Furthur Coming to TWC
Furthur featuring Phil Lesh and Bob Weir will be coming to TWC Pavilion on Thursday, July 28. The
presale
is on now.
Time for Attorney General to Investigate Ticketmaster
This morning tickets went on sale for Mumford & Sons playing at The Walt, a 5,500 seat venue, in June. Unfortunately, according to several accounts, the event was SOLD OUT at the time the “public” sale began. It appears that all of the event’s tickets were sold during the “pre-sale” that was only available to iPhone owners earlier in the week. So a city-owned facility is hosting a public event, however only those with an expensive phone had the privilege of buying tickets.
Tickets for Taylor Swift went on sale today as well, and the presale for that event began on Tuesday. My sister reported to me that within seconds of being able to get into Ticketmaster’s sale page, only 200-level seats were available.
Honestly I don’t care about who makes the phone involved in the Mumford sale, however I do have a problem, a BIG problem, with the lack of access the general public had to these tickets in a publicly owned venue. In the past presales have included a small block of tickets, often the best tickets. However the problem of finding accessible good seats at the time of the “public” sale has gotten out of hand. Several times in the last decade I have been on Ticketmaster.com the very second tickets became available for Walnut Creek seats, yet not a single time have I gotten seats in the venue’s front three sections.
Something is going on here. Is it that Ticketmaster is shunting all of these tickets to StubHub for extremely higher prices? Are they giving all of those seats to the promoter? Are presales the only way to get decent seats now?
I don’t mind the free market deciding the value of tickets, however the free market should have “free access” to seats at the market price, especially if the ticket seller implies that the limited supply tickets is available.
Because of the unjust nature of obtaining tickets at the time of the “public” sale, I will no longer assist ticket promoters with their sham by reporting this ticket sale time in my announcements. Instead I will either post the presale times or simply abstain from posting the information as it seems irrelevant and misleading altogether. In the meantime the State of North Carolina’s Attorney General’s office should investigate Ticketmaster’s operations for possible antitrust activity with events in our public venues.
Downtown Parking Fees On the Way?
Earlier this week news outlets reported that the City of Raleigh is going to seek more parking revenues as a way to cover a larger than anticipated revenue shortfall for The City. Not only will Raleigh go after unpaid parking fines, but will also consider selling ad space in parking decks and ending the practice of free parking during nights and weekends.
"The city’s not making enough off parking and it’s obvious people don’t like paying for tickets. That’s the issue," said City Council member Mary Ann Baldwin.
During the last decade and a half downtown Raleigh has undergone an enormous resurgence that went along with a $2 billion investment from the private and public sectors. In the late 90’s we started to see Raleigh most interesting new restaurants appearing in downtown instead of in the suburbs. Popular bars in the suburbs began to fade as a bustling nightlife emerged in downtown Raleigh. In fact, almost every single interesting restaurant to open in the last 10 years has been in downtown Raleigh.
Apparently the City of Raleigh wants to ignore the role of free parking in that renaissance. The introduction of nighttime parking fees is a huge deterrent for restaurant patrons who have an alternative. If this becomes the city’s policy, expect a renaissance of its own in North Raleigh. Downtown parking fees would be a huge boon to restaurateurs in the suburbs.
Increased parking revenues from downtown lots also would be a big boon to McLaurin Parking Company , the company that operates these parking structures. You may also know that company as…the inlaws of Mayor, Charles Meeker.
Nothing lasts forever. Hillsborough Street’s nightlife scene in the 70’s rivaled Chapel Hill’s Franklin Street. North Raleigh saw a ton of great restaurants open in the 80’s. The popularity of downtown in the last 15 years is a delicate thing. If the City of Raleigh wants that momentum to continue, it must proceed with extreme caution. As it is, downtown is not perceived as convenient to where people chose to live, it isn’t perceived as an easy place to park, and it’s wave is nearing the point where we’ve typically seen nightlife/entertainment cycles end in Raleigh’s history.
Mumford & Sons Coming to The Walt
The Dave Matthews Band isn’t touring this summer, but don’t fear, Mumford will be here. On Wednesday, June 8,
Mumford & Sons
will play the downtown Raleigh amphitheater. Tickets go on sale to the public tomorrow (Friday, 4/8) at 10am. However this morning there is a LiveNation iPhone app-based presale beginning at 10am. This one will sell out, so don’t dawdle.
It’s Mark Gottfried
Good news for my dental patients: Mark Gottfried will be introduced as the NCSU head coach this afternoon:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Gottfried
http://statsheet.com/mcb/coaches/mark-gottfried/team_stats
I remember liking his interviews when he was at Alabama. They miked him up for a game and it was fun to hear his conversation. Solid hire. Who cares about shaking the earth. He can get the team to being good. Alabama is hard to recruit to, so he might be able to do even better here. With Leonard Hamilton being the 3rd best coach in the ACC, the ACC beyond Roy and K is wide open (and they won’t be around in 10 yrs)….
Murph Named Engadget Managing Editor
Congratulations to Raleigh-area resident Darren Murph, who was announced today as the new Managing Editor at
Engadget.com
. If you read Engadget, surely you are familiar with one of Murph’s 17,000 blog entries, as he holds the Guinness Book of World Records’
record as the most prolific blogger
.
Murph’s transition into Managing Editor, along with Tim Stevens’ new role as Editor-in-Chief, comes after a large series of transitions at Engadget this year. In early February AOL, Engadget’s parent company, purchased the Huffington Post, and has executed a massive reorganization that resulted in the departures of several Engadget personalities. However a new day means a new era, and Stevens and Murph have a full cupboard and numerous opportunities at their disposal. Hopefully Murph’s more prominent role on the site and the engadget podcast will mean better exposure for the RTP area in the San Francisco heavy world of tech journalism. This could get very interesting…
Celebrate Triangle Garbage Week
Celebrate Triangle Garbage Week beginning Monday April 4. The week-long event features a celebration of everything used and discarded. Area television stations will air info segments throughout the week about the area’s history in garbage, including North Hills Mall (disposed of in 2003), the Raleigh Civic Center (disposed of in 2006) and Terminal C from RDU (disposed of in 2009).
