One thing I've never understood is the need to document every aspect of our lives for posterity. This becomes especially difficult if you attend a show.
What I love most about going to a show is the freedom to turn off from our every day lives and experience something real and in the moment. However, without fail, there is always someone insists on recording the entire experience. Now, I can accept that they want to record it for themselves, but they continually insist that somehow their act of preservation through filming supersedes my action of first hand experience.
At the Pietasters show I attended on Friday night, there was a woman right in front, who insisted on moving up and down the front row to film the show at the oddest angles. At one point, she was trying to film inside of a saxophone with a camera phone. While I've never witnessed a show from the perspective of the saxophone, I'm fairly certain that it is an experience that no one needs, since the video would not be capturing anything of interest and the sound is almost certainly all saxophone, as it will drown out the remainder of the music.
It actually became so bad, the poor woman was oblivious to the crowd swelling behind her and pushing forward to scream into Steve Jackson's microphone, which managed to push her to the ground and cause her to lose her glasses. She did find her glasses and she certainly broke no bones, but she was so focused in her act of cultural preservation, she let her self-preservation go.
I think this speaks louder to our general need to record everything, destroying the concept of shared memory and human experience, because the machine recording becomes the maker of the actual record, even though I've watched videos from shows I've attended and the sound is completely different once you watch it filtered through a phone and loaded to the internet. I think these actions destroy part of our human experience and we end up choosing to believe our machines over our memories.
As for the Pietasters, they were excellent as always, providing a high-energy show packed with their classics and a strong selection of their newer songs, which are far better than the average ska band from the 1990s recording new material. If they are playing in your area, I would strongly recommend going to see them, though I do ask that you try to enjoy the experience live, while you are there, rather than distill it for future generations.
Showing posts with label Pietasters. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pietasters. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 22, 2017
Saturday, March 18, 2017
T2 Trainspotting, Who Is It For?
The upside of working in New York City is that you get certain cultural opportunities that other people miss out on. It is priced into your area rent, so you should make the most of it while you can. While most people would think this would be the fine arts, such as museums and musicals, this extends to additional access to films and concerts that you would not consider fine arts, but are still a cultural opportunity.
Last night, after attending an early Pietasters show at Webster Hall, I was only three blocks away from the Regal Cinema in Union Square showing T2 Trainspotting. After waiting for two release dates to come and go, I was determined to see the movie as soon as possible. My original assumption was that I would see it in New Jersey, but it was playing at exactly zero theaters in the state So, with that out of the way, I sucked it up and paid $16.35 to see the movie.
Assuming there were only ten or so minutes of previews, I hustled my way up two sets of escalators, determined not to be late. Of course, there were more than twenty minutes of previews, so I was in fact early, despite my horrified belief that I was late and was missing the opening of the film, something I've only done once, during the third time I saw Chasing Amy in a theater back in 1997 at a $2.50 movie house in South Jersey.
That being said, I was still excited, as was most of the audience, because Trainspotting is a cultural touchstone for many people, including those who didn't fill their veins with heroin, but found the movie intoxicating nonetheless. The sequel is loosely based on Porno, Irvine Welsh's follow up to the same characters from the Trainspotting world, cutting the plot down significantly to focus on a limited number of events and characters.
As to the film, it was truly filmed for people who loved the original movie. It was full of callbacks for people that the loved the original, small and large. The movie doesn't struggle despite being slavish about remixing every beat from the original, changed to reflect what 20 years added would feel like. The cinematography was outstanding, mixing a variety of styles and film types to depict different eras and thoughts. The story, stripped down, was very much a going home story.
Going home stories always remind us that the world moves forward, despite our constant yearning to go back to simpler times or times when our futures were before us instead of slowly moving into the rear view mirror, as we ask ourselves where did we go wrong. And the movie brilliantly spells this out in the Choose Life speech, which looks at our decisions and our world 20 years later, giving us pause to examine our failures. The story also has a slant about neoliberalism and the people left behind, which I find rare in art at the moment, but will likely blow up in the next ten years as the pool of people left behind by society's breakneck pace will no longer just be people who work with their hands, but also those who work with their minds.
