Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Why is Charlotte lame?

Readers and friends often ask me why doesn’t this artist come to Charlotte? Or why don’t we get that tour? I’ll tell you why, we’re the pits. We have the most fickle and unpredictable concert goers.

Stevie Wonder, an unquestionable music legend, performs at Charlotte Bobcats Arena on Nov. 28 and the concert has barely sold 5,000 more tickets. He’s not doing much better in Raleigh either.

That’s crazy.

And I hear white ticket buyers are outselling black ticket buyers. I totally don’t understand why black Baby Boomers aren’t buying more tickets. White boomers have had plenty of shows to get excited about at Bobcats arena, from the Police last week to the upcoming Bruce Springsteen concert.

In the last year, black boomers have had few concerts to appeal to them. I mean, really, how many times do you want to see Frankie Beverly & Maze?

Wonder hasn’t toured in 10 years. He’s been touring since August and performing to mostly sold out crowds. In New York earlier this month, Tony Bennett and later Prince joined him onstage. If we can only muster up a handful of people, I doubt they’re bother popping up here. I wouldn’t.

Money can’t be the issue. The maximum ticket price is $95. The maximum ticket price for the Police concert last week was $200, and the arena was packed from the bottom to the top. Are you telling me that in his genre, Wonder isn’t as good as the Police? Heck, I paid, okay the Observer paid, $75 for me to go see comedian Dane Cook a couple of weeks ago. That show was slammed as well.

So, someone please tell me, why is Stevie Wonder selling so slowly here?

Post your replies below.

The Boss is coming (maybe)

Shore Fire Media announced that Bruce Springsteen and the E. Street Band will perform at Bobcats Arena on April 27. Tickets go on sale Dec. 7. I assume it’s through Ticketmaster, but I haven’t received confirmation about this show from the folks at Bobcats Arena. Stay tuned.

This is their first full tour of the U.S. and Europe since 2003, and many of the U.S. and European dates have already sold out. The band's new album Magic came out Oct. 2, and features the single "Radio Nowhere."