State Theatre

I went to see Blue Jasmine this weekend there. After an old couple said "I didn't know his type would like this" about me, the staff member that heard the same thing just shrugged her shoulders. Cool. I walked out. I will never go back. Plus, the guy that runs their social media was a total jerk after to me after I complained about this.

Please read the following facebook statement from Sean Duncan on how The State Theater treats local musicians. I no longer live in the valley, nor am I involved in the local music "scene" but I still know a lot of people who are and find the way that they handled the cancellation of this show shameful. It looks like if George Lucas or a lot of money isn't involved, they really don't care. As someone who had their comment deleted yesterday and found themselves blocked from commenting further on The State Theater facebook page, I encourage you to read what Sean has to say about his experience. I didn't think what I said was all that offensive, just pointing out that they hadn't bothered to update their page to reflect the cancellation (which they STILL haven't done as I type this a day later). The city of Modesto has sunk a lot of money into the downtown area to revitalize the economy and make their town a destination for patrons of the arts and the actions of The State Theater, who loudly proclaim their support of local talent, are spitting in the faces of the people who are actually trying to do something to make Modesto and the surrounding areas a great place to live. I encourage you to read on:

This is not my email to the state, This is my email to all the sponsors of the state and anyone else who will listen. PLEASE SHARE!!!

To whom it may concern,
I'm a member of the band Kid Mud. On June 15th, the band was booked to play a show at the State Theater in Modesto, Ca. with two other local bands, Solar Powered People and Stop Motion Poetry. One week before the show, the State Theater cancelled the show due to poor advance ticket sales. The promoter of this event told us this via a group "Facebook" message. Not one person from any of the bands were ever informed that we needed a "x" amount of pre tickets sold or this show would be cancelled. Once I received tickets to sell myself, 10 days before the show, I made my own pre sales. No one from the State Theater bothered to contact me and ask how many tickets I had actually sold. When the promoter from the State Theater Facebooked us, we tried to ask questions and find an alternative to cancelling the show. The promoter told us "I'm about to start a gig" and really gave us no alternative or further explanation. We have now told our fans exactly what has happened and they have been voicing their opinion to the State Theater via "Facebook". The State Theater then removes the comments and then blocks the users from future comments. One post that the State Theater currently has on their page as I write this email says, "Get to know some of Modesto's best bands on 06/15. These acts are on their way to big things! Support local talent!"

This is not the first time this has happened to local artists by the State Theater. A show on Feb 15th of this year was supposed to take place with a local band called "The Airlings". The same chain of events happened to this band, except no one contacted them. They actually found out when they accessed the State Theater's website and saw a "cancelled" sign on the poster on the website.

I find this very wrong that a place that still says they support local music or the community can just do this. As for the bands of this show, I know that we are all people who have worked hard in our community and have families. Everyone took lots of time out of their already busy schedules to put 110% effort to giving the community a great show. Giving up other things in our daily lives to practice 2 or 3 times a week to make sure the people who were coming had the greatest show of their life. Then, one week before, the state theater decides to just pull the rug underneath us with no communication. Just an "excuse" of lack of advanced ticket sales. This would be a disgrace to any community anywhere and people should know what the State Theater actually thinks about supporting local music and its community.
A very upset "local artist",

Sean Duncan,
Kid Mud

Edit: Sean did receive a call apologizing for the way this was handled. I hope that The State Theater will consider their actions more carefully when dealing with artists who they invite to play their venue as well as the people who support them. Without local patronage, The State Theater would no longer exist.

I came here a few years ago to watch Pan's Labyrinth, which was great because the film wasn't playing in any of the other theaters in town.  I like how one of the staff members sat in for the movie, just shushing the noisy people.  The one complaint I had was that the screen didn't project the best picture.  Other than that, it was a good experience