Bassist for Peter Gabriel, King Crimson and so many more!

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tony-levin/id1316200737?i=1000669276346

 

 

 

https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9ff4fb19-54d4-41ae-ae7a-8a6f8d3dafa8/episodes/b395e989-24c2-4ca5-83fb-1e14f32a592e/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-tony-levin

RE: COWBOY CARTER SNUBBED

You mentioned two venues on my home turf. To answer your question about Merriweather Post Pavilion – it’s probably the most beloved large venue in the Baltimore / DC area. People DO like going there. It’s a bit of a schlep from Baltimore, even more so from DC, but parking is easy, traffic is a breeze, and it’s got a great vibe.

My wife and I are going there to see The National there next week and I made the mistake of checking tickets even though we bought ours long ago. The pavilion is mostly sold out, but some “Platinum” seats are available right in front for just about the same price we paid for row M. Totally flexed pricing. What a scam! This actually upsets me much more than scalping. I checked some of the other acts who are coming and tickets were incredibly plentiful. Very surprising.

You also mentioned Slipknot at CFG Arena. CFG is the newly refurbished version of our old dumpy Baltimore Civic Center where The Beatles played in 1964. Pharell, Irving Azoff and some other heavy hitters are behind it and they did an amazing job. We’re attracting acts that traditionally would have skipped Baltimore for DC and Philly. Opening weekend at CFG was Bruce Springsteen and The Eagles! It’s not just legacy acts; Lizzo played there and so have many other artists that we never would have gotten in the old days. It’s truly amazing how this makeover has revitalized what used to be a third tier venue.

You mentioned Slipknot. I know nothing about them except that they played CFG Arena recently. How did I know? I was at the farmer’s market the day after the show and tons of vendors were wearing Slipknot t-shirts! I asked many of them how they liked the show and about their opinion on the band. It was mind blowing – they LOVED them! It was like talking to Phish or Dead fans! One even gave me a free ear of corn….

Rich Madow

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I felt compelled to write in and defend Merriweather Post Pavilion, my favorite local venue here in Maryland. It’s a great spot to see a show that’s spent a fortune recently on modernization, is relatively easy to get to and doesn’t charge extra for parking. I’m not sure why attendence has been down there this year, but it’s certainly not the fault of the venue. As a counterpoint, I took my daughter to MPP to see Mitski last week, who sold out three nights in a row. Great show.

Oh yeah, I was also at the Slipknot show in Baltimore that you mentioned. I think they tapped into a great idea this year revisiting their first album not just by playing it in whole, but replicating the entire stage performance from 1999. For someone my age who was there in ’99 it made it feel like a “can’t miss” even though I hadn’t seen them in years.

Thanks,

Jason Vandervliet

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Re: Merriweather – “do people just not want to go to this venue” ?

It’s true, they don’t. For those who live in NoVA, Montgomery County MD or NW DC, getting out to Merriweather in traffic is a pain in the ass, especially when there’s so many other great options -The Anthem, 9:30, even Wolf Trap, the National Park where you can bring in your own booze. Merriweather has some great history – the only place Led Zep and the Who ever shared a bill – but history doesn’t make a great show today.

Brian Howell

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I follow you on most of this, but whether you know them or not, Knocked Loose is doing 2500-5000 tickets in most markets.  They’re a monster direct support for Slipknot.  Great packaging, both exciting live shows.

Nate Dorough

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Hey Bob, I think you should look under the hood with Knocked Loose. For being arguably the most metal/aggressive band out in the market currently, they ironically broke on tiktok. I’d imagine they got the Slipknot tour because the ticket sales from their latest headline tour were so impressive. For instance, they headlined The Shrine in LA which sold out quickly which is 6300 tickets. Everyone at the show looked between 20-25. Worth mentioning they also played Coachella last year with artists like Billy Eillish watching side stage. Hell, at the Shrine show you had Kourtney Kardashian watching side stage!

All of this just proves your point in your below email but even an act that you perceive as nobody’s in Knocked Loose, to me I see a band that’s exploding albeit in the heavy rock world.

