L. Kent Wolgamott: Even with arena, Pershing could still be useful
Lincoln Journal Star
December 10, 2009
Pershing Center has been taking its shots of late. But I'm here to defend the old arena.
With its proscenium stage, Pershing has classic, now little-seen-in-arenas presentation for performances, and it almost always sounds good. So it's not a bad venue for medium-sized shows, like last Friday's Zac Brown Band concert that drew more than 4,000 people.
There's also something to be said for the historic nature of the 50-year-old building, which harkens back to the glory days of municipal auditoriums.
Four or five decades ago, city auditoriums hosted concerts and big sporting events. But they were also the site for high school graduations and basketball games, pancake feeds and flea markets, church conventions and car shows with Playboy bunnies in attendance to sign autographs.
In my case, I've had enough memorable moments at Pershing that there's a nostalgia of sorts for the place, too. Some of those are memorable shows I've seen there, from the sparsely attended Midnight Oil performance to the packed appearance of Snoop Dogg, the theatrics of Marilyn Manson, Brad Paisley's country, the only time I saw The Kinks, a great Bob Dylan show ... the list goes on and on.
Some of those memories are rooted in the tiny, old-fashioned dressing rooms on the south side of the Pershing stage. I had a tense, then hilarious, encounter with Hank Williams Jr. in one of those dressing rooms, and that's where I met the members of Maroon 5 when James Valentine brought his band to his hometown.
I had another of those experiences Friday, in Pershing's basement.
The Zac Brown Band does an "eat-and-greet" before its shows. I've been in catering lines dozens of times in the past. But I've never been to an artist-hosted buffet for media, radio station winners, sponsors and just plain fans before.
The menu included six dishes, three from recipes from Brown and three from Chef Rusty Hamlin, who cooked things up in a trailer he pulls behind his bus. The food was great.
Hamlin and Brown are putting out a cookbook that should be at Cracker Barrel locations in about a week. I got a look at one during the eat-and-greet and it's cool, with recipes for down-home Southern cuisine. I'll write more on the book and Hamlin very soon.
That said, just as Omaha gave its Civic Auditorium the heave-ho and built the Qwest Center, it's time for Pershing to be retired as the city's concert venue. Although those looking at the "reuse" of the building should consider keeping it as a performance/sports venue, as Omaha has done with Civic.
Beyond the larger seating capacity, a new arena would have contemporary amenities and design. And that's clearly desired, as proven by the chant that went up from the women in the long line outside Pershing's north concourse restroom Friday night: "New arena! New arena! New arena!"
Reach L. Kent Wolgamott at 473-7244 or kwolgamott@journalstar.com.
http://journalstar.com/entertainment/article_15968f0c-e5b1-11de-b6b1-001cc4c002e0.html