That being said, if you saw the original, you should see the sequel, but seeing the movie without the original would make large parts make no sense, since the context of the sequel is solely the original movie, so the movie is for people, who love Trainspotting, but at the same time saw their lives not move forward as expected, but move slowly behind, as their lives are slowly bleeding out of them, with no way to cauterize their slow, impending death.
Last night, after attending an early Pietasters show at Webster Hall, I was only three blocks away from the Regal Cinema in Union Square showing T2 Trainspotting. After waiting for two release dates to come and go, I was determined to see the movie as soon as possible. My original assumption was that I would see it in New Jersey, but it was playing at exactly zero theaters in the state So, with that out of the way, I sucked it up and paid $16.35 to see the movie.
Assuming there were only ten or so minutes of previews, I hustled my way up two sets of escalators, determined not to be late. Of course, there were more than twenty minutes of previews, so I was in fact early, despite my horrified belief that I was late and was missing the opening of the film, something I've only done once, during the third time I saw Chasing Amy in a theater back in 1997 at a $2.50 movie house in South Jersey.
That being said, I was still excited, as was most of the audience, because Trainspotting is a cultural touchstone for many people, including those who didn't fill their veins with heroin, but found the movie intoxicating nonetheless. The sequel is loosely based on Porno, Irvine Welsh's follow up to the same characters from the Trainspotting world, cutting the plot down significantly to focus on a limited number of events and characters.
As to the film, it was truly filmed for people who loved the original movie. It was full of callbacks for people that the loved the original, small and large. The movie doesn't struggle despite being slavish about remixing every beat from the original, changed to reflect what 20 years added would feel like. The cinematography was outstanding, mixing a variety of styles and film types to depict different eras and thoughts. The story, stripped down, was very much a going home story.
Going home stories always remind us that the world moves forward, despite our constant yearning to go back to simpler times or times when our futures were before us instead of slowly moving into the rear view mirror, as we ask ourselves where did we go wrong. And the movie brilliantly spells this out in the Choose Life speech, which looks at our decisions and our world 20 years later, giving us pause to examine our failures. The story also has a slant about neoliberalism and the people left behind, which I find rare in art at the moment, but will likely blow up in the next ten years as the pool of people left behind by society's breakneck pace will no longer just be people who work with their hands, but also those who work with their minds.
That being said, if you saw the original, you should see the sequel, but seeing the movie without the original would make large parts make no sense, since the context of the sequel is solely the original movie, so the movie is for people, who love Trainspotting, but at the same time saw their lives not move forward as expected, but move slowly behind, as their lives are slowly bleeding out of them, with no way to cauterize their slow, impending death.
Sunday, October 19, 2014
Splitting the Ticket
Sadly, this post has nothing to do with politics, a great love of mine, but rather the costs associated with live entertainment.
This year, I've attended 16 shows, which is 14 more than I went to last year and there are still two months, three Slackers shows and a Damned show to go. Now, generally, I purchase tickets in advance. The reason being, it serves to encourage me to go to events and on occasion, such as the Slackers boat show or Slackers secret show, gives me access to sold out events.
When I went to purchase tickets to the Damned from Ticketmaster, it was going to cost just north of $100 to purchase two tickets from them for the Stone Pony. Having business in Asbury Park a month ago, I purchased them directly from the Stone Pony, total cost, $55 for two tickets. It was like getting a ticket for free by going to the box office. Since it was Ticketmaster, I assumed it was an isolated event, since we are all used to overpaying on Ticketmaster fees.
However, today, I purchased a ticket to Skanksgiving at the Starland Ballroom. I'm quite excited to see the Slackers for the 20th time, Westbound Train for the first time and the Pietasters for the sixth time. Even though I live close to Sayreville, I've never been to the Starland Ballroom and sadly, just haven't found the time and motivation to drive to Sayreville to get a ticket ahead of time, since unlike Asbury Park, there is no reason anyone would want to go Sayreville for the day.
So, I broke down and bought a ticket today.
