The person who posted this has me pissed!
The concert was two weeks ago! I am supposing that you are with the KC Blues Society? Are they aware that you have come on this board an made these statements? How unprofessional! I was also at this concert. As a matter of fact I was there at 2:30 in the afternoon to make sure that I would get a good spot close to the stage. Because of the "lack of information as to where at the City Market the concert would be held" I had to arrive early. Gee, I wonder if you had anything to do with this lack of information? Any IDIOT knows that the midwest is hot, especially in July. You also picked part of the hottest time of the day to start a concert (5:00pm) for the opening band. I do not have photos so everyone else can see what I am talking about, but, you should have turned the stage to be under one of the stalls where the vendors are and provided some sort of acoustics to project the sound out to the audience.
If you had any experience at all putting on concerts you should have anticipated the heat and the sun. It did not get hot all of a sudden. The meterologists had predicted the heat wave a week prior to this. You should have made the appropriate accomidations. Joe came from Nebraska the night before. Prior to this (4th of July week) he was recovering from strep throat and still managed to put on a show. At what point and time does an artist need to stop and think about their health. An artist should not have to put such things into a contract like protection from extreme elements. Would it have been redicilous to request a canopy had it ben raining? Or would it have been rude of Joe to want to protect his equipment and to not be electrocuted? Artists have a choice in where they want to play, they do not have to play in your town. If you want to attract good artists then you need to have a reputation as of one that takes care of the artists and makes sure they have what they need to put on a good show. Within 5 minutes of starting the show, Joe was drenched in sweat. He sould of suffered heat stroke, but I guess you did not care. If you need to see proof, here are my photos. http://www.flickr.com/photos/52152210@N00/
If you were a good production company you would have approached Joe as soon as they got there and said, "Hey Joe, we are experiencing some unbelievable heat. We have a canopy on its way for the stage, and we were thinking about pushing the concert back an hour or so. We also have a spotlight on the way in case it gets too dark. We will set up fans at the ends of the stage to try and help move some air. Is there anything else that else that you can think of that might help?" I am sure Joe would have been appreciative that you at least made an effort. Not only did you jepordize Joe and the band members health, but what about the Dan Doran Band who opened. What about the fans? No one was even selling water at the event? That is something that should have been a given considering the heat. You managed to push your KC Blues society garb.
I was at the show and Joe was wonderful to his audience. He signed my CD prior to the show and then after the show posed for a photo with me and my son, along with signing 2 posters.
I guess in your case you get what you give! If you are the person who was overseeing this event, the KC Blues Society should fire your ****! You have disgraced yourself and your organization. You are not a professional and have no business "putting on" concerts. Any professional person plans in advance and anticipates these sort of things.
You are lucky Joe still played with your lack of planning. It sounds to me like you needed a top blues artist to showcase your organization but did not hold up to being a top class organization yourself.
As much as I would like to direct a few choice words in your direction, I don't need to, you have already embarassed yourself. I hope that your email is the general feeling of your organization, because I am sending a copy of it to the KC Blues Society in hopes that you are no longer associated with them. We don't need people like you jepordizing our beloved blues artists.
Rhonda Pierce
Sullivan, MO
"I don't think obsessions have reasons, that's why they're obsessions....National Geographic likes their pictures in focus..." Robert Kincaid