Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Bobcats arena blackout over

The hip-hop and R&B blackout at Bobcats Arena is finally over. Jamie Foxx will bring his Unpredictable Tour there on March 23. Tickets go on sale Feb. 9. $59.75. www.charlottebobcatsarena.com; 1-800-495-2295.)

A couple of television news stations and some friends of mine have talked about the lack of hip-hop and R&B acts at the Arena since it opened. Some saw the lack of bookings among those types of artists as racist; I argue that there currently aren’t any good hip-hop and R&B tours to book at the arena.

I have absolutely, positively no desire to see Foxx, but I am glad he’s coming. He’s a good fit for the arena. His fans can afford the ticket price, and he’s popular enough to draw a decent crowd.

Right now, he’s all that hip-hop and R&B fans are going to get over there. Justin Timberlake is currently on tour. (He’s not black, but Michael Jackson isn’t either.) He and Christina Aguilera are the only acts currently touring in the U.S. who would draw hip-hop fans and do well in the Arena.

What do you think? Is the arena doing enough to get hip-hop and R&B acts? Who would you like to see perform there? Post your replies below.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hip Hop is dead. Simpletons and thugs ruined the genre and now it's gone. When the credibility of an artform is destroyed, you never get it back. All you are left with is nostalgia.

Thanks Fiddy!!

Anonymous said...

Hey, Hip Hop made a BIG comeback at CRUSH this past Sunday.
BANG ! FRIGIN' BANG !

Anonymous said...

Praise the Lord! The Tonya Jameson-declared Arena "Blackout" is over!

Well this is certainly good news for all the brothers and sisters who don't seem to have jobs and hang out at the transit center all day. Since the arena be right across the street.

Now they can actually attend an event, instead of harrassing the people leaving arena events at night, panhandling while making loud and rude threatening comments, and frantically gesturing "gang signs" and grabbing their crotches and grunting.

Only problem is, unless Bob Johnson is throwing another free hotdog, orange soda, and balloon day, the majority of Charlotte's black community will not support any events at the arena.

Keep the thugged-out hiphop events at Cricket. We can't afford to have folk shooting off guns uptown. Unless it's at Crush on "Wild West Sundays"

Anonymous said...

It's not a B&W thing.
I've got to agree. I am very opposed to Hip Hop and the mind set that comes with it.
True, I am white. But in no ways racist. I have many friends who have different shades of skin.
But I do not hang out with people who have a gang bangin' attitude. There are low life's in every race. Black, white, Hispanic, Asian, etc.
Just as much as I do not want to be around the Hip Hop I also do not want to be around uptown during Speed Street. Low life's are low life's no matter what pigment you happen to have in your skin.

Anonymous said...

Your misleading headline about a "blackout" falsely implies racism on behalf of the Arena while the truth is, most hip-hop and R&B acts simply aren't a big enough draw to warrant a show at a venue like Bobcats Arena. End of discussion.

They don't play instruments, and the sets are very short, since normally these acts have only one or two songs anyone wants to hear. Plus dealing with notoriously difficult and shady hiphop promoters and their "posse" is much like dealing with organized crime syndicates. Plus insurance in case some gold-toofed fool decides to shoot up the place.

Your half-truths and misleading comments are a joke and so are you.

Your seperatist rhetoric and pro-minority agenda make me sick. Promoting the idea that warranted dissapproval equals racism and homophobia proves just what a miserable person and a lousy excuse for a journalist you are.

Anonymous said...

Last poster,
You have to at least give her credit. She's posting these negative comments about herself. That tells me something about her right off the bat. It's hard enough to hear criticism, but to actually put it to print is a whole other level of professionalism.
Give credit where it's due. We may not always agree with her. Her lifestyle may be totally different than ours. But it seems she's honest and fair.
That in itself is refreshing.

Anonymous said...

The arena can try and market itself, but it’s totally up to promoters to book a venue for a concert. My guess is Bobcats Arena is not the least expensive place in town to host events. Probably quite the opposite. That is why there has been a “blackout” at the arena. If I were a promoter I wouldn’t host an event at the arena when I could go to Ovens Auditorium or Cricket Arena for cheaper. Those places are nice enough. Its business, that’s all, nothing more.

tarhoosier said...

Gentlepeople:
The reality is that to sell 18,000-20,000 tickets at 50$ each the acts and performers must be a substantial draw and the audience must be affluent. What performer(s) meets this bar? Boomer pets-Rolling Stones, Bob Seger, Billy Joel-and occasional contemporary performers like Tim McGraw-Faith Hill. Even in this group of strong and compelling ticket sellers, why come to Charlotte, rather than Greensboro where the payday can be larger? The issue is not black and white. As usual it is green.