DOUG FOX - Daily Herald | Posted: Saturday, May 26, 2007 11:00 pm
Summer's here and the time is right for dancing in the street."
So sang Martha and the Vandellas on their signature 1964 hit, "Dancing in the Street." The well-known tune, a Motown classic, was written about the shared love of music around the nation, but it could just as easily be re-translated to refer to the summer concert season along the Wasatch Front.
"This is an invitation, across the nation, a chance for the folks to meet."
Check.
"All we need is music, sweet music, there'll be music everywhere."
Right on.
"It doesn't matter what you wear, just as long as you are there."
Truer words have never been spoken -- or have you not seen what the kids are wearing these daysfi
Yes, music fans, the time is right -- whether it be dancing in the street, rocking in the aisles or air-guitaring at your seat.
The weather and the concert scene are both beginning to heat up.
"This is always an exciting time of year," said Dave McNeil, vice president of United Concerts, the big dog on the Wasatch Front concert promotion block. "Really, the preparation for the summer usually starts back in November, where we have some preliminary conversations about who's working. And then it changes again in January. It's funny, 'cause back in January I had a proposed list for this summer and almost 80 percent of it has changed."
What hasn't changed is the concert industry trend of packaged summer tours. That's where two to three well-known groups decide to band together, in search of playing before larger audiences and perhaps reaching new fans.
One of last summer's most successful collaborations was the combination of Def Leppard and Journey -- a tour which won a Pollstar Concert Industry award for the most creatively packaged event. That show hit USANA Amphitheatre in West Valley City in mid-August and sold upwards of 19,000 tickets.
"We'd never really done anything like that before," Def Leppard guitarist Vivian Campbell said in a phone interview from his home in Los Angeles on Thursday. "We were used to doing our own show and choosing who was going to be our opening act. So we were a little bit skeptical, but then that tour turned out to be an enormous success."
Def Leppard enjoyed the pairing with Journey so much, the British rockers decided to jump right back into another multi-tiered tour this summer -- hitting the road with 1970s and '80s stalwarts Styx and Foreigner.
"That's not just with us -- I think you'll find that's the nature of every band from our genre," Campbell said. "The music industry, and not just the concert industry, but the entire landscape of the music industry, has changed so radically, and is still in such a state of flux, that you kind of have to try and find new things that work. And this definitely seems to be working in the live arena. These sort of packages are certainly working for us and another reason to go out on tour this summer. This will actually be our third consecutive summer of touring, which is something we've never, ever, ever done before. But that's also reflective of what's changing in the concert industry."
The Def Leppard/Styx/Foreigner rockfest will arrive in Utah on Sept. 7 at USANA Amphitheatre. Tickets went on sale last weekend, and, according to McNeil, jumped out of the gate with a strong showing.
"Between the three of those bands, I mean, I can't imagine anyone over the age of 25 that doesn't know the words to all those songs -- of all of them," McNeil said. "It's one of those great shows where people can stand up and sing along with every single song because they're all going to be singing all their hits."
Strong touring packages don't just excite the fans. They can also be a big thrill for the musicians themselves.
"Styx on tour with Foreigner and Def Leppardfi The first thing I thought of was, 'With all the music we have between us, the radio spots alone could chart in the top 10!' " said Styx guitarist Tommy Shaw in an e-mail. "It will be an unforgettable experience for rock fans all across North America this summer."
There are a few other packaged tours coming this summer as well, striking a blow for various causes and genres.
The True Colors Tour, supporting the Human Rights Campaign for gay rights, hits USANA on June 9. The tour features Cyndi Lauper, Erasure, Debbie Harry, The Dresden Dolls, and host Margaret Cho.
Carrying the banner for superstar marriages, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill -- a packaged tour if ever there was one -- will bring their Soul 2 Soul 2 tour to the Delta Center on June 11. The pair played two highly successful dates there last summer.
Raising the Rebel flag of Southern rock, the Charlie Daniels Band, the Marshall Tucker Band, and The Outlaws will all appear Friday at USANA as part of the Volunteer Jam.
Proving that the American public will watch almost anything on TV, The American Idols tour (Gasp! We wonder what hairdo Sanjaya will display to distract audience members from realizing he can't sing a lick!) marks its return to the Beehive State on July 31 at the Delta Center. Caustic commentary not included.
