I read about 2 years ago that Blink 182 has grossed over $150 million during its career.  For what...3 songs?  When they appeared I thought nothing of them.  It's as if that "don't steal my sunshine" group from 1999~ or that "how bizarre guy" was still around, headlining regional festivals. 

 

There's a whole generation of kids slightly younger than us (30-36 y/o) who think of them as an important "punk" band. I believe this is a misguided notion, but nevertheless these people exist.

I also think its misguided but there are fans in that age group of which I am a part of.

 

They were huge when I was in high school.

I really must be old because I have barely even heard of The Chainsmokers.  Can someone recommend a few of their best songs that I should check out?

There's a whole generation of kids slightly younger than us (30-36 y/o) who think of them as an important "punk" band. I believe this is a misguided notion, but nevertheless these people exist.

 

Yeah that whole wave of juvenile California pop-punk was something that I and everyone I knew completely ignored.  The second Carson Daly showed up (1996? 1997?), everyone over age 18 completely stopped watching MTV.  That guy was insufferable! 

 

I remember in the early-mid 90s that people would circulate VHS skateboarding, BMX, and rollerblading tapes.  This was of course way before Gopros, so somebody was skating around with one of those VHS camcorders filming their friends crack their nuts on a handrail.  These tapes were 30-45 minutes long and they'd dub all sorts of unknown California punk bands instead of using the live audio.  At the end of the tape they'd have a list of the bands. 

 

This was the model for those Tony Hawk skateboard video games where they play random unknown punk bands in the background.  It's hilarious now looking at youtube comments and seeing somebody who is 16 say that they "discovered" some band from the 80s or 90s through Tony Hawk's video game. 

 

^ The Dead Kennedys was the first to benefit from that

^ The Dead Kennedys was the first to benefit from that

 

I first heard them on WAIF around 1993, so years after each of those bands had broken up.  Them, Black Flag, Minor Threat, etc.  Nobody in my neighborhood or school (that I was friends with) knew about any of that stuff.  I had a blank tape in my cassette player that I recorded a bunch of that stuff off of WAIF.  There was a guy in a lower grade than me at high school who was into skateboarding and so brought a bunch of that stuff in, otherwise I wouldn't have known about it.

 

Around 1994 is when the punk and ska compilations started circulating around my high school thanks to that one skateboarding guy.  The weird thing was that a guy on our wrestling team who wasn't into music at all had an older brother who personally knew Shepard Fairy when he lived in Rhode Island and so got us hooked up with that guy and the Andre the Giant stickers.  All of Andre the Giant stickers that came into Cincinnati initially came through that guy.  I'll never forget sending cash -- yes, like $10 bills -- in the mail to Shepard Fairy and then getting manila envelopes in the mail a week later loaded with those stickers and other random stuff.  I know I bought two shirts off him that I was particularly proud of since you had to know someone to get them.  I remember someone on Short Vine stopping me and wanting to buy one of them off my back. 

 

When I left for college, it was like BAM there was all this skateboarding/BMX stuff that guys from other states knew about and a lot of music that went with it.  That stuff, especially BMX, was like totally non-existent in Cincinnati, so far as I know. 

 

 

I really must be old because I have barely even heard of The Chainsmokers.  Can someone recommend a few of their best songs that I should check out?

 

They are huge among people my age (20-30).  You've probably heard Closer, it was in the top 5 from roughly November 2016 to March 2017.  That's their most popular song, but I also really like Don't Let Me Down and Something Just Like This.  It's basically pop EDM.  The rest of their stuff is hit or miss for me.  Their only album was a relative failure and they've released a number of songs this year, none of which made it in the top 40.  Sick Boy is an ok song, though.  It could be that people are tired of hearing them after how popular they were from 2015-2017.

 

 

When I left for college, it was like BAM there was all this skateboarding/BMX stuff that guys from other states knew about and a lot of music that went with it.  That stuff, especially BMX, was like totally non-existent in Cincinnati, so far as I know. 

 

 

 

 

Yeah, most hobbies are tiny in Cincinnati as compared to other similar cities. Hobby events or races that routinely get 150-200 participants in Columbus and 80 in Toledo will get 40 in Cincinnati.

Sucks about Blink 182! I'm 29, and that band was one of my favorites in junior high and through high school. They definitely benefited from the MTV age, as I can still remember many of their videos, and even calling in to TRL (shamefully) to vote for their songs. Seeing them now would probably be kinda sad, though.

