***HALIFAX 2006 Thread***

demetrios wrote:

where are the All American Rejects playing at?

McInnes Room at Dal. I think it is an All ages show..but not positive.

EDIT: http://artscentre.dal.ca/box.html#Events

It is an all ages. ;-)

demetrios wrote:

thanks

If only I spent my work hours working eh? hahahah

lanners wrote:

are you paying?

i can barely afford to pay my rent these days, or even pay the $80 it takes to get to my mom's house by bus, so i don't think Europe is in my future.

Are you still thinking of going to Dublin?

C'mon Lanners, you must have a few bucks saved up by now.......Jesus, you've been there for months now.....Stop your whinin', pull out that sock you got with all the cash in it, and we'll fuck off to Dublin. I said "h-e-y h-o, l-e-t-s g-o......".

OK, so I'm back at the psuedo-porno computer lab, and I got this poster of Anna Pournikova staring me in the face. I mean, holy fuck, this chick is hot !!! What this has to do with Pearl Jam is anybody's guess, but I'm tellin ya, she's fucking smokin'......

Anyways, I'll try to get to the Stones show, but I'm hedging on things right now. Yes, I'd love to go to Dublin and just saw a travel package for Ireland for $699, which included return air, accomodations, and car rental for 5 days. How they could put that together for $699 is beyond me..... I'm thinking about some promotional possibilities as they relate to Halifax and PJ. I dunno, maybe another sign - this one would have an arrow pointing to the left (west) and would say "you went too far, this way to Halifax".

FYI..All American Rejects show postponed until Monday in Halifax..not sure about others.

Interesting article in the Daily News....there's a part in it that says Pearl Jam has set the standard for concert quality here in Halifax....

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Everyone who's anyone plays Halifax these days

The world's greatest rock band will descend on Halifax, it's said. Some of the biggest names in rock, country and rap music have been here, or soon will be. In light of the Stones rumours, and the arrival of show after big show of late, we thought it wa

By Stephane Massinon


Ten minutes to show time. The house lights are on, and it's hard to take your eyes off the stage as you scan the scene.

You've been in the Metro Centre before, but every time a concert comes to town, the transformation still amazes you.

Lately you've been listening to nothing but the artist's albums. You've more or less memorized songs. You wonder what'll be performed first, and if that one song that never gets played on the radio, but that you feel particularly connected to, will be played.

Someone nearby lights up a joint. You chide that person (or ask for a toke, depending) and continue to wait. The anticipation is killing you until, finally, the lights go down.

Cool.

If you're a music fan, this is a scene that's been playing out more and more. And according to the people at the Metro Centre, you can expect more of it.

"It's a great year. It's not just the number of shows, but even the size. Last year was a strong year, and this year's proving to be just as strong, if not stronger," said Scott Ferguson, executive vice-president at Trade Centre Ltd.

"In the foreseeable future we expect to stay on this trend."

He said the city is starting to prove itself as an event destination, adding that Trade Centre Ltd. has a strong relationship with Gillett Entertainment Group, a music promoter from Montreal.

With a strong base of fans and staff, Halifax is able to get big names to come to town.

"We're trying to position Halifax as this country's top event city. We think pound for pound, we can do a better job than anyone in the country. We've proven that with events like the World Juniors and the world's women's (championship) where we set attendance records," said Ferguson.

Ferguson said it's important to look at the events industry as a whole rather than its parts of sports, concerts and conferences. He thinks the local industry is doing very well and is being recognized as it works to bring events here.

Promoter Wendy Phillips of Sonic Entertainment Group has been bringing music here for two years. Sonic isn't involved in the really big shows, like the proposed Rolling Stones concert, but the company books across Atlantic Canada.

She said the city is growing in confidence.

"The sky's the limit, I think."

Market research

Behind the scenes, Phillips said, the company must do market research (album sales, radio play, etc.) before paying bands to come.

"We put money on the line to bring people here. It's a risk. If we don't sell tickets, we lose money, and it's not a win-win for everybody."

Phillips said local bands making it on the national stage show that we have a strong music scene here.

Overall, she said, the city as a concert destination is growing steadily.

Concert-wise, Halifax's fortunes are on an upswing. But it's not necessarily new.

Music industry insider Mike Campbell, owner of Soapbox Racer Entertainment, has had his eye on the town for a while, both while working at his old MuchMusic show and now, as Joel Plaskett's management.

"There was barely a year that went by, years ago, where there wasn't at least two events - maybe even three - on (Citadel) Hill. That's gone the way of the dodo; nobody seems to be doing that anymore."

'A city thing'

"It's probably a city thing. I think it's just too expensive to do a show there, so by the end of it, promoters have to risk life and limb and their financial well-being," said Campbell.

J.C. Douglas, program director for Q104, also says that historically Halifax hasn't been a strange stop for big bands.

"Halifax has often drawn great artists at their peak; it's not a totally new thing. I think back to Kiss at The Forum in '76, Aerosmith when they played some Metro Centre shows in the early '90s. That continues today. Pearl Jam last year might have set a standard for concert quality at the Metro Centre. We don't get 'em all, but we do get some of them. I know it sometimes seems like it's few and far between."

