Though in previous years, NIU’s Convocation Center has booked big name acts, including Bob Dylan, B.B. King and Counting Crows, the past year has brought fewer than normal, and many wonder where the shows have gone.


Problems in 2007-2008

Over the course of its near six year existence, there have been semesters when Convo Center officials feel like they overbooked, and semesters, like the fall of 2007, where the venue was hurting for musical performances.

Convocation Center director John Gordon, who has been in the music industry for over 20 years, said the past 12 months have not been the best the industry has to offer.

“This year is kind of in a cycle,” Gordon said. “Every five to six years, there will only be a few acts out on tour.”

Phone calls about this issue to other area venues, such as Allstate Arena in Rosemont and Redbird Arena on the campus of Illinois State, were not returned.

This cycle is what led to the Convo only booking REO Speedwagon, Cedric the Entertainer and Casting Crowns to headline last fall.

This doesn’t necessarily mean the Convo has left the student body out in the cold. Gordon and his staff seriously considered booking six other acts during last fall, some of which fell through due to various issues on both sides.

Nickelback, one of the most popular rock bands in the country, rejected an offer of $200,000 to come play in DeKalb last semester. Other artists such as Evanescence, Kanye West, The Used, Kid Rock and O.A.R. were not booked for various other issues.

“Our goal for a show is to break even,” Gordon said. “We look at internal costs and base the ticket price on that.”

Some of the artists came back with counter-offers which would have made the ticket price too high to sell to students.

The Convo tries to make sure that ticket prices do not exceed $30, although this is not always possible.


Challenges

Students have previously voiced their displeasure with the amount of concerts the Convo holds, and which artists make the trek out to DeKalb.

“Our biggest positive [at the Convo] is the number of students on this campus,” Gordon said. “Our biggest challenge is that we are located right next to Chicago.”

Gordon and the Convo put in an offer for O.A.R. for their fall tour as well as their spring tour. The band also plans to play a show in downtown Chicago this summer at the Charter One Pavilion at Northerly Island. Band management told NIU the reason O.A.R. could not come to DeKalb is the competing interest for the late June or July concert.

Kid Rock, another artist the Convo was trying to land for the fall 2007 semester, decided to play at Illinois State University in Bloomington.

Lenny Kravitz decided at the last minute to not go on tour, a show NIU was considering for sometime this semester.

Umphrey’s McGee, who played at the Egyptian Theatre in downtown DeKalb in April, continued to raise their offer despite NIU and the Convo fulfilling the initial requirements for the show.

Other challenges include the timing of when bands become available.

“The frustration of nothing being there,” Gordon said as he reflected upon last fall. “We want to do quality show and have them be enjoyable for the students.”

Unfortunately, though, they can’t always get the number of events desired.

“It’s the business and we all know this,” Gordon said. “It’s comforting to know, though, is that everyone else is fighting the same fight you are.”

Student Committees

Numerous individuals end up having a say in which bands the Convo Center staff decide to seriously consider throughout the year.

A student committee, usually comprised of around five students, help the staff in figuring out which acts the students on campus would enjoy.

“Typically, the [CAB] Vice President of Programming and [the chair of the student committee] work with Kevin [Selover],” Gordon said. “We try to get a good cross-section of the student body to make sure we’re not missing something.”

Students can request to be on the committee, typically through the CAB president, Selover said.


Carrie Underwood

In an event the staff has been working to make happen for many weeks and months, Gordon and company were relieved in early March to learn that management for Carrie Underwood accepted the offer the Convo sent out.

“We’ve worked hard on this [event] for several months,” Gordon said in a March 20 Northern Star article. “We’re excited to have her here.”

Ticket prices for the show were set at $59, much higher than any other concert the center has put on in recent memory. The high costs are due to the high cost to purchase the show, and the amount of seats that will be sold to the public.

No seats were sold behind the stage for this show. This limits the amount of tickets that can be sold, and makes the price stay high in order for the venue to have a chance at breaking even.

The venue took a monetary hit in order to bring a high-caliber artist to the area like Underwood.

Although money is one a main factor in many of the shows the Convo brings to DeKalb, it is not
the only one.

Other factors include trying to get opinions from students on campus about what they would like to hear.

“We keep track of who’s hot via student committees,” Gordon said.

Underwood is one of the biggest stars in the country music genre today and is selling out venues across the country.


Bon Jovi

Bon Jovi practiced in the Convo in Feb., in preparation for their current U.S. tour. Gordon conversed over e-mail with members of Bon Jovi management to try and lock in a potential show NIU.

“This would be our marquee show,” Gordon said in an e-mail when referencing the possibility of Bon Jovi playing a show at NIU.

Gordon said he tried multiple times to secure a show with the band.
Bon Jovi staff members said in an e-mail that the band would be unable to play due to time issues.


Memorial Concert

A memorial concert was in the works for this semester but the Convo scrapped it for this semester due to lack of time and lack of big name artists available.

Plans are in the works for a concert to take place next semester in late September or early October with proceeds benefitting the Feb. 14 Student Scholarship Fund. Along with corporate sponsor Best Buy, the Convo will try to lock in a big-name artist to headline the show.

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