The Vans Warped Tour makes its annual visit to the Salt Lake Fairpark on July 7. The lineup this year includes Bad Religion, Killswitch Engage, The Used, and Bleed the Dream, among others.
And finally, in an eclectic gathering of various rock styles, ZZ Top, The Pretenders, and the Stray Cats will appear on the same bill Aug. 15 at USANA.
There are, of course, many traditional headliner concerts scheduled this summer as well. A few of the major highlights include: Kenny Chesney (June 28, USANA), Fall Out Boy (June 25, E Center), Dream Theater (July 30, E Center), Rush (Aug. 6, USANA), Josh Groban (Aug. 28, Delta Center), and Keith Urban (Sept. 11, Delta Center).
Locally, the SCERA Shell Outdoor Theatre is presenting six concerts this summer. They are: The Association (Monday), Restless Heart (June 25), Darryl Worley (July 24), Michael Feinstein (Aug. 20), Richard Marx (Aug. 27) and America (Sept. 3).
The annual Stadium of Fire extravaganza will actually fall on July 4 this year at LaVell Edwards Stadium. Country singers Brooks & Dunn will headline the event.
The McKay Events Center has one concert on the docket, Muse, appearing Sept. 12. Tickets for that show went on sale Friday.
For a comprehensive list of concerts scheduled across the Wasatch Front this summer, see the accompanying box.
And expect further announcements and surprises in the weeks ahead.
"Up until we get really close to summer, we're kind of secretive about what's up 'cause things can change," McNeil said. "I mean, I can literally get a confirmation one day and the next day something's changed and we have to move it. We usually kind of hold off on releasing anything until we absolutely know it's locked in."
The Police reunion, perhaps the year's biggest tour, will not be coming to Salt Lake. McNeil said landing a Utah show on the band's ultra-exclusive tour was never really an option.
"I love the band and I'm sure that they would sell a ton of tickets, but the only way that was going to happen was in a stadium setup and I don't know if Salt Lake would have supported 35,000 to 45,000 tickets," McNeil said. "They're not playing all that many dates. If you look at their itinerary, they're playing big markets, big stadiums or multiples at arenas, depending on what city you're in. I would love to do that, but there are some of those bands that just reach this level where the possibility of the money is much more important than playing Salt Lake."
While some tours do still skip over the Salt Lake market, there's no denying that USANA Amphitheatre has really expanded horizons of the local summer concert scene. The venue, which opened in 2003, is entering its fifth season and continues to attract most of the main outdoor tours. Previous outdoor shows were mainly held at Wolf Mountain in Park City, a venue not equipped to meet today's staging and production demands.
"Kenny Chesney, for example, or Def Leppard, they're going to come into USANA Amphitheatre with 10, 12, 14, 15 trucks worth of equipment -- and incredible hanging weight loads of lighting and sound, which we wouldn't have been able to handle up (at Wolf Mountain)," McNeil said. "But USANA can handle anything that's on the road at this point. So it certainly has opened up the ability to do more shows and bigger shows."
As Def Leppard guitarist Campbell points out, the summer months, with the potential for outdoor shows, are prime time for touring.
"It's much more difficult to do good business indoors," Campbell said. "That's why everyone tours in the summer. It's a lot easier to get bigger numbers in the summer. People want to go out more. It's more of an event."
McNeil concurs.
"Kenny Chesney, for example, hates playing indoors," McNeil said. "He would rather be outdoors. He wants it to be hot and people running around barefoot, and running around on the lawn drinking beer and having fun."
No doubt he'd be OK with dancing in the street as well.
Summer concerts 2007
Abravanel Hall
June 6 -- Harry Connick Jr.