There's a whole generation of kids slightly younger than us (30-36 y/o) who think of them as an important "punk" band. I believe this is a misguided notion, but nevertheless these people exist.

 

Yeah that whole wave of juvenile California pop-punk was something that I and everyone I knew completely ignored.  The second Carson Daly showed up (1996? 1997?), everyone over age 18 completely stopped watching MTV.  That guy was insufferable! 

 

 

 

That's around the time the FCC started forbidding MTV from accepting alcohol commercials since the average age of the viewership dropped to "children's programming" levels.

Yeah, most hobbies are tiny in Cincinnati as compared to other similar cities. Hobby events or races that routinely get 150-200 participants in Columbus and 80 in Toledo will get 40 in Cincinnati.

 

We did have a slot car racing track near my house in the basement of the shopping center, which was incredibly impressive as a 9 year-old, but I don't remember it being open for long.  I never got to race anything or went to a race there.   

 

I do really resent that BMX and early mountain biking wasn't happening in Cincinnati.  I would have been totally into that pump track and the simpler half pipe stuff.  I knew I'd suck at trick riding.  We rode our BMX bikes in the woods, which was essentially early mountain biking, but it wasn't anything like what was going on in California at the time.  I sucked at skateboarding and I don't think I could have ever gotten decent at it. 

 

Music seemed like a pretty big "hobby" in Cincinnati in the 80s and 90s, at least in my world.  I had several uncles who played in bar bands and they sometimes practiced in our basement. 

 

Yes, I'm excluding music since it is "entertainment" and "media" in addition to having hobby-like characteristics. Music is an exception to the Cincinnati Hates Hobbies rule.

Yes, I'm excluding music since it is "entertainment" and "media" in addition to having hobby-like characteristics. Music is an exception to the Cincinnati Hates Hobbies rule.

 

In the 90s, the Bogart's High School Band Challenge and The Rumble motivated a lot of bands to get together.  There were probably 50 bands in each competition. 

 

Ah yes, the Bogarts Battle of the Bands competition was a staple of my high school experience, too. Untold Friday and Saturday nights spent in that smoke den. Good times. My friend's band actually won Junior year.

Free summer series launches at Fountain Square, Washington Park

 

 

The PNC Summer Series kicked off this week with the return of free programming at Fountain Square and Washington Park seven days a week through Labor Day (Sept. 3).

 

The series, presented by Cincinnati Center City Development Corp. (3CDC) and funded by PNC Bank, includes live music from multiple genres, children’s activities, movies in the park and workout series. This year marks the 11th year of free programming on Fountain Square and the sixth year of free programming at Washington Park, 1230 Elm St. in Over-the-Rhine.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2018/05/30/free-summer-series-launches-at-fountain-square.html

Ah yes, the Bogarts Battle of the Bands competition was a staple of my high school experience, too. Untold Friday and Saturday nights spent in that smoke den. Good times. My friend's band actually won Junior year.

 

It was an exhibition of class struggle.  The east side high schools like Sycamore always had incredible equipment.  The guitarists would have brand-new Paul Reed Smith guitar and Marshall stacks.  Like $4,000+ setups.  And the drummers had sets of a similar value.  I'll never forget seeing an east side Pearl Jam cover band with like $20,000 worth of gear up on that stage for their 20-minute set.  They had the stuff you only saw in catalogs. 

 

Meanwhile the west side and country bands had pawn shop equipment that wouldn't stay in tune. 

 

It does suck but they weren't even the headliner for the night, Chainsmokers are. 

 

Blink-182 was actually advertised as one of the headliners for Friday night.  They were headliners for Lollapalooza last year, so I didn't understand why they had the time slot that they did for Bunbury.

 

I listened to a bunch of The Chainsmokers stuff and...  meh.  It's OK, but I'm hoping they are the types that are even better live.  I'm thinking I'm just not in their demographic even though the way the genre is described seems like it should be right up my alley. 

 

P.S.  I literally LOL'd when they mentioned Blink-182 in their Closer song.

I listened to a bunch of The Chainsmokers stuff and...  meh.  It's OK, but I'm hoping they are the types that are even better live.  I'm thinking I'm just not in their demographic even though the way the genre is described seems like it should be right up my alley. 

