Julius Tribute in NYC cancelled!!!

[stefandaystrom]

Tonight I emailed Cissy to ask about whether there were any A&M Corner "cluster" tickets like at the first tribute. Her unexpected reply:

"I'm sorry to have to tell you that the New York concert has been cancelled. Ticket sales did not warrant TSA continuing to back the event because they felt they would lose additional money, and as a non-profit organization they couldn't rationalize doing that.

[...] the decision was just made on Thursday."

 

[Rudy]

Shoot...I hadn't heard a word of it. Thanks for the update, though--I'll have to make the changes on the Baja page, and post a news item here.

 

[cakeicer]

I'm sorry to hear that, it was for a good cause and the West Coast show was so enjoyable. It is disappointing there wasn't a better response to this event, maybe they will reschedule for another time?

 

[Rudy]

I just think NYC is a hard sell. (Lots of traffic and congestion, to the point where taxi cabs and public transportation are the only way to get around...not my cup of tea, anyhoo.) And the bad economy and uncertainty over world events probably prevented many others from arranging a trip. This kind of event, IMHO, does very well in L.A. just due to the musical climate. Especially with some of the Baja band members being from that area. I just wonder if a repeat performance in California, or even in Chicago (Julius's home town), would have created more ticket sales.

 

[stefandaystrom]

I just think NYC is a hard sell. (Lots of traffic and congestion, to the point where taxi cabs and public transportation are the only way to get around...not my cup of tea, anyhoo.)

I was kinda of wondering how and why they chose not only NYC, but specifically midtown Manhattan. After all, the Alex Theatre in Glendale where the "Los Angeles" tribute was held is more analogous to someplace, I dunno, at the very least in a less congested area of Queens or even outside the city in nearby Long Island or somewhere. (An area where there was cheap/free STREET PARKING available if you didn't mind a several-block walk!)

And the bad economy and uncertainty over world events probably prevented many others from arranging a trip. This kind of event, IMHO, does very well in L.A. just due to the musical climate. Especially with some of the Baja band members being from that area. I just wonder if a repeat performance in California, or even in Chicago (Julius's home town), would have created more ticket sales.

I don't know which is the cause and which is the effect, but how much of a factor could it have been that the bulk of the hall in Glendale was $25ish and the front rows were $100ish, while in NYC the lowest ticket price was $75 (and the front was $150). The Glendale hall was amazingly almost completely filled (the only place offhand I noticed small clusters of empty seats were around our A&M Corner area). How full would it have been at 3 times the price, I wonder?

As far as repeat performances: Gosh, if the could figure out how to squeeze the incarnation of the BMB they had there into relatively smaller (and thus cheaper) clubs, I think a lot of us within driving distance (and maybe even some within flying distance?) would be willing to go time after time after time to hear them play periodically as an ongoing smaller-scale benefit! And at the right place with just one or two acts on the bill they wouldn't have to spend nearly as much and thus wouldn't have to make nearly as much to make a profit.

 

[jimac51]

I ,too,am disappointed. While not a hop,skip & jump-NYC is a 2 hour bus ride from here and I was all set to crash at my daughter's apartment overnight. I do understand,though and,I would believe that one factor is an event like the blizzard enfolding as I write this. It's been a while since we had a snowy winter and we were overdue. Variety always posts low grosses during this time on Broadway shows. Out -of-towners do not want to project a group sale event that can be wiped out under these circumstances. In the past,some shows(the revival of "Damn Yankees" comes to mind)just went dark over winter and the revival of "Oklahoma" closes soon,partially due to a bad winter. As for playing in the Big Apple-hey,that is where the talent was coming from and it made perfect sense to locate the show where they did. And,yeah, 75 bucks seems like a steep price but comparatively,it's well in line with an ordinary show and this was a special one in a relatively intimate(600 seats) venue so it really was a bargain. Hey,everyone's heart was in the right place. At times like these Julius would have all of us look at that silent band member with his back to the camera on many of the BMB album covers for inspiration. Mac

 

[Stephen Vakil]

Very, very disappointing. And I got a cheap non-refundable air ticket!

Ho Hum

 

[cakeicer]

Oh Stephen I am sorry, and the weather is so terrible right now. Maybe it will improve by March and you could still come and play tourist or visit with friends anyway?

