Does anyone find it a bit ironic that an announcement was made today about Wrigley holding concert events? Are they trying to get a jump on the competition that the Firehouse will present? I suppose any air time the Fire was going to get tonight for the groundbreaking will be taken due to the Notre Dame firing :-( I did, however, see a news report by channel 2 today. So I suggest that everyone check out channel 2 tonight for the report. Anyone know any other channels with coverage?
As of 6:30, Channel 2's website is the only one with a mention. Where did you see the Wrigley concert news? Later, COZ
smaller baseball stadiums all around the country are now hosting concerts as well. Wrigley, Fenway, PNC Park in Pittsburgh, etc....
A bit off topic but the Charleston Battery's stadium recently became the new home of a local radio station's annual concert. The past home had been the local baseball stadium, a nice stadium in its own right that is only a few years old. The radio station was lauding how much nicer it was at Blackbaud. Maybe the shape or the ammenities work better in SSS than in BSS (baseball specific stadiums), could be they just were cut a better deal too. Either way it was good to hear. On a side note. I was worried how our fabulous grass field was going to hold up to the 6,000 plus concert goers. The organizers covered the entire field with what looked like a thick tarp that supposablly breathed and let in light (looked opaque to me) a couple days before the concert. The field looked great the following weekend when Blackbaud hosted the Big South Women's Soccer tournament. mikey
Fenway's been holding only one or two shows a year. Redsox ownership has tried to keep it relatively 'appropriate' as well. The first year it was Bruce Springstein and Jimmy Buffet. This year only Buffett. If they do it anytihng like the Redsox ownership maybe it'll be similar to taht in more of a very rare, once, twice a year type thing. I couldn't imagine Ja Rule coming through Fenway or Wrigley any time soon for example.
Yeah, I caught it on CLTV. Wasn't on any of the local stations' websites when it was originally posted, though. Preliminary talks about concerts could mean a lot of things. I sorta know a fair bit about how the concert business works here in Chicago, so there are a LOT of variables in play here. It could be an effort to blunt the effect of the Firehouse, as I can see the evil Tribune corporation aligning with fellow evil corporation Clear Channel. That said, it's not quite a forgone conclusion that Concerts West will partner with JAM over CC to get some kind of foothold in the market here, but it still seems the most likely option. Although I guess House of Blues might like to get into the sheds. And if that rumoured Hoffman Estates indoor arena happens, things could get even more interesting, particularly if CW/JAM can sew it up. Later, COZ
Well, hello Mr. I-know-everything-about-Chicagoland. Good job on the analysis... it's very insightful. I hope that the Bridgeview Stadium will have concerts... there are so many venues throughout Chicago that another venue might not attract high-profile artists, and thus lose possible revenue.
I heard this on the radio last night, and competition w/ the FireHouse is the first thing that entered my mind. And then some ditsy Wrigleyville chick came on and started talking about how the concerts would ruin 'her' neighborhood and I had to laugh. The first thing Tribune needs to worry about here though is kissing the alderman's @ss enough to allow them to do this. It was hard enough to get lights in. I would figure that Wrigley would be about 8-10k larger than the FireHouse. Furthermore, since the Firehouse is already built with concerts in mind, the setup there would be far superior in terms of infrastructure--wiring, lighting, backstage amenties, PARKING. Heck, the stage is already there in the FireHouse--stuff Wrigley would have to shoehorn in. The sightlines would have to be much better, too. I don't know how pricing works, but the savings in setting up and tearing down should be pretty significant. COZ would probably be able to shed s'more insight into this sort of thing. Edit->Oh yeah. Scheduling should be much easier in Bridgeview. Just to get the stage up and the basic wiring before the talent's people can get in should take a day on either side of the show.
I know that this plan is going to raise a stink among some of the neighbors in the area. I don't neccessarily have a problem with this (I live 2 blocks from the park), but I don't want to see the Tribune booking 10-15 shows a year. Five sound ok, as long as you don't book, say, Ozzfest there.
