Wednesday, April 25, 2007

NAB2007
For those of us who couldn't get out to NAB2007 in Las Vegas last week, we do have some reading options. This morning, the daily NAB Smart Brief included a link to a bunch of articles which were published in the newspaper handed out to attendees of the event: ["NAB2007 Daily News"].
Of course, the links aren't quite the same as being there. But it beats not being able to find out anything about the event, which is a massive media and technology expo.
For the radio folks out there, subscribing to the NAB newsletter is worth the time. You get all the latest headlines about the business emailed to your Inbox. I would like to find one which handles the newspaper industry in a similar way but I've been unable to find such an entity.
The NAB event, the NAB Radio Show, will be held in Charlotte, North Carolina, Sept. 26 to 28. Here is the site although no information is available about events: ["NAB Radio Show"].

Somerville's Kirkland Cafe to close
I just found out via email from a friend of mine that my old haunt the Kirkland Cafe in Somerville is closing on May 27. The Club Bohemia Web site confirms the closing: ["Kirkland Cafe"].
Over the years, I played a number of gigs there and also hung out there on a regular basis. It was a great place to check out bands and also play. There was almost no attitude and it was always a good time.
While I don't know why the closing is occurring, and there is limited information about it, it was probably high rents and a lack of attendance for gigging these days. People are too into discotheques and Podcasts to worry about actually going to see a band live. Although, the bigger arenas seem to be thriving ... have you seen the price of tickets lately? Rod Stewart, who held his farewell tour years ago, is getting $110 a ticket! Wow.
But back to the Kirkland: I always thought the block was ripe for the picking and that could be the situation. Very expensive condos have sprung up on all sides of the place, including some very cool loft condos right across the street. It was only a matter of time before someone looked at the place and saw dollar signs. This is all speculation on my part. The Dali Restaurant is located right next door and there isn't anything on their Web site about closing so who knows at this point.

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