Parking problems

Since the Englert opened in 2004, the City of Iowa City Parking Department has always offered Englert patrons a great deal in the city garages: four hours of parking for a buck when they present their ticket stub.

The City also was kind enough to let us issue free parking passes to some of our Friends of the Englert for the past couple of years.

Both of those programs are on hold for the time being, unfortunately. We're working with the City to get something going again, but until then, ticket stubs and "free parking" passes will not be accepted at City garages.

Truly sorry for the inconvenience, and we hope to have this worked out soon. Thanks for your patience, your continued patronage of the Englert, and for coming downtown Iowa City!

10,000 Eggstravaganza

The Englert partnered with Life Church, Iowa Children's Museum, and Iowa Valley Habitat for Humanity to put on the biggest Easter egg hunt in Johnson County. It was a FREE event for the community and we had a great turn out. A BIG THANK YOU to all the Englert volunteers who helped make this a HUGE SUCCESS!


10,000 Eggstravaganza 09' from LIFEchurchnow.org on Vimeo.

Ralph's World

It was definitely Ralph's World on Saturday when he invited all the kids up on the Englert stage. The whole band was very laid back as they welcomed the kid's questions and participation as Rockin' Rollers. I have to admit that I was singing and moving as well. It was great seeing all the kids dance and sing the familiar songs.

Be cool.

This Wednesday's GZA show will mark the first time in a long time that we've allowed beverages inside the theater.

Since I started here almost four years ago, this topic has been an ongoing source of much debate. Let's be honest - we're basically talking about beer in the theater, with the occasional bottle of Coke, instead of the other way around.

On the one hand, allowing beer into the theater helps create a vibe and environment that certain fans love and even expect when seeing a show - especially a hip-hop show like GZA or a rock show like Lez Zeppelin. Plus, the additional fundage from "beer money" is hard to ignore when you're barely breaking even on the show in some cases - and that's if it sells out.

On the other hand, what about spills? Won't that drive up the maintenance costs? Will it damage our historic building? Will people get out of control with that much access to alcohol? What about security? And what about the fans who don't like that kind of environment - are we making the vibe better for one group of fans at another group's expense?

The answer... Who knows?

We're not alone - most historic theaters do allow beverages into the theater these days, and have seen only modest increases in maintenance. No one we talked to cited security concerns. And when I was at Hoyt Sherman Place in Des Moines last month, it was great to be able to sit back and enjoy a glass (er, I mean, plastic cup) of wine while listening to Andrew Bird.

So we're going to give it a go, starting this Wednesday night. All I can say is:

Please - BE COOL.

Let's make this a positive change, not something we regret and can never do again. Cool?

Cool.

A Hard Day's Night

I just got back from the Beatles tribute show, where I attended as an Actual Audience Member, sitting in the fourth row with some family members.

Some observations from "the other side":

• At least one playbill in circulation has two of some pages, and none of others. I know this because it was my playbill tonight. My hunch is that it's not the only one, unfortunately.
• Whatever we did in concessions tonight, we probably could have doubled it by letting people bring beer & wine to their seats.
• The Beatles did a cool thing where they had everyone get out their cell phones and call someone who wasn't there, so they could hear the music. This probably didn't happen with the real Beatles.
• I wonder if the teen girls who rushed down front to dance during the last few songs were disappointed to find that the guys on stage are actually old enough to be their fathers.
• Sarah called during the show to ask a question about tickets for The Vagina Monologues (which starts in about an hour as I write this). It is impossible to carry on a phone conversation about tickets in the fourth row in the middle of a concert. Nearly as impossible as carrying on a phone conversation about tickets at kickoff at Kinnick Stadium, which I have also done.
• I find it odd that the Beatles tribute band was selling actual Beatles T-shirts, but CDs of the tribute band.

Out of the hundreds of events I've been to, I've gone as an Actual Audience Member only a handful of times. I have to say, not only was it fun to fly "under the radar" and sit in a seat with everyone else - it made me look at the same theater and even the same show in a different way.

The Beatles were a great band, and these four guys -- who have been doing this for an astounding 25 years -- truly do pay tribute to them. This is their fifth trip to the Englert, and I imagine they will be back next year. Just like the real Beatles, people can't seem to get enough of them.

Duh.

I was on KRUI last night, during their weekly "arts hour." Nathan was a good interviewer - conversational, asked good questions.

