The cliffnotes version of the Buffettnews Concert Posts

phansheridan · Post by **phansheridan** » May 16, 2005 11:00 am

would anyone be willing to just update us on the important stuff from that long topic, like the meeting with HK, and any other big things that happen?

comtnfish · Post by **comtnfish** » May 16, 2005 11:11 am

The meeting is supposed to be later today, and Midnight will post when he gets a chance. It could be pretty late today before he gets to post, especially for the east coast, because he said he might get home late anyway - and he's on the west coast.

So, we wait.....with fins crossed!!

Ilph · Post by **Ilph** » May 16, 2005 11:27 am

Would it be possible for someone to sum up the events in the other thread for those of us who aren't able to sift through 25 pages of posts?

Quiet and Shy · Post by **Quiet and Shy** » May 16, 2005 4:51 pm

Here's the very top line summary:

* Good idea to book Jimmy to do a private concert for fans (kind of like what he's doing for Wal-Mart on June 2). Rationale: avoid ticketmaster, create own set list, targeted to "real" fans, go around scalpers, allow fans access to all tickets vs. best going to sponsors, Jimmy concert, etc.

* Many enthusiastically responded that they supported the idea.

* May become charitable event.

* Initially open to BN members as of 5/13/05.

* Several said they could help make it happen and would like to be a part of making it happen.

* Although all this discussion is through the BN board, permission from Phjim would be needed to call this a "BN Event". Tiki Bar has PM'd Phjim to get his perspective.

* Midnight Flyer volunteered to visit Jimmy's management co. (Front Line) today to enquire whether a "group of fans" could plan and book Jimmy to perform. We are awaiting Midnight Flyer's report on how it went -- due late today (Pacific Time).

* There is no good estimate of cost, but Jimmy has apparently charged $250,000-$1 million for private shows.

* Suggested venues are all over -- from Florida to Midwest to Red Rocks (Colorado)...

* Cautionary info has been shared by some regarding aspects such as liability, complexity, cost, ticket distribution, etc. This will be tough to pull off and will require upfront $$'s, time, and specific talents (e.g. legal, financial, project management, planning, communication, etc.)

* There were many other good ideas, concerns and details included, as well.

That's what comes to mind right now. I hope this summary is helpful to those who have not had a chance to read the 25+ page version. Bottom line, we're basically on hold until we hear from Midnight Flyer.

East Texas Parrothead · Post by **East Texas Parrothead** » May 16, 2005 4:53 pm

Wow! Quiet and Shy. Great Readers' Digest Condensed Version.

Keep us posted (pun intended).

UpstateNYPH · Post by **UpstateNYPH** » May 16, 2005 5:11 pm

Hey if anyone wants me to get together a real detailed version, I can spend the next day or so compiling a major list of the things discussed in the thread, as well as what info we get from Midnight Flyer. If you want to continue Quiet and Shy by all means go ahead, but if you want someone to take that load off, I dont mind.

asuwookie · Post by **asuwookie** » May 16, 2005 5:44 pm

I'll help in any way that I can to! Sign me up! I got a few creative ideas on how we can pull this off and would love to help in any way that I can. It is going to take a LOT of up front work though!

Mplsfins · Post by **Mplsfins** » May 16, 2005 5:52 pm

If this can be pulled off as a charitable event, think of all the good that could come of it. Why not make it a national charity such as United Way or the Red Cross or Jimmy's Charity of choice. If we all contribute it would be a tax write off and we get to see Buffett. What a Win Win for all parties involved.

ToplessRideFL · Post by **ToplessRideFL** » May 16, 2005 6:26 pm

Q & S.......... where were you when I was in college! Nice Job!

Ilph · Post by **Ilph** » May 16, 2005 7:31 pm

Thanks for summing it up for us!

Quiet and Shy · Post by **Quiet and Shy** » May 16, 2005 8:43 pm

UpstateNYPH wrote:Hey if anyone wants me to get together a real detailed version, I can spend the next day or so compiling a major list of the things discussed in the thread, as well as what info we get from Midnight Flyer. If you want to continue Quiet and Shy by all means go ahead, but if you want someone to take that load off, I dont mind.

You are all very welcome; I'm glad you've found it useful and I'm happy to help out. (It also makes having read the entire novel more worth while.

)

UpstateNYPH, I figured if Midnight Flyer comes back to us with "no go" it's probably not worth summing the whole thing up. If he comes back and gives us a tentative "fins up", then it will make sense to sum up the entire thread with a special emphasis on or organized by suggestions, cautions/recommendations, resources (e.g. those who are interested in helping this move forward), initial interest level, etc. You are certainly welcome to take a first shot at it, and then a second set of eyes would probably be helpful, as well. Then we'll have to start figuring what the heck to do about the monster we will have created!!

spainjane · Post by **spainjane** » May 16, 2005 10:15 pm

Mplsfins wrote:If this can be pulled off as a charitable event, think of all the good that could come of it. Why not make it a national charity such as United Way or the Red Cross or Jimmy's Charity of choice. If we all contribute it would be a tax write off and we get to see Buffett. What a Win Win for all parties involved.

Our rescue is 501c, and I have influence with management

if you need a charity to cooperate....(click below)
we'd be happy to help!

