Pieces of history: Cobo renovations erase famed concert venue | The News | detroitnews.com 4/5/12 11:03 AM

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APRIL 5, 2012 AT 9:32 AM Pieces of history: Cobo renovations erase famed concert venue BY LOUIS AGUILAR AND SUSAN WHITALL THE DETROIT NEWS 16 COMMENTS

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The outside structure of Cobo Arena will still stand but the interior has been gutted for a new ballroom. (Bryan Mitchell/Special to Youth movement yields plenty of Tigers talent The Detroit News) 'middle of the pack' in Big Ten without Trey Detroit— Along the downtown riverfront Thursday, a giant crane begins to Burke tear down the wall separating Cobo Center and the former Cobo Arena, thus 2013 Ram 1500 is ready to rumble smashing one of the last physical remains of the legendary concert venue. SwitchTweet back0 to Mary Klida to use this social plugin.

The concert venue hasn't been used for a concert since Phish played there 1 in 2009. The convention center is undergoing a nearly $300 million expansion. When complete, the former concert venue with the sound that lit EMAIL

up live , such as 's "," will be converted to PRINT ballrooms, a food court and other meeting space. SHARE

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Cobo Arena waned in popularity during its final years because of A A A competition from larger venues. But for decades, the 12,000-seat venue was a prime place to see entertainment and other events. It opened in 1960 and was home to the Detroit Pistons from 1961 to 1978. It also hosted See Also presidential speeches, boxing, wrestling, figure skating, roller derby and Photos: Legendary Cobo local Detroit-area graduation ceremonies. performances

Bands such as The Doors, the Rolling Stones and Jimi Hendrix played at the venue.

Cobo Arena was a steep, round bowl, so the sound didn't carom around a vast arena, but it would bounce off the wall of humanity packed in seats, going almost vertically upwards from the risers.

The 1999 film "Detroit Rock City" showed how Cobo ranked in the music world. In a scene where the bedazzled Kiss fans arrive in Detroit, the camera flashes on iconic local landmarks: the (then) General Motors building, Ford headquarters, Records and lastly — the holy of holies — Cobo Hall.

At first, the city didn't want to book into their shiny new venue, called "giant" Cobo Hall by Billboard in 1960. But when the doors opened to rock, bands came to love the arena because of the famed, manic energy of the Detroit audience.

Gail Parenteau, who worked for Bamboo Productions, Cobo's main music promoter in the '70s, cites another reason bands liked to play there: top- notch stagehands.

"The bands felt that the Detroit crews actually understood the music business," Parenteau said.

ADVERTISEMENT Famous live albums recorded at Cobo — The Doors, "Live in Detroit" (1970) Events Calendar — Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band, "Live Bullet" (1975) and parts of "" Rodrigo Y Gabriela & C.U.B.A (1980) Saturday, Apr 14, 8:00 pm — Kiss, "Kiss Alive" (1975) Royal Oak Music Theatre, Royal Oak — J. Geils Band, parts of "Blow Your Face Out" (1975) —Yes, most of "Yesshows" (1976) Aziz Ansari - Buried Alive! — Journey, "Captured" (1981) Saturday, May 5, 7:00 pm — , "Live: The Virgin Tour" (1985) Royal Oak Music Theatre, Royal Oak — , "" (2004) Aziz Ansari Saturday, May 5, 9:00 pm Join the Conversation Royal Oak Music Theatre, Royal Oak The Detroit News aims to provide a forum that fosters smart, civil discussions on the news and POLICIES events that we cover. The News will not condone personal attacks, off topic posts or brutish Community Policy Add an Event | More language on our site. If you find a comment that you believe violates these standards, please Privacy Policy click the "X" in the upper right corner of the post to report it. Terms of Service 5 6 7 8 9 All Thu Fri Sat Sun Mon events Switch back to Mary Klida to use this social plugin.

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