|
Here you go. They don't mention Reeb's name but it seemed like he was onstage for at least 50 minutes.
Bolton's New Year's Resolution: Appease Angry Fans
January 16, 1994|By Brenda Herrmann, Tribune Staff Writer.
Ouch! Chicago is putting the pinch on Michael Bolton, and now the golden-haired crooner is trying to exercise a little damage control.
Bolton, the favorite flavor of adult contemporary radio, thought he would give Chicago a special treat by performing his New Year's Eve concert here at the Rosemont Horizon. But instead of wooing his fans, many left his show disappointed-and angry.
The problem? Bolton showed up nearly two hours late and was on stage for less than 90 minutes without doing any encores. Not a crime, maybe, but something that's hard to justify to a fan who has spent as much as $125 for a ticket. (Through Ticketmaster, tickets sold for up to $77 apiece.)
Fans flooded Bolton and the media with dozens of letters and phone calls. Talk-radio shows gave time to irate housewives, salespeople-even a police officer called in to complain about the "horrible" evening.
Gossip columns in Chicago and even in New York printed items deriding Bolton and the show.
When Bolton started hearing from fans personally, he discovered it would take a lot of time, love and tenderness to soothe angry fans-especially angry Chicago fans, who don't tend to let things go by without a fight.
"I was just stunned when I started getting these letters," a raspy-voiced Bolton said in a phone call to the Tribune to discuss the incident. "And I am devastated. Anybody who knows anything about me knows I've worked all my life for this success and I do not take my audience lightly."
Bolton says the show was unusual from the start. "First off, it was New Year's Eve and we had scheduled the whole show in order to be onstage at midnight," he says. "I had no idea the tickets were printed saying starting time was 9 p.m. The promoters and the advertisers arrange that. All I knew was that I was told to be onstage at 10:45 p.m. And I was." As well, Bolton assumed the audience expected an opening act, and there was one: a comedian who entertained for about a half-hour.
From there, Bolton says he became obsessed with watching the clock to make sure he wasn't in midsong at midnight. "I guess I should have concentrated on the minutes I was on stage, rather than on the minutes until the countdown," he says.
After the last scheduled number, "Lean on Me," Bolton left the stage, planning to do an encore. "But before I was even off the stage ramp, the houselights came up, the recorded music came on and, with that signal, the union started tearing down the set and people started flooding out the doors," he says. "It was very unusual. A mistake like that happens maybe twice out of 200 shows. I don't know how it happened, I can't place the finger on a person who did it, but the bottom line is that the responsibility is mine. It's my show and my name."
At that point, Bolton says, he felt he had no choice but to end the show without an encore.
"I could have ran back on stage screaming for them to cut the lights. Maybe if I'd had my wits about me, I could have made a joke about it. But my gut feeling at the time was that people were walking out and didn't want me to come back. I never take it for granted that the audience wants an encore, although I usually expect it if I feel I've performed well."
_________________
favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."
|
Login
Register
FAQ
Search
