Tonight, a friend of mine and I went to the Pacers v. Bulls game. After a rainy afternoon, the evening brought parted-clouds and a gorgeous sunset, which blinded both us following an irresistible glance directly into it from the inside of Conseco Fieldhouse. It beamed into the concourse, shining a bright light into a venue that has for many years, as the public now knows, struggled to succeed financially. Perhaps this ray of light inspired the Eastern Conference's 9th place team to produce a victory tonight. Regardless of any celestial influence, the Pacers pulled off a fantastic come-from-behind win against their conference neighbors (both geographically and in the current playoff standings).
As much as the win lifted the spirits of the moderately sized crowd in attendance Tuesday night, I think Indy, not unlike many cities around the country, is suffering through many painful issues right now. The numerous empty seats around the arena, even for a Tuesday night game, negated the crowd that cheered for a win that many wonder whether or not will be enough to make the playoffs. With only a few games left in the regular season, the Pacers have little gravel left in the road towards a playoff spot, and likely would not travel far down Playoff Avenue, should they make it there.
The bigger issue, though, is that the future of the Pacers as an Indianapolis professional sports franchise is in jeopardy. Despite the unbelievable generosity of the Simon family for their decade-long donation of pro basketball to the city, the model is clearly not sustainable, and even Indy's uber-successful 'mall entrepreneurs' would agree that some major steps must be taken to ensure a positive and fruitful future for the team, and its home-court venue, Conseco Fieldhouse (I happen to have some pretty good ideas for how to do some intense brand reconstruction, in case Rick Fuson or Larry Bird would ever like to sit down and discuss how).
Imagine this city without a professional basketball team. Or, look at it this way: imagine the 12th largest city in the United States having only one professional sports team (the Colts). I'm not saying sports are the only thing that make up a city, but we can hardly brag about our music, cuisine or fashion scenes, and in fact, we do tend to brag about our sports status. So, it would seem like our pro sports teams could and should be more successful. While the Colts have certainly built an incredibly respectable franchise, their widespread popularity is relatively recent. It took a long time to get the team, and the fan base, on track. Now, the city faces a bitter reality that the Pacers have struggled on the court in recent years, and the attendance at games has sank like a boulder in a lake since the 2000 season. This lethal combination has helped lead to the current situation, which has the Pacers pondering a lot more than who they will select in the 2009 NBA Draft.
The difficult task for Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard, who sat just a few seats in front of us at tonight's game, is that in addition to the financial struggles of our sports venues, the city's violent crime rate is on the rise, and an overwhelmed law enforcement simply cannot win the battle against a street level criminal force who does not value life, or our city. The irony of sitting behind Mayor Ballard at Conseco Fieldhouse tonight was magnified on my ride home. Upon entering the neighborhood, I heard gunshots near the intersection closest to my house, which interrupted an otherwise-quiet evening in the area. Two shady characters took off down the road and into the darkness, and the 'mystery shooting,' which I could only hear from around the corner, seemed to fail to raise an eyebrow or light up a porch. This is unfortunately all too common in my neighborhood and other neighborhoods around the city: violent crime and under-achievement have become so common that they go unnoticed.
This city is desperately in need of some champions. I challenge all leaders, including myself, in the business, non-profit, education and creative communities to do anything they can to disregard their own or others' excuses about the economy and the tough times we face. We must all confront a brutal reality right now. However, take it from someone who has struggled when others were soaring: we must all take ownership and be accountable for turning this situation around. Working harder, smarter and more effectively is not an option, it is an absolute requirement right now. We must do what we can to improve life in our communities and uplift the city to maintain the momentum from the incredible progress it has made so far. Indianapolis has a rare opportunity to grow from mid-sized city to major metropolis, and under its own terms, over the next several decades. We cannot afford to allow economic downturn, crime and irresponsible decisions in the past to ruin our future as one of the 15 major metropolitan areas in the United States. Civic and business leadership must create new ways to improve life in the city by encouraging (and supporting) ideas and innovations that can help shape our future.