 

[Captain Bacardi]

Very, very disappointing. And I got a cheap non-refundable air ticket!

I also have a non-refundable airline ticket, as well as hotel reservations. Needless to say, I am not a happy camper. I'm going to try to transfer the airline tickets for when I go to the Cubs home opener on April 7th (at least I got free tickets for the game!). I don't know what I'm going to do with the hotel reservations, especially since hotels aren't exactly cheap in NYC!


Capt. Bacardi
...extremely disappointed online...

 

[Rudy]

I think you can cancel most reservations within 24-48 hours of check-in time. Unless NYC hotels are different.

Hope you CAN exchange the ticket. You can't even transfer it to someone else--so that rules out selling it on eBay!

 

[cakeicer]

Bummer Bill, hope you can transfer the tickets. The airlines may agree to let you do this, I'd ask Cissy Wechter if she could Email you something stating that the concert has been cancelled so you could send a copy to the airlines. It couldn't hurt.

 

[stefandaystrom]

I also have a non-refundable airline ticket, as well as hotel reservations.

I note per your minibio on the left of the message that you're in Austin, which is a Southwest city. Is your "nonrefundable" ticket by any luck to Islip/Long Island on Southwest? If so, did you know that funds from Southwest "nonrefundable" tickets are nevertheless 100% reusable (without any penalty or extra charge) toward other flights, as long as the flight you actually end up using them for is within one year of the ORIGINAL bookiing of the tickets you didn't use? (Just one of several big reasons why I only fly Southwest domestically if at all possible, even if it means an out of the way airport.)

My $100ish/night hotel, half a mile from what was to be the concert site, only requires 1 day cancellation to avoid any penalty/charge. Are you sure yours is really nonrefundable?

The only hotels where I remember seeing things like 30 day or 60 day cancellations have been in isolated resort regions. I wasn't aware that there were ones in NYC that had those sorts of restrictions.

 

[Captain Bacardi]

Is your "nonrefundable" ticket by any luck to Islip/Long Island on Southwest?

No, Southwest doesn't fly into NYC anymore. I had a combination of American & Delta to LaGuardia. I love Southwest Airlines, though. Cheap flights, you get to sit wherever you want, and they have a great safety record.

My $100ish/night hotel, half a mile from what was to be the concert site, only requires 1 day cancellation to avoid any penalty/charge. Are you sure yours is really nonrefundable?

I got my stuff through Travelocity.com, and sent them an e-mail seeing what I could do. The way I figure it, if I can't get these things cancelled or get credit for them, I'll just go to NYC for a few days. I guess I can find something to do there.

What hotel did you get? I had the Best Western Majestic, which was .8 mile from the concert site. Travelocity had reviews of many hotels in that area by travelers, and there were some pretty nasty places to stay.



Capt. Bacardi

 

[Captain Bacardi]

Here's the note I got from Cissy tonight:

Hi Bill,

I'm afraid it's true. I've been sitting here all day writing thank you notes to those who were willing and able to support the event and was just getting to yours. Needless to say, your card will not be charged and I apologize for the inconvenience this must have caused.

I think TSA is planning to send videotapes of the first concert to all of you who were purchasing tickets to this one. If for any reason you don't receive one, please let me know.

Thanks again for your loyalty and love for Julius and his music.
Love,
Cissy

Capt. Bacardi

 

[cakeicer]

Hey Bill, how do we get a copy of that first show video tape. I've been hoping since last year that they would release one. I have Cissy's Email address, but I don't want to bother her if you know of a way to order it.
Thanks,
Shirley

 

[Captain Bacardi]

Hey Bill, how do we get a copy of that first show video tape.

I really don't know. Remember, her message said she thinks TSA is planning on the tape. We'll have to wait and see. If I get one, I'll be posting it.


Capt. Bacardi
NW: Texas vs Texas Tech

 

[stefandaystrom]

Is your "nonrefundable" ticket by any luck to Islip/Long Island on Southwest?

No, Southwest doesn't fly into NYC anymore.

Huh? Southwest never flew into NYC proper AFAIK, so I'm not sure of the meaning of "anymore" above. Meanwhile, Southwest does very much still fly (per checking www.southwest.com Reservations tab just now) several times daily (using mostly BWI connections) between Austin and McArthur Airport on Long Island (officially allocated to the town of Islip, tho that's a town I never heard of before hearing about Southwest flying there!), out in the eastern suburbs of NYC. Given that LAX is at the far opposite end of the Los Angeles area from where the first tribute was in Glendale, I don't think that this Long Island airport can be that much further from the Danny Kaye Playhouse in midtown NYC, can it?

