Cities are alive with the sound of music!

Source: 500days of night.com

Thursday evening I had the chance to attend a seminar entitled, Music’s Impact on the Community. This superb and fascinating event was held at Michigan State University’s Center Community and Economic Development in Greater Lansing.

Not only did the program present useful research by Professor David Sheridan, but also a firsthand account from a local hip-hop performer.  The latter added exceptional insight into the promises and pitfalls of the music industry from the perspective of an emerging artist, Jahshua Smith.

Source: jahshuasmith.bandcamp.com

Among the key points noted during this event were:

Music is:

• an Industry, as it has a product, deliverables, technologies, and a distribution network;
• an Attractor of tourists and human capital (talent, creative, knowledgeable, and skilled);
• a Brand, as it can become synonymous with a community and its very identity – examples include:

Detroit (Motown and Techno)

Nashville (Country)

Seattle (Grunge)

Cleveland (Rock n’ Roll)

Austin (live performance)

Owensboro (Bluegrass); and

• a Nurturer of Creativity that has economic development benefits

• Budding artists need places (venues) to hone their craft. Open microphone nights are an excellent opportunity for this, but helps if there is “buy-in” from established musicians.  Smaller markets like Lansing are great locations to learn, improve, practice, receive feedback, and become established, as there is less competition and less of a music establishment.

Elliot Street Lunatic

• The internet has made it easier to be a musician but harder to stand out from the crowd.

The Verve Pipe – lastfm.com

• Music is a great way to get people together from various backgrounds in one place for a common goal.

The Hard Lessons – capitalgainsmedia.com

• Michigan State University provides Greater Lansing with a revolving door of fresh music talent to enjoy.

Source: ced.msu.edu

• Greater Lansing has excellent small venues and large venues that allow music to grow from the bottom up, but what it really needs is a mid-sized (approx.. 1,000 seat) venue.

Driving the “Fort to Port”

Source: en.wikipedia.org

On my whirlwind trip last weekend, I got my first chance to drive the newly completed Fort to Port Freeway (U.S. 24) between Fort Wayne, Indiana (Fort) and Toledo, Ohio (Port), though I did it in reverse order of east to west.

Source: insideindianabusiness.com

I have driven this route a number of times before, especially when we resided outside of Ann Arbor, but until recently the only limited access segments were near Defiance and Napoleon, Ohio. The old, mostly two-lane route was very scenic and picturesque as it meandered along the north shore of the scenic Maumee River, adjacent to Fallen Timbers Battlefield National Historic Site, the Maumee Valley Heritage Corridor, and by the remaining historic features of the Wabash and Erie Canal. Unfortunately, this also could be slow drive, had many dangerous and hidden drives, and the growing number of truck using the route to shave off the right angle of using I-69 to I-94 to reach Detroit made the old route often tedious.

The new freeway is very nice and is obviously popular with trucking companies - it reduces the distance from Fort Wayne to the Ambassador Bridge to Canada from Detroit by 50 miles as it serves as the hypotenuse between these two cities. Sunday’s return trip along the I-69 to I-94 route contained noticeably less truck traffic than before, as the new Fort to Port was siphoning off quite a bit of trans-national truck traffic heading to or from Canada.

The only disappointments with the new route (aside from there being few services other than at Defiance and Napoleon) was that more rural portions of the Ohio segment contain 15 at-grade intersections and one at-grade railroad crossing. Hopefully, the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) has contingency plans if these need to be converted to grade-separated crossings to improve safety and traffic flow. It would also need to be done before the highway could be re-shielded as an Interstate Highway.

Indiana’s segment is almost entirely grade separated limited access, though the interchange at I-469 will need to be upgraded at some point to reconfigure the ramps and remove the current traffic signals.  Otherwise, it is smooth sailing the whole way, though it is posted at 65 mph in both Indiana and Ohio versus I-69 and I-94 which are posted at 70 mph.

My favorite feature of the new expressway is that Ohio has added some decorative features to the bridges and overpasses. Among the designs were artificial arches, as well as oak leave images carved into the concrete in the Oak Openings Region (my favorite design), and imprinted railroad car and barn images on the sides of the structures.  Nice touch, ODOT.

Source: rainforcedearth.com

Source: northwestohio.com

While I am not one who ardently supports the building of expressways hither and yarn across the countryside, this particular freeway was definitely needed given the vastly increased truck traffic since the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) took effect in 1994 and growing safety concerns along the old, narrower route.  I am particularly happy that a new route was chosen over widening the older roadway given the important historical features along the Maumee River valley.

The downtown Motown rebound

Saturday evening I attended a fantastic concert by the Canadian alternative rock band Metric at the historic Fillmore Detroit Theater on Woodward Avenue in downtown Detroit. On the way there I missed my intended exit and instead took the Lafayette Avenue exit from Interstate 375.

