Hangout Festival helps post-oil spill recovery (AP)

GULF SHORES, Ala. – A year ago bad vibes from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and fear over the future of Gulf Coast tourism hung like rain clouds over the inaugural Hangout Music Festival this resort destination.

Flash forward 12 months and the festival has sold out. Paul Simon, Foo Fighters and Widespread Panic are headlining and a place that relies heavily on tourism is getting what looks like a long-term boost. Organizers bill the three-day festival, which starts Friday, as the only event where you can watch music with your toes in the sand and a beach view.

"What makes the Hangout so successful is that we booked a stellar lineup of music in the most beautiful setting," Hangout founder Shaul Zislin said. "We also take pride in our how we treat our fans, our artists and our staff. Everyone who attended last year's Hangout knows we put on a first-class festival experience — it's what will keep people coming back and telling their friends about us."

Local officials looked to the festival as a barometer for the rest of the tourist season a year after the BP oil spill fouled the Gulf of Mexico and left business owners fearful of a black tide on the white sand beaches. All signs are positive. All 35,000 tickets sold out about a month ago and you can't find a room in an area where you can walk from your condo door to the festival.

The ticket sales are more than double last year's 15,000 and some of music's hottest acts signed on this year. Along with the headliners The Black Keys, My Morning Jacket, The Flaming Lips, The Avett Brothers and Cee Lo Green make for a top-heavy lineup this year.

Fans who didn't make it to the beach this year can watch select live concerts and highlights streaming on the Internet at http://www.spin.com and www.iclips.net beginning each day at 1:30 p.m. EDT throughout the weekend.

___

Online:

http://www.hangoutmusicfest.com

Yahoo! News

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

With Elaine gone, NYC literary hangout closing (AP)

NEW YORK – Elaine's is shutting its doors.

For decades, Elaine Kaufman held court at the restaurant bearing her name with a hand-picked selection of favorite regulars, literary luminaries and celebrities.

After Kaufman died in December, longtime manager Diane Becker inherited the restaurant. She announced Tuesday that the Upper East Side restaurant will shut its doors for good on May 26.

"This is one of the most difficult decisions I've ever had to make," Becker said in a statement Tuesday. "But the truth is, there is no Elaine's without Elaine."

The place is filled with history — both real and imaginary.

Woody Allen opened his movie "Manhattan" with a scene set there. Billy Joel immortalized it in the song "Big Shot." Stuart Woods, author of dozens of popular mysteries, begins almost every book with his hero having dinner at Elaine's.

"I'm flabbergasted" about the closing, said Woods, whose new book, "Bel-Air Dead," is dedicated to Elaine. "I was there last Friday and Sunday nights, and there was a very good crowd."

Kaufman had a soft spot for writers who were trying to make it big, and she often let them eat for free. Among those who did make it big were Kurt Vonnegut, Norman Mailer, George Plimpton and Gay Talese. Eventually, they paid her back.

She was known as an exceptional listener, with patrons and friends typically sticking around until the early morning hours. Her regulars were fiercely loyal.

Tables were coveted, attracting mayors, artists and celebrities, including Jackie Onassis, Michael Caine and George Steinbrenner.

Former Mayor Ed Koch, who was in office when Elaine celebrated her 25th anniversary in 1988, said after her death that even he enjoyed spotting celebrities there. Mayor Michael Bloomberg called her a New York institution.

Allen became a regular, Kaufman told The Associated Press in 1988, because "he loves to people-watch. It's comfortable, nobody bothers him, we make him what he wants."

There were complaints over the years that Kaufman banished less-interesting people to the worst tables, but she didn't consider herself a snob and argued that her restaurant simply attracted a sophisticated crowd.

"I'll certainly miss it incredibly if the place is gone for good," said Woods. "It will be the end of an era. There are going to be a lot of writers wandering up and down Second Avenue, looking for a place to have dinner."

Yahoo! News

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.