America’s national chain of House of Blues music clubs has been booking fewer actual blues acts these days in its clubs. Last month at the Boston HOB, “of the 29 acts that headlined the Cambridge House of Blues, only four are artists that make their living moanin’ the blues.” That’s a far cry from a decade ago. So is blues dying as a popular artform?
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Concert Attendance Soars In First Half 2003
Pop concert attendance is up 24 percent for the first half of 2003, and baby boomer artists account for half the tickets sold. “Fans bought 13.1 million concert tickets to the top 50 concert tours from January to June, compared to 10.6 million sold during the same period last year, according to Pollstar, the industry trade magazine. Gross receipts were up 26 percent to $678 million, up from $538 million in 2001.”
Black Angels – A Patronizing Trend?
Many Hollywood movies are castring black actors as spiritual figures. “Of course, there are many films aimed at African-Americans that star blacks in a variety of parts, from villainous to heroic. But casting blacks as angelic characters has become an increasingly common trend in mainstream movies. For their part, many African-Americans see this heavenly designation as less than beatific. Filmmakers like Spike Lee have spoken out against such roles, calling them patronizing and unrealistic.”
NY Spent $2.4 Billion On Arts Buildings In 90s
A new study charts spending on arts projects in New York in the booming 90s. “The combined spending in public and private money for capital construction for these groups hit $2.4 billion during the 10-year period in question, $1.8 billion alone being spent from 1997 to 2002. The spending generated $2.3 billion in economic activity, including $512 million in wages, 2,255 full-time jobs, and $36 million in personal income, sales, and corporate revenues flowing back into the city coffers.”
Gioia: My Vision For The NEA
In a speech to the National Press Club, national Endowment for the Arts chief Dana Gioia takes a stab at artciulating an “overarching philosophy and vision for the once-embattled agency.” After “assailing the European subsidy system, Gioia defended the NEA’s budget even as he declared his intention to have the agency ‘fully funded’ within the next few fiscal years. Still, Gioia’s singling out of Italy (“some of these lavishly supported houses [have] not staged a single production in the previous year because of organizational problems, labor issues, or reconstruction”) could be seen as a reflection of Republican party orthodoxy: ‘Government support does not solve all artistic and organizational problems, or guarantee that an institution serves its local community’.”
It’s Getting Loud In Here
What is it with the sound at pop concerts, movies and theatre performances? It’s so uncomfortably, unrealistically, ammoyingly LOUD! “Virtually the entire entertainment spectrum — pop music, movies, Broadway musicals and even opera — has become increasingly enslaved to manipulative and sometimes apocalyptic sound engineering, and we’ve all learned to cope.”
Does Marriage Stunt Creativity?
A new study says that “regardless of age, the great minds who married virtually kissed goodbye to making any further glorious additions to their CV. Within five years of making their nuptial vows, nearly a quarter of married scientists had made their last significant contribution to history’s hall of fame. The energy of youth and the dampening effect of marriage, are also remarkably similar among geniuses in music, painting and writing, as well as in criminal activity.”
Point-And-Click Phones
A new generation of cell phones allows users to point and click their phones on hyperlinks in the real world. In museums “visitors could download high-quality audio and visual content about exhibits. Tourists could retrieve sightseeing information as they walk through a city. Users could even leave contact details like their e-mail addresses to receive updates on events, exhibitions or special offers.”
Prestigious Melbourne Festival In Danger
The Melbourne Festival is suddenly without a sponsor for the first time in years. “The festival organisers are also uncertain if the State Government will maintain its support at $6.6 million next year. The 2004 festival will celebrate opera, which demands that companies be booked early to fit into international schedules. The funding uncertainty is making this difficult.”
Impressionist Show Delayed In Florida
Is the French government purposefully holding up loans of Impressionist paintings for a planned exhition in Orlando, Florida? Experts say that “the show, which could mean millions of dollars for the local economy, is being postponed in part because of tension between the United States and France, organizers said Wednesday. ‘If it weren’t a French-owned museum, I don’t think we’d have these delays’.”