Live Nation Lays an Egg
By Silver Springer • Jul 23rd, 2008 • Category: Arts, Food and Entertainment, Government and Politics, MORE NEWS
My suspicions have been confirmed and I know where this is going, if it’s any indication of what we will see for the long haul then Live Nation has taken an early start on providing a disappointing, subpar music venue.
While I support a music hall coming to Silver Spring in the hopes that it will boost its economic condition and allow it to stand tall and proud in this competitive region, as well as nationally, but if their simply going to dump the bread crumbs all year round than I think it’s going to fall short of expectations.
What they have planned for us is totally contradictory to what Ted Mankin of Live Nation told a room full of people during an advisory board meeting and personally contrary to what I was told by County officials including County Executive Isiah Leggett himself.
Ok, so we shouldn’t expect a year round roster of big names like Mary J. Blige, U2 or Nickleback but come on… to sum it up the list posted on silverspringdowntown.com is a major snooze fest, just plain tired. We won’t even get to see performances by Maroon 5 and Counting Crows as featured on Live Nation’s website just once?
And contrary to Mr. Mankin’s views I guess rap is a “money maker” afterall, enough for Live Nation to sign Jay-Z and allow performance by The Clips.
The schedule should be a BLEND of indie artists, local artists, and popular musicians from the past and TODAYS world, not a list where the majority of artists hit their peak 25 years ago or are reuniting after 37 year hiatus. Now I’m not saying there shouldn’t be any artist from back in the day but that’s basically what the list is comprised of. And why are there four Country Music bands but only one R&B band not to mention from the 70s?
The list won’t win any awards for diversity either and dare I say it, it comes off at the least, just a tad bit racist. Where is the balance? Where is the diversity to reflect the demographic of Silver Spring?
And what about all the local artists that were supposed to be on included? Even if making sales is an issue there are many recognizable artists from this area, I saw Raheem DeVaugn at 9:30. I recently went to a concert at Zanzibar that included John Legend featuring new artist Estelle so size of the venue shouldn’t be an issue either and the crowds who view those artists don’t go around shooting up the place.
Let’s cut right to the chase shall we? A certain group of people are afraid that having certain artists perform will bring out the “hoody hooligans”. I’m sure Mary J. Blige and SEAL are going get the crowd so rowdy they’ll ignite a shooting spree and start the “great fire of Silver Spring”.
Perhaps you think I’m overreacting but I think certain vocal groups of people are overreacting in fear to anyone who is younger than them and this has nothing to do with the teenybopper situation on Ellsworth. The demographic is polarized in the sense that you have a large group of teenagers on one end and families and boomers on the other and when they get together it aint pretty. Silver Spring as a whole has done a very poor job of attracting those in-between and that’s the college grad and 20’s and 30’s crowd who actually have the money and want to spend it. They are forced to go to D.C., Bethesda and even Arlington for a fun experience.The Fillmore continues this total disregard of the collective voice in the community. You’re going to have to cater to that demographic is you don’t want to come off as some retirement community district.
I certainly hope Silver Spring doesn’t get left in the dust and have to watch from a distance as places like Arlington, NoMa and National Harbor pass it by because of the inability of those in charge to get “hip to the game”.
Cover Image Source: Absorbent Ink editing by Silver Springer
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I woudln’t read too much into this list… it’s probably just a sampling of some of the acts they have recently had at their other venues. I’m sure they are purposely including just widely-recognizable names.
FWIW, I believe Steve Miller Band was just at MPP, a venue run by IMP.
That’s what worries me, if it’s just a sampling then why the exclusion of several genres of music? A good sampling would have had more than just one Jazz band and the rest rock groups.
Besides, most of these artists will have passed away by the time the Fillmore opens.
Hey, they are sponsoring the Jazz Festival…
You’re no good for that, LOL!
Yeah, I wouldn’t give one moment’s thought to this list. The thing hasn’t opened yet, so they’re obviously just giving a sampling of artists that have recently played in their venues elsewhere. You can’t promise an act that you don’t know you can get so they’re being smart and staying away from doing just that.
They snuck Death Cab, Feist and My Morning Jacket in the list . . . there’s your indie for you, and My Chemical Romance for all of the emo and goth kids who still congregate on Ellsworth. Everybody wins! (Everybody meaning me.)
If Nickelback comes to the Fillmore I WILL start the Great Fire of Silver Spring.
First of all, the list attached is a great representation of the top touring acts in the nation that would play a venue the size of the fillmore. Some are old yes, but several are major forces in the industry that have big staying power. Maroon 5, Mary J Blige, etc. play MUCH bigger rooms. Unless they did a week long residency where tickets were $500 each they will not touch this room till they are on the downside of their career. I’m not saying some of these artists are NOT on that side of their career, but they still have large followings that will fill this size room.
Additionally, while I personally LOVE jazz music and enjoy discovering local artists neither of those segments can fill a room of this size. Jazz music doesn’t sell. That’s why the jazz fest is free. Local bands don’t have a following yet, that’s why they are local. No company would spend money or advertising space promoting an entity that doesn’t sell tickets.
It seems a lot of people that post here think with their heart instead of their head. If we can somehow get thriving businesses into Silver Spring then MoCo will have the funds to make SS the community we all want it to be. However if we stall and prevent getting established name brand entities to open in SS then we’ll all just be complaining about how great SS could have been instead of how great it is.
Thanks for reading. This post was not intended to be a personal attack on any of you.
When I got that flier the other day I looked at it and came to the same conclusions as well. I personally took issue with the wording “WILL feature such acts” because it implies that Live Nation had already booked these acts two years in advance– which is not possible. So to get people to contact the county council based on a incomplete truth is a rotten egg to me.
I agree with the posters above…nothing to worry about for a long time. The first shovel of dirt hasn’t even been turned yet on this facility. As far as “reflecting the diversity of Silver Spring”, that’s not necessary. Diversity is, but The Fillmore is a regional attraction, not just for Silver Spring. People will drive upwards of 30 miles (or more) to see a show here so the demographic diversity is far larger than just in lil ‘ole SS.
@Woodsider -
But that’s a contradiction isn’t it? If it’s suppose to be a regional draw then it has to meet the wide array of tastes in this region. Silver Spring is pretty much reflective of the D.C. area as a whole in demographic diversity.
@dan reed - I think you’re being selfish, it may be the music you like but it’s still only one genre. They need to mix it up big time. And there were no locals contrary to Singulars report.
I thought people have learned by now not to have high expectations when it comes to Montgomery County’s involvement in Silver Spring, very rarely do things turn out as planned or better, they usually end up worst. Just look at the Transit Center, Civic Center, and the new Library. People are constantly complaining about DTSS too. I’d rather speak about it now than “wait until it’s done” like people always do.
I’d like to see more hip-hop on that list, too. Still, I’m pretty sure you’re a horrible person if you don’t like Drive By Truckers and Ryan Adams.
@Dan - Dan, great points. It can’t all happen at once and maybe, just maybe U2 isn’t willing to play in Silver Spring! Crazy idea, I know.
I’m lucky if I go to 1 concert a year. But, if Mickey Hart and Phil Lesh come to play a few gigs up the street you’re damn straight I’ll be there.
You want some Indie music? Come to my house and I’ll sing you a couple tunes. I’m as Indie as they come.