UpstateNYPH · Post by **UpstateNYPH** » May 17, 2005 12:22 am

Quiet and Shy wrote:
UpstateNYPH wrote:Hey if anyone wants me to get together a real detailed version, I can spend the next day or so compiling a major list of the things discussed in the thread, as well as what info we get from Midnight Flyer. If you want to continue Quiet and Shy by all means go ahead, but if you want someone to take that load off, I dont mind.
You are all very welcome; I'm glad you've found it useful and I'm happy to help out. (It also makes having read the entire novel more worth while. )

UpstateNYPH, I figured if Midnight Flyer comes back to us with "no go" it's probably not worth summing the whole thing up. If he comes back and gives us a tentative "fins up", then it will make sense to sum up the entire thread with a special emphasis on or organized by suggestions, cautions/recommendations, resources (e.g. those who are interested in helping this move forward), initial interest level, etc. You are certainly welcome to take a first shot at it, and then a second set of eyes would probably be helpful, as well. Then we'll have to start figuring what the heck to do about the monster we will have created!!

Ok tell you what, give it the day today to pan out, then tonight I will work my little butt off on it and have a nice page PM'd to you on Wed. morning for you to review. How does that sound?

Candyman · Post by **Candyman** » May 17, 2005 1:08 am

Thanks for the condensed version. Anything is possible. I truly believe this could work. Especially if the proceeds go to a worthy charity.
Dan

Tiki Bar · Post by **Tiki Bar** » May 17, 2005 12:52 pm

Tiki Bar wrote:
sailingagain wrote:Just a suggestion...

How about starting a thread where people that want to be part of the committee can volunteer themselves. Maybe they can list some of their qualifications? Or people might want to start nominations.

At least that gives us a starting point and a potential pool to pick from if we decide to take it as far as a vote.
I think this needs to be done too, but with input.

Just by taking the bull by the horns and making contact, I think Midnight Flyer should be the prominent piece of this puzzle, if he wants to be.

Some of my thoughts, but as someone with absulutely no authority:

1. Should the volunteering / nominating be a private email process, or public on BN?
2. Volunteers need to explain what it is they can bring to the table, whether it's experience and connections, free time and a good attitude, or just moral support and "grunt work" if needed.
3. Volunteers need to be able to work as a team, on behalf of the general population.
4. Volunteers, in my opinion, should be just that, and not expect compensation or reimbursement for their efforts, other than the reward of "prime" seats for giving it to the rest of us.

The thread as I envision, would read like a resume:

"I want to volunteer my time and resources to the private concert committee"

Desired Role:
Specialty:
Related Experience:
Weekly amount of time I can commit to this project:
Years I can commit to this project:
Schedule flexibility, and travel resources:
References: (obviously this would be private)

This is just a start... what else should be included?

And who wants to sort them out??

(not me)

In the long thread, there was one "vote" for private, one for public.

Lono · Post by **Lono** » May 17, 2005 7:15 pm

Here's a phrase you are unlikely to see again - FREE LAWYERS. I know there are several BN lawyers. I, for one, will volunteer my time.

jellocannoncrew · Post by **jellocannoncrew** » May 17, 2005 7:24 pm

Lono wrote:Here's a phrase you are unlikely to see again - FREE LAWYERS. I know there are several BN lawyers. I, for one, will volunteer my time.

Can we get a "Hell Ya!!"

Tiki Bar · Post by **Tiki Bar** » May 17, 2005 10:37 pm

Midnight Flyer wrote:I just walked in the door and here is the 411....First of all, the company that handles Jimmy's bookings is the Howard Rose Agency in Beverly Hills. I spoke with Steve Smith (the gentleman who handles JB's bookings).

Here is the general info for booking Jimmy for a private show.

Full band: 1mm. This is just for the band plus expenses.
Expenses include but are not limited too: Band and equipment transportation, band lodging and meals, venue, insurance (expensive according to Steve), security, sanitation ( BEG), parking, etc. etc.
Expenses are estimated around 400-500K.

50% of the band's fee is required at signing and the balance is due thirty days out from the show.

There are the numbers and the basic info to get us started. I spoke with a couple BN'rs on the phone on the way home and two things seemed to rise to the surface. 1) If we did this it's going to cost at least 1.5mm. It's been my experience that even when you try to hit the initial estimates high, they are still low. So, with that in mind, I would want to have at least 1mm in escrow at the time of the contract signing. I think it would only make sense to be on the downhill side of the fund raising at that point.
2) Can we really get enough people to front enough money to make this happen? If we end up with only 10,000 people (a little high based on SGH's numbers yesterday, I think) that is at best $150.00 per person just for the show. Granted 10K people is not much but that is pretty close to the number of people at a Vegas show at the MGM.
3) As Kath pointed out on the phone, we could always start with a bake sale!

Well, that's it. If anybody is really serious about exploring the possiblity I would be willing to discuss it a little further to take a hard look at the feasibility of this happening.

That's all the news to report from here.

Play nice

puckhead · Post by **puckhead** » May 18, 2005 7:02 am

Wow, I've been away from the board for a few days and missed a lot!

Is this really serious?

This is a fantastic idea!

Is there a thread to sign-up if interested?

UpstateNYPH · Post by **UpstateNYPH** » May 18, 2005 10:53 am

Just an update, I'm working on these as we speak, I should have them up by the end of the day after I run them by Quiet and Shy. Thanks