It's time to open our minds to the solutions that will rebuild our economy and redirect the city into positive growth. Organizations must find time to interact and reflect with their employees and stakeholders, as well as their audience, through honest conversation. Take some risks that will not sink you, but that will act as a guiding light for how to navigate through the temporary darkness the economy now sheds on our nation. Partner. Innovate. Learn from this experience. Prepare for a time when things could be worse, and when they will be better.
Get to work, Indy! The future is ours!
From the Northwest Corner,
rh
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
The Intro Blog/Umphrey's @ Murat Theatre, Indianapolis (3/14)
i've been thinking a lot lately about reactivating my blogging. now that myspace activity has dwindled to almost nothing, and the ORANJE blog is used for ORANJE and is not necessarily an outlet to write about the random stuff i think about on a daily basis, i figured i should find a new outlet for writing.
so, i thought i would start it off by telling a little story about last saturday's Umphrey's McGee show at the Murat Theatre in downtown Indianapolis. the band played two nights (friday and saturday) and i attended the saturday show with a good buddy of mine.
my boy and i have watched these guys work hard and grow their talent, name and fanbase for about 10 years, and have become good friends with them along the way. this is one of the best groups of people you'll ever meet in the music business, from the band to the crew, they work their asses off, and despite having reached an incredible level of success with their work, they have not changed at all as people and are still very genuine in their friendships and interactions. however, most fans who are not lucky enough to know them personally are just there to see great shows. and Umph delivers as consistently as any band i've seen, only getting better each time i see them.
it seems like every time my buddy and i hit a show together, either something really incredible happens, or something really hilarious happens. last saturday night was jam-packed with both. i'll do my best to recap the night, although words can not describe the perfect timing, classic moments, musical journey and one of a kind conversations that took place that night.
it started off with an arrival down to mass ave, and a score on a street spot near the venue. grabbed the guest passes from the box office to avoid the mob that would hit the venue 20 minutes later. then we hit macnivens to kill some time and grab a beer. i order an alpha king. we keep the macnivens visit pretty short and then go visit some friends across the street. headed back to the venue to get in for the tipoff. going through the line, we both get marginally molested by the female security guard who i thought might have followed me home if i wasn't careful. we moved past the feel-copper and headed inside to go meet up with our old school buddies on the far 'stage-right' side of the Egyptian Room.
the first set rocks, and i'm rollin' through a few red bull & vodkas that were 'generously created' by the bartender, who recognized me from ORANJE. that set things off nicely.
we head backstage at setbreak to say hey to the boys, and they're happy to see everyone, but a little frustrated with the first set. they were ready to prove something and blow the roof off for set 2. and they did. they came out with a vengeance and rocked their loyal, midwestern fans for yet another stellar performance at Murat's Egyption Room. the second set featured some incredible moments, including a ridiculous solo by guitarist Jake Cinninger.
towards the end of the show, i realized that i lost my all-access pass, and begin to retrace my steps to try to locate it. no luck. it's gone. which means that it's either been swept away, or some lucky jackass has it. we suspect it was the latter.
fast forward to our group's entrance to the backstage after-show party, to which i had a pass, and now was missing that pass. i confidently walk through the door to the backstage area and the woman asks me if i have a pass to the after show, to which i respond, "yes," and kept walking. she yelled "sir!" a few times, but i just kept walking because i wasn't about to deal with that crap, and i was on the list, damnit. i just lost my pass! so, we get back there and the fun begins. the whole band and all the friends of the band are in a great mood because it's saturday night, the weather was great, and the band just completed a great show, with an amazing second set.
there was one strange occurrence that led us to believe that someone found my pass. there was a guy back there who clearly didn't belong. he didn't seem to know anyone, was by himself, and was definitely acting strange. he tried to work his way into several conversations and at one point asked us for a ride (even though he had no idea where we were going), but finally he left. once we figured out (on the ride home) that it was probably that stranger who found my all access pass, we laughed our asses off until my buddy dropped me off. it was one of those things that you had to be there, but this was classic. after a great show, and some incredible conversations backstage with some of the guys in the band about the years of hard work and what it takes to be successful, we got to laugh the whole way home about the security molester and the strange guy backstage who i 'accidentally miracled.'