Jeff Geasey
REYNOLDS MGMT 

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Bob — thanks for your super entertaining and engaging emails. When I think about the CMA “snub” for Beyonce…I wonder how much did she show that she actually wanted to be a part of the country industry? A cowboy hat and a couple country songs won’t cut it. The industry, rightly so, nominates those who are making waves in that particular industry—tours, press, and radio station visits. It didn’t appear to me that Beyonce made much of an effort to be a part of the industry, unlike Post Malone who seems to have done it all so genuinely. Heck, Beyonce didn’t do much for any market with this release.

Marcus Royce

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squeeze and boy george just cancelled their only georgia appearance at the new amphitheatre in macon. i’ve seen squeeze 5 times in the last 15 years, they sold out the kennedy center a few years back. but a 10k seat amphitheatre is not the right venue for this tour. just like chastain wasn’t the right venue for crowded house a few weeks ago. agents and promoters need to be smarter with their venue choices.

lisa henley

RE: THE SOPRANOS DOCUMENTARY

It was better than I had hoped it would be.  Even better.  Like everybody else,  I watched the series when it launched on HBO and was enthralled.  Then the pandemic and streaming came so I watched it over.  In order. No more than one episode per night and only four per week. After each viewing I read about the episode I had just watched in “The Sopranos Sessions” by Matt Zoller Seitz and Alan Sepinwall and savored the experience as I hadn’t been able the first time.   Now that I binged (only two episodes so no big deal) “Wise Guy: David Chase and The Sopranos” it’s all coming back in big way.  It’s reasonable to conclude after all the time spent viewing, analyzing (psychologically and otherwise) and discussing the series — a word that falls short of really describing what it is.. it’s more of a Norsk saga set in New Jersey rather than Valhalla — this is the one of the greatest works of art ever devised by mortals.  You got a problem with that?

Bob Merlis

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This is a fantastic article on an equally fantastic documentary. When it first came out, the music industry was buzzing.   At the time, I was working at BMG, and my colleague Ken Levy at Arista Records was also closely following the show. We invited the cast to an Eurythmics showcase, and almost the entire cast showed up, including the producers. That marked the beginning of a great relationship between us and the show.

We started sending music to be placed in the show, supplying posters for Meadow’s room, and even collaborating with some of the actors on their own music projects (like Dominic Chianese). It was a golden era for us—an amazing show, a stellar soundtrack, and a team of people who truly understood the hustle of the music business. Alex Gibney did a brilliant job with this documentary too.  Thanks Bob for celebrating this bygone era.  Scott Richman

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That’s a different version of “Im Not Like Everybody Else” than the one on The Great Lost Kinks Album (c 1973?)

Best

Jamie Kitman

This is the live version from “To the Bone” used in “The Sopranos”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzQEoSDURdA

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David Chase’s Italian name is DeCesare, I grew up with him.

Bob Zachary

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From: Robin Green

Hi Bob, I feel compelled to tell you that the scenes in the doc which were positioned to look like a writers room were not – those were production meetings and the women at the table besides me were from the wardrobe and prop departments. There was anyway at no time in my memory or Mitch’s a camera recording in the writers room for the same reason we didn’t have assistants in there, privacy.

Loved what you said about the doc and glad you liked it.  I cud too. They really pursued me to be in it and I’m glad I sat down with Alex. But didn’t I look cute 25 years ago with my bangs and little white shirts? Love, Robin

DAVE GROHL’S BABY ANNOUCEMENT

Typical rock star behavior, but totally off brand for Mr. Grohl, America’s sweetheart, the rock statesman in counterbalance to Questlove’s hip-hop statesman.

Dave may have started out as a punk, but he’s appeared warm and fuzzy for years, even promoting a book by his mother!

And didn’t he ever hear of a condom?

Of course condoms can break, and I don’t know the specifics here, but it’s not a good look.

Criminal? No. But there will be an effect on his family. Didn’t Moon Zappa’s book tell us this? Frank was a notorious “swordsman” as Ahmet once said to me.