One question was "If you could have anybody in the Englert, regardless of how 'big' they are or how much they cost, who would it be?"

Dead air space. Mumble, mumble... uh...

Total mental blank. Of course, I actually think about this all the time. I listen to a lot of music. I have a lot of answers for this. But live, on the air, I have nothing.

I buy time. I talk about how Iron & Wine was at the top of that list (which is true), and talk about the disappointment I felt when they played here last year but I had to miss them (on the way to Bonnaroo, where I would see them a couple days later).

Still nothing.

"Ya know, like, well, really, anybody who's big and you might think is too big to play the Englert. They would be cool. Like U2. Or Ben Kweller."

Huh? Now, I do think it would be cool to see U2 or Ben Kweller at the Englert. No doubt. U2 and Ben Kweller, however, are not even in the same galaxy in terms of "bigness and stardom." And that's the best I could come up with?

I manage to add Dave Matthews Band, Kings of Leon, then The National (which would be a dream come true). By this time, as ideas actually come to me, Nathan is ready to move on. Because really, it's time. He has a job to do. That job is keeping it interesting, keeping it flowing.

So, almost 24 hours later, I'd like to finish my thought:

How 'bout some Radiohead? TV on the Radio? Morrissey would be awesome. Elvis Costello. The Shins. Rogue Wave. Decemberists. Bon Iver. Ryan Adams. Silversun Pickups. The Hold Steady. Band of Horses. Or let's go back to high school (for me) and get The Cure, R.E.M. or Depeche Mode. Or turn the place into a club and get Girl Talk.

There. I feel better now.

Cool thing is, I don't think some of these bands/artists are out of reach. We certainly do our best to try.

As I write this, there are just a handful of tickets left to Mason Jennings, which is awesome. I really dig on "In The Ever" his new(est) release. If you can't make the show, tune into KRUI 89.7 or stream it at 3:00 today for his in-studio performance.

A business tougher than ours.

I just got back from The Gazette, where I was asked to do a usability test on one of their new products, iGuide. It was flattering to be asked to be part of the test, and I tried to do my "job" by not holding back and being as blatantly honest as I could be.

I had a great conversation with Rob, the guy running the test. He's been at the Gazette for 10 years, and we talked a lot about how the old business model for media businesses like theirs is dying, and replacing it with a new business model is difficult because it requires a culture shift.

Now, it is tough to succeed in the theater business. Anyone who thinks we're walking away from each event with sacks of cash would be horrified at how razor-thin the margins are, and how contributions from individuals and businesses will always be a part of our business model. But as tough as this is, it can't be nearly as tough as being in the newspaper business.

I feel for Rob and for the Gazette, who are scrambling to be relevant in this new age of media and still be able to pay the bills - and to even turn a profit. Gazette probably has it better than most, with the paper, KCRG, iowa.com, Hoopla and the new iGuide. Slightly more diversified than some others.

But still - circulation heading south*, paid advertising heading south*, trying to develop new products to replace that revenue... many of these products are online, in an environment that is notoriously hard to monetize (Rob hates this word, most likely because it runs rampant around the office). Money going out, paying the web developers, but not enough money coming in*. May be months/years before the sites catch on, become part of the community, and start bringing in a little money. Of course, that's if they're lucky.

It must be very difficult.

No point to this post, other than to say that I enjoyed doing the testing (it's fun to be on the OTHER side of that scenario, as I start redesigning our own website), Rob was a cool guy, and I wish them the best with their new venture. I think we all benefit -- as businesses, consumers and citizens -- from smart and innovative local media coverage. The challenge -- after making it relevant -- is making a living from it.

Randomness:

• Check out Todd Adamson's blog for some great pics he took of Dr. John and The Neville Brothers last Friday night!
• I gave Dr. John a ride to and from his hotel. He was very gracious, had an almost unintelligible drawl, and told me a story involving Eddie Bo, Little Richard, adultery, murder, death row and lawsuits -- and even threw in some singing -- in the 5 minutes he was in my car.
• A pretty small number of tickets for the Alley Cabaret's performance of The Vagina Monologues go on sale Monday, which is unusual (the rest of the Cabarets have tix at the door only). It's directed by our newest board member, Ryan West.

* UPDATE: I should note that these comments are about the newspaper industry in general, and not the Gazette specifically. I have no idea what the Gazette's numbers are. But it's been widely reported that the industry as a whole is experiencing challenges.