Branded!

Did anyone else feel the icy hand of doom clench ever tighter recently, as the rock venue Irving Plaza was rechristened ‘The Fillmore New York AT Irving Plaza?’ Surely this was the final insult. The rigor mortis grip of a greasy dead hippie promoter (Bill Graham) now usurped the name of his long dead East Village venue and nonsensically tossed it onto a room uptown, named for (of all things) the street it was located. Of course this was enacted by the omnipresent Live Nation Death Star, but by cashing in on the Fillmore ‘brand,’ they hope to hearken on misty associations with the bygone patchouli paradise of the encrusted baby-boomers. It seems the corporate tarp is now thoroughly squelching the dungheap of modern American ‘culture.’ Essentially there is now no difference between playing in a successful rock band or a professional sports team- you are playing on rented time for the highest bidder. Was it ever any different?