My $100ish/night hotel, half a mile from what was to be the concert site, only requires 1 day cancellation to avoid any penalty/charge. Are you sure yours is really nonrefundable?

I got my stuff through Travelocity.com, and sent them an e-mail seeing what I could do. The way I figure it, if I can't get these things cancelled or get credit for them, I'll just go to NYC for a few days. I guess I can find something to do there.

What hotel did you get? I had the Best Western Majestic, which was .8 mile from the concert site. Travelocity had reviews of many hotels in that area by travelers, and there were some pretty nasty places to stay.

I got the Habitat Hotel (http://www.habitatny.com/), which I do see got extremely mixed reviews on Travelocity. Apparently there are two parts of the hotel, one good (if tight) and one not at all good. Hm, I wonder which I would have ended up in?

Btw, I looked up the Majestic on Travelocity and popped up their "good buy" rate window and it seems to say you can cancel but that there's a $20 cancellation charge. That's a lot worse than my $0, but a lot better than getting charged for even one night if you don't do anything and don't show up!

Meanwhile: Something smells a bit fishy about this. May of course turn out to be innocent, but: Despite everyone including "Best Western" in their name left and right, this is not a Best Western (per www.bestwestern.com search for all their properties in NYC, none are at that address by that or any other name). And everyone and their mother online seems to offer this hotel only on a prepay basis, with no means of a direct site (of either the hotel itself or any chain/group it might belong to).

 

[bob knack]

I'd just like to vote for a concert in Chicago. Not only was Julius from here, but Carmen Fanzone played the local clubs here after his baseball days were done.

If the musicians wanted, they could probably pick up some dates in addition to the TSA event and maybe make it worthwhile. Chicago seems to be very accomodating to travellers. This times of year, for example, hotel rates downtown are very low.

By the way, Capt., when you go to Cubs Park, the trumpet player in the Cubs Dixieland Band is a friend of ours, Ted Butterman, say hello for me if they march by.

 

[DAN BOLTON]

I'd also vote for Chicago...it IS Julius' home town...it IS a more friendly city than New York...and it's only about 125 miles from where I live...but, the times and other circumstances kinda doomed this show from the start...Herb wasn't able to attend, the economy is awful, and nobody could visit New York City without mixed emotions...I know I couldn't...just a bad scene, all the way around. It isn't anybody's fault, it just IS.


Dan, thinking...maybe later...

 

[Rudy]

Good reasons why NYC didn't work. It is also an "off" season for travel. Good for cheaper hotel and airline rates, but a lot of people won't travel until winter breaks or the kids are out of school. And while I may be traveling later in the year, at this point I'm certainly not able to up and leave for an expensive long weekend. (NYC is anything but cheap!)

Chicago's a great place to have a Tribute, but I think the fact that it isn't on the west coast (where many of the original Tribute cast reside) or the east coast (where the "Broadway" angle came into play) would make it a tough sell. TSA is located in the NYC area, which is one reason they decided to hold a second tribute there.

If there is ever a second Tribute in L.A., I'm more than game to try and make it out there!

 

[stefandaystrom]

a lot of people won't travel until [...] the kids are out of school

If that's the case, that sounds like a vote for an L A repeat. You see, in Los Angeles, the schools are so crowded they're on a year-round (staggered) schedule. Assuming that's not the case too many other places, all the people coming from someplace else to L A would have their kids out of school in the summer, but you couldn't count on all the people from L A (considering traveling to Chicago or NYC) having their kids out of school in the summer!

OTOH, from what I remember of my casual looks around the Alex Theatre, I got the impression that most of the people attending (and perhaps most of the people likely to remember Julius' music?) seemed to be of an age where there kids are no longer in school (pre-college, at least).

 

[Captain Bacardi]

Well, I got a bit of good news. As Stefan mentioned it only cost me $20 to cancel the hotel. As far as the airline ticket goes, I can use it for my trip to Chicago - but I'll have to add $130 plus any difference in airfare for the change. I can't see how the airlines are going bankrupt with this kind of practice.


Capt. Bacardi
...partially relieved online...