Nugent review; ticket news (Gnarls, Petty)

The Ted Nugent review is below, under the YouTube of him barn-storming through "Stormtroopin'."

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The Gnarls Barkley show set for July 30 in the City Market has been canceled.

The official word: A 'routing' problem related to Lollapalooza, which runs Aug. 1-3. Let's see: The Black Keys play at 5 p.m. Aug. 1, two days after the date here. Gnarls plays at 6 p.m. Aug. 3, four days later. According to Ticketmaster, the Gnarls shows on July 27 (Hollywood) and Aug. 1 (Columbus) are still on. And the Black Keys' Aug. 2 show in Toledo is still on. So ... what's the problem?

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The Tom Petty tour has released some holds on tomorrow's show. Some good $99 seats are among them. Check Ticketmaster or save the extra fees and hit the Sprint Center box office after 10 a.m.

Also: Doors will open at 6 p.m. Steve Winwood will start at 7:30 p.m., sharp, I've been told.

Comments

[Musical Justice]

My guess on the Buzz show is that the advance sales were below some minimum level they needed to make the show a go, so they pulled the plug. Shouldn't be a surprise since they barely touched the new Gnarls Barkley CD and acted like they just discovered the Black Keys. I give them credit for trying because those are both great bands, but the show wasn't a slam dunk like DCFC was earlier this year.

[Tim Finn]

You could be right, but they usually cancel shows for low sales way before 10 days out. I've been to several shows this year that were way 'undersold.' They didn't cancel that Feist show and barely 1,000 people were there.
And P.S. I just caught the end of some promo on the Buzz promising 'more changes.'

[indie snob]

the feist show should have been at the uptown. that would have been amazing. i dont know who the hell thought she would draw starlight crowds. she played the pageant in STL, a much more appropriate venue.

[Charley.]

I think a show like that would be better suited in a smaller venue. I know Gnarls is a big band, but they seem more like an Uptown band, not a band for 10,000 people. Plus that single is like three years old now isn't it? I like the Black Keys as well, but I'd rather see them at recordBar or The Riot Room and have them play a full set, not a 25-minute opening set in the River Market with horrible sound.

[Charley.]

Also... those Buzz changes you just heard about. Are they talent based or playlist based? Or both?

[Tim Finn]

I haven't heard anything about any Buzz changes, except for that promo on the air. It was vague.

If it has to do with ticket sales, I'm surprised they didn't move it to a smaller venue sooner. Mem Hall? Uptown? Hell, throw Crossroads KC a bone. It has happened before -- Snow Patrol, from Mem Hall to Uptown. Franz Ferdinand from Uptown to Liberty Hall.

[Charley.]

I agree. Normally show contracts state that the promoter has the right to cancel no questions asked or if ticket sales are slow, but it has to be around six to eight weeks out before the show so the artist can get another gig somewhere and so if any tickets had been sold they can be refunded if needed.

Otherwise then I would go to a smaller venue if it was available. I'm not sure if Memorial or the Uptown were available with this late of notice.

Plus I don't know too many bands (or their management or labels) that would turn down a radio show like this. Many bands will play some radio shows for free (see Rockfest) so they can get the exposure.

Oh well. It would be nice if the Black Keys still came though on their date, but played a smaller venue.

[GB]

BUZZ changes = back to the future.

from Wiki:

On July 17, 2008, Lazlo, Afentra, and Slim Fast announced plans to move back to Kansas City, thus ending The Church of Lazlo's run on KNDD. This came shortly after the announcement that former KRBZ Program Director Mike Kaplan would take over programming duties at KNDD.

[Tim Finn]

The Seattle Post-Intellegencer reported in June that Kaplan was replacing Lazlo as PD:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/tv/368427_radiobeat26.html
I listened to the simulcast a little today. They talked about being hated in Seattle and some "protesters" out front (I thought they were kidding). I hope they come back.

[Steve]

Any chance The Black Keys or the Ting-Tings play somewhere in KC that date?