Source: flickrhivemind.net

While delaying us just a bit, the alternate route gave me a chance to see some parts of downtown Detroit that I had not seen in a few years including Greektown and Campus Martius. While there remains an unacceptable number of empty storefronts, my immediate reaction was, “what’s going on?” No, it wasn’t “just my imagination running away with me,” and no, I didn’t “hear it through the grapevine,” I was seeing with my own two eyes. Many (MANY) people happily walking the streets of center city Detroit at 7:15 p.m.

Source: campusmartiuspark.org

No Tigers baseball game that day and no Lion’s football until Sunday afternoon, so those could not account for the number of pedestrians, cyclists, and cars. There were so many people in fact, that I just smiled and thought “mercy, mercy me.”  The images of an active downtown Detroit set me on “cloud nine” for the rest of the evening. And I think anyone else who knows and/or has “endless love” for Detroit will definitely “second that emotion.”

Even following the show at 11:15 p.m., we passed a local pub where there was a long line of customers out the door and at least ten bicycles parked on a bike rack. More evidence to me that the city of Detroit ”really has a hold on” people and they are staying there “all night long.”

Is everything perfect? Of course not – “you can’t hurry love.” A number of parts of the city are still suffering from a case of the ”inner city blues.” But, as more and more people “shop around” they are finding that “living for the city” of Detroit is exactly what they want.

Source: squidoo.com

Despite what you may have heard in the past, Detroit remains a great city.  Its downtown area contains the nation’s preeminent collection of classic skyscrapers that are mixed among newer high-rises, sporting and entertainment venues, and several casinos. The city’s historic and unique street pattern lends itself to making downtown a fairly compact, walkable, and very special place.

The good news is people and businesses have “signed, sealed, and delivered” themselves back to the heart of this great metropolis. I cannot count the number of positive media stories there have been in recent years. This continuing trend in downtown, in nearby midtown, and in an increasing number of other neighborhoods across Detroit has “made me (and many others) so very happy” and should have people locally, statewide, and nationally literally “dancing in the streets.”    Kudos to Motown – you and your downtown are definitely on the rebound.

Metric electrifies Motown

Metric absolutely lit up Motown last night with a two-hour set at the historic Fillmore Theater in Downtown Detroit. The foursome (Emily Haines, Jimmy Shaw, Joules Scott-Key, and Joshua Winstead) from Toronto was in total command of the city and did not disappoint the packed house with a blistering performance.  Toss in a great opening act, a fabulous venue, a heartfelt chat with the crowd by Emily about how much Michigan means to her and her family, and a lovely acoustic rendition of “Gimme Sympathy” at the conclusion of their encore, and you had a superior show.

Source: 100xr.com

Emily Haines took control of the stage and was simply mesmerizing in her energetic presence – switching effortlessly from singing to keyboards back to handheld microphone to tambourine to electric guitar at the drop of a hat. Gotta say she has more stage persona than Steven Tyler, who I have seen perform four times – perhaps its those amazing legs of hers that had this single guy spellbound (sorry about the non-PC comment).

But it wasn’t just me, the entire audience was rocking the house – I have never seen so many people dancing, hopping, and bouncing to song after song on the main floor, in the mezzanine, or the balcony. Everyone there was appearing to have a great time.

The light show was captivating and just blew me away – much better than Radiohead’s light show at the Palace and added a unique wrinkle. – when the band left the stage, a huge countdown clock appeared. A the moment it reached zero, they were stoking up the music once again in a superb encore. Favorite songs from last night (so many):

• “Gimme Sympathy” (acoustic performance at the close of the show).
• “Gold, Guns, Girls” (amazing Jimmy Shaw solo)
• “Youth Without Youth”
• “Dead Disco”
• “Absolute Nocture” (opened the show)
• “Empty”
• “Help, I’m Alive”
• “Clone”
• “Breathing Underwater”

The opening act, Half Moon Run (from Montreal) was also excellent with their bluesy rock and terrific guitar and drum work.

If you have the opportunity – go see Metric – they are absolutely electric on stage and will get the joint (as well as you) jumping.

Dialing in Radiohead live

I attended a Radiohead concert last night at the Palace of Auburn Hills outside of Detroit. The opening act was Caribou and from what I saw (the last ten minutes due to traffic) they were very good.

Radiohead hit the stage at 8:30 pm and proceeded to put on a terrific and inspired 2.5 hour performance in all regards except for one – the lack of playing some of their most famous and popular tunes.

While I enjoyed the show and thought Radiohead’s on-stage performance was great, I was left wanting to hear “Creep,” “My Iron Lung,” “High and Dry,” and “Fake Plastic Trees.”  That is one of the inherent risks with attending a long-term supergroup’s concert. You want to hear the recognizable hits and the band wants to play their new and favorite stuff too.

Don’t get me wrong, there were some classics included on the playlist such as “There There” (my personal favorite) and “Karma Police,” but of the 25 song set, the majority were either songs from more recent releases or a few newly written compositions.

Aside from the playlist, the entire band was in top-notch performance mode last night and Thom Yorke is simply an incredible stage presence. In addition, the light and video show during the concert was the best I have seen aside from U2′s 360 Tour.

If you have an opportunity to see Radiohead, definitely make the effort, but especially if you are a die-hard fan and are familiar with the band’s entire discography.

