A significant departure from Stage 33 Live’s strict “No Covers” rule, Lou Antonucci will perform You, Me, & Harry, his newly developed celebration of the story-songs of Harry Chapin on Sunday, August 6, 2023 in a 3:00 PM matinee.

Lou created the program with the permission of Harry Chapin Music, and has secured performance licensing rights. This will be one of the first public run-throughs, and may be the only opportunity to be so intimately up-close for it. Advance-sale tickets for this preview event are a steeply discounted $5 through stage33live.com. Tickets will be $10 at the door.Alternately, admission will be free by donating five non-perishable food items, or three personal-care items, or $10 cash for Our Place Drop-In Center at the door on show day. Harry Chapin held a fundamental belief that access to nutritious food is a human right and that hunger is a solvable problem in a world of abundance. To that end, he co-founded the global nonprofit WhyHunger in 1975 to support social movements and grassroots innovations to change the systems, policies, and institutions that perpetuate hunger and poverty in the world.More details and tickets. 

The rest of this newsletter is musings and noodlings. Newsletter experts always say to keep things as short as possible. Sometimes we listen to the experts, sometimes we don't.We know that most people don't really read anymore... we don't expect that these things typically get much more than a skim. Time is fleeting, and a lot of people have juicy lives to lead. Or have shows that need watching. We share because we care. (OK, there's often an element of self-amusement at work too.)Brevity may be the soul of wit, but length is the soul of too-long newsletters. Having writ, the finger has no real idea what it just wrote means, but is amused by it. 

It came to our attention that The Rockood Music Hall in NYC, bigger and older than us — but much the same as us with a focus on new and emerging artists — is running a GoFundMe to try to keep their doors open. Another one circling the drain.Mere days before we got wind of their plight, we addressed the widespread indie-venues-on-the-precipice situation and our place in it in a long-winded social media comment responding to an article titled "Independent Venues Have Found New Ways to Survive — They Hope". (It was cited in Rolling Stone, but we found it on Yahoo outside of paywall.) 

"Independent Venues Have Found New Ways to Survive — They Hope" 

We wrote:"A few of these things, like diverse programming, we've done since our start. Most notably we organized as a nonprofit from the get-go (the article talks about well-established venues converting to nonprofit). There are other adjunct things mentioned that we'd maybe like to do but there's no way to even consider it given our lack of money and people to do them."The personnel issue was a huge barrier when pandemic relief was being distributed — all of the money was tied to how many people were on payroll. Because we choose to pay the performers before paying ourselves (terrible business decision, good thing we're not a business), we weren't eligible to even apply for any of the programs. The performers' loss of income wasn't something they'd consider, not even to help fund getting a livestream situation going. We asked. Similarly, and frustratingly, for the same reason we were ineligible for any relief from NIVA, the National Independent Venue Association."Another part of our difficulty is that we're not a small venue, we're a tiny one. And only occasionally. In a tiny village. That's largely broke. Bellows Falls has the lowest household income of any incorporated Vermont village, with a poverty rate hovering around 20 to 25%. (BF's household income is less than $50K while nationally it's more than $70K.) There aren't tons of people in these parts to support something like us, and lots of them don't have money to spare... or time. The leisure gap is as real and wide as the income gap. Over the last couple years, the VT Arts Council in particular has been kind to us with small grants. Nothing anywhere even close to what the big performance centers are routinely awarded, but can we ever lean into a nickel."By contrast, the venues cited in the article are mostly in much larger and more solvent communities, and quite a lot bigger than us. The 9:30 in DC holds 1200. Tipitina's in New Orleans, 800. World Cafe Live in Philly has two theaters, one holds 650 and the other 250. Crowbar in Tampa, 300. Bombyx in Northampton MA, 250. The Drake in Amherst MA, 240. Boston's Club Passim is 110. The closest in size to us is (was) The Parlor Room in Northampton that always advertised itself as 50 seats (owned and operated and kept afloat by Signature Sounds), but now that they've spun off as a nonprofit, they're somehow a 100-seater. Not sure how that happened."Bigger fulltime venues with bars and kitchens and actual staff are a different beast than us — they have opportunities (and liabilities) that we don't."Some experiences are shared though. The falloff of presales and increase in walkups is something that's definitely happened to us, as well as the increasingly unpredictable worth of social media for outreach. Since we don't have any institutional income, there's never been any money for things like radio advertising — according to the article, apparently that's just as well. "For the sake of emerging performers, it's suuuper important that indie venues survive — big ones, mid-size, small, and micro-venues like us too. We applaud any of them that, like us, are doing everything they can to carry on against overwhelming odds."We're happy being a micro-venue BTW. We're small on purpose. There's a testosterone-induced aphorism: "Go big or go home." Ugh, go away. Our guiding premise is "Do the best you can, and keep getting better." 