[Tim Finn]

I won't be surprised if the Ting-Tings do. They have a show in St. Lou on the 31st and are at Lollapalooza on Aug 2. Their site still has the City Market show posted. So does the Black Keys site, but they're due in Chicago on July 31 for a pre-Lolla show. I'd bet a few venues/promoters are working on it now.

[Pat]

Gnarls Barkley has been doing mostly festival type shows where they can get big crowds and dollars, and not many other shows. I was in Vegas about a month ago and on a Saturday night, George Michael drew about 23,000 to the MGM (prices up to $250), Gnarls Barkley and Thievery Corporation were at Mandalay Bay event center at $85, and Tim McGraw was also in town. Tough night for the scalpers (especially McGraw tickets). And the usual Elton John Red Piano concerts were at Caesars that week and night (also around $300).

Logistics are always changing, but with diesel at $5 a gallon, if Gnarls Barley is carrying significant equipment, they can't afford to play a smaller event that is out of the way. They would lose money. Especially if they had contract riders like in Vegas. They apparently had the hotel put down tarp in a suite so they could fill the room with sand and have a few kiddie pools. Make your own private beach in your room. City Market and our hotels just can't offer that. OK, that probably doesn't price them out of the market, but I heard that from an ticket agent at Mandalay and it's a good hotel prank.

The small groups really have to be on a budget, One bus, maybe two, and sometimes haul trailers with the equipment behind them instead of the separate medium or big rigs.

To me it's remarkable that the Police with 18 semi trucks and at least half a dozen charter buses can cross the country, even with their high prices. After KC and Omaha, they had 3 shows in Florida, two in Texas, and then Vegas, Phoenix and LA. Oh, and the Police weren't on the buses. They had a central hotel they would book several nights in a row and fly in on a chartered Gulfstream 4 on the day of the show and leave immediately after. For the KC gig, they flew from Midway in Chicago to KC's downtown airport at 4:15, got to Sprint Center in time for the sound check, played the show and the wheels up back to Chicago at 10:50 to get back to the familiar bed, while most people were still leaving the arena. Granted they grossed about $1 million on tickets alone for the KC show, but between the buses, trucks and plane - that's a lot of expenses. Same schedule to Grand Rapids two days before and Omaha the night after KC.

It's obviously not easy on the fans either. I was shocked the Foo Fighters had "only" 10,000. The very top sections (expanded seating from the Kemper renovation) were all empty and the far corners of the regular upper deck were sparse. Prices were the lowest for a big act this summer at $45 and $38, they've been together for 14 years with constant radio exposure, they haven't been to KC in at least 5 years, and they are the type of act that appeals to Midwest rock audiences from teenagers to 50. I would have expected a near sellout, but it looks like the money for entertainment is getting scarce. George Michael could never play here (although it's not just the money). In fact, only about half his shows are doing well even on the coasts. San Diego, they did a one day half price upper level and still only drew about 6,000. Los Angeles (and Vegas) were close to sold out, but out in Disneyland Anaheim, he had the same type of low numbers.

It used to be tours were cheap and were sheer promotion for the new album/CD, and the artists made money on the record sales. Even with Apple's business model, the musicians are still not getting their fair share from the sale of music, so now they are supposed to make it up with touring and merchandising. Now with those gross numbers dwindling, it's going to be very tough for all but the biggest acts and the most efficient groups to make a serious go of it on the road, and harder for medium size cities, like us, to draw them.

[bob]

The show was cancelled due to ticket sales and the uncertainty with The Buzz. Folks at 96.5 knew soon after they announced this concert that they made a mistake. Gnarls and Black Keyes are not a good fit for the City Market. They way overestimated their drawing ability. Apparently, they thought the new Gnarls album would be a bigger seller than the last and thus they'd be an elite drawing band. Didn't happen.

[nickthenerd]

I have a sneaking suspicion that the reason for 'bad' sales was Kemper. People turned their noses up just because the concert was in Kemper. It isn't cool anymore (was it ever really cool to play in west bottoms with scary, old, worn out, abandoned buildings around?) and the new shine hasn't quite worn off at the Sprint center yet.