On one hand, it’s good for rock and roll. It never changes, even if it’s on life support.

Rock stars are not like you and me. They don’t play by the same rules. They’re offered opportunities we are not. And it’s hard not to take advantage of them.

But this doesn’t square with a guy who parades his children and talks about his home life, who is constantly smiling like a regular guy. He’s not. He’s a rock star. Complicated, in a world of temptations.

Do I think this will hurt the Foo Fighters, Grohl’s musical career?

Not a whit.

But will the press continue to look to him for answers… That will be diminished, I guarantee you. The press runs from scandals, unless they’re getting inside, salacious details. Outlets don’t want to employ the words of tainted celebrities, it undercuts their authority, the actions taint the words, and ultimately the publications.

Then again, what is the job of a rock star… To be a wholesome family man or to make music?

The latter.

P.S. I give Grohl credit for announcing the news, coming out ahead of the tabloids. Like Letterman. But there was no baby involved in that Dave’s case. And the kid makes a difference.

TAYLOR SWIFT’S ENDORSEMENT OF KAMALA HARRIS

For someone supposedly so publicity savvy, to announce on the same night as the debate was a gross miscalculation. You want to make your statement when it will get the most ink, the most attention, when it will have the most impact and spread. You don’t want to compete with another news story.

Will Swift’s endorsement of Kamala have a definitive effect?

Could be, but nowhere near the degree everybody is anticipating.

People follow celebrities in fashion, but when it comes to core beliefs… Hell, even Chris Christie is a giant Springsteen fan.

This was completely mishandled. Swift should have announced on the VMAs, where she will look big in contrast to all the gnats appearing.

She should have waited for a slow news day.

This is PR 101. Just like governments release negative news on Friday afternoons, when people are leaving the office and are in weekend mode.

And the post did not look spontaneous, but premeditated. 

Now the story is overshadowed by all the reporting about last night’s debate.

Swift normally wants to own the stage, she sets everything up for that.

But not this time.

Answer the damn question!

This was why I was wary of Kamala being the candidate. She’s tainted by Biden’s record, which I actually think is pretty good. She’s not fresh, like Whitmer or Shapiro or Pritzker, who could run away from Biden’s policies, but Kamala is stuck with them.

But she is now the candidate, so let’s move on from that.

The very first question, re the above, she avoided. It was painful.

And contrary to scuttlebutt, Donald Trump spoke English, he did not look demented. His sentences made sense, at least in English. But then he went INSANE!

If you’re scoring at home, Harris won, hands down.

But we’re not scoring at home, we’re having an election in November, and that’s the only battle that counts.

The biggest news this week came on Sunday, when the “New York Times”/Siena College poll put Harris behind. Free link: https://t.ly/T47SB

Now if you live online, you know this has engendered amazing pushback. There has been an evaluation of polling in general. But I think it’s a good thing that Harris was behind, because hopefully this will make Democrats WAKE UP!

They think it’s in the bag. If you haven’t had a conversation with a self-satisfied Democrat since Kamala got the nomination, you’re a MAGA devotee living in a bubble. It’s been an endless victory lap. In its own way as myopic as the belief in Hillary back in 2016. Trump can’t possibly win! Nobody I know will vote for him. It’s a laugh, he’s toast!

But Trump could very well win this election.

Too many people are living in a bubble. Actually, that’s part of why we got into this mess. The so-called “elites” who believe they know better lording it over the “ignorant” blue collar voters. Let’s be clear, NAFTA screwed the union members, jobs evaporated. One can argue whether the jobs needed to go, but one thing is for sure, high-paying workers who owned vacation homes and boats, with two cars in the driveway, were suddenly forced to do service jobs for under twenty bucks an hour. And that’s quite a comedown. Good luck paying your bills on that.

Of course the minimum wage should be higher, but this election is not about the issues. Let me tell you once again, THIS ELECTION IS NOT ABOUT THE ISSUES! This election is about emotions. How people feel.

And a lot of people feel negatively about Biden and Harris. Period.

