Okee dokee folks… So, this is something that has been bugging me for a long time: Concerts that are announced and the tickets put on sale a year before the show. While I understand the rationale for the large lead time — it is all about locking in the mighty $$$ ASAP — I don’t like it! When I was young(er) (I know, I do more and more waltzing down memory lane as I age), if tickets went on sale three months before a show that was a long time in advance. The excitement of securing the tickets for the show wouldn’t even wear off before we would get to use them. Nowadays you are lucky to remember you have the tickets. Sometimes we would spend the night on the sidewalk of the Civic Center to be one of the first in line buy tickets. Remember, we were teenagers and this was the ’70s in downtown Providence, which was a far cry from what PVD is like now! My grandparents would occasionally pick up tickets for me before I had a driver’s license. On one occasion my grandfather wound up with his photo in The ProJo and had a little story written about him because he was buying concert tickets for me.
Most of the time I don’t know what I am doing tomorrow or next week, let alone what I am doing at the end of next summer! I just think it is wrong for promoters to ask folks to commit to something a year in advance. Hell, the way things are going in the world we may not even be here in a year, but the promoters have your money, so all is good.
This doesn’t only irk me a concertgoer, it irks me as a performer because I have to book shows a year in advance when I don’t even have the next year’s calendar yet. A while back I booked a show a year and a half in advance, and after about a year of waiting to play the show, the series was canceled. Some of the newer and trendy pop bands book their shows while they are the hot ticket and by the time you actually get to see them live, you are like, “What was I thinking? These guys suck!” So, that is my gripe for the week. You can continue with what you were doing, well, after you read on…
It is a shame that these types of shows are needed, but they will probably become more prevalent in the coming years thanks to Cheeto brain and his minions (Impeach!). The 10th annual Singing
for Shelter Acoustic Christmas Concert for the benefit of Lucy’s Hearth and The McKinney Shelter will take place on Thu, Dec 7 at 7pm at the Channing Church located at 135 Pelham St in Newport. Mark and Anne Gorman of Newport will be hosting this 10th annual concert, and many of Aquidneck Island’s finest musicians will join together to raise much-needed funds for the area’s homeless shelters. This year’s performers include Jack Casey, Ed McGuirl, Tom Perrotti, Mike Fischman, Joe Lambiase, Jimmy Winters, Ed Ledwith, Rand Bradbury, The New 40, John Monllos, Joanne Rodino, Zanricky Duo, Michelle Siegal, Matt Bruneau, Leslie Grimes, Julio Amaro, Kevin Sullivan, Rick Jones, Mike Jackson, John Flanders and Al Fresco Flutes. “As musicians, we’re all honored to do our part to try to alleviate homelessness. This winter promises to be a harsh one, so we’re asking all our Aquidneck island friends to once again come out and support this great night of music for a great cause,” Mark Gorman said. “Lucy’s Hearth and The McKinney Shelter do a wonderful job of providing temporary housing to our homeless population. Singing for Shelter allows these local musicians to support the great work done by these shelters,” Gorman continued. As if all that entertainment wasn’t enough to lure you in, they also will be raffling off a brand new Washburn acoustic guitar valued at $1,000. Advance concert tickets are available at Lucy’s Hearth, 19 Valley Rd, Middletown, at a discount. They also will be available at the door. Children with adults are free. For more, electronically post to mgorman20@cox.net.
If you are fan of the Indigo Girls, you can catch one of them on Sat, Nov 18 at The Met in Pawtucket. Emily Saliers, who is responsible for a lot of Indigo Girls hits, including “Closer to Fine,” “Galileo” and “Hammer and a Nail, released a solo offering at the end of the summer titled Murmuration Nation. She is currently on tour in support of that album. Murmuration Nation has the heart of an Indigo Girl’s recording without the harmonies and angst of Amy Ray. Saliers’ strengths are with her words, voice and melody. The sound is not so acoustic and has more varied instrumental additions, mostly synth, than an Indigo’s album. The song that caught me was a bonus track called “311.” The Met is a great place to witness an intimate show by someone of Saliers’ stature and talent. For more, “Watershed” to themetri.com And while you have The Met on your mind you should grab tix to see Samantha Fish on Dec 13; you won’t be sorry!
Keeping with the topic of last line of the last paragraph, I will stick with fish. Acoustic Hot Tuna is hitting the Greenwich Odeum on Dec 2! If you caught their opening, opening set at the recent PPAC Tedeschi-Trucks show, you were definitely left wanting more. Here is your chance to see this legendary band live. Started as a side project during Jefferson Airplane days, boyhood pals Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady still play great music together. From their days playing together as teenagers in the Washington, DC, area, through years of inventive Psychedelic Rock in San Francisco (1996 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductees) to their current acoustic and electric blues sound, no one has more consistently led American music for the last 50 years. For more, “Embryonic Journey” to GreenwichOdeum.com
Worse than getting info a year before a show is getting a show announcement just days before the performance or even the night before. Press notices should go out three weeks prior to the show and should include the who, what, when, where, how much and “for more info” link. I do honestly want to write about many of the shows out there, but if I don’t get the info in time all I can say is, “Seriously?” E-mail text, not a poster, to RISongwriters@yahoo.com. Yes, it is that simple. Thank you!
That’s it for now. Thanks for reading. JohnFuzek.com