The report said a concert every other year. I don't know if this is a bone from Tribune to get their foot in the door, just sayin'.
Compared to the field at Comiskey, the playing surface at Wrigley is sh1te and takes forever to drain water. Hosting anything other than a ballgame during the season is bad news. Actually, now that I think of it, I'd like to see Oasis play there. Wrigley isn't the sturdiest place around and Oasis is so loud that the place would rain even more concrete than usual.
Okay, now the thread title is downright misleading. Wrigley is only talking about a single weekend a year, maybe every other, simply to bring in some more dough. This is distinctly different from getting into the concert business, which is what Anschutz will be doing with the Firehouse. The competition will be Tweeter, not Wrigley. There's not even anything to debate here. Later, COZ
I agree about the Firehouse being superior in that it was designed with concerts in mind. But all the set-up is done by either the talent or is subcontracted locally, which is what I do. If they're big enough, the talent will have between 1 and 3 full rigs, and the three rigs leapfrog each other from event to event, so the talent can do more gigs in less time. Smaller acts will have a rider indicating what is to be provided in terms of sound, lighting, backline (musical instruments, etc.) and where it is to be positioned on stage. Depending on the size of the rig, power may be trucked in, or it may be part of the rig, if the venue doesn't have enough. Since the Firehouse is a new venue, they may opt to build generation and bill the talent. Assuming the Firehouse will be about the same size as the Columbus Crew stadium and the HDC, a crew of 10 or so could do a load and be set a 35K rig (which is about right for that size venue) in about 7 - 8 hours. Unless, there was some oddball stage, video, or the weather went bad. I'm guessing that there will be a decent loading dock backstage so all the act would have to do is back in and push right onto the stage, or use a short scissor lift to stage level. To do something in Wrigley, one would have to block the west side of Sheffield or put the trucks on the sidewalk, load in through the right/center field doors (the green doors that seem to go nowhere at street level), and set the stage up, probably in center field, plus run electrical feeder from outside. No thanks. And that's more than you'll ever need to know about setting up a show.
Coz...you know acoustics...will the roof at the Firehouse enhance, screw-up, or have no effect for concert purposes? I would guess it would depend on the roof material as well?
Actually, I'm pretty sure Wrigley's got it's own generators. Hence the Cubs were able to play that weekend in July about ten years ago when we had the massive blackout. I went to one of those games, rather than sit and swelter in my apartment. Later, COZ
The material definitely matters, but there's a lot of room for the sound to disperse upwards before it hits the roof, so it might not be too adverse of an effect. It might limit the sound dispersal outwards from the stadium, which would be good in the event that we've got actual neighbors. And it'll STILL likely sound better than the Tweeter Center. It's all relative. I'll throw out a question in the PW stadium thread about what, if any, acoustical studies they did or will do as a part of this. Later, COZ
Never worked there. I just assumed based on the age of the building they wouldn't have much surplus beyond the needs for a ballgame.
The roof appears to be no problem to me. The sound will mostly go out from there. The problem with the Tweeter is that the roof covers so many seats in front of the state. Above the stage is normal. Hopefully the underside of that roof will be an acoustically friendly material and not straight metal.
The firehouse could affect all state's business during the summer. A bridgeview v. Rosemont mob war could be interesting. Throw in clear channel, tribune co., jam and AEG and this would definately have a chicago flavor.
Yes and no. It'll be Clear Channel (although I read today that they're reverting most of their local concert ops to their original names, so it'll likely be SFX again) versus AEG/JAM, most likely, but most acts either tour indoors or outdoors in the summer, not both, with very few exceptions. So it's still the Firehouse versus Tweeter. Tribune Co. is a non-factor, even if they do their one Buffet concert. Again, if this Hoffman Estates indoor venue actually happens, and AEG/JAM gets their hooks into it first, then things get really interesting. Later, COZ