I went to the Tower Theatre for the first time thinking it was going to be a great event. I was going to see Taj Mahal!
I’ve never been more embarrassed in my community. The crowd never stood up until the last song. I’ve never been to a concert that was strictly in the 40-55 crowd, members of the Tower, a predominantly white crowd, that didn’t give the talent the respect that they deserved. They sat through every song like it was expected of them. Except for a few in the aisle (maybe 3) that were dancing throughout the concert. I will never go to that venue again. I hope more people will do the same, and get the TALENT (to venues) where people will give them what they deserve!
Anonymous
This article appears in Oct 2-8, 2008.
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What, you live in Bend and expect a diverse crowd? Bend has 1 kind of Diversity – socioeconomic. So, to come up with a diverse crowd in Bend, you’ll need to either 1) Bus in an large contingent of ethnically diverse folks or 2) Have a free concert so those who cannot afford the tickets to see Taj can come.
We can all dream of a world with ethnically diverse people happily crammed into the seats at the Tower, enjoying a free concert and somehow dancing in those narrow aisles, but it ain’t gonna happen. There is no way to dance there, whether you are 45 and white or young and non-white.
Nice try, though. Great idea to NOT support what little arts we get in this town. That will help your cause.
WTO
From one who was there:
Tower Crowd Too Tame
but
Aisle Dancers Looked Lame
I totally sympathize – the scene was pretty much exactly as you described at the B.B.King show at Les Schwab this summer. It’s not the venue, it’s just that Bend is very white in general, and the only folks who can afford to go to such shows regularly tend to be older.