I’m writing this in response to an editorial last Friday about the Nelly show (“Concertgoers get bum rap when artist pulls no-show,” ODE, 02/28). I am a University alumnus and was a coordinator with the UO Cultural Forum for two years.
I was an event promoter in the Cultural Forum from 1999 to 2001 and worked with one of the largest concert promoters in the Northwest after graduation. I read the editorial in the Emerald last week, and while I found the editorial board’s dissatisfaction with the show to be valid, it really should do its homework before making negative claims about something it really did not understand.
From time to time, the Cultural Forum is approached by an outside promoter to bring usually a large-name act to campus with no financial risk on behalf of the University. This is obviously an enticing situation when the CF is budgeted approximately $70,000 per year and expected to bring entertainment to campus and the community, provide late-night programming and book/produce the Folk Festival and the Oregon Grind, and is often looked down upon when it doesn’t bring large-name acts to the community.
The editorial board found the Cultural Forum guilty of a horribly run production, when in reality it had nothing to do with it. The CF was simply contracted out to provide on-campus coordination and act as a liaison between the promoter, Advantage Mortgage, the University and security — which like the editorial board, I agree was there in abundance, but was required by the University administration.
On the matter of a performer not showing, it is my pseudo-professional opinion that this was a case of a promoter misleading an audience. Again, I stress this is only my opinion, but I strongly feel that when the show appeared that it was not selling, Advantage Mortgage, behind closed doors, made the decision to pull the plug on perusing the Ice-T option, but not tell the audience, because, hey, you saw how many people were there. They needed the money.
I want the editorial board to know that I am not writing to it to start an argument, but I believe that its negative feelings, although valid, were not directed at the appropriate people. The outside promoter for this event held the contracts with the acts, determined the ticket prices, withheld the info about Ice-T not coming and regulated the set times.
For decades now, the CF has brought literally thousands of successful acts to Eugene, and from time to time, it gets misled. It happens often in the insecure, financially screwed-up music industry. You will see excellent big names with professional productions in the future, like you did in the past.
By the way, Dylan and Paul Simon did not play here in 1998. It was Dylan, Van Morrison, and Lucinda Williams. It was a great show indeed, but again with an outside promoter, Double-Tee of Portland, and the CF did what limited production was required, collected its money, then used it to bring other great acts to campus that year.