Would be better if they throw those 2 millions and change into a legal and appeal the resolution.

Worse thing that can happen is patent trolls getting precedent.

We once got a 2,000 person venue for free. We only had to pay for the extra security personnel, permits, and we even got a % of the beverage sales.

Lights and sound aren't that expensive to rent, and a lot of bands travel light. Hardest part of the logistics was taking care of all the legalese. You need to be smart with the planning and get as much sponsors as possible. You can even get some government money or tax discounts.

Bands make money from merchandise, not just tickets. And most of them just have a flat fee per concert, or charge according to venue size. Big name bands obviously have venue size requirements.

Of course you can have all kind of mental blocks to think it's not possible. I know it's possible, and can't wait for the next one.

If you want to support the artist, go to their concerts.

If they don't tour near you, go try and get a local promoter to book them, or do it yourself. Some friends and I have managed to get bands and artists we like by directly emailing their managers, then handling all the logistics ourselves. Local radio stations usually are willing to help, too. When you don't have to pay for logistics and you don't expect any profit, the final ticket cost is incredibly low. I'm not saying it was easy, it's usually a lot of hard work, but it's well worth it.

About the voter registration: http://tinyurl.com/7y484fn
Mexico has about 95% of eligible voters on the registry (US is 66% at best), not as good as other countries, but it's not mandatory or enforced by any government agency. Argentina has a 100%, but their ID practices would be considered fascist by US standards.

Second generation Mexican-Americans have an average of 4 more years of school than their parents. http://www.pewhispanic.org/ is an excellent source for statistics about Hispanics in the US.

In Mexico you can't make any kind of transaction without your voter registration card. Which is fairly secure and the country's de-facto method of identification.

Having a country "mandatory" registry goes a long way to avoid identity theft and minimize fraud.

These attempts of China to flex their metaphorical muscle is just more fuel for the US conservatives to keep justifying the idiotic defense budget and the "World Cop" ideology.

And I, for one, welcome our new penguin alien overlords.

Talking about cannabis and conspiracy theories on the same post is awesome for credibility purposes.