But that vitriol is nowhere near the hatred of Trump. But the game is rigged, it’s not the popular vote that matters, but the Electoral College, and Trump has a very good chance there.

Which means the Democrats should be afraid, they should be very afraid.

Now as a result of this NYT/Siena poll, there’s been a bit of a readjustment, and hopefully it will continue. Trump’s win in 2016 was a surprise. Everything’s in evidence today. This is not a walk in the park, a slam dunk for Harris, she’s going to have to eke out a victory. And if you think otherwise, you just don’t interact with enough Trump voters.

Forget the MAGA people. I was at UCLA Hospital for a checkup today. The doctor, educated and of great status in his field, said he was voting for Trump. He voted for him in 2016 but voted for Biden in 2020. He thought Biden would bring the country together, but now he believes the country is further apart so he’s back in the Trump camp.

Let’s not be logical. Let’s not even bother to be incredulous. This is how that guy feels.

Forget the idiots in the social media videos. Ignorance on parade. You’d be stunned how many people who are otherwise reasonable are in the Trump camp. Furthermore, many of them don’t vocalize it, which is why James Carville says the Democrats have to win by three points to ensure Electoral College victory.

But nobody wants to hear that. They want to take Nate Silver off the table because he works for a company in which Peter Thiel has invested. The left is as bad as the right, and it pains me. Is this how far we’ve come, that’s it’s attack politics all day long, that the facts don’t matter, where there are no agreed upon facts?

Looks like it.

Which is why emotions, feelings are so important.

I’d love to tell you I can warm up to Kamala Harris. But I just don’t feel it. Once again, it’s emotions. I’m not quite sure who she is. The smartest girl in school, the cool girl, I can’t find a slot. Tim Walz, midwestern teacher. Biden? Lifelong pol. Trump? Rich real estate baron who has skated on daddy’s money. But Kamala?

Don’t bother to push back. Because nothing you say can convince me otherwise. It’s how I feel, and you can’t argue with feelings.

I knew who Hillary Clinton was. An educated, intelligent wonk. Did she equivocate, triangulate, sure. But I had no doubt she could run the country. I voted for her. But it turns out enough people in toss-up states felt otherwise, and she lost.

I just bring up my feelings re Kamala to say that if I, a dyed in the wool Democrat, who is going to vote for Harris no matter what, I’m all in, am not sold on her emotionally, how many other people are not?

And this election comes down to very few people. A tiny number.

I’m burned out on the news. It’s insane. We had to listen to three days of predictions on this debate. Reams and reams of ink. Or pixels. All irrelevant.

It’s a media circle jerk. The for profit TV news loves it, the horse race, it sells advertising. And the newspapers are not much better.

Do you really think the average person cares about the issues?

I’ll make it very clear, the only people who really care about the issues are those who’ve already decided who they’re going to vote for!

All this malarkey over tips and tariffs, the media and those who live for politics eat this stuff up, the rest of the public have lives, they don’t want to waste their time.

And nowhere in the debate prep I read did anybody nail what happened tonight.

First and foremost, the cutting off of mics worked for Kamala. It let Trump’s insanity stand alone, it wasn’t a constant harangue, you could actually sit with what he had to say, and oftentimes it was so crazy.

Kamala evaded right off the bat.

But then Trump trumped her. He just repeated immigration issues over and over and over again. It was like the moderators weren’t even there.

And the moderators did call b.s. on some of Trump’s lies.

What I like best is after birth abortions. What exactly are those again?

And the trope that immigrants are eating pets. Sounds like something from “The Onion.” The city manager denied it. And Trump said that man was lying! There were people on TV saying otherwise! I mean you’ve got to believe what you see on television, right? No one of voting age believes that, NO ONE!

And then Kamala shined doing the one thing everybody told her not to do, which was act like a prosecutor.

The Democrats are wimps. Afraid of offending anyone.

When Harris stopped pussyfooting, avoiding questions, she drilled into Trump and it was a pleasure to watch. The key issue, ABORTION! This hangs on Trump’s neck, he cannot escape it.

