Uptown/Downtown

Two things I don't quite get about this article in the New York Times about how the Allman Brothers have been forced to move their annual series of concerts at the Beacon Theater on the Upper West Side to the United Palace Theater in Washington Heights. (The Beacon had been booked by Cirque de Soleil.)

1. Discounting other possible venues, including Radio City Music Hall, Gregg Allman says, "Forget about it. That's Hannah Montana's place." Ummm, what? Anyway, I saw Wilco play there in the fall of 2004 and concluded that it was an amazing place for a rock show. Beautiful space, great acoustics, great location. I hope more bands get a chance to play there.

2. The writer, David Itzkoff, continues: "The band is also looking into other ways that it could make the Washington Heights neighborhood more familiar to its itinerant followers, who might not have spent much time there. Mr. Allman said he and his colleagues might rent a bar there during the residency that would offer 'a safe, safe place to get loaded or talk to the pretty women — do the things that us guys do.'" I'm not sure why this hypothetical rented bar needed to be described as "safe" twice. I mean, if you're looking to get loaded and talk to a pretty woman or two, I'm pretty sure any of the bars in that neighborhood will suffice. I hope the subtext of this isn't that the (white) Allman Brothers and their (largely white) fans wouldn't feel comfortable getting loaded and talking to pretty women in a Dominican neighborhood without the protection of this "safe, safe place." But maybe I'm reading too much into this.