The Buffalodown, Vol. 3, Issue 5
Stories & Events for Social Connection
- State of the Theatre District this coming Tuesday
- Musings on Music: “Live Nation thinks we’re stupid”
- Featured Events: 20 this issue, always encouraging submissions!
- Links to the Deep End: I-Post, Charlie Specht, Buffalo Rising, GObike
Thank you for your attention!
Please forward this to kindred souls, and subscribe here if you haven’t yet!
One more invitation to attend Investigative Post’s panel and discussion on the State of the Theatre District, this coming Tuesday, March 24th, 7-9pm at Shea’s Smith Theatre, 658 Main Street downtown, $10 tickets available here, and here’s another preview.
Upcoming events will include a deep dive into ways to address the wide range of issues facing our struggling city, a series of film screenings and bookstore gatherings, and occasional concerts. Please bookmark and subscribe to Investigative Post, and stay tuned here for much more to come.
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Musings on Music
“Live Nation thinks we’re stupid”
Another subscription recommendation is for music lovers to follow Jeff Miers on Music, as the longtime Buffalo News music journalist offers a weekly “Where the Bands Are” roundup along with commentary and coverage of the local and national circuits.
Lately, Jeff has been bringing light to the darkness of Live Nation-Ticketmaster and the blood-sucking federal administration enabling it with a sweetheart settlement in spite of ample evidence that they’ve been screwing everyday people for decades.
Many state attorneys general including New York’s Letitia James have stepped in response. As Jeff reports, James stated:
“For years, Live Nation has made enormous profits by exploiting its illegal monopoly and raising costs for shows.”
“My office has led a bipartisan group of attorneys general in suing Live Nation for taking advantage of fans, venues, and artists, and we are committed to holding Live Nation accountable. The settlement recently announced with the U.S. Department of Justice fails to address the monopoly at the center of this case, and would benefit Live Nation at the expense of consumers. We cannot agree to it. My attorney general colleagues and I have a strong case against Live Nation, and we will continue our lawsuit to protect consumers and restore fair competition to the live entertainment industry.
“We will keep fighting this case without the federal government so that we can secure justice for all those harmed by Live Nation’s monopoly.”
And about them thinking we’re stupid – as Jeff reports, they were caught literally saying it.
Shout out to the folks at Babeville for sharing this call to action from the National Independent Venue Association, stating: “Right now, state attorneys general across the country are deciding whether to continue challenging Live Nation and Ticketmaster’s significant control of the live music industry. If they walk away, the system that squeezes fans, artists, and independent venues stays exactly the same.”
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Events in the Week Ahead
Thanks to all who’ve submitted their events! Click the flyers for more info!
Welcoming submissions with a flyer and link to seamus@reconnecter.org.
Kindred calendars:
Choose Your Own Adventure (CYOA)
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Links to the Deep End
- Investigative Post is also reporting on the latest costs to Buffalonians of continued police misconduct, yet another state citation of a Buffalo cop,how the government can track your movements and much more.
- And I-Post’s reporting on both the tragic death in Buffalo of Nurul Amin Shah Alam, as well as the resistance to a proposal to build a data center in Genesee County, has led to coverage in The New York Times, as another former Buffalo News reporter Mark Sommer has two articles this week that I’m sharing here with gift links for folks who’ve yet to subscribe to The Times: “A Refugee Died After Border Agents Left Him at a Cafe. Fear Followed.” and “In Rural New York, Some See Proposed A.I. Center as a Needless Intrusion.”
- While Buffalo Mayor Sean Ryan is raising cain with a proposed property tax increase to help dig the city out of the financial crisis he inherited, he’s also proposing to take over the state’s neglected plans for parkway revival along Scajaquada Creek.
- Another new third space for social connection: Newell Nussbaumer writes in Buffalo Rising about the Loud Brew Cafe downtown.
- Frank Housh interviews Spyro Gyra cofounder Jay Beckenstein before the band’s return to their birthplace of Buffalo for a 50th anniversary show later this month.
- Finally, keeping in mind amidst all the hyperlocal content here that our insane elected officials in Washington have started yet another war that has every possibility of becoming a quagmire akin to past crimes in Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam and on and on. NPR leads this morning: “Iran war enters its fourth week with no clear end in sight.”
Reminds me of a song by a soothing voice for times like these, Brett Dennen with “Ain’t No Reason”:
There ain’t no reason things are this way
It’s how they’ve always been and they intend to stay
I can’t explain why we live this way
We do it every day
Prison walls still standing tall
Some things never change at all
Keep on building prisons, gonna fill them all
Keep on building bombs, gonna drop them all
The air on my skin and the world under my toes
Slavery stitched to the fabric of my clothes
Chaos and commotion wherever I go
Love I try to follow
Love will come, set me free
Love will come, set me free, I do believe
Thank YOU for reading this far and being part of it all – extra thanks to everyone supporting this work with a membership at www.reconnecter.org!
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