I will say, Jeff played in the park in Chicago, maybe three weeks ago and seemed to have a GREAT time! The park was quite crowded, and everyone in the dance area was getting down.
While the set he played was a little mainstream/clubby for my tastes, it had some very good moments, the mixing was ON, and he was SMILING and seemed really HAPPY to be there, which was unexpected for some of us. I hope this experience might lead to a slightly improved view of US audiences? I think he definitely got a lot of love at the show. ~David ---------- Original Message ------------- Subject: Re: Re: (313) Lost Sunday 28th August 2005 Date: Fri, 15 Jul 2005 11:45:00 -0500 From: Kent Williams <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: /0 <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Mills doesn't play anywhere in the US very often. I don't know the man so I only have second-hand accounts of why this is, which nevertheless are quite plausible. #1 -- and probably the most important: In Europe, the sort of people who hire him are experienced professionals, who set up events in a competent and straightforward fashion. He has pleasant and mutually beneficial relationships with those people. I'm sure there are exceptions to this, but they only book him once. Present company excepted of course, this is not the case in the United States. By and large promoters in the US are either incompent yet idealistic post-ravers trying to re-live the early 90s, or out and out criminals. #2 -- Mills' management very successfully insulate him from a lot of the people who are interested in booking him in the US. If you see Mills playing in the US you can be certain that it came about through the efforts of people who he knows well enough that they can talk to him directly, bypassing his management. #3 -- Mills doesn't have to play here to earn a living. I don't know the man, but I think when he's here in the US, he's tending to Axis business and living well below the radar. It's probably a nice break from the hero treatment he gets in Europe and Japan, which can no doubt be exhausting. #4 - As for Detroit, specifically, the last thing I heard about was the State Theatre show that got canceled for lack of ticket sales. That has to rankle. -- ~David Powers
