Thursday, May 10, 2007

Concert at a Gas Station

I just heard from a coworker that BP opened a weird, futuristic gas station in LA. It incorporates solar panels on the roof, and rain water collection, in an attempt to be more environmentally conscious. More photos and info here.

Strangest of all, according to my coworker's brother who has been there recently, they now have an open-mic night with live music on Tuesdays. At a gas station!

As gas becomes more and more of a "luxury item," maybe gas stations are going to offer extra amenities to attract upscale customers. Maybe we'll see gas stations where you can buy gas and also shop for designer brand clothing and accessories. Think about how Starbucks turned a simple cup of coffee into a whole lifestyle/atmosphere branded destination and started selling music and promoting movies. The same thing may happen with gas.

[Note: this is a World Without Oil post, but to the best of my knowledge the information in this post is true.]

2 comments:

Cat said...

I was just in LA last weekend and my friend had gone to that gas station. She said the cost of petrol is more there, but she wanted to do her part before we headed out for a two hour drive to Palm Springs. The BP station had literature - beautifully designed cards with soy-based inks and 'green' graphics - flowers and such, but the cool part was that you could actually plant the piece of "paper" after you read it. You soak it then plant it. I guess they're trying to do something new. Is it just LA trendy? A high profile PR gimic? When will they be providing biodeisel I wonder.

Falling said...

Wow, I never thought there would be a time when a gas station would be cool as a concert venue. I kind of like the idea of an open-mic night, it's a lot more encouraging then rioting and siphoning and flash mobbing.