Continuing on the same tear... Barely a week ago, Nashville-based Tim Easton, who has been at this stuff for a good long time (we don't know him, but people we do know and trust know him and hold him in high regard) posted on social media, and we were touched: 

Last night, I finished a nine-hour drive and then played my songs to four people. Two of them bought tickets. It was one of the best shows of my life. Someday, when I play at The Ryman Auditorium & accept my Grammy nomination, I will tell you all about it. For now, I would just like to accept full responsibility for all the bad decisions I have made throughout my life. I am extremely lucky that I can still play at all. After the show, when I checked into my hotel next to a 24-hour truck stop diner in Haw River, North Carolina, I saw a mother & her young son combing through their belongings in the back of a U-Haul truck. I am very grateful to have all the things I need today, and want to thank Tania (not Tanya!) & Will (with two “L”s) for coming to the show and being the first friends to buy my new Northbound Heart book. Thanks also to Bill & Rich at Enohouse.org. I will return someday to a packed house & we shall make a great live album. I only hope it is as good as the show I played last night.

We've hosted shows like this. It's heartbreaking. But we've also noticed that some of the best sets we've had in our room were played to the fewest people. There's a mysterious special energy about it.But more people in the room is generally preferable. C'mon out. 

OK, enough of the times-is-tough stuff.We tried an AI image generator once a while ago but had never messed around with AI Chat. It was time. We asked YouChat: "Why should I go to Stage 33 Live?"It got things mostly right."You should go to Stage 33 Live if you enjoy live music performances in a small, intimate setting. The venue is a welcoming and scrappy but well-mannered nonprofit DIY listening room with a capacity of 40 people, located in an industrial-rustic former factory in Bellows Falls, Vermont. The venue often highlights local and regional talent and has featured musicians and performers of various genres, including Tom Pirozzoli, Corey Wrinn [he cancelled], Greg Brown [not], Jesse Winchester [not], Doc Watson [not], and Willy Porter [not]. Additionally, the venue hosts other types of events including the listening event for the final episode of Gail Golec's podcast series about the first gay bar in Vermont. If you are looking for a unique and memorable live music experience, Stage 33 Live may be a great place to visit."We followed up: "Is Stage 33 Live any good?""Based on the search results, it appears that Stage 33 Live is well-regarded and offers a unique and intimate listening experience for live music performances and other events. The venue has been praised for its atmosphere and the special magic that happens during performances, and it often highlights local and regional talent. Additionally, the venue is described as a nonprofit, DIY listening room that is unaffiliated, unfunded, and powered by the best parts of post-industrial small-town rural New England, making it a unique and authentic destination for live music enthusiasts. Overall, while I cannot make a subjective judgement, the available information suggests that Stage 33 Live is a quality venue with a loyal following."Pretty delicious! We asked about the ugly underbelly: "What is bad about Stage 33 Live?""Based on the available search results, there does not appear to be anything bad about Stage 33 Live. In fact, the venue is often praised for its unique and welcoming atmosphere and the quality of its live music performances and other events. It is a nonprofit DIY listening room that showcases a variety of musical genres and highlights local and regional talent, creating a space for artists and audiences to connect and share in the joy of live music. There is no evidence to suggest that there is anything bad about Stage 33 Live."Cool. "Is Stage 33 Live silly?""Based on the available information, there is no indication that Stage 33 Live is a silly venue. On the contrary, it is often described as a serious and authentic destination for live music performances and other events, showcasing local and regional talent and providing a unique and intimate listening experience for audiences. While there may be an element of fun and lightheartedness to some of the events and performances at the venue, there is no indication that it is perceived as a silly or unserious destination for live music."We kept trying to churn up some dirt: "Does anybody not like Stage 33 Live?""Based on the available search results, I could not find any evidence to suggest that anyone dislikes Stage 33 Live. In fact, the venue is often praised for its unique and authentic atmosphere and the quality of its live performances, hosting events that are well-regarded by audiences and performers alike. While there may be different opinions about specific performances or events that take place at the venue, there is no indication that anyone actively dislikes Stage 33 Live as a whole. Therefore, it seems that the venue is generally well-liked and well-respected within its community."It wouldn't let us ask any more questions unless we opened an account, but we welcome our new AI overlords nonetheless. Their patience for us meatbags pestering them has limits. 

“It's a secret room where amazing things happen.”

Apologies if we didn't include enough misspellings, bad punctuation, all-caps, exclamation marks, and embarrassingly outdated street slang that was never really street slang. We'll try harder. Not really.