 

My dad's biggest hobby is seeing live music- he probably goes to 3 shows a week. He generally likes all kinds of music except EDM, pop, and rap. About a year ago he got free tickets to The Chainsmokers for a work event. He thought the music was only okay, but better than he expected. However he said the concert itself was one of the most fun he's ever been to. So I'm expecting a good show.

I really must be old because I have barely even heard of The Chainsmokers.  Can someone recommend a few of their best songs that I should check out?

 

They are huge among people my age (20-30).  You've probably heard Closer, it was in the top 5 from roughly November 2016 to March 2017.  That's their most popular song, but I also really like Don't Let Me Down and Something Just Like This.  It's basically pop EDM.  The rest of their stuff is hit or miss for me.  Their only album was a relative failure and they've released a number of songs this year, none of which made it in the top 40.  Sick Boy is an ok song, though.  It could be that people are tired of hearing them after how popular they were from 2015-2017.

 

The real answer to that question is none, lol.

MEMI plans to put MidPoint Music Festival "on hiatus" until they get their new riverfront music venue built.

Yeah, the CSO building a venue on The Banks has xumelanie[/member] and I really bummed out.  They just are not very good at running things outside their operations at Music Hall.

MEMI is good at running "high arts" venues but do an absolutely awful job of running anything that's supposed to have youthful energy.

 

The article I linked above has a really good summary of how this whole riverfront music venue fiasco went down. Basically PromoWest had the money in hand to build the new venue, but CSO/MEMI got scared, so the city put out an RFP. As soon as that happened, we should have known that the fix was in, and there was no chance the city/county wouldn't funnel this project to the local good boys.

For Midpoint to be a financial success they'd need to bring in a few big acts.  But those same acts could pay at the PNC Pavillion or the proposed riverfront venue without any of the hassle of setting up a temporary stage and everything that goes with it. 

I never got the feeling Midpoint lost money, I felt it just didn't make enough for MEMI to bother with it. They make more money with their other ventures. The reason this whole ordeal leaves a sour taste in peoples' mouths is because the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra is ostensibly an arts organization dedicated to seeking and sharing inspiration with the community. A music festival that pays for itself while putting local and national up and coming acts on stages at locally owned bars all over town seems like something they'd want to sponsor.

MEMI plans to put MidPoint Music Festival "on hiatus" until they get their new riverfront music venue built.

 

God forbid they juggle two 'youth focused' things at one time.

 

EDIT: Prediction for the kick off event (If it isn't Midpoint) Kidz Bop Live 2019

 

Well running an independent festival is a huge amount of work.  It rarely breaks even and nobody thanks you.  Something like the Northside Rock Carnival takes hundreds of volunteer hours to pull off. 

 

My brother's friend has worked for Live Nation for 10 years and broke down festival costs for me one time.  It was pretty obvious that there is no way to make money running an independent music festival, at least not for the first or second one you do.  Be prepared to lose $50,000 and that is the cost of your education in doing this.

^ I probably posted this on the forum a year or two ago, but I'll say it again. I was bummed about the fact that MPMF essentially came to an end when it was purchased by MEMI and turned into something completely different. But then I talked to one of the guys from the group that originally co-founded MPMF. He told me, MPMF was created during a time when there was not much happening in Cincinnati's urban core. Their goal was not just to start a music festival, but to bring people to the city to see what it had to offer. When MPMF start to struggle to find venues a few years ago, it was because the bars and venues down here were doing well enough that they didn't need MPMF anymore. So in a way, the end of MPMF is a sign that MPMF succeeded at its original goals. Just think of the "new" MPMF as a totally different festival that just happens to share a name with its predecessor. Like Lollapalooza.

MEMI plans to put MidPoint Music Festival "on hiatus" until they get their new riverfront music venue built.

 

"Stienecker explained Monday to City Council that when he showed the committee a video about his company, Columbus-based PromoWest, he mentioned the background music was by rock star Jack White.

 

“What’s a Jack White?” asked one of the Joint Banks Steering Committee members, Stienecker recounted, declining to name the person. "

 

Yeah this is a great group to be deciding music venues/promoters at the Banks. Maybe they should've used Peter Frampton on their promotional video...

"Oh, and by the way, which one's Pink?"

That "Jack White" story made the rounds last week but I don't see why it matters. LiveNation will be booking the acts for the venue. Yes they do the same for Riverbend, and people are right to bemoan the nature of those acts, but they also got Spoon and Grizzly Bear next month. (I don't know whether LN does Taft, but in any case MEMI does... them getting Janelle Monae is another huge success... she is absolutely on fire right now and is beloved by the Millennial female demo, including my wife.)