Aug. 24 -- Linda Ronstadt/Utah Symphony
Oct. 9 -- Jethro Tull
Deer Valley
July 14 -- Pink Martini
July 15 -- Lyle Lovett (with K.D. Lang)
July 21 -- Jewel with the Utah Symphony
July 31 -- John Hiatt (with Shawn Colvin)
Aug. 16 -- Smokey Robinson
Aug. 18 -- Tony Bennett with the Utah Symphony
Aug. 19 -- Nancy Griffith (with Judy Collins)
Aug. 30 -- Joss Stone
Aug. 31 -- Vince Gill (with Amy Grant, the Del McCoury Band)
Delta Center
June 11 -- Tim McGraw and Faith Hill
July 31 -- American Idols tour
Aug. 28 -- Josh Groban
Sept. 11 -- Keith Urban
The Depot
May 29 -- Skinny Puppy
June 3 -- Pride
June 7 -- Citizen Cope
June 23 -- Les Claypool
June 26 -- Steve Winwood
July 11 -- Hot Tuna
July 16 -- Rusted Root
July 17 -- Lee Scratch Perry
July 21 -- Built to Spill
July 24 -- Check Free
Aug. 21 -- Fountains of Wayne
Nov. 17 -- B-52s
The E Center
June 9 -- Comedian George Lopez
June 16 -- Marco Antonio Solis
June 25 -- Fall Out Boy
July 17 -- Michael Buble
July 30 -- Dream Theater
Sept. 12 -- The White Stripes
Oct. 22 -- Andre Rieu and The Johann Strauss Orchestra
Franklin Covey Field
June 16 -- Rock and Roll Fest (featuring Dr. Hook with Ray Sawyer, Jimi Jamison of Survivor, the Atlanta Rhythm Section, and Little River Band)
The Great Saltair
May 31 -- The Killers
June 6 -- Lacuna Coil (with Within Temptation, Kylesa, Stolen Babies)
June 15 -- Tesla
June 22 -- Three Days Grace
June 30 -- Hawthorne Heights (with From First to Last, Secondhand Serenade, Brighten, Powerspace)
July 20 -- Aztec Highway Welcomes the Strange Noize Tour
Aug. 1 -- Sounds of Underground Tour
Aug. 6 -- Ree; Big Fish
Sept. 12 -- Rise Against (with Silverstein, Comeback Kid)
Kingsbury Hall
June 22 -- Lucinda Williams
Kenley Centennial Amphitheatre
June 6 -- Gregg Allman
LaVell Edwards Stadium
July 4 -- Stadium of Fire (starring Brooks & Dunn)
McKay Events Center
Sept. 12 -- Muse
Red Butte Garden
June 10 -- Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi
June 19 -- Indigo Girls
June 20 -- Chick Corea and Bela Fleck
July 8 -- Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder
July 13 -- Neville Brothers and Sonny Landreth
July 17 -- Chris Isaak
July 22 -- Mavis Staples and Bettye Lavette
Aug. 5 -- Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars
Aug. 12 -- Keb' Mo' and Robert Cray
Aug. 19 -- Bruce Hornsby
Aug. 26 -- Son Volt and Alejandro Escovedo
Sandy Amphitheatre
June 8 -- Ryan Shupe and the RubberBand
June 21 -- Taylor Swift
July 13 -- Jon Schmidt
July 14 -- Orleans
July 19 -- Gladys Knight
July 26 -- The Bellamy Brothers
July 27 -- Lou Gramm
Aug. 4 -- Rita Coolidge
Sept. 14 -- George Dyer
Sept. 15 -- Colors Reunion
SCERA
May 28 -- The Association
June 25 -- Restless Heart
July 24 -- Darryl Worley
Aug. 20 -- Michael Feinstein
Aug. 27 -- Richard Marx
Sept. 3 -- America
USANA Amphitheatre
June 1 -- Volunteer Jam (featuring Charlie Daniels Band, The Marshall Tucker Band, and The Outlaws)
June 9 -- True Colors Tour (featuring Cyndi Lauper, Erasure, Debbie Harry, and The Dresden Dolls)
June 28 -- Kenny Chesney (with Sugarland and Pat Green)
July 17 -- Incubus
July 31 -- The Fray (with Meese and Single File)
Aug. 6 -- Rush
Aug. 15 -- ZZ Top (with The Pretenders, and the Stray Cats)
Sept. 7 -- Def Leppard (with Styx and Foreigner)
Utah Fairpark
July 7 -- Vans Warped Tour (Bad Religion, Killswitch Engage, The Used, and more)
Sept. 7 -- Weird Al Yankovic
Utah Pride Festival
June 1-3 -- Sheena Easton, En Vogue
Washington Square
July 6-8 -- Salt Lake International Jazz Festival
This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page C1.