Bill Graham is rolling over in his grave.
If only they could come up with a new Dead, a new Santana, a new Airplane that would make these venues worth going to!
Irving Plaza. What the hell was wrong with THAT name? A long, storied history, a rich tradition that people believed in. But no, it's got to be remonikered in some business plan created by fucks at Live Nation who weren't conscious when the ORIGINAL Fillmores were open.
I'll grant you Philadelphia's Theatre Of Living Arts wasn't quite as catchy a designation, but what was wrong at this established venue, the NAME?
When BILL expanded he didn't use the same fucking name. Ever hear of Winterland? Why didn't he rebrand that one? Because it would fuck with tradition, people's memories!
If only Live Nation could come up with a NEW name. Then again, these are the people who came up with...LIVE NATION! What, are we living in the eighties still? When the mainstream merged with hipdom and we were all in it together? Live Nation my ass, I don't want to be a part of any corporate group, collecting me and my so-called brethren under a tent of commercialism, endorsements/sponsorships galore, just so you can make your money. Make me puke.
The original Fillmore started organically. Bill Graham came up with the philosophies as he grew the business. Hell, rock and roll was like tech, they made it up as they went along. Now it's just business as usual, managing a mature operation. And you wonder why people only go to a show a year, why they don't care.
How about NEW traditions? NEW bands. The major labels are in disarray, why doesn't Live Nation step up and become the new label? Why doesn't it do something altruistic, as opposed to digging into its corporate past, trying to skate on the good will of an enterprise that CLOSED over THIRTY FIVE YEARS AGO!
This smacks of Detroit. They're bringing back the Taurus, didn't you know? But the car's not gonna be a breakthrough, it's gonna just be a rebadged Five Hundred, a shitty boat that nobody wanted to buy in quantity. The name would make NO DIFFERENCE if you played acts the people wanted to see at a fair price.
Fuck the Fillmore. Why don't you cut down the TicketMaster charge, or the facility fee. That's how you gain your audience's trust. Not by bait and switch, taking old buildings, painting them and giving them a legendary name. Hell, isn't it funny that the man who regrouped the Cars for the MONEY (hell, Todd Rundgren ADMITTED IT) is the opening act in Philadelphia. That New Cars fiasco was just that. And this new labeling of old buildings won't hurt business, but it ain't gonna help either. You rename the building and suddenly people want to go? Hell, it's about the ACTS!
First there was the return to the old regional promoter names. Now this spread of the classic "Fillmore" appellation. This is just managers of an enterprise trying to scam the public to please Wall Street, it's got nothing to do with turning on or satiating the customer.
How about free programs/playbills, like at the Fillmores of yore?
No, you won't do that...who's gonna PAY for it?
How about reasonable pricing?
Oh, your hands are tied by the acts.
Isn't this EXACTLY why Bill Graham closed the Fillmores TO BEGIN WITH? Because the acts were asking for TOO MUCH MONEY?!
Show me some innovation, show me something new, don't try to mesmerize me by CHANGING THE NAME! Do something REAL!
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