i will need to do a lookahead for january soon, but i don't see any obvious shows until march, and i may decide to stay in until then.

the scary winter that the weather people forecasted, and that i was skeptical about, appears to be happening slightly to my north; i've ducked in under the jetstream, which is indicative of a slightly stronger magnetic field from the sun, which is on schedule. it should be another ten years or so before the brutally cold winters return, and we'll have to see if they're even able to take hold at all, with the warmer oceans.

but, even a warm january is still cold, in detroit. and, the kinds of all-nighters that i like to pull on marginally interesting shows are not going to be very realistic for quite a while. i'd have to really want to get out to something, and, for right now, i don't see it. we'll see, though.

if i get out to anything this winter, it's most likely to be at the dso.

i actually expect to tone things down for 2020. i don't do resolutions, but i'm aware that the interestingness of the shows that are happening is decreasing with my age. and, with the pivot back to finishing releases, i actually expect to be too immersed in my art to care much.

as far as i can tell, we're living through a down period for music as an art form. the music of the 20th century (which includes techno & hip-hop, in addition to rock & jazz) has already exited it's creative phase and is winding itself down, and what promises to replace it, these amalgams of electronic and psychedelic music, hasn't materialized into an actual art form, yet. maybe i should be contributing; but, maybe i am.

if something changes, i'll react. but, it seems like the most interesting shows this year are probably going to be rock bands full of aging gen xers, and legacy electronic artists that actually aren't that much younger.

if the millennial generation (which, like their boomer inspiration, are primarily consumers and emulators of art rather than innovators or creators of it) runs from 1980-2000, then the youngest of them will be entering their 20s soon, and there will be pressure on them for generational overturn relatively soon. i've been very clear that i think there's more potential with gen z as a kind of "gen x echo", and you can see it starting to develop with the youngest millennials who are maybe blazing a bit of a path. but, this will probably take a few more years to develop.

i'm happy to focus on my own work, while i'm waiting.

but, i do have to keep an ear to the ground, even if it's a critical one. as a musician, i'm required to have some concept of what's happening around me, even if i just dismiss it.