Amazing Weekend at the Senator!

Wow. I had a little too much fun at the Senator this weekend, which is maybe why I couldn’t get a blog post together yesterday. I want to thank Tom Kiefaber, Sean Brescia of Clearpath Management, Gayle and the rest of the staff at the Senator, and of course all the wonderful musicians and local businesses who volunteered their talents and services to make the Senator Sessions a great success! Thank you for a wonderful, exciting weekend. Best time I’ve had since I moved to Baltimore, and I am thrilled to know such talent is in the area!

The emerging shared vision of the Senator as a premiere multi-use arts and entertainment facility has now been successfully demonstrated as an evolving reality. This weekend was the icing on a cake that was baked over the past few weeks during other events like the inauguration, the Super Bowl, the Mind Field premiere, as well as showings of some of the finest current Hollywood movies.

The question remains whether, without community input, the city’s steering committee is sharing this vision, or even has a plan at all.

I want to echo David Arquette’s warning in his recent blog post about the Senator: there is indeed a danger of this cherished local resource falling into the wrong hands. This is not necessarily because anything malicious is happening. It’s just that the city does not have a good track record for planning of community spaces, as I think many of my neighbors who remember all the struggles over the Belvedere Square redevelopment project can attest.

Right now, it’s unclear whether the city has a plan for the Senator, and I understand from a conversation with a steering committee member that nobody on the steering committee has any experience in running a theater. My guess is that the city stepped in to try to help in what everyone agrees is an emergency situation, but they’re unprepared to help.

Unfortunately, they so far have not heeded what was the real request that came out of the emergency town hall at the Senator in January --- we asked them to come to the table with local community and business association leaders, community members, and Tom Kiefaber to discuss openly what can be done to put the Senator into the hands of a community-owned non-profit and transition it in a seamless way that will keep the doors open. So far, the city is having their own little private meetings and has not come to the table with all of us.

As for Tom Kiefaber, he knows just as well as Dan Rodricks at the Sun does that this is not about him. The Senator is bigger and more important than one man, and everyone knows that. I think Tom knows he has to give it up and let other people run the place, but let’s face it --- so far this is his life’s work. He’s been saving the Senator for over 20 years. Of course he doesn’t want to just let it go unless there’s a plan in place for it to be going in the right direction and safely in the hands of the community that loves it. Anyone who has done work they cared about deeply must understand that. It’s only natural.

The public also may not understand that the city really isn’t offering anything directly to Tom Kiefaber in their bid to acquire the Senator. The $320K figure they’ve floated would only pay off a small, currently unsecured portion of a much larger debt of more than $900K. It would be going straight to the bank, none of it into Tom’s pocket. He and his family are going to be in dire financial straits even if they take this deal. This is what I’m able to glean from the public record. Since the loan is secured by their home as collateral, it may in fact be a matter of taking the deal or losing their home (the fact that their home is currently collateral was reported in the Sun). More public money seems unlikely to be the solution, but from a standpoint of human compassion, I really have to say I hate to think that the family that made such huge personal sacrifices to keep the Senator open for the past 20 years is going to continue to suffer as a consequence. That part of this really breaks my heart.

I also want to just express a plea for not only keeping the doors open, but also keeping the staff of the Senator employed. There are a lot of good people there who stand to lose their jobs in this horrendous economy.

So, there’s a lot of positive stuff that can come out of this, as the wonderful weekend of fun just demonstrated. There’s also some bad consequences that could happen if we’re not careful. I want to see a solution that serves the highest good for the entire community, and keeps the Senator open as the multi-purpose arts and entertainment venue it needs to be.

Please enjoy my amateur videos of the events.

Friday Night Baltimore Revue:



Saturday Acoustic Love Songs:



Sunday Left Bank Jazz Revisited:



Sunday Night Psychedelic Show:

Tom Kiefaber on The Senator Sessions this weekend

In preparation for the upcoming Senator Sessions this weekend to benefit the historic theatre, owner Tom Kiefaber released statements which I quote from below:

It’s exciting to see how the bands have stepped up in response to David Arquette's urging through MySpace and that the community is supporting 'The Senator Sessions' weekend of benefit concerts.

...

We are producing a more innovative array of special event entertainment programming in response to the mandate from our community town meetings and round table discussions. These live music shows demonstrate expanded uses for large historic theatres like The Senator; enhanced uses that dovetail well with the surrounding businesses and preserve the historical integrity of the building.

What's even more exciting is that a number of the live music acts this weekend will utilize The Senator's giant screen to display projected digital images in synch with the performances. For the Sunday evening show, "Telesma" will also use our quad auditorium surround speakers in addition to on screen images to great effect. The results will be a dazzling blended utilization of what The Senator has to offer.

Its clear that movies are becoming increasingly available on many emerging platforms in addition to home theatres. While The Senator will always be an optimal state-of the art film showcase, what these concerts represent is alternative programming to attract the multitudes to The Belvedere Square commercial district on a more consistent basis. It's an evolution of what the movies used to do, which is generate that key Main Street synergy between a large historic theatre that anchors the commercial district and the surrounding businesses that interact with it in a win/win fashion.

The goal is not just for The Senator and the surrounding businesses and residential neighborhoods to get by and survive, but rather thrive by re-establishing the dynamic synergy that has diminished in a changing entertainment marketplace.

These live shows and other high profile special events will become a significant part of The Senator's dynamic and sustainable future, and that future is now.

...

"The Senator Sessions" concerts are being produced in conjunction with the local independent music scene to demonstrate that The Senator's highest and best use as a community-based, multi-purpose entertainment facility.

In my family we don't think of The Senator primarily in terms of its past, although that's the way the general public often perceives it.

Nostalgia plays a minor role in what we do, but for 70 years my family has viewed The Senator since it first opened in 1939 as a sleek and modern high-tech venue that from its inaugural opening has always been about the future.

As the city goes through the process of acquiring The Senator, we are acting to demonstrate the viability of the expanded entertainment uses that the community wants to see developed while we are still in a position to do so.

With the recent downbeat focus on The Senator's problematic debts, it should be noted that there is also great excitement building in the community as a result of our town meetings and the many round table discussions that have been held in the past two years regarding the theatre's dynamic future potential.

We agree with consensus that has formed that The Senator has an economically viable and dynamic future as a non-profit, community owned multi-purpose entertainment facility.

While the city is working along with us on its planned acquisition of The Senator and its associated real estate, we are working with the community to demonstrate the viability of the community mandate for expanded educational and entertainment uses for The Senator Theatre in addition to state of the art film presentations.

The upcoming weekend of events at the Senator continues to expand. In addition to the four concert events previously mentioned on this blog, there will also be a showing of the 1979 film The Last Waltz, directed by Martin Scorsese and starring The Band, with Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Ringo Starr, and many more legendary musicians. The Last Waltz will play on Saturday night at 8:30 p.m. People who attend the Acoustic Love Songs concert may stay over for the movie at no additional charge. Admission for the movie only is $9.

I can also now report that the Paul Reed Smith guitar being auctioned on e-Bay to benefit the Senator will be signed by a few of the many celebrities who have supported the Senator over the years. Signatures confirmed at this time are Paul Smith, David Arquette, Matthew McConaughey, John Waters, and Josh Groban. If only I had kept up those guitar lessons in high school!