turned Internet resale is capitalizing on a loop-hole in the Ticketmaster contract, but it may be the only thing that keeps Ticketmaster from anti-trust violations.

The idea of auctioning tickets off adds an additional insult to injury. The only reason Ticketmaster is in a place to do so is that they control the tickets. Sure some brokers have been able to resell tickets at a premium, and some people have been scalping tickets to sold out shows on Ebay. These may seem like untapped potential revenues to Ticketmaster, but they result from an inefficient management of resources. They sell tickets to the brokers, and the scalpers. Limiting the number of tickets that a single credit card can purchase would cut most of the professionals out of the business. That isn't ticketmaster's goal. They want to take away the artist's role of deciding the price. they want a market dominated by a monopolistic middle man, not by the supply and demand relationship between consumer and producer.

It's parallel to the NYSE becoming the sole listing and broker of stocks, not one place of exchange among many.

This seems to have fallen apart. Maybe I'll polish it up and put it on my web page.

posted by Ben at (0) comments 3:43 PM

 
Listening to Neil Young’s Bonaroo performance is making me really want to see him with the Horse in Manchester next week. The passionate sadness of the feedback is marvelous, I'm appreciating Young's Hendrix-esque bursts of notes and wise sustain differently than usual. Probably because I listened to part of Live at the Fillmore East yesterday. And, “Be the Rain” is such a powerful tune - the only new song in this set which basically reads like selected highlights of Live Rust - which is my only real complaint about Neil, and probably his major complaint too.

Neil Young - Be The Rain.
posted by Ben at (0) comments 2:29 PM