i can't recommend enough that you go check out Umprey's McGee if you haven't seen them. while categorized as a jamband, if you are someone who is open minded to new music, and appreciates a fun atmosphere at a concert, you should give them a shot. they have worked tirelessly to perfect their sound and put on a great show, and it's obvious they're having fun doing it. we even got a 'happy st. patrick's day' from Brendan, complemented by a green-out by lighting director Wade Wilby.
so, i thought i would start it off by telling a little story about last saturday's Umphrey's McGee show at the Murat Theatre in downtown Indianapolis. the band played two nights (friday and saturday) and i attended the saturday show with a good buddy of mine.
my boy and i have watched these guys work hard and grow their talent, name and fanbase for about 10 years, and have become good friends with them along the way. this is one of the best groups of people you'll ever meet in the music business, from the band to the crew, they work their asses off, and despite having reached an incredible level of success with their work, they have not changed at all as people and are still very genuine in their friendships and interactions. however, most fans who are not lucky enough to know them personally are just there to see great shows. and Umph delivers as consistently as any band i've seen, only getting better each time i see them.
it seems like every time my buddy and i hit a show together, either something really incredible happens, or something really hilarious happens. last saturday night was jam-packed with both. i'll do my best to recap the night, although words can not describe the perfect timing, classic moments, musical journey and one of a kind conversations that took place that night.
it started off with an arrival down to mass ave, and a score on a street spot near the venue. grabbed the guest passes from the box office to avoid the mob that would hit the venue 20 minutes later. then we hit macnivens to kill some time and grab a beer. i order an alpha king. we keep the macnivens visit pretty short and then go visit some friends across the street. headed back to the venue to get in for the tipoff. going through the line, we both get marginally molested by the female security guard who i thought might have followed me home if i wasn't careful. we moved past the feel-copper and headed inside to go meet up with our old school buddies on the far 'stage-right' side of the Egyptian Room.
the first set rocks, and i'm rollin' through a few red bull & vodkas that were 'generously created' by the bartender, who recognized me from ORANJE. that set things off nicely.
we head backstage at setbreak to say hey to the boys, and they're happy to see everyone, but a little frustrated with the first set. they were ready to prove something and blow the roof off for set 2. and they did. they came out with a vengeance and rocked their loyal, midwestern fans for yet another stellar performance at Murat's Egyption Room. the second set featured some incredible moments, including a ridiculous solo by guitarist Jake Cinninger.
towards the end of the show, i realized that i lost my all-access pass, and begin to retrace my steps to try to locate it. no luck. it's gone. which means that it's either been swept away, or some lucky jackass has it. we suspect it was the latter.
fast forward to our group's entrance to the backstage after-show party, to which i had a pass, and now was missing that pass. i confidently walk through the door to the backstage area and the woman asks me if i have a pass to the after show, to which i respond, "yes," and kept walking. she yelled "sir!" a few times, but i just kept walking because i wasn't about to deal with that crap, and i was on the list, damnit. i just lost my pass! so, we get back there and the fun begins. the whole band and all the friends of the band are in a great mood because it's saturday night, the weather was great, and the band just completed a great show, with an amazing second set.
there was one strange occurrence that led us to believe that someone found my pass. there was a guy back there who clearly didn't belong. he didn't seem to know anyone, was by himself, and was definitely acting strange. he tried to work his way into several conversations and at one point asked us for a ride (even though he had no idea where we were going), but finally he left. once we figured out (on the ride home) that it was probably that stranger who found my all access pass, we laughed our asses off until my buddy dropped me off. it was one of those things that you had to be there, but this was classic. after a great show, and some incredible conversations backstage with some of the guys in the band about the years of hard work and what it takes to be successful, we got to laugh the whole way home about the security molester and the strange guy backstage who i 'accidentally miracled.'
i can't recommend enough that you go check out Umprey's McGee if you haven't seen them. while categorized as a jamband, if you are someone who is open minded to new music, and appreciates a fun atmosphere at a concert, you should give them a shot. they have worked tirelessly to perfect their sound and put on a great show, and it's obvious they're having fun doing it. we even got a 'happy st. patrick's day' from Brendan, complemented by a green-out by lighting director Wade Wilby.
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