And then came the Affordable Care Act.

After about fifteen minutes Trump was so off his game… Irrelevant of what he was saying, oftentimes non-responsive and incorrect, Trump became so intense, so obstinate, that the only thing that could go through your brain was…THIS GUY CAN’T BE PRESIDENT!

If some controlled debate, wherein he stood equally with his opponent, made him lose his sh*t, how would it be if he was pressured?

By foreign leaders, like Orbán.

How does this right wing card continue to be played. Harris didn’t nail Trump on this, but she should have. The fact that Trump and Carlson worship Orbán is all you need to know. Because nobody in America wants to live under Orbán, NO ONE! Dictators are loyal to no one, everybody’s expendable, just like those who worked for Trump. On a whim he fired people. And his argument against Harris and Biden was they didn’t fire enough people? That may work on “The Apprentice,” but in real life no one wants to lose their job. And the truth is it’s very hard to fire someone today. And on some level that’s sad, but if people lose their job the safety net might not catch them, future opportunities might be decimated and they’ll come back and shoot up the workplace. We used to call it “going postal,” but now it happens everywhere.

The border! Minnesota! Crime! On and on Trump went. Almost always inaccurately, he looked like the Nazi in “The Producers.”

And those on the right can save their blowback. This is your guy. You nominated him. If you’re pissed that I’m pointing out truths, how do you feel about Trump excoriating everybody in his path unless they kiss his ass? No one likes to live like this.

So you have to accept Trump on faith. As a two-dimensional character. But that is untrue, he’s three-dimensional. Not demented, but definitely insane.

So… Kamala should win, right?

Don’t be so sure.

This election is really going to come down to turnout. That’s probably enough for Kamala to win. But, the Republicans have stricken voters from the rolls, they’re doing everything to suppress the vote, in Georgia you have to wait in line to vote for hours if you’re Black, but if you’re white you can stroll right in.

We are not going to fix the system by November. If anything, the Republicans are trying to put their thumb even heavier on the scale.

Oh yeah, Trump avoiding the question on January 6th. Can you tell me how that could win over an undecided voter?

But once again, almost everybody has decided.

And what we’ve learned is the media likes the action.

And I’ve got no faith in the party brass, on either side. On the right, it’s all MAGA, all the time. But on the left, these are the people who tried to convince us Biden hadn’t lost a step and could win, who held back the truth from us, and then we saw the truth on national TV in the previous debate.

Which Trump is still contesting. Like they said after Inauguration Day 2017, the only place where Hillary is President is on Fox News.

Actually, it all started tonight with Trump taking the bait about crowd size. He couldn’t be the bigger person, he couldn’t let it go. He had to throw the issues overboard to lie about the size of his crowd.

Then you knew this guy shouldn’t be president.

I’m just hoping enough people saw Donald’s performance tonight and felt this way.

But the Jets won the Super Bowl in 1969.

It ain’t over until it’s over.

We’ve already learned that this year, with Biden’s pull out.

Don’t think you know how it’s going to work out.

And please do talk politics. Listen to the other side. And then discuss the issues. No one is going to change their view on the spot, but after they leave they think about what you have to say. If you’re reasonable and make reasonable arguments, they’ll percolate in the other person’s brain and…

This is not about MAGA. Forget MAGA.

This is about the very few undecideds in the middle.

And those who think their vote doesn’t count. IT DOES! 2000 proved that.

So tonight was entertainment. Not radically different from the WWE.

It was nowhere near as important as the media make it out to be.

But they were both together on stage, so you could see the contrast. Whereas in the future they’ll both be alone with their spin.

Once again, Harris won. By a TKO, not a complete knockout.

But it doesn’t matter.

I felt good about Harris when she pressed the case. Did enough of the few undecideds feel this way?

Or can people still not understand why we have inflation, at the lowest rate in the world. Do people still want change. Because Trump did make a pretty good case that a vote for Harris was a vote for the same damn thing, more Biden. But a vote for Trump is…SCARY!