Jersey Mike

I’m outraged. Flabbergasted.

Disgusted.

With Rendell’s newest budget proposal of adding a six percent entertainment tax to ticket sales of concerts, theater and symphony events, that would leave Harrisburg concertgoers stuck with having to pay an astronomical SIXTEEN PERCENT TAX to see their favorite band or show.

The City of Harrisburg already has a ten percent amusement tax in place (non profits are exempt) and adding the proposed six percent from the state would place promoters of for-profit events in the uncomfortable position of passing along the extra cost to the consumer.

A ticket that currently costs ten dollars would now cost eleven dollars and sixty cents. Doesn’t sound like much? Consider this…

A ten dollar show is a regional or “baby” national, upcoming band. The Hackensaw Boys is a ten dollar ticket. Mike Doughty is on sale right now for fifteen.

But want to see a bigger name? It’s a minimum of thirty bucks. That’s what a concert ticket costs. If the latest budget proposal goes into effect, it will thereby raise ticket prices even MORE than they are already taxed.

Because, for a promoter, it’s not just the sales tax. LiveNation and Ticketmaster seem to increase their service and “convenience” fees every day.

Just this past weekend, we had Beerfest at Appalachian Brewing Company. The main way of purchasing tickets was online. The only complaint from attendees was that on a thirty dollar ticket, there were over five dollars in “service” and “convenience” fees attached.

Add to that, a promoters profit on an event is anywhere from twelve to fifteen percent of gross ticket sales. So, essentially, the state and the city will earn substantially more than the promoter will on a concert or ticketed event.

And that’s fair, how? How is it fair and just that an industry whose service and product is produced solely in the minds of it’s purveyors…there are no factories spewing noxious gasses into the environment. We do not outsource production of a sixteen minute jam to a company in China. We do not take away from any other industry by consolidation of services.

Live Music is created by the people who perform it. And promoters are the ones who distribute that product to the public. We, literally, enrich lives. And now our government wants to tax that even MORE than it’s already taxed.

Many of you thought I was crazy for making such a big deal about our local amusement tax. Many of you thought I’d never get that changed and that I was pissing in the wind. But now that we’re faced with yet ANOTHER tax…imposed by the state…I don’t seem so crazy, do I?

Did you vote today?

Whether you did or didn’t vote, you can still hang out and wax poetic about it.

Repub or Democrat, Indie or Green…everybody loves a FUNK band!

Head to The Abbey Bar at Appalachian Brewing Company tonight for Black Landlord (fitting, right?) from Philadelphia tonight -

It’s an early one- they’ll start around 8:30 and they’ll play around 90 minutes- and then it’s off to the election-party hopping.

Can’t beat that on a Tuesday, right?

(Oh- and it’s a free show)

Well this was interesting, eh?

We’ll do another one of these about a week before the primary- but as it stands right now, the Jersey Mike Mayor and Council Poll Results are (sort of) right where I thought they’d be.

Respondents were gathered from posting the link on my Twitter and Facebook accounts in addition to a link on the Harrisburg Forum of PennLies…er, PennLive.

Starting with council, it’s looking like Papenfuse, Kim, Summerford and Harris in the lead. Bringing up the rear is Mikey Thomas, Pat Stringer, Eugenia Smith, Joe Brown, Danielle Green and Pat Stringer.

In my humble opinion, Pat Stringer should just drop out and scatter her few votes to more capable candidates. Again, she seems like a nice enough lady…but I can picture her making me a warm bowl of soup on a cold winter day…sort of like my Grandmother.

The most surprising name in the top four is certainly Kelly Summerford. Based on what I’ve heard, this guy doesn’t have much street-support outside of his immediate family and friends. What’s he going to bring to the table? Dance lessons? Acting lessons?

(And do keep in mind that there is certainly room for error in this poll. The system isn’t foolproof and it is quite possible that the votes could have been stacked by visiting multiple computers, proxy sites or IP masking.)

Onto the Mayoral poll-

Nothing shocking, here. What’s going to happen is this: Les and Linda are going to potentially cancel each other out. Giving Reed the leeway needed to muster up enough support to get a ninth term as Mayor.

On the surface, this poll shows Les Ford leading with 37% of respondents selections. Close behind is Steve Reed with 33%, Thompson with 21% and Republican Candidate Nevin Mindlin with 9%.

Realizing that this is just a simple and unscientific study, much of the Thompson street-support didn’t participate. Either because of not knowing or just not wanting to. Either way, I was certain there would have been more support for Linda than Les. But hey, it’s just a poll from a blogger, right?

This is where the process gets fun. Watch the mailers. Look at all of the campaign signs and propoganda hitting the streets. And listen to what these people have to say at the upcoming candidates debates.

This is getting good….