So the Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission (ABC) has decided that the new Raleigh Amphitheater can not be called the BLA (Bud Light Amphitheater).  The reason?  They feel that naming the amphitheater for a beer would send the wrong message to children and hurt those dealing with substance abuse problems.  (Really? $9 beer won’t solve that problem.) Probably not a bad call all around but I would like to point out this could make naming the place a little more difficult now that we have set the bar that high.

Yes – I was against naming the amphitheater after Bud Light despite loving the idea of calling it the BLA!  My reason was slightly different from the ABC Commission – I wanted someone local to be the sponsor.  I didn’t want something that felt generic – I wanted something that would play to the small town feel of Raleigh.  Something a little closer to home maybe.  Now that the bar has been set so high – I’m not sure what would work.  To that end I have a few suggestion of what won’t work and the reasons I feel the ABC Commission if they were in charge of more than alcohol might not like them.

Krispy Kreme Amphitheater – Krispy Kreme is a North Carolina native with two locations in Raleigh – one just a block away.  They would be a potential sponsor but it might encourage obesity in children and send the wrong message to fat people.  That’s right – calling it the doughnut (not donut) would be awesome but is that really the message we want to send?  This would only work if we plan to make the seats wider.

Red Hat Amphitheater – Red Hat would encourage collaboration, open source technology and making a venue that just works.  Unfortunately this would send a message to children that they can escape being a Microsoft or Mac clone and think for themselves and it would likely increase the number of geeks and nerds coming to shows.  Neither would be terribly appealing and both seem to take us away from our goal of being controlled by Skynet in the reasonably near future.  Besides – I don’t know if you can use Ticketmaster on Fedora without having an ethical dilemna.

Golden Corral Amphitheater – even better if they called it “grazing corral” like the folks in my office used to.  I think it goes without saying that a buffet bar at a concert would be awesome but the kids and the fat people and the message and all that.  I can’t see it being the worst choice.  Maybe they could have a breakfast concert series.

Progress Energy Amphitheater – this one might be the right fit.  Just think they could call Memorial Auditorium “endo” and the Amphitheater “outdo.”  I don’t know what message this would send to kids or people that are damaged goods but I do see it being confusing for anyone from out of town to find the place they want to go.  Can’t you see the enraged couple from JoCo when they learn that they don’t have tickets to Lynyrd Skynyrd but Miss Saigon. I just can’t see that going well.

Galloway Running Program Amphitheater – this wouldn’t encourage obesity or be easily confused but it would be annoying because the music would play for about 3 minutes and then stop abruptly for 2 minutes and then play again for 3 minutes and then stop again for 2 minutes for the whole show.  (Yes – I know no one gets that one but a handful of people but I think it is funny.)

So that’s my list so far -  Think you have another to warn the city about while they re-group and look for a new sponsor?  Add it to the comments.

Leaving Cameron Village on Saturday we came across a couple of cars with flags following each other.  If you’ve lived in the area for more than fifteen minutes you know this could be sports fans from any one of a number of schools in the area.  On closer inspection I realized they cars were not flying the colors of NCSU, UNC, Duke, Shaw, Meredith or even Peace these cars had the historic Gadsden flag (aka Don’t Tread on Me).  We carefully moved in closer to investigate as they made their way onto Hillsborough Street and saw their web address written on the car window – www.rollingteaparty.com.  Until I saw this I had no idea that the Tea Party crowd had adopted the Gadsden flag and the Navy Jack as their banners of choice.  An interesting pick to say the least and quite honestly an interesting protest.

I’m sure these folks were en route to a larger caravan we saw three of what I have to assume were more but can’t really confirm.  From their website:

Did you come here because you saw the website name on a car today (or recently?) You witnessed a Rolling Tea Party – the goal was to deliver our message via this single website. The hundreds of cars that traveled the streets of Raleigh today, advertising this website, were participating in yet another rally of Americans against yet another abuse of power by government.

Issues listed on their website include – Kill the 1% NC Sales Tax Hike, Don’t “Cap” Our Economy, Immigration and Anchor Babies, Throw the Bums Out, and An Unconstitutional Amendment? All appear to be from the more conservative side of the political arena.  Issues that are all uniquely complex and unfortunately deserve more time and discussion than what they get either in the media or in person.  Most of this small site seems to push forward to a Constitutional Town Hall site which appears to be something of a “hub” for activities like this across the state – if you haven’t seen them yet (and there really are more than the three we saw) expect to see them soon in a town near you across North Carolina.

Last weekend Fayetteville Street on Friday night was the site of SparkCon and now a week later it is home to the Ray Price Capital City Bike Fest.  I don’t know if it is possible for two events to be on further ends of the spectrum and both feel so at home in the same location.  The weather was cool and the rain looked almost like snow flurries falling in such a light haze.  The motorcycles that were out both on display and from the people who came to the rally were very cool. (Pictures after the jump.)

A lot of credit to our city for having big, fun and diverse events almost every weekend and really encouraging cool events on Fayetteville Street in general.  I know – personally I am probably not a great fit for either group (maybe closer to the SparkCon crowd than the biker crowd) but both events were very cool to walk through at the end of the work week.

C and I visited The Bain Project this past Saturday and highly recommend that anyone who reads this do the same next weekend before the installation is closed.  It will be open again May 16 & 17th from 1 to 5PM with performances at 2 and 4PM.

The art deco Ernest B. Bain Waterworks facility caught my eye a long time ago as I was entering downtown via Wilmington Street.  It is one of those buildings you look at in a state of disrepair and say to yourself – someone should do something there – that building could be something great.  After a long time of admiring its exterior I was very excited to hear the building was opening for a limited engagement art installation.

The facility opened in 1940 and replaced the facility directly in front of it that had been in operation since 1887 (this one pumped water to the stone water tower that looks like a lighthouse in downtown).  The waterworks could pump 10-20 million gallons of water daily but was outgrown by the city by the 1960′s when the Neuse River facility was built.  The plant remained in operation until 1987 and was used as a backup facility until the early 90′s since then it was used for storage. [Source]