 

In fact I would suggest the acts booked for Riverbend indicate market savvy, as that sort of suburban beltway venue caters successfully to suburban beltway music connoisseurs. Would a couple in their 40's living outside the city even know the likes of Grizzly Bear? Doubt it. By that token, cannibalization will be minimal, as no one can seriously make the point that LiveNation would program the Banks venue and Riverbend similarly.

 

Of course there're arguments to be made against CSO's proposal, but I don't believe act booking is one of them.

That's not saying that Memi or Live Nation don't know who Jack White is, it's pointing out the fact that the Bank's steering committee was the one that suggested the 'winner' of the RFP, and that they are completely f'ing clueless when it comes to music and therefore their decision was based purely on cronyism and local bias.

 

PromoWest came to the Banks and said, "we want to build a venue here". The banks replied, no thanks but that's a good idea so we'll put it to an open RFP. When Jimmy Johns came to the banks did the steering committee open up an RFP to see if Subway, Jersey Mikes or Penn Station wanted to put forth a competing bid? I just don't see the logic in the process at all, and the idea that the Banks steering committee knows more than the promoters who had already done their market research and decided to approach the Banks location in the first place is laughably irritating.

I suppose my point was implicit: If both venues are programmed equivalently, then neither the Banks steering committee nor the commissioners nor city council had anything to gain by factoring venue programming into their respective decisions.

 

I understand the process by which this came about irritates you, but in terms of the result, it isn't worth excoriating any of those parties on the basis of a criterion they didn't consider.

 

 

It's a shame (actually, no, it's not) that Matthew67 is no longer on these boards, as this debacle is actually evidence of the locals first, skeptical of outsiders attitude that he talked incessantly about. Where the operator comes from for a venue like this should really not matter, but of course good ol' Cincinnati has to live up to its provincial reputation, and go with the nonsensical local choice for this project.

At this point, it's probably better to just not have a concert venue, build actual mixed-use development on the Lot 24 pad and potentially revisit all this later if at all.

 

Any further discussion on this between the county, city and the Bengals will likely result in either the bad choice (CSO at current proposed location) or the worse choice (CSO on Lot 24 pad) being selected.

It's a shame (actually, no, it's not) that Matthew67 is no longer on these boards, as this debacle is actually evidence of the locals first, skeptical of outsiders attitude that he talked incessantly about. Where the operator comes from for a venue like this should really not matter, but of course good ol' Cincinnati has to live up to its provincial reputation, and go with the nonsensical local choice for this project.

 

If it doesn't matter who programs the venue, then what exactly is PromoWest's advantage? Seems to be the property taxes PromoWest would pay that CSO would not, though CSO has offered to pay the ticket taxes. The tradeoff, then, is [x amount in property taxes] versus [CSO's reinvestment of revenues in cultural events benefiting the city] plus [guaranteed use and fair compensation of union workers] plus [the reclaimed opportunity cost of real estate at The Banks Promowest would have used] plus [the possibility of incorporating the CSO venue into an astounding weekend-long concert festival on the banks of the river that would be an incomparable showcase for the city, many times moreso than Bunbury].

 

Perhaps you've decided the equation comes out in favor of PromoWest. That's fine. But I wouldn't fault these specific proceedings for showcasing Cincinnati provincialism (as I fear the city hall lot development will).

 

Indeed just as we should be wary of that provincialism, we should also be wary of the reflexive opposite, a fearful wilting in the face of a good argument just because it might appear provincial on its face. PromoWest might be the out-of-town option, but Cincinnati shouldn't feel compelled to go with them just to escape a stereotype. That is, there are reasons to favor CSO's bid.

So, Pdrome513[/member] your argument for the CSO's bid is below.  I sort of get #1, but the rest seems like total bunk.  Could you please elaborate on points #2-4, because the arguments come off as hyperbolic conjecture.  It is certainly easy to see based off of the CSO's history how well they perform in efforts beyond Music Hall and it is pathetic to say the least.