Other events include the Raleigh White Trash parade (featuring the area’s largest motorcycle gangs and best strippers), the induction of the first class of the ACC referee Hall of Fame, and SPARKGarbage, a celebration of what we can do with garbage when we really put our minds to it. Citizens are invited to SPARKGarbage’s keynote event on Fayetteville Street where the world’s largest puzzle event will attempt to reassemble shredded documents from Governor Easley’s office.
Time Warner Cable customers will enjoy an entire week of garbage programming on Local Access TV, best viewed with the Scientific Atlanta Explorer HDC8300, the biggest piece of garbage to ever hit the consumer market. The week will conclude with a motivational State of the Garbage speech by Raleigh Mayor, Charles Meeker.
* * *
Thanks for reading this year’s April Fools edition of Gogoraleigh!
Durham Announces World’s Largest B&W Jumbotron
Durham N.C. – In a city best known for its minor league baseball, finding the next step in fame can be difficult. Durham has tried dropping its “City of Tobacco” moniker. They’ve tried erecting a new baseball stadium, illegally prosecuting Duke students, stealing Raleigh’s arts scene, and replacing a mall. Still Durham leaders feel nothing yet has distracted outsiders of its crime-ridden image.
So today, Durham leaders announced a revolutionary high-tech improvement to the Durham Bulls Athletic Park (DBAP). Beginning this season fans can enjoy one of baseball’s largest jumbotrons, but with an unexpected twist. Keeping with the nostalgic, yesteryear theme of the DBAP, the new jumbotron will be black & white, thus making it the world’s largest such display.
In keeping with the naming conventions of landmark items in downtown Durham’s entertainment district, the new Durham Black and White Jumbotron will have a memorable name: DBAWJ (pronounced “du-BAWJ”)
Local Girl Gets Golden Dragon Tattoo
A female computer science student at NCSU today got what is believed to be the city’s first Golden Dragon tattoo. In an exclusive, brief interview, Elizabeth Landers told gogoraleigh that she has fallen in love with the Golden Dragon restaurant on Hillsborough Street. “I’ll never fall in love with a man, but
this
is something I can love”.
Landers is the source reportedly aiding the News & Observer’s investigation into a local serial rapist, but she declined comment. A source was, however, able to hack her computer and obtain the accompanying photograph.
WUNC To Convert Programming
The UNC Center for Public Television announced today that it will convert its programming beginning today. The new WUNC will air one show all day and all night called "Whining for Dollars". A WUNC spokesperson told gogoraleigh, “We feel this isn’t a drastic change in strategy since 90% of our programming already fits this format.” As funding allows, programming will adapt, but only if you call now.
N.C. Announces Ultra Green Car Rebate
N.C. Committee on the Environment has approved a large tax rebate for the next wave of green cars. The new terra cotta/Salvia-based cars, otherwise known as "Chia-cars", are said to release more O2 into the atmosphere than CO2, and are therefore sustainable to our environment.
Buyers of the new cars will get two levels of tax rebates. The lower level, simple car brings a $500 rebate, while the deluxe model featuring box planters on the car’s corners, features a $2,000 rebate. The program begins as soon as the cars are available to the public.
Ultimate ITB Baby Born
Earlier today the couple in high school voted "Least Likely To Go OTB" in the class of 1998 gave birth to their first child. The two known as the "Ultimate ITB Couple" have lived their entire lives ITB, going to Root, Lacy, Daniels, and Martin before meeting at Broughton. Susan went on to college at Meredith, and James went to NCSU. The couple also strengthened their ITB status by selecting ITB Wedding Package #102: White Memorial wedding; reception at the club.
Today the couple gave birth to their first child, the ultimate ITB baby. Her name is Lacy Daniels Broughton. Not even the school board can screw this one up.
gogo Changes With The Times
It’s been an excellent 3 years here celebrating all things fun about living in Raleigh. However tides change, tables turn, nobody stays on top forever. Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, you are well aware that the real energy in the Triangle has shifted…
to Garner
. Once upon a time Raleigh had the best singers, the best football teams, and the best restaurants. That is no more. It was pretty obvious even before
Scotty McCreery’s ascent on American Idol
began. Great websites change with the times, so from now on this site will not only change its focus away from buildings not being built and festivals not happening in Raleigh. We are also changing our name to gogogarner, because as the town motto says, "Garneria. It’s spreading!"
Recent Stories
- North Carolina Loses The Great Teacher February 9, 2015
- City Lays Markings for Currituck Obstacle Course February 4, 2015
- History Making Heels and Wolfpack Prepare for Battle January 14, 2015
- 25 Predictions for 2015 January 5, 2015
- Raleigh’s 10 Biggest Stories of 2014 January 2, 2015
- 2014: The Rain Year January 2, 2015
- Tupelo Honey Sets New Casual Standard December 1, 2014
- 2013 Predictions. A Look Back November 18, 2014
- Wicked Taco Bringing Fresh-Mex to Western Blvd November 17, 2014
- DOT Unveils I-440 Widening Plans November 12, 2014
- County Power Shift Brings Major Changes to Raleigh’s Future November 5, 2014
- Jarrett Bay Store Coming to Crabtree September 25, 2014
- FirstWatch Coming to Glenwood Avenue September 9, 2014
- Big Shindig Releases Set Times September 5, 2014
- Appearance Commission to Review Residence Inn September 3, 2014