The recent surge in concerts could be explained by many things. Perhaps there are more acts touring, with bigger budgets. And some acts who typically play the big markets are now looking at secondary venues, some say.

"Most of the agents I've talked to over the past few years have always wanted to come here. It's just a matter of its making economic sense for everybody," said Campbell.

"The bands that make a point of coming here, like the Hip and Blue Rodeo and bands of that ilk, all of them have been successful out here. So they all want to come here, because they have the fan base. They can afford to do it.

"But there are more reasons not to come than there are to come. It's like, 'We really want to, but it just doesn't make any economic sense, but everybody would really like to.' The ones that go the extra mile and come here are always happy and come back."

If a proposed major concert in September goes through, Campbell said it could show there is a market for large concerts here, and that with the will, big shows can happen.

Geography

Halifax's geography can make it especially hard to bring events here. With large distances to drive between Quebec and Halifax, it can be a two-day process to bring an entire stage here - and then another two going back.

Promoters would prefer to schedule dates and cities nearby.

Douglas remembers trying to bring Canadian rock band Rush to town in 1986.

By that point, the band hadn't been here for seven years. So the radio station started the Rush To Halifax campaign that gathered a 24,000-signature petition to get them here.

The problem then, as now, said Douglas, is still the distance between destinations. That, and venue. If an act is going to make the trek, it'd be better to play to a larger crowd.

But for acts who let geography and venue get in the way, Douglas said there are counter-examples such as Aerosmith and Def Leppard, who have played multiple shows here. They obviously find it profitable, he said.

'A lot of empty road'

"I know a lot of people are very disappointed sometimes in the concert scene here, but it's the geography and the venue size. It just doesn't work really well," said Douglas.

"If there were a lot of Halifaxes between Quebec City and here, that would be one thing, but there aren't. It's a lot of empty road. Just look at the cost of gas. The price of touring is going up and up as they're hauling these big rigs across the country. If they've got to drive for 12 hours without a venue, or just a small venue along the way, that makes it really tough for them. I hate to empathize with them; I'd certainly rather see the concerts come."

Ultimately, said Douglas, if more concerts are wanted, it comes down to buying tickets. And buying them in advance.

"The thing I think is most important is when the concerts come here, go see 'em. Buy the ticket, let people know that we are a concert-going locality. That's the best way to draw more (concerts) here."

Geography-wise, Moncton does have somewhat of an edge over Halifax. However, we have shit for decent indoor venues. The Moncton Coliseum is basically a tin can with poor acoustics and the ceiling isn't high enough to support many of the big stage shows that alot of artists have, not to mention that it only holds around 6500 people. The Magnetic Hill site is good and all but I'm not sure if it's what I would call a concert destination for most bands. It's not like it's the Gorge or Red Rocks. I wish Halifax would get a stadium so that more bands would go there. The "stadium" that they are supposed to be building here in Moncton appears to only be geared for sports activities. It sounds like the federal government will only help fund one stadium in Atlantic Canada - which is really too bad.

funkymonk wrote:

Geography-wise, Moncton does have somewhat of an edge over Halifax. However, we have shit for decent indoor venues. The Moncton Coliseum is basically a tin can with poor acoustics and the ceiling isn't high enough to support many of the big stage shows that alot of artists have, not to mention that it only holds around 6500 people. The Magnetic Hill site is good and all but I'm not sure if it's what I would call a concert destination for most bands. It's not like it's the Gorge or Red Rocks. I wish Halifax would get a stadium so that more bands would go there. The "stadium" that they are supposed to be building here in Moncton appears to only be geared for sports activities. It sounds like the federal government will only help fund one stadium in Atlantic Canada - which is really too bad.

As a monctonian, I agree with a lot of what you say. The Coliseum is an abysmal place to have a concert...from the low ceiling, to the shoddy acoustics. Can Moncton support a larger arena? That would be my only concern. Moncton certainly does have the edge in terms of location...but Halifax has the non travelling population to build events upon. Plus..Halifax actually does a good job at supporting concerts. Personally, I don't care who gets the concerts..I just want them to come. Why the City of Moncton isn't making a multi purpose stadium is beyond me. The 6 months of good weather (maybe), just can't allow the place to succeed. How many track and field events are they going to have?? ;-) And here's the rub...Moncton will not get a CFL team...for that matter, I doubt Halifax will...so the stadium needs to be multi purpose to have any sort of value beyond the Track event.

lanners wrote:

great article sward. thanks for sharing!

Anyone else gettin' any bright ideas ?!! I am.......

On another note, I had a dream about Eddie a couple nights ago. I was at a huge outdoor party where Ed and the boys were. At the very end of the night I got to talk to Ed and said: "Do you have any idea what you've started in halifax ? You simply have to come back." He agreed, and said (I shit you not): "well, why don't you draw up a contract, even if its one that's hand-written and on a shitty old piece of paper, and we'll agree to do the show. That's all you'll need - and believe me, based on the way things are with us lately, that'll definitely be enough for us". That's all I remember from the dream. Oh yea, and Eddie was wasted. But you knew that already...... And no, Anna Pornikova wasn't my date.