Downtown Raleigh Amphitheater has picked up a nice honor within the concert industry, nominated for best new major venue in Pollstar magazine's 2011 Concert Industry Awards. In its first full season, the 6,000-capacity DRA had a solid year with 23 paid ticketed shows drawing more than 76,000 people, including big crowds for everything from rapper Wiz Khalifa to British Americana hitmakers Mumford & Sons.
Alas, for all that, there's still no title sponsor. Maybe DRA will have one by the time Pollstar announces its winner in February. Meantime, here is this year's show-by-show recap:
Wiz Khalifa -- 5,608
Pretty Lights -- 2,472
Thirty Seconds to Mars -- 3,350
Mumford & Sons -- 5,390
Decemberists -- 3,521
O.A.R. -- 2,317
Furthur -- 4,538
Bon Iver -- 3,737
Goo Goo Dolls -- 2,323
Ke$ha -- 5,830
Slightly Stoopid -- 1,832
Umphrey's McGee -- 1,361
Sebastian Bach -- 1,167
Lupe Fiasco -- 2,183
Fleet Foxes -- 2,978
Widespread Panic -- 3,973
Widespread Panic -- 5,470
Better Than Ezra -- 1,255
Rusted Root -- 2,133
DayGlow -- 4,250
Ed Kowalczyk -- 1,159
Vince Neil -- 1,640
Wilco -- 3,850
Darius Rucker -- 4,322
As for DRA's larger cousin, 20,000-capacity Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion at Walnut Creek, there's good news and bad news about its season attendance. The bad news is that there just aren't many acts out there capable of drawing that many folks anymore. The good news, however, is that Walnut Creek managed to book a fair quantity of them this year. So while it only had 16 shows, 11 of them drew five-figure crowds. Add it all up, and total attendance was more than 218,000 -- good for a healthy per-show average of 13,000-plus.
More than ever, mainstream arena-country is Walnut Creek's primary niche. Broadly defined, half of this season's 16 shows were country, with the genre also accounting for the biggest crowds. Rock, hip-hop and r&b all took a back seat. Here's the rundown:
Jimmy Buffett -- 19,491
Phish -- 14,413
Def Leppard -- 9,313
Tim McGraw -- 17,360
Lil' Wayne -- 12,159
Toby Keith -- 13,824
Rascal Flatts -- 18,531
311 -- 6,542
Mayhem Festival -- 6,932
Kenny Chesney -- 19,917
Journey -- 17,626
Jill Scott -- 5,797
Kid Rock -- 8,278
Jason Aldean -- 20,026
Brad Paisley -- 17,333
Chris Brown -- 11,119
Comments
Shows at Walnut Creek and Downtown Amphitheater
Sat, 11/12/2011 - 09:56 — chilliwetwaterI looked at the list and don't see anything that I would have liked to have attended at Walnut Creek (where I don't think I have missed going to at least one show in a season more than two years since it opened). At the Downtown Amphitheater, I wouldn't have minded see the Decemberists again or Wilco again but as for the rest? Meh...
The schedule at NC Museum of Art was much superior to either this year and I only missed a couple of their shows. Go ahead folks. Stay away from their shows so the parking and congestion makes it continue to be the area's best concert experience. Bela Fleck & the Flecktones, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, Beausoleil, Iris Dement, Lucinda Williams, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, Leo Kottke, the Battlefield Band...I am only sorry that Hurricane Irene caused the cancellation of Carolina Chocolate Drops.
Yeah the bathroom situation
Fri, 11/11/2011 - 14:19 — BottyGuyYeah the bathroom situation is a little rediculous. But for the show's I've seem to work fine (Decemberists/Wilco), 5,470 Widespread Panic fans might be a little taxing on the facilities. Of course I'm a guy so any old trough will do (even the one at Cats Cradle "Don't touch the walls!"). Maybe they can build perminent facilities in the off season.
But it really is the best place to see an outdoor rock show that I've been to. It's easy to get in and out of, plenty of nearby parking. Things to do locally before and after the concert (I didn't see Bon Iver but the Kings post party seemed great from the outside). They actually can play music at reasonable volume there vs. the string quartet levels at Koka Booth.
I've been to a bunch of Walnut Creek type venues and your pretty much stuck there eating the expensive crappy food there and waiting in long car lines to get in and out.
The Raleigh Amphiteater has them all beat.
New venue
Fri, 11/11/2011 - 13:13 — porkybunnySo the Raleigh Amphi get best new venue with the trailer park bathrooms... WOW think what they could have won had they actually completed the project with brick and mortar....