I say "who knows what" because I didn't attend the event. I'm wondering what kind of person would, but that's a disability-rights issue I'd prefer to let someone else address, though I easily could.
No, my beef in this forum is that the new ownership of Grant Street ' our venerable rock-and-blues stomping grounds since the 1980s ' had the free-market-no-matter-what avarice to stage such a show at this particular downtown spot. Maybe this is only a problem for those of us who were in their 20s, 30s and 40s in the 1980s and saw Grant Street as the beautiful (though scorching hot) place it was for great live artists. Maybe we (I was in my 20s) possess an oversensitive ' arguably unwarranted ' proprietary ownership in Grant Street. But I thought it was a "dancehall" for musicians and, well, dancing.
Initially, I was so pleased with the way the new Grant Street was headed. I've seen Sonny, Jerry Lee Lewis and Robert Cray playing there. I recently walked in to find Lil' Buck Sinegal, Steve Riley and C.C. Adcock on the same smaller stage. Those were great shows. I love the new lounge, and the air conditioning is always nice. I was proudly sending leery friends there. But it's pretty difficult to champion a place that offers something called "The Half Pint Wrestlers."
I do realize it was a first-time deal. And we should always allow for the possibility of redemption, as the new owners rightfully have Dwight Yoakam and I'm sure other musical greats lined up. Still, if this midget gig makes a profit, you can bet the local manager ' who had promised he would be a steward of Grant Street's storied history ' will have his out-of-state corporate bosses demanding similar, shameful events.
I sincerely doubt the previous owners of Grant Street would have presented midget wrestling, an event that only sullied, however briefly, the reputation of our precious Grant Street Dancehall. They'd be embarrassed, as we all should be.
JUNE 17 If anyone ever wonders why Saints fans hate Atlanta with a capital H, here's a good indication. Radio "professionals" at an Atlanta station created an entire segment around making fun of former Saints player Steve Gleason, who is now paralyzed by ALS. Listen, nobody's ever accused DJs of being rocket scientists. But how could someone think it is amusing to pretend to ask a man with a degenerative, fatal disease if he will be alive next week? The DJs have been fired, and are now whining about how gutless their former bosses are. Wow.
JUNE 18 Here's the latest from the Advocate on the fatal hit-and-run accident allegedly involving the president of the Livingston Parish School Board. He's accused by police of hitting a 21-year-old man on a highway early Sunday and driving away. The man died at a hospital later. On Monday, police seized the president's truck and towed it away. But he's available for board meetings: apparently a $500 bond is sufficient for this type of thing over in St. Helena Parish.
JUNE 18 Former broadcast journalist Griffin Scott has posted this plea on his blog for financial assistance from his readers. Scott, who says he was fired after he wrote something fairly innocuous (for Facebook) on his wall, is suing a media giant for his job back. He's framed himself as David going after a bloated media giant, and he's probably not far off.
JUNE 18 Here's a fairly absurd column posted on DIG Magazine about the completely absurd practice of naming killer storms. Tornadoes don't have names. Blizzards don't have names. But hurricanes do, and there's a big process to bestow them, Jacques Cormery writes. He's right about the crazy assemblage of names -- this year, there's everything from Tanya to Humberto -- and his idea that we don't waste good names on killer storms is a good one.
JUNE 17 Political columnist John Maginnis has some advice for Louisiana Republicans: grow up. After the schism that occurred in this past session - fiscal hawks teaming up with Democrats to spank the Republican "majority" and hand Gov. Jindal his, er, aspirations for continued solon control -- they need to figure out how to get along with each other, Maginnis writes.
JUNE 17 Here's the Picayune's obit story for Dorothy 'Miss Dot' Domilise, the lady who made poboys at the uptown restaurant that bears her name. Miss Dot moved to New Orleans during World War II, where she met and married her husband Sam. When she passed away Friday she was 90, and had spent more than 60 of those years working at the restaurant on Annunciation Street.
JUNE 17 This editorial in the Advocate speaks in favor of the consent decrees that have federal judges overseeing police operations and the sheriff's parish prison in New Orleans. Mayor Landrieu and Sheriff Gusman can't get along, so outside forces, like the Inspector General and the judges, are needed to make sure things run right, the editorial opines.
JUNE 18 Here's a post from Manny Schewitz on Forward Progressives that is good for a chuckle. Manny had an epiphany back in November, and is sharing it with us today: he believes that Fox "News" is killing the GOP by pandering to right wing nuts. Now, don't get it twisted: Manny's not broke up about it. He says he enjoys watching the downward spiral with a shot of whiskey and "a schadenfreude chaser."
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