Ice-T is back. Or maybe he never left.
UO Cultural Forum members heard from promoters Tuesday night who said the old school staple had canceled his Sunday show with Nelly. But on Wednesday, word spread just as fast that the news was wrong and Ice-T would take the stage as scheduled.
“Ice-T is back on,” said Kurt Catlin, heritage music coordinator at the UO Cultural Forum.
Catlin said he received a call late Tuesday from concert promoter Lie Tan and producer Dwight Wood, who reported that Ice-T had canceled. Catlin said Tan and Wood had cited a variety of problems ranging from “physical problems” to contract problems, and he said they also asked the Cultural Forum not to say anything about the cancellation for a few days.
Tan said Ice-T’s cancellation had not been “a sure thing,” and she wanted the Cultural Forum to “hold off on telling people” until she could confirm it. She said Ice-T might have had other engagements. But Catlin said the Cultural Forum was under the impression that the cancellation was confirmed.
Fearing there would be a “riot” when ticket holders found out, Catlin said he chose to release the information to avoid upsetting the public.
He said he received a call from Tan on Wednesday morning saying that Ice-T was still going to perform at the concert.
“Nelly is the main act,” with Ice-T as the opening act, Tan said. She added that she believes most people will be coming to see Nelly.
The 7 p.m. McArthur Court show will also feature St. Lunatics, SMG, Underground Lighthouse and Kid. Ticket prices have been reduced for a special “week of concert” sale. Tickets are offered for both seated and standing room only areas, and they are $30 to $35 for students and $35 to $40 for the general public. Tickets are available through Fastixx, the EMU Ticket Office, Face the Music and at the door.
Senior Crissy Carson, who bought her ticket the first day it went on sale, said she would be disappointed if Ice-T didn’t perform, but she would not be “crushed” because she is more interested in seeing Nelly, who has newer music.
“It will be interesting to see what (Ice-T) does,” she said. She said she thought it was weird that Ice-T is “taking a back seat to Nelly,” when a few years ago, he would have been the headliner.
Concert promoter Tony Gilbert said his original thought was “let’s bring Ice-T to the valley.” He said he had scheduled a December concert in Medford but had to cancel it. He said he wanted to attempt another concert, but this time with Nelly added to the roster.
He said he liked Eugene because the city can act as a halfway point for fans from both Portland and Medford.
“It’s not going to be a small show,” Gilbert said. He said there is going to be a lot of excitement, a good light show and a lot of sound.
Gilbert said Sunday’s performance will bring a diverse crowd of fans who enjoy both Ice-T’s “old school” rap and Nelly’s “new school” hip-hop.
“The music has brought a lot of people together,” he said. “It’s about not being separate, but (about) unity.”
He said hip-hop brought dance to the rap genre and a younger audience.
“You can’t dance to old school rap,” he said.
Gilbert said he is confident the artists will put on a good show.
“People are going to leave the show with awe on their face,” he said.
High ticket prices seems to be deterring many students from attending the concert, Catlin said.
“So far (ticket sales) are not going as fast as we want them to,” he said.
But John Bartlang, former production manager of the Cultural Forum, said the lack of hip-hop in local concert venues should help spark ticket sales.
“People in Eugene are aching for more hip-hop,” Bartlang said. “This is the biggest concert to come to Eugene in a while.”Carson said the high price didn’t scare her away from what she expects to be a big show worth the money.
“I thought price was a little high, but they probably had to pay to get them to come here,” she said.
She said this performance is different than most of the concerts that come to Eugene because it has big hip-hop names and more mainstream types of music.
“It will be interesting to have more variety, more different kinds of groups coming in,” Carson said.
Catlin said other concerns about the concert included ensuring that the audience respects Mac Court. There will be absolutely no smoking in the building, he said, and there will be a strong security presence to ensure nothing is damaged. He said future concerts at the basketball court will depend on how well the building survives this performance.
This concert “has the potential to be the biggest hit at the UO,” Catlin said, and he recommended that those attending take the bus, walk or ride a bike to the performance because parking will be limited.