Gloversville Civic Band

Glove factory, back in the day.  See those things?  Those are called people.  You don't see much of that anymore. (from the internets

While I'm generally opposed to using this blog as a stump to advertise performances, this one is somewhat relevant.  Tonight I'm performing with the Gloversville Civic Band, a municipal band in a small city about an hour or so (by car) northwest of Albany.  As the name suggests, the town used to be a manufacturing center for the glove industry.  Now, it's mostly a semi-relevant downtown surrounded by a bunch of suburban crap, as well as some nice (streetcar suburb style) neighborhoods.  Places like this often have more of a local economy going on than places like Guilderland or Clifton Park near Albany, but this is America, and corporations are the only ones really doing well at the moment.  It's easy to see that much of the downtown has been destroyed, usually to be replaced by parking.  In some spots, you can actually see how parking lots spread blight like an effective cancer.  There are some interesting pow-wows going on among pharmacies just outside of town. 

Main Street, Gloversville NY (from the internets)

By the way, Gloversville is slated for an episode of My Drunk Urban Planning, if it turns out that I actually go through with that.

However, negativity aside, it is one of those gems that, while it may never again be what it was, will have a long and generally happy future.  It's got everything people are starting to want (walkability, human scale, Small Town America), things people will eventually need (rail infrastructure and rights-of-way) and not all that much in the way of liabilities (suburban strip mall parking lot garbage).  Really, if there was just a commuter train to the Capital Region cities, it'd be perfect.

Tonight's concert, for which I'll be sitting in with the tuba section, will be held at Wolfarth's Pond on South McNab Avenue at 7:00 pm.  If you're in the area, come check it out.  Civic bands are one of the most winning and loved aspects of Small Town America.  During this time of economic misfortune and an ever-more-dismal human environment, entertainment is becoming even more important, and it's even better when provided by real human beings.