Live Music Scene On Upswing TWIN CONCERTS: Selectivity Keys Stability Minneapolis Auditorium and Convention Center. Architectural model of the Ordway Musical Theatre, St. The new Mayo Civic Center in Rochester. By 1986, when construction is complete, the Civic Center will be one of Paul, opening Jan. 1985. southeastern Minnesota's finest multi -purpose facility complexes. By MOIRA McCORMICK The word most frequently heard in describing Minne- Interior of the Guthrie Theatre's auditorium. The apolis-St. Paul's concert scene is "stable." Operators of Twin Guthrie is nation's leading professional resident the- Cities arenas, theatres, and clubs, as well as concert promot- atre company. ers, agree that live music is selling as well here as it ever The Minnesota Orchestra, conducted by Neville Mar - has -though many concur that economic straits over the riner, ranks among the nation's top five. The down- past few years have necessitated more selectivity in choos- town Minneapolis concert hall was designed specifi- ing talent. cally for orchestra acoustical requirements. "Concerts are our number one moneymaker," affirms tal- ent coordinator Barb Kurrelmeier of the St. Paul Civic Center (18,000), which along with the Met Center (16,000) in sub- urban Bloomington shares the bulk of touring arena acts. This year's looking particularly good- bookings are about the same, maybe 10% higher, but more shows are selling." St. Paul Civic hosts approximately 20 -25 concerts per year, says Kurrelmeier, adding that upcoming dates include Chicago, Rick Springfield, Pretenders, and Elton John. Fellow arena the Met Center's 16 concerts last fiscal year were ty could open in summer 1986, he theorizes. son from September through May, according to Orchestra characterized by the likes of the Police, ZZ Top, Ozzy Os- In his darker moments, Shapiro muses that "the Randy Hall spokesperson Deborah Blakely. "The hall is in use 97% bourne, and Supertramp, with Neil Diamond holding down a Levys and Richard Shapiros might not be in the concert busi- of the year," she notes. three -day engagement earlier this month. ness five years from now," having been squeezed out by the St. Paul's Ordway Music Theatre, currently under con- Come December, St. Paul Civic intends to give the Carlton major corporations currently underwriting rock tours. "The struction, expects to open its doors in January as home to Celebrity Theatre (see accompanying article) a run for its corporations have far more to gain (by directly promoting) the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Minnesota Opera and money when the Civic's 5,000 -seat Auditorium opens. The than the concert promoter; their ad dollars are directly re- the Schubert Club. According to executive director Richard new room's "Vegas -style dinner theater" is expected to com- couped," he points out. Snyder, the Ordway's two performing halls (1,815 and 317 pete head to head with the Carlton's showroom fare, accord- But that's speculation (of the sort that competitor Levy seats) are booked through spring, including 20 nights of the ing to Kurrelmeier. disagrees with entirely). And Shapiro notes that his business Minnesota Orchestra as well as jazz, pop and dance artists. Both St. Paul Civic Center and the Met Center (which ac- is up 20% over last year. The byword, it seems, is Even the prestigious 20 -year old Guthrie Repertory The- cording to general manager Frank Jirik experienced a record "selective." ater (1,400) gets into the act, utilizing its Monday "dark year in ticket sales and revenue in fiscal 1984) utilize out- 'You can't take lesser -known acts and sell 15,000 seats, nights" between legitimate theater presentations to feature side promoters including the two major Twin Cities promot- like you used to," Shapiro cautions. Avoiding a potential light pop, comedy, and jazz artists such as the Roches, Leo ers, Richard Shapiro (Jam Productions /Company 7) and bomb, he says, involves "doing research, checking record Kottke, Spyro Gyra, and Pee Wee Herman. "Music events sell Rand Levy (Schon Productions). sales and radio rotation, compiling it all -and then throwing well here primarily because of the theater's superb acous- Shapiro, who founded what he describes as "the first tal- it away and making a gut -level