Lots of things to elbow around today, so let’s get started…
ARE CONCERTS AT LIVESTRONG WORTH THE DAMAGE?
Did you see Matt Donnelly‘s sum up about the horrendous field conditions last night at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park, home of the soccer team formerly known as The Wizards?
"LIVESTRONG has recently hosted two concerts on its turf, and the wear and tear has turned the once pristine grass into a total nightmare," Donnelly writes. "Throughout the game, players and coaches were seen tamping down large chunks of turf that made the potholes in Lawrence seem small."
Should Sporting Kansas City owners plan to continue raking in extra dough on concerts, they need to do one of two things – or both.
First, come up with a way of covering it for concerts that doesn’t do irreperable harm. Seemingly, this was all figured out in advance since the stadium was specifically designed to host these type of events. Second, hire someone to take care of the grass like former Arrowhead sod sultan George Toma.
Toma could shore up a bad turf in days and SKC has had weeks but still was unable to get the job done.
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TOUGH TICKET SALE ALERT, TAKE ONE
Maybe it’s me, but $402 for a pair of reasonably primo ducats to see (yawn) Michael McDonald & Boz Scaggs at Starlight seems a tad much.
Maybe it’s the $26 per ticket service charge that takes it over the top. Although musically speaking, it would almost have to be at gun point to get me to attend. But there’s no accounting for taste, right?
Still $402 for two tickets?
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TOUGH TICKET SALE, TAKE TWO
Might the college football equivalent of the sign of the apocalypse be this year’s KU football team’s Groupon offer for "up to 63 percent off KU football tickets"?
Seems like only yesterday former KU AD Lew Perkins was kicking longtime KU football loyalists out of their seats at Lawrence’s Memorial Stadium to make way for higher dollar donors.
Funny how time flies.
With Sports Illustrated forecasting a 1-11 season, prospective KU football ticketbuyers find themselves in the unenviable position of deciding which of the 11 remaining losing games they wish to attend.
The ironic part being, that many (if not most) of the longtime KU season ticketholders excommunicated by Perkins, were through-thick-and-thin types.
Now that "thin" is back in.
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SWALLOW AT YOUR OWN RISK
On the heels of Matt Donnelly noting how expensive the beers were at LIVESTRONG, promoter Jeff Fortier weighed in on Facebook last night – presumeably from the SKC-Galaxy game with this culinary observation:
"The food at livestrong sporting blowz!"
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SPEAKING OF INDIAN SPRINGS SHOPPING CENTER…
Return with me now to 1992 when former Pitch editor C.J. Janovy – running the show then at former alt rag The New Times – decided to do a hit piece on on a beleaguered but still battling Indian Springs Mall.
Local movie powerhouse AMC Theatres was still operating a multiplex there and had recently completed a major overhaul and upgrade of its theater.
Unbeknownst to Janovy, obviously.
Because in an effort to spice up New Times "Best Of" issue that fall, she buried a dagger in AMC by declaring Indian Springs the city’s worst movie house. Based unfortunately on the state of the mall rather than the redo that actually had catapulted Indian Springs to near the top of the city’s best movie theaters.
Worse yet, the New Times – embroiled at the time in a bitter battle against the early Pitch – lost its exclusive distrribution deal with AMC, because not only did AMC feel betrayed by a marketing partner, it was extremely upset at having one of its best theaters wrongly besmirched.
Really?
A hit piece on a hit piece that is almost 20 years old? Not relative or topical in any sense. What a farking joke!
There is a way to cover the turf so it isn’t damaged by concerts. SKC chose a different product and they are paying the price.
This doesn’t take away from the fact that SKC games is the best professional sports franchise in KC — and locally owned. Coincidence? I think not.
Glad you found it entertaining!
KC Confidential Collaboration
My name is Jordan and I run KC Anthem, an Internet TV Show based out of Kansas City. I would be interested in speaking with Hearne Christopher about ways that we could work together. I like your site and your articles are great. What you are doing has an underground feel as well, and perks my interest. If you want to learn more about KC Anthem visit http://www.KCanthem.com. Please contact me via Facebook.com/KCanthem if interested. Thank you.
Will do
Concert tickets
Yep. Too much, although Boz in concert is about as smooth as it gets. He’s a real pro and usually has a top rate band. If Michael McDonald was playing in my next door neighbor’s back yard for free, I’d tell them to turn it down because Happy Days is on TV. Can’t understand one word he says.
Agree
with fred, can’t stand mushmouth McDonald. Walked out of a Doobies show @ Allen Fieldhouse because he was left to sing Doobie classic rockers after Tom Johnston was unceremoniously dumped from the band. Never forgave him for that or turning a perfectly good, biker bar band into an adult contemporary, soft rock outfit. Boz though, different story. One of the best white soul/blues singers of the last 40 odd years. Unfortunately, paired w/ McDonald, his set will mostly likely be filled with Silk Degrees/Urban Cowboy-era hits as opposed to early gems like Somebody Loan Me A Dime. I’ll pass although I’m not sure why the focus of this article was only on the high-end tickets and not (I’m guessing the majority of seats) the more moderately priced $45-$59.50 which are available as a 4-pack for $19.75 and $24.75 per respectively. And the beauty of Starlight beyond the theatre itself is that you can purchase at their box office sans any service charges.
You’re correct on there being cheaper seats…
Just a footnote to how it costs for really good tickets – even for largely over-the-hill artists. Then again, Boomers have most of the money and they still buy CDs and go see classic rock has beens
You’re Right
about the boomers. In purchasing my Steely Dan tix at the Starlight on the first day of sale, some folks in front of me were buying the Producers Circle (first few rows) tix for $250 a pop when I was only about 20 rows back for $55 per. I guess it’s all relative as it was a great show and totally worth my $110, but my poor ass would have been hurting after a $500 outlay.
Got the lower end four-pack and am very much looking forward to the Boz-McDonald show. I go for the music … don’t care about sitting close. In terms of the Steely Dan show, I really don’t think you want to get an up-close view of Fagan. Dude is and always has been hideous.
Hearne thinks readers will think he’s young and cool if he disses “geezer” artists. If Boz-McDonald were playing Crossroads what do you think Hearne’s take might be? Hmmmmm …
Yeah, my objective is convince readers that I’m well under 30 and tragically hip. You got me.
I doubt Crossroads would be trying to bag people for four bills on this (or any) show. But I could be wrong, Cliffy.
Did you have to borrow a Craig Glazer-ism though at the end? You know, the “hmmmmmm…”
Guess immitation is flattery