 

1) "CSO's reinvestment of revenues in cultural events benefiting the city"

2) "guaranteed use and fair compensation of union workers"

3) "reclaimed opportunity cost of real estate at The Banks Promowest would have used"

4) "the possibility of incorporating the CSO venue into an astounding weekend-long concert festival on the banks of the river that would be an incomparable showcase for the city, many times moreso than Bunbury"

I just don't see this concert venue as being that big of a deal.  Were the concerts at the casino a big deal?  No.  Judas Priest, Dolly Parton, The Pixies.  All sorts of bands came through for two or three summers.  It obviously wasn't a huge boon to the casino or else they'd still be doing it. 

 

 

MEMI's bid was for an entirely indoor venue, which is stupid given the scenic location. PromoWest had a real indoor/outdoor venue, like the one they operate in Columbus, which is great. Setting up some janky temporary outdoor stage in the park is ridiculous, and should not even be entertained. The point of building a venue is so that you don't have to erect temporary stages.

 

The argument about opportunity cost for the land is pretty much bunk, I think. What is realistically going to be built in the scraps of land immediately adjacent to a concert venue? We can't even get the other restaurant site in front of the Freedom Center (opposite of Yard House) built on, and the RFP for lot 24 received only 1 bid which also required a fair amount of subsidy from the city. Developers aren't jumping at the chance to build on a whole city block already elevated out of the flood plain, but they'd be lining up for a sliver of land next to a concert venue? Unlikely, I think. It will probably just be more park land, which is fine, but doesn't do much to support the opportunity cost argument.

 

MEMI has been running Riverbend and PNC for a really long time (since the beginning?) without disaster.

It's a shame (actually, no, it's not) that Matthew67 is no longer on these boards, as this debacle is actually evidence of the locals first, skeptical of outsiders attitude that he talked incessantly about. Where the operator comes from for a venue like this should really not matter, but of course good ol' Cincinnati has to live up to its provincial reputation, and go with the nonsensical local choice for this project.

 

If it doesn't matter who programs the venue, then what exactly is PromoWest's advantage? Seems to be the property taxes PromoWest would pay that CSO would not, though CSO has offered to pay the ticket taxes. The tradeoff, then, is [x amount in property taxes] versus [CSO's reinvestment of revenues in cultural events benefiting the city] plus [guaranteed use and fair compensation of union workers] plus [the reclaimed opportunity cost of real estate at The Banks Promowest would have used] plus [the possibility of incorporating the CSO venue into an astounding weekend-long concert festival on the banks of the river that would be an incomparable showcase for the city, many times moreso than Bunbury].

 

 

 

There seems to be zero indication that this would happen. What precedent is there that CSO would run a festival bigger and better than Bunbury? Promowest has actually proven they are capable of organizing and running a successful festival.

MEMI has been running Riverbend and PNC for a really long time (since the beginning?) without disaster.

 

There is a reason why that venue does not attract the bands that other cities get.  It's a combination of the layout of the venues and the mediocre management.

It's a shame (actually, no, it's not) that Matthew67 is no longer on these boards, as this debacle is actually evidence of the locals first, skeptical of outsiders attitude that he talked incessantly about. Where the operator comes from for a venue like this should really not matter, but of course good ol' Cincinnati has to live up to its provincial reputation, and go with the nonsensical local choice for this project.

 

Here's what he probably would say:

 

ugh, good riddance.

I swear he was a bot

I swear he was a bot

 

I merely shuffled his own comment back to him and he responded without missing a beat.  I read his response and I was like...whoa. 

I took a hiatus for awhile from UrbanOhio, because i just could not read his comments anymore. Sometimes you gotta walk away...

What happened to Matt67?  Did he finally get the boot or did he leave voluntarily?  I had noticed I hadn't seen him, but didn't realize he was gone.  Not sad about it, just curious. 

MEMI has been running Riverbend and PNC for a really long time (since the beginning?) without disaster.

 

There are people who try to avoid going to Riverbend.  PNC Pavilion is much better than the original one.  The main pavilion is terrible.  There are too many seats with obstructed views, and the pillars block some of the views.  Getting out after a concert is a disaster.  They also add $3.75 per ticket for parking.  So if you are dropped off, you still are paying that charge. 

 

1984 Riverbend is certainly "old" for that sort of venue (explaining all the damn poles) and obviously has to deal with flooding problems. But if it was somewhere else that wasn't in the boonies the land would become too valuable and it would have been bulldozed by now -- the Columbus equivalent only lasted 15 years due to land price pressure. I'm surprised the much larger D.C. version has made it this long.