decision." tics," says Guthrie spokesperson Anne Baker. ent booking agency outside of New York and L.A." in 1963, Schon Productions' Rand Levy, who promotes 40 -50 Acoustics, atmosphere, sight lines, video setup and talent says a decision four years ago to "stop going for the total win shows a year in the Twin Cities and five other Midwestern menu all figure in the success of Minneapolis' premier rock or loss" prompted his subsequent partnership with Chicago - states, prefers the phrase "roller coaster" to "stable" in de- club First Avenue (1,200), currently featured in Prince's hit based Jam Productions. Shapiro co- promotes shows under scribing the Twin Cities concert industry. Therefore, in addi- film "Purple Rain." Jam's aegis, while his Company 7 serves as corporate tion to promoting shows like Elvis Costello, Aerosmith, and Minneapolis' favorite son and pop visionary spends a lot of structure. .38 Special, Levy and partners are involved in "horizontal time hanging out at First Avenue, in fact, because, according Shapiro promotes around 60 shows a year in Twin Cities concerns" such as local label Waterhouse Records (Michael to assistant manager Chrisse Dunlap, "Prince likes it here." and other Midwestern burgs (this year he's been responsible Bloomfield, Roy Buchanan) and local management firm Wa- "But this club was successful before and after Prince," for Bruce Springsteen's three -day kickoff stand at St. Paul terworks (the Suburbs, Bingham- McCabe Band). Dunlap stresses. Under the direction of manager /booker Civic, as well as shows by Judas Priest, Scorpions, Duran Concerts are still dominant at Schon, however, and Levy's Steve McCLellan, the former Greyhound bus depot serves up Duran, and Culture Club). Both he and Schon Productions' particularly pleased with his newest venue: Navy Island, a national touring acts (Big Country, Southside Johnny, Tina Levy have equal access to any Twin Cities facility ( "it doesn't 15,000 -cap. outdoor venue in the middle of the Wabasha Turner) on Mondays and Wednesdays; "Twilight Cabaret" make sense to have an exclusive in this market, because river. "At the moment it's all lawn seating, which we may (comedy, dance, theatre) on Thursdays; "track nights" of there are two major venues," claims Shapiro). He says he uti- have to live with for a year," Levy notes, "but we plan to put solo artists performing to taped accompaniment (Grace lizes venues from St. Paul Civic's size on down to cozy rooms in 5,000 seats under a roof, leaving lawn capacity at Jones, Mamie Van Doren) on Sundays; up and coming local like the 2,800 -seat Orpheum Theatre. 10,000." bands most other nights; and rising national acts (Rain Pa- Acknowledging the "steadiness" of the Twin Cities concert The Minnesota State Fair operates as a temporary multiple rade, Violent Femmes, Comateens) at the adjoining music business, Shapiro nevertheless expresses regret that outdoor venue from Aug. 23 -Sept. 3 this year. Its talent ros- room 7th Street Entry (200). "rock'n'roll is the only game you can make a living on here - ter includes such relatively atypical fair acts as Rod Stewart, National talent can also be heard and seen at the Cabooze only a little country and almost no r &b sells in this markket." Julio Iglesias, Huey Lewis & the News, and George Burns. on Minneapolis' West Bank which offers blues'n'boogie (Sa- He also bemoans the lack of a major outdoor venue in the Renowned for its high level of cultural arts events, the Twin voy Brown, Roy Buchanan) and spotlights promising locals; Minneapolis -St. Paul area, but says he's in the process of Cities offers a full menu of classical and jazz concerts at Min- Wilebski's Blues Saloon in St. Paul, which caters to the tastes remedying that situation. "I now have the funding for a $1- neapolis Orchestra Hall (2,543) and the Univ. of Minneso- of classic blues fans with the likes of Etta James and Willie 1/2 million facility," Shapiro states, "and I'm currently look- ta's Northrop Auditorium (4,800). The Minnesota Orhestra Dixon; and the divey 400 Bar, which showcases local legends ing at possible sites." If all goes well, the multi -purpose facili- under the direction of Neville Marriner presents its 89th sea- like bluesman Willie Murphey on a weekly basis. www.americanradiohistory.com.