This week’s announcement that Elton John will be playing at McKenzie Arena on Nov. 19 got people talking about concerts in Chattanooga in general. Many wanted to know if this was the biggest show to come here ever, and they wanted to know why he would want to come here in the first place.
The implication being that we are a bump in the road devoid of world-class shows. While there is no doubt we have not seen a lot of large shows lately, the simple truth is, neither have other cities our size and bigger.
And “big show” is a relative term. Though they played at Memorial Auditorium and the staging was fairly Spartan, I’d say getting Robert Plant and Alison Krauss here a couple of years ago was pretty big. There have been others, of course, but that is the most recent that comes to mind.
John played the arena in 1999, which is a big reason he is coming back. All indications are that the show did well financially and he enjoyed being able to make the short trip up from his home in Atlanta to play here.
What is perhaps forgotten is that when he played here 11 years ago, his show was one of three in about a two-week period. The other two were Prince at Memorial and the Red Hot Chili Peppers at McKenzie.
Folks who have noted that McKenzie has not hosted a lot of shows of late are correct, however. There have been some country and gospel concerts, but very few rock shows. Maroon 5 last month was a rarity, in more ways than one.
The arena seats about 12,000 people for basketball. For concerts, that number is closer to 9,000, depending on stage configuration. Maroon 5 drew 3,500.
That show’s promoter, Rick Johnson, told me at the show that Maroon 5 was the first band in the more than two decades that he has been promoting shows to “work with” him in ensuring the concert took place. Not only did they work with him on fees, they agreed to do anything and everything they could to help set up the arena.
Staging a big-time tour is just too expensive. The financial risks are too high, and the profits margins are too small, he said.
n Chris Williamson, an art teacher at Tyner Middle Academy, finished among the top eight comedians in the World Series of Comedy, held last week in Las Vegas. There were 101 contestants.
Williamson said the experience has already paid big dividends for him.
“I got several weeks of work from bookers I had never met before and a bite for a recording deal for Uproar! Entertainment,” he said. “The week was very successful.”
Williamson said in an earlier interview that finishing second in a competition at The Comedy Catch last year encouraged him to pursue his stand-up dream.
The Brainerd club is currently holding the Southeastern Funny People Search V. Participants are being graded by a panel of judges and audience response, with the winner to receive a cash prize and a feature spot onstage at the club in the future.
The first round was this week, and subsequent rounds are scheduled the next four Wednesdays (Oct. 6, 13, 20 and 27). The semifinals and finals will take place Oct. 28-30.
Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.