The ticket itself was $15.95, which represents less than half the associated costs with going to the event. On the other side, there is $1.05 for tax, an unavoidable reality. A $7.50 charge to use AXS.com, which feels more expensive than Ticketmaster, probably because it is just under 50% of the total ticket price. But since I wanted a ticket, I needed to pay an additional $5.00 for a ticket to be mailed to me, which was actually cheaper than Will Call, which was $6.00. Six dollars to write a name on a piece of paper. That's law firm or consulting pricing, not real world pricing. (Admittedly, in consulting pricing that would be a good deal.) So, we are at $13.55 in fees on the ticket. Which if there was reliable public transportation to the area (there isn't, since my train station is closest to the event, which they recommend a cab from), would be the end of it.
Instead, there is now parking, which is either $7.00 to use their lot or if I was mentally challenged, $18.69 for Star Parking, which gives me a slightly closer parking spot and the ability to be first in line. It's a six band ska show. I have night terrors about sitting through six bands at my age. Four, with Mephiskapheles, might be a bridge too far in terms of time. But I don't need to be first for that.
So, adding in parking, we are up to $20.55 in fees versus $15.95 in actual ticket price, which seems sadly absurd and likely has a strong, long term impact on live events, when more of the consumer's money goes to other fees, rather than artists. Someday, when I'm very old, instead of regular old, I will complain more about how economy shifts money around to at best, create jobs, but more likely, unjustly enriches people who provide no value, aside from taking advantage of their monopolistic position, but in the interim, I'll go to the show and realize I paid $36.00 for a $15.95 ticket.
This year, I've attended 16 shows, which is 14 more than I went to last year and there are still two months, three Slackers shows and a Damned show to go. Now, generally, I purchase tickets in advance. The reason being, it serves to encourage me to go to events and on occasion, such as the Slackers boat show or Slackers secret show, gives me access to sold out events.
When I went to purchase tickets to the Damned from Ticketmaster, it was going to cost just north of $100 to purchase two tickets from them for the Stone Pony. Having business in Asbury Park a month ago, I purchased them directly from the Stone Pony, total cost, $55 for two tickets. It was like getting a ticket for free by going to the box office. Since it was Ticketmaster, I assumed it was an isolated event, since we are all used to overpaying on Ticketmaster fees.
However, today, I purchased a ticket to Skanksgiving at the Starland Ballroom. I'm quite excited to see the Slackers for the 20th time, Westbound Train for the first time and the Pietasters for the sixth time. Even though I live close to Sayreville, I've never been to the Starland Ballroom and sadly, just haven't found the time and motivation to drive to Sayreville to get a ticket ahead of time, since unlike Asbury Park, there is no reason anyone would want to go Sayreville for the day.
So, I broke down and bought a ticket today.
The ticket itself was $15.95, which represents less than half the associated costs with going to the event. On the other side, there is $1.05 for tax, an unavoidable reality. A $7.50 charge to use AXS.com, which feels more expensive than Ticketmaster, probably because it is just under 50% of the total ticket price. But since I wanted a ticket, I needed to pay an additional $5.00 for a ticket to be mailed to me, which was actually cheaper than Will Call, which was $6.00. Six dollars to write a name on a piece of paper. That's law firm or consulting pricing, not real world pricing. (Admittedly, in consulting pricing that would be a good deal.) So, we are at $13.55 in fees on the ticket. Which if there was reliable public transportation to the area (there isn't, since my train station is closest to the event, which they recommend a cab from), would be the end of it.
Instead, there is now parking, which is either $7.00 to use their lot or if I was mentally challenged, $18.69 for Star Parking, which gives me a slightly closer parking spot and the ability to be first in line. It's a six band ska show. I have night terrors about sitting through six bands at my age. Four, with Mephiskapheles, might be a bridge too far in terms of time. But I don't need to be first for that.
So, adding in parking, we are up to $20.55 in fees versus $15.95 in actual ticket price, which seems sadly absurd and likely has a strong, long term impact on live events, when more of the consumer's money goes to other fees, rather than artists. Someday, when I'm very old, instead of regular old, I will complain more about how economy shifts money around to at best, create jobs, but more likely, unjustly enriches people who provide no value, aside from taking advantage of their monopolistic position, but in the interim, I'll go to the show and realize I paid $36.00 for a $15.95 ticket.
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