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March 29, 2007
Reflections on The Allman Brothers
I had not been to a rock concert for 25 years, since I saw Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden on New Year’s Eve 1982. When my new buddy, Cody Willard, suggested that we go to the Allman Brothers concert at the Beacon Theater on Tuesday night, I could not resist. My wife, Roz, is a serious former rock and roll fan, who pulled out her 1972 vintage albums like Eat A Peach and warmed us up for the show. Here are a few impressions of the evening:
1) There was a serious marijuana smell as you entered the theater. Some things never change, and maybe that is a good thing
2) Nobody sat down during the concert. There were several major hand gesticulators, from peace signs to clenched fists, including Eliott Bloom, my former client from Cendant, who happened to be standing next to me (you are never anonymous in NYC) in the theater.
3) There was a 3 to 1 male female ratio. Looked like a lot of guys night out, with lots of Wall Street looking characters in the front rows
4) Greg Allman looked seriously ancient behind the piano. An elderly gent with ample girth and a plaid shirt worthy of a country club sang a guest solo. I felt young compared to the on-stage talent, marginally old compared to the crowd.
5) The most illuminating aspect of the evening was the prevalence of Blackberries or other PDAs with one in ten people checking their screens at all times during the show. A woman seated in front of me was conducting trades in the Asian financial markets. Several guys took the opportunity between songs to check out the latest email traffic. I never want to be that compulsive ( I left my device at home—why be tempted?)
6) There were the same visual cues from 25 years ago, including the paisley and tie-dyed motifs moving across the screen behind the musicians.
All in all, it was a worthwhile trip down memory lane for a guy trying to relive his youth.
P.S. I am very disturbed by the precipitous action of the publisher of the Los Angeles Times, David Hiller, who instigated the resignation of his editorial page editor, Andres Martinez, by alleging conflict of interest in selection of a guest editorial editor, movie producer Bryan Grazer. It turns out that Martinez is dating a woman, Kelly Mullens who works at a PR firm which represents Grazer, though Kelly Mullens does not work on the account. This seems a complete overreaction, a nanny state approach to the real world.
I also take exception to the article by Jeff Goldberg in this week’s New Yorker Magazine on Wal-Mart, because it is biased and hopelessly one-sided. His characterization of my former colleague, Leslie Dach, now a senior executive at Wal-Mart, is fundamentally flawed. Leslie is a gifted PR man, with a genuine commitment to the environment and social equality. Goldberg depicts our profession as based on spin, hardball tactics and messages, an Orwellian world of mind control. In fact, the best PR is premised on truth and that is why Wal-Mart’s leadership on environment, prescription drug prices and affordable products is getting favorable coverage.
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Posted by Edelman at March 29, 2007 2:58 PM
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Comments
Thank you for commenting on the New Yorker article, albeit postscript. I’ve found myself fielding questions and concerns from my parents (both long time subscribers) about the apparently dubious goings on at my place of employment. While I’ve assured them that the Wal-Mart account, while not one I work on, is an important addition to our client roster (not to mention an exciting and monumental PR challenge), I’ve found myself defending Wal-Mart first, and Edelman second. This raises an interesting phenomenon unique to PR, a seemingly required loyalty to the client’s brand, unnecessary for traditional marketers. With that said, I hope that we can and will continue to find PR’s role in the boardroom and C-suite as trusted and honest consultants, helping our clients face their most challenging decisions – if we’re absent from that dialogue, our loyalty may be misguided.
Posted by: Nathan Strauss at April 1, 2007 10:40 PM
Rock on Mr. Edelman. It makes me really happy you know there is a time and place for everything. Something about mixing marijuana smell with Blackberrys just seems wrong.
Posted by: Erin Little at April 1, 2007 10:43 PM
How does one really change the heart of a Jeff Goldberg and most of the media. They're all about the Archille's heels within business. How often has any of the media portrayed the saints of industry. And within our twelve years of weekly productions about business (on PBS stations), we know that business is not "all about greed."
We hypostatize our future. What we see, we become. Goldberg and family needs to begin examining the richness and substance and the hearts of good people. They just do not want to see it.
Posted by: Bruce Camber at April 3, 2007 3:07 PM
Rock on, Richard.
Posted by: Andrew Silver at April 4, 2007 8:48 AM
Richard,
Sometimes I feel like I've been tied to the whipping post. I guess Leslie feels the same way.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whipping_Post_%28song%29
PS -- next time invite me! I'll leave my Blackberry at home -- promise.
Steve
Posted by: Steven Weiss at April 9, 2007 2:20 PM
Wow, Steve, good find. Well at least one of the brothers is still in fine form.
Posted by: Richard Edelman at April 9, 2007 3:44 PM
I was at an Allman Brothers gig last year as well, the boys are getting on a bit alright, but I had a great night and would totally recommend going to one of their gigs to anyone.
Posted by: Allmans Fansite at January 9, 2008 4:48 AM