i will say this, though: detroit is perhaps unique amongst major cities in it's absolute contempt for people coming from outside of it to spend money in it.
most cities do everything they can to encourage people from outside the city to come and spend money there.
detroit is dead set on erecting bylaws and regulations that prevent people in the outlying areas from coming into the city to have a good time. detroiters seem to interpret this as some kind of threat to their community, rather than as the economic engine to revive it. and, they don't seem to understand that the root cause of the problems they have, in the first place, is capital flight as a consequence of these regulations.
if detroit city council had it's way, it would erect some good old city walls to keep all of the outsiders out.
it's all identity politics. but, it's self-defeating to the point that it might very well strangle the city to death.
this is why i'd support amalgamation in the counties around detroit, despite opposing it almost everywhere else.
Wednesday, February 21, 2018
i want to be clear about detroit.
there's a market. a huge one, in fact.
(it's detroit!)
and, there are venues.
but, the people that own the venues want to cater to markets that don't exist, rather than ones that do.
so, we have empty venues, as we get skipped.
and, i'm not getting into the identity politics around a lot of it.
there's a market. a huge one, in fact.
(it's detroit!)
and, there are venues.
but, the people that own the venues want to cater to markets that don't exist, rather than ones that do.
so, we have empty venues, as we get skipped.
and, i'm not getting into the identity politics around a lot of it.
thoughts on the new chelsea wolfe record
so, am i a chelsea wolfe fan, yet?
i missed her in the fall in detroit (after catching her in 2016) because the venue (which had recently been shut down for overbooking a melvins concert) was sold out; the truth is that she could have probably filled a venue twice the size, but there wasn't one here for her to fill. this is actually becoming a problem in detroit, as we're down to one serious venue, here ('el club') and while it is great for what it is, it is also simply too small for a lot of what gets booked at it - including both the melvins and chelsea wolfe.
believe it or not, there is nowhere in detroit for a rock band that can fill a 2,000-3,000 seat arena. you can go smaller. you can go bigger. but, about 2,000 people is really the sweet spot for a solid concert and it just doesn't exist.
she probably should have played the majestic theatre, but it's been taken over by a management team that appears to be hostile to good music. to put it another way, the venue seems to be actively attempting to discourage anybody older than 30 from ever hanging out there ever again. this is the famous bowling alley in detroit...
i mean, i wasn't in on the call, but i promise you they wouldn't book the show. yeah. chelsea wolfe. this is the new detroit, folks....
anyways, how's the record?
well, i'm getting the same basic feel that i have from the last few: this is meant to see live. even the vocals are mixed in the distance, which is meant to facilitate extreme volume. i'm finding it enjoyable enough to listen to in the background. but, with all of the fancy headphone music out there nowadays, it's hard to see me coming back to this or really getting lost in it.
i bet the show was great, though.
i'm sure i'll get to see her play again, and that will be the best way to enjoy these songs.
i missed her in the fall in detroit (after catching her in 2016) because the venue (which had recently been shut down for overbooking a melvins concert) was sold out; the truth is that she could have probably filled a venue twice the size, but there wasn't one here for her to fill. this is actually becoming a problem in detroit, as we're down to one serious venue, here ('el club') and while it is great for what it is, it is also simply too small for a lot of what gets booked at it - including both the melvins and chelsea wolfe.
believe it or not, there is nowhere in detroit for a rock band that can fill a 2,000-3,000 seat arena. you can go smaller. you can go bigger. but, about 2,000 people is really the sweet spot for a solid concert and it just doesn't exist.
she probably should have played the majestic theatre, but it's been taken over by a management team that appears to be hostile to good music. to put it another way, the venue seems to be actively attempting to discourage anybody older than 30 from ever hanging out there ever again. this is the famous bowling alley in detroit...
i mean, i wasn't in on the call, but i promise you they wouldn't book the show. yeah. chelsea wolfe. this is the new detroit, folks....
anyways, how's the record?
well, i'm getting the same basic feel that i have from the last few: this is meant to see live. even the vocals are mixed in the distance, which is meant to facilitate extreme volume. i'm finding it enjoyable enough to listen to in the background. but, with all of the fancy headphone music out there nowadays, it's hard to see me coming back to this or really getting lost in it.
i bet the show was great, though.
i'm sure i'll get to see her play again, and that will be the best way to enjoy these songs.
i am sometimes indecisive, but i do not bluff.
