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    We Got the Beat

    In praise of small concerts

    Sarah Rufca
    Jan 24, 2010 | 2:14 am
    • The Swell Season's Glen Hansard and Moji at Warehouse Live, November 13, 2009.
      Rachel Hanley
    • The Swell Season's Glen Hansard and Moji at Warehouse Live, November 13, 2009.
      Rachel Hanley

    It was at Numbers back in 2001 when I first saw Norah Jones. I can't say I remember much of the performance, sadly. It was a Friday, and the crowd was keyed-up and impatient for the headliner, who was gaining traction in the college music circuit—some guitar-playing crooner named John Mayer. Suffice to say Jones was so unknown that after the show, my then-roommate, also beautiful with olive skin and long dark tresses, was asked to pose for photos by some slightly clueless bystanders who took her to be the opening act.

    Months later when Norah Jones exploded into the popular consciousness, winning armloads of Grammys and selling out much larger concert venues, I learned to pay attention to even the acts I didn't come to see. And it cemented my impression that the smallish club venues are the best places to see a musical performance, not only because of the closeness between audience and performer, but also because it's the unknown factor that makes a live show special—the possibility to see something that completely blows past your expectations or introduces you to something new.

    Now, ok, I'm not talking about local bands playing at coffeehouses and hawking EPs in front of disinterested patrons. While there are some great local bands, and I tip my hat to the true local music buffs who support and love them, I finished my stint as the lonely, loyal fan when I broke up with my high school guitarist/lead singer boyfriend.

    I'm talking about bands playing the Meridian, Warehouse Live, The Continental Club, maybe even Notsuoh, where there's either a ticket involved or a cover, to cut down on the bored, texting a-holes that inevitably appear.

    Don't get me wrong—I love a good arena show. There's an entirely different brand of theatricality and showmanship that goes into entertaining 70,000 screaming fans. Lights, lasers, pyrotechnics, aerial acrobatics, choreographed dancers: all good things. But there's nothing like the spontaneity and unexpected pleasures of a small concert.

    The best recent example is the Swell Season at Warehouse Live concert in November. The band (better known to some as the stars of the Oscar-winning film Once) told the audience they'd be playing a new song and taught the audience a few bars to sing along in the chorus. As the crowd murmured back, vaguely in key, one voice rang out above the others, a rich, strong one like the kind honed in a church choir. "Someone out there can fucking sing," said lead singer Glen Hansard, and after a repeat performance, the owner of The Voice, an African American woman named Moji sporting decent afro, was invited to join the band onstage.

    The collaboration was utterly amazing. In a song she had never heard before, Moji interweaved the choral notes and beautifully framed Hansard's lyrics. The performance became not about the song but the interplay between two seeming equals in talent, one a music star and one plucked from obscurity in the audience. Moji sang with confidence and poise as if she belonged on stage, until the song began to wind down and the reality of what she had just done seemed to hit her. Putting her hand over her face in disbelief, she mouthed "I love these guys!"

    It was a once-in-a-lifetime performance that will never be replicated either in the studio or on stage. In a world of autotune, lip-synching pop tarts and cookie-cutter concerts recreated identically down to the audience banter, this was a moment of musical truth and magic. In a night full of beautiful renditions of familiar songs, it was the stand-out. This is why I go to concerts, and I will never, ever forget it.

    unspecified
    news/entertainment

    King George dethroned

    Judge rules Texas Renaissance Festival owner must sell his kingdom

    Jef Rouner
    May 8, 2025 | 6:34 pm
    Amid scandals covered by multiple documentaries, the nation's largest Renaissance festival opens for its golden season.
    Photo courtesy of the Texas Renaissance Festival
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    A Grimes County judge ruled on Wednesday, May 7 that Texas Renaissance Festival owner George Coulam must honor an agreement he made in 2023 to sell the fair. The judgement and sale, if upheld, are not expected to affect the fair's operations in the fall.

    "Our commitment remains unchanged: to deliver a safe, vibrant, and memorable experience for the hundreds of thousands of guests who visit each year," spokesperson Tyler Moyer tells CultureMap in a written statement. "Festival operations are moving forward as planned for the 2025 season."

    The case stems from business dealings depicted in the HBO docuseries Ren Faire. Over the show's three episodes, Coulam is shown engaging in negotiations with a party referred to as "The Greeks," but the deal falls through. Those parties, a group that includes RW Lands, Texas Stargate, and Royal Campgrounds, sued Coulam to compel him to honor the contract.

    Judge Gary W. Chaney sided with the plaintiffs in a brief judgment against Coulam. Not only is he ordered to abide by the original contract to sell the festival grounds and adjacent properties for $60 million, he has to pay $22 million in damages as well as $1 million in attorney fees. Coulam has not commented publicly about the ruling, and it is not known at this time whether he plans to appeal the decision.

    King George's History

    For more than half a century, George Coulam has reigned as king of the Texas Renaissance Festival in Todd Mission. Not only is it the largest and one of the earliest incarnations of such festivals, it codified the concept to such a degree that its model is replicated all over the world. There is no doubt that Coulam has been the Walt Disney of renaissance events.

    However, that long reign has come with accusations of bad business dealings and sexual harassment. Multiple former employees have sued Coulam for hostile work environment related to his conduct. In addition to depicting the sale negotiations, Ren Faire exposed the backstage politics surrounding Coulam's business practices. The show dealt with the possibility of Coulam finally selling the festival to retire, while also highlighting his desire to remain "king," with all the privileges that entails.

    Former performer reacts

    As Coulam's management of the festival grew increasingly capricious, many longtime employees and visitors stopped associating with the fair. Niki Korontona was an employee until 2019 when she decided to leave, partially because of her health and partially because of the toxic environment. She says that if Coulam is truly out, she could see returning.

    "If the sale goes through as it says it's going to, I'll go back," she said in a Facebook message. "While my time with the performance company was its own b----, if the new owners are who I've heard, it will be going into... I don't know... less toxic hands?"

    Few renaissance festivals survive a change of ownership, but it's not unheard of. In fact, Coulam was a part of one of the bigger ones. Before starting the Texas Renaissance Festival in 1974, he founded the Minnesota Renaissance Festival in 1971. The investor of that enterprise, lawyer Jules Smith Sr., then sold his shares and opened a new festival in Maryland in 1977. These days, the Minnesota Renaissance Festival is one of Texas's main rivals.

    That was long before the institutions were cemented into their current forms, worth tens of millions of dollars. Still, Korontana says that a change in management that doesn't mess with what works should succeed.

    "[It's] an ironclad business." she said. "Even recessions didn't break it. It's so commercial that it doesn't matter who owns it as long as tickets aren't too expensive and turkey legs exist."

    news/entertainment
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