America's Premiere Withholding Agent
Jackie and I had the opportunity to see another one of our British clients, Oceans Ate Alaska, perform. They are on the grueling Vans Warped Tour that came through Orlando last night. The weather was very fortunate to them as this is daily thunderstorm season but yesterday it was just a light sprinkle only. Jackie and I had a chance to have dinner with them. These guys are great fun to spend time with.
My team and I send our deepest sympathies to the victims and their families of this early morning tragedy here in Orlando. Like the rest of our community, we are saddened and shocked over this. I will write more about this later…
I just returned from the NAPAMA Retreat in the Poconos of Pennsylvania. The location was wonderful; the Historic Shawnee Inn and Golf Resort on the Delaware River. Interesting in that they had pictures of Jackie Gleason all over the place, so with that, “Away we go!”
This was just a bit different from the meeting in Ft. Lauderdale last year as the very first thing I noticed was the guys on the first tee were wearing jackets, wool caps and gloves on both hands. I brought my standard tropical shirts that I wear to the office every day. Not a good decision as the weather was a brisk BRRRRR for this Florida guy. It really didn’t matter though, gloves or tropical shirts, I still play golf like I’m wearing a suit of armor. US Steel should sponsor me!
The meeting was fabulous. Great speakers and peers trying to help each other. The committee puts on a spectacular conference. I am looking forward to next year – no matter where it is held.
Last evening I was back at The Social in downtown Orlando to see our client from Montreal, Black Tiger Sex Machine. BTSM, as their fans refer to them, puts on an incredibly unique show that combines a dark, electronica music style using a central DJ mixer, drum machines, and keyboards synchronized to a light show, especially the LED lighting on their famous Tiger Masks. Here is a short video of the experience:
As someone who finds himself becoming more entrenched with senior citizenry the older I get, I don’t have many opportunities to see many of our DJ clients perform; I am generally in bed before they get on stage. However…I wanted to see the masks! The audience went nuts when the masks lit up. I was absolutely fascinated. It was amazing watching the sold-out crowd react to the production effect too.
Fans of BTSM were treated to an impressive show, with Dabin, who opened the evening followed by Apashe; both of those artists working the crowd into a frenzy for BTSM to hit the stage. What a great show!
Last evening, we had the opportunity to see one of our clients perform at the Celtic Nights – Spirit of Freedom tour in the Clermont Arts & Recreation Center. This was my first time visiting this facility and it is by no means a small venue; one thousand patrons can easily fit comfortably within its confines with a great view of the stage.
This was a great production and the crowd absolutely loved this show. If you weren’t Irish when you walked in, you felt Irish when you walked out – with a big smile on your face.
The singers were spectacular.
The dancers were the same.
A wonderful night!
I have flat run out of stuff to say about this show, but as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, so here’s a couple thousand more words for you:
No, we’re not talking about Facebook, Twitter or crumpets and tea out in some English countryside estate. We are talking about The Social, Orlando’s oldest currently active venue for shows – built in the 1920s. It has gone through a lot of ownership/management changes throughout the years but it still stands strong. This was the first time I’ve had the opportunity to be in the building since, well, I probably had hair; I’m guessing over 25 years ago.
The Social was a perfect venue for our client Skinny Lister. They are one of the most fun groups we have seen in years. Here’s a good way to describe them:
Skinny Lister had disembarked the Flogging Molly’s Salty Dog Cruise out of Miami on Monday. The Social had over 50 cruise passengers that followed the band the 235 miles up to Orlando to watch them perform again!
This group is a British Folk Musc band from London and they are just great fun on stage to watch. I encourage everyone to go see them.
Skinny Lister at The Social, March 23 1996, Pic 1
Skinny Lister at The Social, March 23 1996, Pic 2
Last night, Jackie and I had the opportunity to spend some time with one of the nicest performers we have ever met, Vance Joy.What an amazingly friendly and sincere guy!
If you’ve been reading our posts on this site you realize we go locally to the Orlando House of Blues quite a bit as we have many of our clients perform at this venue. This was by far the largest crowd we have seen there. One interesting thing we noticed was the age groups were all over the board. We saw 20-year-olds all the way up to folks in their early 70s. Vance has a unique style that communicates with the audience and appeals to everyone. He tells stories before he sings a song – not unlike one of the greatest artists I ever saw, Harry Chapin.
That kind of dates me…
Vance Joy with Jackie and Frank Page
Awesome show.
I posted a story a couple of years ago about our client We Banjo 3 which you can read about here. We just received a press release from the band that they performed at the White House for President Obama and other dignitaries including Richard Gere yesterday on Tuesday, March 15. Here’s a copy of the PR:
Galway Band wows President Obama
We Banjo 3 today performed for The President of the United States, the Vice President, the Speaker of the House, an Taoiseach Enda Kenny and a room full of Irish dignitaries and politicians from both sides of the House of Representatives at the Friends of Ireland Luncheon. Also in attendance was Richard Gere.
The band played a song from the multi award winning album Gather the Good, and another from their debut album Roots of the Banjo Tree. President Obama was highly taken with the virtuosity and verve of these young Galwegians who enthralled the gathered audience with their unique rendition of Blues song Get Onboard and Bluegrass/Irish medley Bill Cheatum/The Donegal Lass.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny was full of praise for the musical ambassadors and was eager to be photographed with the band, President Obama, The Speaker of the House and the Vice President. This official photograph will be released in the coming days.
Despite a few attempts, the president resolutely refused to hold a banjo for fear that it might slip out of tune. The lads assured him that a banjo is rarely in tune anyway, but to no avail!
Any suggestion that we could publicly describe the banjo as a “Weapon of Mass Seduction” was quickly vetoed by the White House staffers!It’s onwards and upwards for the Galway band who will release their 4th album String Theory this July.
Their Culture Ireland supported American tour continues tomorrow night in Chicago.
Congratulations!
Last night we were back at House of Blues here in Orlando to see our client, At the Gates. They put on a great show and the crowd was totally thrilled!
“At The Gates” performing at the Orlando House of Blues, February 11, 2016
After the show, the guys graciously took a group photo with me and Jackie back in the Green Room, which could have been renamed the Red Room due to some strange lighting filters. or maybe we stayed out in that Florida sun just a few hours too long, or just maybe…this band is too hot!
As you read the title of this post, you probably stopped and pondered for a moment; maybe even had an Abbott & Costello moment imagining Lou turning to Bud, yelling in his best “Who’s On First” inflection, “Hey Abbott. HOW can a continent fit into a City?”
It’s simple actually. Our client, the band Europe, was at the House of Blues last night in front of a full house!
They played some old stuff and some great music from their new album.
Of course, they finished with “The Final Countdown”.
After the show, here’s Jackie and me with Joey and Ian.
We Are Also On