Arizona Got Rocked: 1977

[michelej1]

ASUA tries to reconstruct its rock-friendly venue, remembering FM's record-breaking success there in August 1977. Here's an excerpt from the article: http://media.wildcat.arizona.edu/med...-3056641.shtml

VENUE VACANCY

When Franz Ferdinand, an internationally known rock band notorious for its boisterous live performances, took the Centennial Hall stage in March 2006, something was missing.

The band members channeled all the energy of a world-class group, but their dynamism seemed trapped inside the stifling walls of the overly formal venue. There were no mosh pits, no crowd-surfing, not even an opportunity to pull out a lighter for a ballad. The audience remained standing in front of specially assigned chairs, fixed on the carpet that bound them.

Flash back 30 years ago.

An Aug. 27, 1977 Fleetwood Mac performance at the football team's Arizona Stadium lured 67,000 fans and was reported as "the largest crowd of rock fans in Arizona history." That record-breaking performance has influenced ASUA as it chooses concerts to bring to campus this year.

Over the past two years, ASUA's special events team has been able to get such popular musicians as Rufio, Death Cab for Cutie, Franz Ferdinand, Jason Mraz, Talib Kweli, The Fray and the Plain White T's to captivate UA crowds.

Special events director Andrew Stanley said the success of getting Death Cab for Cutie and Franz Ferdinand to play together at Centennial Hall revamped ASUA's attitude about booking performers.

"(The Death Cab show) was a realization for us and the students that it is possible to get amazing shows on campus," said former ASUA special events director Kristen Maryn, who held the position in 2006-2007.

Maryn said the Talib Kweli's April concert at Centennial garnered different reactions from students.

"They either showed gratitude for us bringing hip-hop or had no idea who Talib Kweli was," Maryn said.

Nonetheless, Kweli represented a refreshing change in entertainment on campus and showed ASUA's desire to represent students who like other genres besides the "sweater bands," as Maryn called them.

Stanley's goal is to match the Mac performance with a show at Arizona Stadium this coming April. His attendance goal: 15,000.

"I feel that I would be letting the students down if I didn't try for (a stadium show)," Stanley declined to mention which artists ASUA is considering, saying he wanted to make sure he keeps his options open.

But, he added, "it's going to be big this year, just watch out."