Happy Monday! A few updates for you all. If you don’t read to the end, at least, at least, scroll down to look at the hilarious picture of Lady Gaga.
- Potential venue owners take note! And if you’ve ever wondered why it sounds so good at the Jefferson Theater, an article from the industry website ProSoundWeb has an in-depth look at its soundsystem—which provides some nice insights into what it took to open a 750-capacity venue on the Downtown Mall.
- I didn’t get the chance to add this to the blog when I first saw it: Local songwriter Lauren Hoffman got a little love from NPR, where her song "Pictures from America" was posted as Song of the Day. Well worth a listen here.
- After Willie Nelson‘s Saturday show at the Pavilion (check out tomorrow’s paper for a review) I swung by Fellini’s #9 to check out an all-night benefit for a fund established by pianist George Melvin, who died in April. The place was packed just after 10pm, trumpeter John D’Earth—who had just finished playing with Robert Jospé and Jamal Millner—looked to be sinking his teeth into a set by Jim Wray and "FUSE." Wish I could’ve stayed for the 4am set by Bob Bennetta (piano) and Bob Newsom (bass), as mindbending jazz is often best consumed when slightly delirious, but alas. Waiting to hear from organizers about how the event fared—it was a benefit for the newly christened George Melvin Education Fund, which will cover the cost of private lessons for aspiring musicians. More info to come on that.
- From women in rock files, Jon Caramanica had a nice piece in the Sunday New York Times that contrasts the two paths that "Girl Pop" has taken since the ’90s: He argues music is an afterthought in the hypersexualized, hyperprofitable land of Gaga, whereas the earnest music by Sarah MacLachlan struggles financially—look no further than this year’s Lilith Fair reboot, which has seen a third of its dates canceled due to poor ticket sales—for the kinds of images it paved the way for.
Um…Lady Gaga in an outfit made of Kermits. Catch her at JPJ in October.
