Out (of town) sourcing

There is nothing more terrifying (except, perhaps, bedbugs in the movie theater where you wanted to see Step Up 3D?) to a Manhattanite than encountering this on a presenter’s website:

Montclair State University is located on Valley Rd. and Normal Ave. in Montclair, NJ.
The University’s main entrance is on Normal Avenue.

FROM POINTS NORTH:
Take Garden State Parkway to Route 46 West (exit 154). Exit onto Valley Road (south) toward Montclair.*

FROM POINTS SOUTH:
Take Garden State Parkway to Route 3 West (exit 153B). Exit onto Valley Road (south) toward Montclair.*

FROM MIDTOWN MANHATTAN:
Take
Lincoln Tunnel to Route 3 West for approximately 10.5 miles. Route 3
will merge to Route 46–stay right. Take first exit immediately after
the merge, onto Valley Road (south), toward Montclair.*

FROM UPPER MANHATTAN
Take the George Washington Bridge to Route 80 West. Take Exit 62 to
merge onto the Garden State Parkway South. Take Exit 154 for Route 46
toward Clifton. Exit onto Valley Road toward Paterson/Montclair.*

*Once on Valley Road (south)
– Stay on Valley Road for one mile to the first traffic light. Turn
right onto Normal Avenue. Then make another right into the main
entrance of the campus. The Alexander Kasser Theater will be directly
in front of you. Convenient parking is available at the Red Hawk
Parking Deck adjacent to the theater.

We can get eggs and Tic-Tacs at the bodega downstairs at 4am; we’re not going to rent a car and drive to your concert.

For this reason, I’d like to give heartfelt props to Peak Performances of Montclair, NJ  for chartering a bus to and from Manhattan for their weekend concerts:

WEEKEND MANHATTAN BUS SERVICE
Charter bus service is
provided for the fee of $10 per person (roundtrip) from the Port
Authority Bus Terminal arcade (41st Street between 8th and 9th Avenues)
to the Alexander Kasser Theater for all Saturday and Sunday
performances. Please call the box office at 973-655-5112 to reserve
seats. Bus departs 90 minutes prior to curtain.

$10 roundtrip! From midtown!

It occurred to me last summer that I’d never been to the Fisher Center at Bard College, or, until recently, to Caramoor. Public transportation usually doesn’t accommodate the late end times of most performances, so without a car, you’re often stuck there or forced to leave early. Why, I wonder, don’t more performing arts centers outside major cities have relationships with Zip Car, BoltBus, or Greyhound? Or, as with Peak Performances, why don’t they charter buses? I wonder how the finances work out: better to (potentially) sell more tickets by importing audiences or to focus sales efforts on your immediate communities? If you know of other presenters who offer transportation to and from their concerts, please comment.

And if you live in New York and are looking to flee the bedbugs (and now, apparently, the raccoons? Why do I live here?) via the Peak Performances charter bus, you could go to this concert next weekend. Not Labor Day weekend, the following weekend.

Here There Be Dragons

Featuring:
NOW Ensemble
William Brittelle’s Television Landscape
Victoire

Sat., Sept. 11 • 8:00pm
A New Amsterdam Records production
Regional Exclusive

What makes a “new classical” band stand out? Composition chops and entrepreneurial hustle. Missy Mazzoli’s all-female quintet Victoire personifies a dreamy post-rock sensibility. William Brittelle’s Television Landscape embraces a big-band sonic eclecticism. And the aggressively creative NOW Ensemble, featuring compositions by Judd Greenstein, defines 21st-century chamber music. These bands have their act together!
Join the musicians for a post-show party in the Alexander Kasser Theater lobby and the Montclair State University Amphitheater to kick off the 2010/2011 Peak Performances season!