Coliseum foils Paisley gig
Published Wednesday June 3rd, 2009
Coliseum roof too low to accommodate country music's biggest star
Brad Paisley is one of the biggest names in country music, ever.
Just last week, he scored his 10th consecutive number one hit, making him one of only eight country music acts in Nielsen history to break into the double digits with consecutive chart toppers.
Three-quarters of a million people have already bought their tickets for his 59-date tour, which kicks off in Charlotte, N.C., tomorrow.
One of those 59 dates in 41 cities was going to be the Moncton Coliseum on Sept. 1. Unfortunately, it turns out that tour bus has sailed, from Saint John right past Moncton and on to Halifax.
Our show has been scrubbed because the Moncton Coliseum has once again proven inadequate to the task of hosting contemporary artists and events of all types.
The same building that embarrassed the city in front of national and international media during the 2006 Memorial Cup and 2009 Ford World Men's Curling Championship because it has the same air conditioning system as a '87 Yugo -- that is, none at all -- has yet again had its shortcomings exposed, this time in a terse e-mail from Live Nation that announces, "Moncton, N.B.; Cancelled. Production difficulties."
Where the aged Coliseum falls short this time is literally that. It is too short. The roof isn't high enough to accommodate Paisley's main 'A' stage setup. That often happens in Moncton, and some acts have a 'B' stage setup they can use in our city's main indoor venue. This time however, even Paisley's lesser 'B' setup couldn't be made to fit in a way that could satisfy the artist's urge to satisfy his fans.
Rick Annett, production manager for Gillett Entertainment Group, promoters of the Canadian leg of Paisley's tour in association with Live Nation and Gold and Gold Productions, worked all weekend, trying to draw up a configuration that could work, but it was in vain.
GEG spokeswoman Sylvie Brunetta was in meetings all of yesterday afternoon and couldn't be reached directly, but she passed on a message through a colleague that the Gillett team had done everything possible to try to make the Moncton show happen, but it simply proved impossible.
Luckily for Paisley's many fans in the region, Gillett Entertainment Group will bring him to Halifax Sept. 2 and Saint John Sept. 3. Tickets go on sale for those shows Saturday.
This sort of problem with Moncton's main indoor venue is nothing new to Annett, who's very familiar with the facility, its strengths and limitations.
"We've put on some good shows in Moncton, but you're fighting more than one battle there," in the competition to draw big name acts, he told the Times & Transcript recently.
According to Annett, the base stage the Coliseum provides is good but, by the time a lot of bands' risers are installed and the lights are hung from the ceiling, you get a situation where the musicians' heads would actually be just a few feet from the heat of all those lights they bring with them.
"It's a problem with many of the shows I've wanted to bring," Annett said.
It's not just a matter of adjusting lighting either. He said the length of curtains and height of backdrops used today in concerts and other entertainment events tend to have a bare minimum that the Coliseum just can't accommodate.
Meanwhile, Ian Fowler, the City of Moncton's general manager of Recreation, Parks, Tourism and Culture, which runs the Coliseum, admitted the loss of this particular show is, "extremely, extremely disappointing," for the city.
"Brad Paisley was booked, the tickets were ready to go on sale, the holds were done," Fowler said. "This would have been a sold-out show."
This follows the recent loss -- again -- of a chance to host Cirque du Soleil, which would have been in Moncton this month if the Coliseum's roof had been high enough.
Noting Cirque du Soleil is playing five dates in Saint John at Harbour Station, Fowler said the Moncton Coliseum has now potentially lost six sold-out shows because of the roof just this summer.
In addition, the city has lost face in the ultra-competitive events business, which has become a key sector of Metro Moncton's economy, as well as a powerful draw when promoting the area's quality of life.
Yugo, Moncton.
As for you country music fans, you'll have to go to Halifax or Saint John.
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The only vision of the future that i can think of, was the creation of Wheeler Blvd. and even that took something like 20 years to complete from the initial planning stages.
Moncton could use another entertainment venue NOW as well as a new ring road that would circle outskirts of the city as Wheeler once did.
A great facility with on-site parking as well as three parking garages all connected via a ped-way system
Also through the same ped-way system is Hotels, shopping, library, aquatic center, market, office towers.
This is what is needed to change Down Town Moncton into a thriving area of commerce.