We typically take advantage of this medium to inform everyone about really exciting things that you may or may not have been privy to, or just to spotlight something we really enjoyed and wanted to share it with everyone. Right now, however, I'm going to write about something that's irked me since last month.
Kah-Bang moving to Portland was a disappointment. I'm not here to bitch about them doing it, I know fuck all about how to run a business, let alone a festival that likely doesn't end up banking a whole lot after its all said and done. I will say that as bummed as I was about the move, if it was a "do or die" kind of decision, I would much rather have the opportunity to drive to Portland than not have it exist at all. That, however, doesn't seem to be exactly what happened.
I was perusing local news today and thought to myself, "yo, I wonder how people liked seeing DMX?" (my main reason for being jealous of the concert goers). So I dug around a bit, only to find that not only did DMX not play, but they ended up canceling the majority of the music performances they had scheduled, save for a few local bands(seriously, go check out Ghosts of Paul Revere). I had earlier heard that the other headliner, St. Vincent, had dropped from the bill, but I didn't realize that would be the beginning of the end.
In a post to the Kah-Bang website titled "A Letter to Our Fans," they cite "several setbacks in our planning the last few weeks, including the loss of some major sponsors" as a cause for the lack of musical performances. I was bummed that I wouldn't be able to see DMX, I'll admit it. But how fucked would it be if you resided in Maine's sprawling metropolis that is Portland and three weeks ago you read that Kah-Bang would actually be in Portland, instead of Bangor. "HOLY SHIT," you'd say. "MY LIFE IS AMAZING." Until, of course, your excitement came to the same brutal demise as everyone in Bangor.
This whole Kah-Bang deal has left a bad taste in my mouth since it was announced they were moving, but honestly it wasn't the fact that they were hightailing it that I couldn't stomach. I wasn't aware of one initiative to keep Kah-Bang around here. I'm not saying we should all throw everything we have at them, nor am I saying they deserved to have us fight for them to stay in the first place. I'm just saying that through all the outrage that was expressed locally, you'd think someone would have stepped up to at least ask if there was anything anybody could do to sway the decision. Such is life though, eh? Hopefully next year they can get their act together and continue the really solid work they've put up for the past six years.
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