Live Venues getting slim.

Spiritualized, I've just got a note that Auktyon had their visa request denied! They've been touring US almost every year and had Medecki, Martin and Wood joined their performances. There was several venue events scheduled accross few US large cities New York, Chicago, Philadelphia.

Before this happened, I only thought that it's just a gossip about artists facing difficulties getting a visa.
Why the performing artists visas are being limited? Is our government now controlling illegal immigration of artists not returning back? If that's true I feel terrible especially knowing the fact that I'm paying taxes for these dumb immigration reforms.

Check this out...

http://www.auktyon.com/

After 9/11/01, the whole VISA review process was overhauled. This included a reduction in the number of VISAs made available each year for touring artists. The qualification process is also more difficult.

Strange, It's been slight problem after attacks, but year later there was plenty of great seasons for foreign performing artists. Surely can't count on fingers how many I've listened live between 9/11/2001 and now. All of these years followed UK bands King Crimson, UK(Allan Holdsworth, Edie Jobson), Peter Hammill(Van Der Graaf Generator); musicians and bands from Northern Europe, India, Middle East, Latin America. I was averaging to 4...5 venue visits per year...
2011 is the WORST where I only went once to listen to performance of Nadja Palermo-Sonenberg(prima violin) Four Seasons by Astor Piazzolla(a unique tango interpretation of Vivaldi's Four Seasons).

Right now even domestic/Canadian non-hip-hop artists are spending more time touring Europe.

I agree and that's why I attend the Montreal Jazz Festival every year in June. That gives me my jazz fix as well as other genres. I even saw Milton Nascimento there last year. For me, it's the best music festival in North America hands down, and it's safe.

I'm rather lucky on the classical front. I live in a city that has a thriving philharmonic orchestra and a prestigious music school. They even have a program they call Orkidstra which is classical performances for kids.

Europeans in general are more into classical and jazz than the U.S. (unfortunately). I hope this doesn't offend anyone but I really think that the U.S. as a whole has extremely poor taste in music. The U.S. puts out some great musicians but they struggle for sales and can barely afford to tour, or they have to tour overseas because that's where the money is for them.

Take an amazing musician like Melody Gardot for example. She barely gets mention in the U.S., yet she can sell out every single show in Europe and they love her. She moved to France for that reason alone.Pink Martini? They go to Asia and sell out the same venue 2 and 3 nights in a row. They can't do that in the U.S. They can sell out some shows, but not like that. We need to teach our children that music is about musical talent and not fireworks and choreographed dancing.