I will also say, Kemper looks like crap. They won't even wash off the dirt on the outside walls anymore. (Yes, I saw the Foo and I loved every minute of it)

[Tim Finn]

Gnarls is playing at the Hollywood Bowl on July 27 (capacity: 17,300; tickets: $20) and the Newport Music Hall in Columbus, Ohio, on Aug 1 (capacity: 1,700; tickets: $25). City Market can hold almost 10,000. (And tickets here were $29). So the size of the venue seems irrelevant.

And I'm pretty sure a band can't back out of a show because gas is expensive. (And it's down about 18 cents a gallon right now).

I think one reason the crowds are "smaller" these days is because there are more shows to go to. Look at tonight: Tom Petty, Black Crowes and a huge metal fest out at Sandstone. Someone (or everyone) will suffer at least a little.

That Foo Fighters crowd was big (Dave even said so), considering the last few times they played here they (a) opened for the Chili Peppers and (b) headlined at Memorial Hall (3,400). Those $25 seats weren't good ones. Springsteen is selling the same upper-level seats at Sprint for $29. You can still get four in a row up there for that show.

Only the promoter/band and probably the Buzz know why, but this is a peculiar one. I can't think of a time when a band canceled a show this close to a date for anything but an illness. Look at the efforts bands go to just to put a show on for the minimal time required: Depeche Mode eeked out their required 45 minutes and went home. Steve Miller/Joe Cocker played in a hurricane instead of postponing the show.

This one is unusual. GB has to go from California to Ohio then to Chicago in six days. How does a stop in Kansas City before Ohio present a routing problem? And why did this just come up yesterday?

[Steve]

Tim, I hope you can get to the bottom of this :) Anyway I thought it was a great line-up, but I just don't like outdoor shows. And did the urban stations help at all promoting GB? I know it a BUZZ show, but good music is good music. I mean "Crazy" was on more radio formats then any song I have ever heard.

[Steve]

Oh, and Motorhead at VooDoo? Wow!

[Joel Francis]

Well crap. I was really getting into that Ting Tings album and looking forward to this show.

[Pat]

I don't think Kemper kept people away. although I agree it's not anything to get excited about going to. People also complain that Sprint Center is too hard to get to downtown and how bad traffic and parking is. I still the Foos should have had a bigger crowd, and although not a great comparison, look at Rush who for 20 years sold out Kemper or had huge crowds at Sandstone, but this year played at Starlight which has half the capacity. I really think it's a down economy. STP had no problem pulling 50,000 to Liberty Memorial where I hear trash and soggy grounds were a big problem, but it was a day long festival with low prices underwritten by a radio station.

As for GB, there is another clue this morning. They are opening for Kanye West at MGM in Foxwood, Conn. on 8/7. Granted that shouldn't be enough to be a logistics problem, but if they are getting better offers and had a low threashold to get out of the KC gig, I can see why they take the loophole and bolt while they can. As for bands playing through a hurricane, if they're already here and setup, they certainly don't want to make a special trip back, so play on and duck the lightening.

You're right about the number of shows. In Foxwood on the 7th, they have West, but also Nine Inch Nails, Neil Diamond, the New Pornographers and Japanese Beatles tribute Silver Beats to choose from. Lots of acts chasing fewer customers.

http://blogs.courant.com/eric_danton_sound_check/2008/07/kanye-west-returns-to-conn-wit.html

[Tim Finn]

I don't see how one band can cancel a show involving a radio staion, a promoter and two other bands. It sure seems like it must be something else. Low ticket sales? Maybe, but it seems late for that, too.

[Musical Justice]

Again these are just guesses, but the cancellation did happen 10 days prior to the show, which seems like a potential deadline date for that type of thing. Also, the guarantees for a standalone Gnarls Barkley show would be a lot less than when you also have the Black Keys and Ting Tings on the bill. You've basically got 2 headliners and a hot buzz band, so your talent costs will probably be at least 2 1/2 times any of those standalone shows. As far as I can see, this was the only date that those three acts were playing together.

[Lauren]

Any news on whether The Black Keys and The Tings Tings are still on, or is the whole thing called off?