The O-town Scene

Scene the O-Town Vol. 1, No. 48 www.otownscene.com 102 Chestnut St., P.O. Box 250, Oneonta, NY 13820 (607) 432-1000, ext. 255, editor@otownscene.com EDITOR Cassandra Miller ASSOCIATE MANAGING EDITOR OF THE DAILY STAR Adrienne Wise PUBLISHER Armand Nardi CONTRIBUTORS Sam Benedict, Mark Boshnack, John Champlin, Hannah Colburn, David Fredette, Terry Ludwig, EDITOR OF THE DAILY STAR Sam Pollak Shirley O'Shea, Jeffrey Pegram, Emily Popek, James Derek Sapienza, Mark Simonson, Adam Sisenwein and Sam Spokony. ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Sean Lewis The O-Town Scene is published Thursdays by The Daily Star Inc. Free copies are distributed throughout Oneonta, as well as parts of Otsego, Delaware and Schoharie counties. Member of The Associated Press and CNHI News Service EDITOR'S NOTE Have news to share? E-mail tips and ideas to Scene Editor Cassandra Miller at editor@otownscene.com 2 O-Town Scene Sept. 15, 2011 Like many people who lived in Oneonta in the '90s, I can remember when the Oneonta Theatre screened blockbust- ers like "Titanic" and hosted musical productions by Or- pheus Theatre. And I remem- ber feeling a little crestfallen visiting Oneonta several years ago to find one of the marquee's Os missing, and no black letters for upcoming movie showings. Then, after some changing of hands while it was closed, the theater took on its new life as a concert and event venue when current owner Tom Cormier, with the help of talent booker Jon Weiss and current manager and all-around handyman Patrick Lippincott, stepped into the picture. The theater recently cel- ebrated its first anniversary, and with the beginning of its new year is the advent of a different approach to ex- actly what kind of venue the theater will be. Weiss, who booked most of the acts the first year, has left the theater, and Cormier is looking for a collaborative approach to booking. He said he wants the theater to be more community-driven by being available for event rentals, as well as hosting more local and regional bands at af- fordable prices. Starting Sept. 3, the theater's first round of its Battle of the Bands began with three groups perform- ing 45-minute sets each. The battles will continue Sept. 17 and Sept. 24, with four dif- ferent acts performing each night. Judges are rating the acts on several categories, one being audience reaction, aka what band gets the most applause and panties thrown on stage. Since audience participa- tion is such a crucial factor in who will win the 11-band battle, admission to the concerts is free. If you don't have any plans the Saturdays when battles are happening, the theater will be a hot-spot for cheap fun. I've got to be honest, I have friends in a band playing this Saturday and in a band playing Sept. 24. And because I'm not a judge and have substantially strong vocal chords that al- low me to cheer loudly, I will be doing my part to help my friends' bands get lots of points in audience reaction. I might even rush the stage. We'll see where the night takes me and, hopefully, the throngs of other fans who turn out to support the local and regional acts laying it out on the big Balcony Ballroom stage, rocking their hardest to open for Blue Oyster Cult on Oct. 21 at the theater. Rock on. — Cassandra Miller Cassandra Miller is the founding editor of the O-Town Scene. She can be reached at editor@ otown- scene.com.

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