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Main >> News Listing >> June 2004 >> Article ID 5274
 Summer concerts off to bumpy start | Type: Internet Article |
| | Summer concerts off to bumpy start | Jun 27, 2004 | by Paul de Barros
The sudden cancellation of last Wednesday's show by the glam-rock group KISS at White River Amphitheatre is the third major collapse in what may indicate a soft season for summer tours.
In April, Christina Aguilera canceled her May 13 show at White River because of "throat problems." Last Tuesday, the alternative rock tour Lollapalooza scrapped its entire national schedule, including two opening days, July 14-15, at White River. Representatives for Lollapalooza cited slow ticket sales.
Slow sales also prompted the downsizing of Saturday's Rolling Rock Town Fair, which features Sevendust, Finch, Finger Eleven, Thornley and the Seattle group the Jet City Fixx. Originally scheduled at the King County Fairgrounds in Enumclaw, the concert now is at the Paramount Theatre, where it is sold out. (Ticket-holders for the King County Fairgrounds show can receive a full refund from Ticketmaster.)
The cancellation of KISS at White River, blamed on lead singer Gene Simmons' ill health (fever and sore throat), is a serious blow to the Auburn amphitheater. It means the venue, operated by Clear Channel, has lost four out of 14 summer dates. Spokesperson Karen Donovan would not comment on the financial impact, but acknowledged, "Tickets are a little harder to sell this year. I think it's ticket prices. People don't have that much money to spend. They like to go to a concert, but they have to pick and choose."
Clear Channel is attempting to add dates to its schedule to compensate.
Other longtime observers agree 2004 may be shaping up as a difficult season.
"The feedback we've been hearing is that starting in mid-April ticket sales just dried up," says Gary Bongiovanni, editor-in-chief of Pollstar magazine, which tracks the concert business. "Every tour out there has someplace where they're short of expectations. The pain is spread around. Anybody who was overly aggressive as to ticket price and size of venue is finding the public is giving them a message loud and clear that they're not spending the money."
The Lollapalooza tour also may have suffered from lack of a marquee headliner that appealed to teenagers. Big names on the bill included Morrissey and Sonic Youth.
"These are significant names in the alternative music world," says Bongiovanni, "but probably not in your top five MP3s played by 17- and 18-year-olds. This is a two-day show where you have to go out and spend eight to 10 hours outdoors, seeing a dozen or more bands. That appeals to a teenage audience."
Not everyone on the local music scene agrees summer sales are down.
"We are very happy with ticket sales at the Gorge," says Jeff Gilbert, public-relations representative for House of Blues, which books the Eastern Washington outdoor venue. "We've sold 50,000 tickets for (three shows by) Dave Matthews, with two-and-a-half months to go. We're having a banner year at Ste. Michelle Winery."
Gilbert agreed, however, that the lineup probably hurt Lollapalooza.
"We were asked to make offer (on the tour) and we declined," he said. |
 Source: The Seattle Times | |
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