you could say i'm ideologically opposed to bluffing. or, i can just tell you that i simply don't have time for that kind of fucking bullshit. i want full transparency and total honesty, and i'm more likely to just treat you like an insect than i am to "make a deal" if i conclude you're not trustworthy.
and, don't call my bluff, at least not to me. if you think you're calling my bluff, what you're actually doing is increasing the chances that i pull the trigger, because i'm likely to spend less time thinking something through once my sovereignty as an individual is challenged. the act of telling me that you don't think i'll do something is pretty much guaranteeing that i will actually do it.
but, i'm not interested in erecting elaborate plans for self-interest or world domination. i project myself as honestly and as plainly as i can, and i will very quickly escalate to treating you as a non-person if i don't get the same respect in return.
liars aren't people
you could say i'm ideologically opposed to bluffing. or, i can just tell you that i simply don't have time for that kind of fucking bullshit. i want full transparency and total honesty, and i'm more likely to just treat you like an insect than i am to "make a deal" if i conclude you're not trustworthy.
and, don't call my bluff, at least not to me. if you think you're calling my bluff, what you're actually doing is increasing the chances that i pull the trigger, because i'm likely to spend less time thinking something through once my sovereignty as an individual is challenged. the act of telling me that you don't think i'll do something is pretty much guaranteeing that i will actually do it.
but, i'm not interested in erecting elaborate plans for self-interest or world domination. i project myself as honestly and as plainly as i can, and i will very quickly escalate to treating you as a non-person if i don't get the same respect in return.
liars aren't people
the temperature outside has fallen, and the heat is working, but i don't understand what happened well enough to react.
the next time that happens, i'll have to hit the heaters in the hallways immediately in order to do some further testing.
i mean, there's three possibilities:
1) the heat was turned off, building-wide.
2) management turned the heat off in the hallways, and that in turn turned my heat off.
3) a tenant did (2), rather than management.
i had initially assumed (1). but i'm currently leaning towards (3).
what i will say is that i fully expect this to happen again in mid-march or early april, and while i'd rather not wait, i feel like i must.
the next time that happens, i'll have to hit the heaters in the hallways immediately in order to do some further testing.
i mean, there's three possibilities:
1) the heat was turned off, building-wide.
2) management turned the heat off in the hallways, and that in turn turned my heat off.
3) a tenant did (2), rather than management.
i had initially assumed (1). but i'm currently leaning towards (3).
what i will say is that i fully expect this to happen again in mid-march or early april, and while i'd rather not wait, i feel like i must.
no, i need to wait - because i need to experiment.
there's four floors in the building, stairways at opposite ends and a heater on each floor at each stairway, which is how many heaters?
i bet 30% of you can't figure that out.
but, i went around and turned them all on. then, the heat comes on in here about a half hour later.
it might be a coincidence. or it might be cause and effect. but, if i can just turn the heat back on in here by flipping the switch in the hallway, that's a lot easier than taking somebody to court.
i overheard somebody talking about their heater being connected to the ones in the hallway.
it also proves wrongdoing on behalf of somebody in the building. but, it expands the number of suspects to everybody in the building. i mean, i could be undoing what another tenant did.
if that's the case, and we can figure out who it is, i could maybe get the building on my side in coming down on them.
as before, this isn't about money. i just want the heat to work...
what i need to figure out is if my heater is connected to the ones in the hallway or not; if it isn't, i'll have to push back. if it is, i guess i have a fight with another tenant on my hands - one i intend to win, but one that is very different in scope.
there's four floors in the building, stairways at opposite ends and a heater on each floor at each stairway, which is how many heaters?
i bet 30% of you can't figure that out.
but, i went around and turned them all on. then, the heat comes on in here about a half hour later.
it might be a coincidence. or it might be cause and effect. but, if i can just turn the heat back on in here by flipping the switch in the hallway, that's a lot easier than taking somebody to court.
i overheard somebody talking about their heater being connected to the ones in the hallway.
it also proves wrongdoing on behalf of somebody in the building. but, it expands the number of suspects to everybody in the building. i mean, i could be undoing what another tenant did.
if that's the case, and we can figure out who it is, i could maybe get the building on my side in coming down on them.
as before, this isn't about money. i just want the heat to work...
what i need to figure out is if my heater is connected to the ones in the hallway or not; if it isn't, i'll have to push back. if it is, i guess i have a fight with another tenant on my hands - one i intend to win, but one that is very different in scope.
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