Capturing Motown’s soul

Source: oaklandpostonline.com

I came across this terrific story about our beloved city of Detroit by Jason Lorimer on The Huffington Post. As a newcomer to the city, he does a great job of articulating those aspects of Detroit’s inner vibe that captivates so many of us. Thank you, Jason.

Source: drexciyaresearchlab.blogspot.com

An artistic gem is saved in Detroit

Source: detroityes.com

Great to read the story below from the Detroit News about one of Detroit’s classic and artistic skyscrapers being saved. The Whitney Building was designed by Daniel Burnham. Below is the weblink to the original story.

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20111229/BIZ/112290339/Detroit-gems-will-sparkle?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE

Build the frickin’ bridge already!

Canada offers Michigan $500 million to build a new, modern publicly owned toll bridge across the Detroit River that won’t cost the taxpayers a cent and that will create thousands of construction jobs. Meanwhile, a bunch of dunderheads in our legislature are seriously thinking about saying no to Canada’s gracious offer. Are you kidding me?

Build the damn new bridge and stop kowtowing to lobbying efforts that could do long-term harm our state’s and Detroit’s international trade potential.  Some have questioned building a publicly owned bridge. With that kind of Neanderthal logic, we would still be using ferries to get to the U.P. and driving on dirt paths instead of highways.

I have lived in Michigan nearly 20 years and a second span has been promised (wink-wink) adjacent to the privately owned Ambassador Bridge throughout that entire time. Either put up the second span now or shut-up about a new publicly owned bridge further down river.

This whole debacle is one of the clearest examples of how politicians base their votes on their donor’s/lobbyists best interests instead of the best interest of the general population. Sad-sad-sad.

A parallel tale of two cities

I just concluded reading the superb book Istanbul, Memories and the City, by Orhan Pamuk. If you have also had the pleasure of reading it, you may recall how eloquently Mr. Pamuk describes this majestic bi-continental metropolis as being in an extended state of melancholy since the decline and fall of the Ottoman Empire. To him, the melancholy was discernible in the decaying ruins, in the loss of prestige on the world stage, and in the deterioration of its historic identity. One contributing issue that he does not directly speak to, which may have also contributed to this malaise, was the transfer of the nation’s capital to Ankara in 1923.

It turns out that many of the same emotions Mr. Pamuk describes in his book have an astonishing parallel to general mood of another great city – Greater Detroit (Detroit-Windsor). In fact, there are several fascinating parallels between Istanbul and Detroit.

Istanbul, Turkey - Source: http://www.google.com

Detroit-Windsor, USA/Canada - Source: http://www.google.com

• Geographically, both cities are among an elite group that developed and prospered along a strategic strait linking two important water bodies - in Istanbul’s case, it is the Bosphorus connecting the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara. Meanwhile in Detroit, the city’s namesake and the St. Clair link Lake Huron with Lake Erie. None of these watery connections are true rivers, as they are misnamed – they are actually straits.
• Istanbul is the primary link between Europe with Asia, while Detroit-Windsor is the busiest international trade crossing in North America and links the United States (Michigan) and Canada (Ontario).
• As Istanbul was once the capital of the Ottoman Empire, Detroit was the original capital of Michigan until it was transferred to Lansing in 1847.
• Both cities have recently re-awakened from their melancholy and have transformed into vibrant tigers (pun intended in Detroit’s case). Go Tigers!

To say the mood in Greater Detroit has been filled with cyclical bouts of melancholy for decades would be a huge understatement. Since the end of World War II, this region has suffered multiple economic, social, and political blows that would have surely knocked out a lesser combatant. Today, like its hometown hero Joe Louis rising from the canvas, there are visible, palpable, detectable, and viable signs of an economic resurgence in Greater Detroit. The same resurgence can be said about Istanbul – in fact this magnificent city has been dubbed “the world’s hippest city”. Likewise, Greater Detroit has had more positive press in the past 12 months than the past 12 years combined.  It has been described as the new Bohemian hot spot in America.

As a resident of Michigan, I am very hopeful for the future of Greater Detroit. Despite what some may say, Michigan will never fully recover unless Detroit heals too.  As one who has longed to travel to Istanbul, I am inspired by that city’s similar resurgence and hope to visit there in the not-too-distant future. As an urban planner, I am intrigued by the fascinating similarities between these two world champion heavyweights. Watch out competition, both Istanbul and Detroit are back!

Midtown Detroit boom keeps on rolling

A few weeks ago we published a post on Panethos about the exciting economic turnaround taking place in Detroit’s Midtown area. As further evidence of this accelerating revival, nearly all of the incentive money ($1 million) for the first year of the five-year program has been allotted just eight months. To date 197 people have taken advantage of the incentives.

The downtown incentive program, begun just last month already has 21 participants. Based on the early response, it looks to be successful too.

Map of Midtown and Downtown incentive areas SOURCE: http://www.freep.com/

Congratulations to Henry Ford Hospital, the Detroit Medical Center, Wayne State University, and area foundations for creating such a successful effort in Midtown Detroit.