Qwest Center Tickets

Qwest Center May Host MVC Tournament

Nothing is official yet, but the Missouri Vally Conference announced that it is looking for a new site for its annual basketball tournament.  According to the WCF Courier, the tournament has taken place in St. Louis at the Scottrade Center since 1991 but the MVC is disappointed with the lack of financial support given from the city.

Omaha and the Qwest Center have now been mentioned as possible spots to host the tournament.  Kansas City and Des Moines have also been mentioned.  Some Missouri Valley Conference coaches have raised a concern about having the tournament in a city where a MVC team calls home.  Southern Illinois coach Chris Lowery said "my biggest thing is that it's not played in anybody's city."

Hopefully, Lowery gets overruled because I think hosting the Missouri Vally Conference basketball tournament in the Qwest Center would be amazing.  The city of Omaha has proved that it can host a big tournament in the past (College World Series, Big 12 basketball championship) and this tournament would be a great addition to that list.

Gearing up for Creighton Basketball

This Thursday the Creighton basketball team will kick off its season in the Qwest Center.  The Qwest Center has been the home of Bluejay basketball since the 2003 season.

This season is very unpredictable for Creighton.  The Bluejays were hit hard by graduation and will look to eight freshman and sophemores that will have to fill the shoes of Anthony Tolliver  and Nate Funk and the rest of the seniors that left.

Some pretty impressive freshman have been recruited and will have to make an impact quickly.  Freshman recruit Kenton Walker will have to fill Toliver's shoes but will not have much problem doing so given he is 6-8.  Keep your eye on Sophomore Kenny Lawson who went down in Creighton's third game last season.  The 6-9 center showed promise and could be the key to the Bluejays success in the Qwest Center this year.

Dylan, Costello, a Great Mix

Bob Dylan and Elvis Costello put on a stellar performance on Friday at the Qwest Center in Omaha.  Costello started the show with a surprise acoustic set that lasted for about 45 minutes.  He then went on to play all of his old favorites with a couple of new songs including the little known "The Scarlet Tide" from the movie Cold Mountain.  Surprisingly the crowd got into Costello's newer stuff just as much as the older stuff.  Maybe it was all of the Dylan fans that did not recognize any of Costello's songs, or it could of been because Costello is just a natural performer.

Bob Dylan's set was the highlight of the night.  In signature Dylan style, he warped and changed most all of his songs so that some were not even recognizable until he started singing.  He changed tempo often and put a great spin on the classic "Girl of The North Country" slowing down the harmonica part to a melancholy tone.  My favorite song of the night was Dylan's "Highway 61 Revisited" which was sped up to be a raucous rocker.

Bob Dylan and Elvis Costello at the Qwest Tonight

The Qwest Center tickets for Bob Dylan were not as hard to get as the Hannah Montana, but Dylan will no doubt please all that show up to the Qwest tonight.  Two of the greatest rockers of our time, Bob Dylan and Elvis Costello will prove why they are considered rock royalty.  Dylan will please his huge following tonight with likely a emphasis on his older material.  Dylan just released two greatest hits packages and will be promoting those this tour.  Costello on the other hand is known for playing too much of his new material.  Like Dylan, Costello has released an album a year almost for every year he has been performing.

The concert tonight should be a great one for both of the performers.  Omaha is the last stop on their tour before they play the last three nights in Chicago.  Hopefully they will want to "go out with a bang" and make it a memorable performance.

And a little fun trivia about Dylan: 2000 guitarists all just broke the world record for having the most people playing a song at once.  They played none other than "Dylan's Knocking on Heaven's Door."  Check it out here.

Hannah Montana Fans Don't Care About Ticket Prices

You would have never guessed that there was a problem with ticket scalping at the Hannah Montana concert last night at the Qwest Center.  The young kids that witnessed Hannah Montana and her alter ego Miley Cyrus couldn't care less about what it took to get there, they were just excited to see the pop sensation change wardrobes a thousand times and belting out power pop.  And frankly thats what they should be doing!

This whole hoopla about the Hannah Montana tickets is getting a little ridiculous in my opinion.  A Nebraska state representative has introduced legislation that would make people buy tickets in person at the box office for 48 hours before any telephone or internet sales were made.  This would all be in an effort to curb ticket scalping.  But lets take a closer look at this legislation and ticket scalping in general.

First, the legislation, it will not work.  In an effort to make things more fair the representative is making things less fair.  How will a person living in Lincoln get to the box office of the Qwest Center in Omaha when they wants to buy a ticket to a concert?  How will a disabled person buy tickets to a concert or event if they physically can't make the trip to the box office in the 48 hours?  I'm not sure, and I'm not sure anybody else knows either.  Along with that is the mess it would create at the box office.  The lines would not only be unbearable, but camping out issues would be raised as well as the fact that ticket brokers would find a way to get the tickets no matter what anyway, how do you think ticket scalpers did it in the 80's?

Now to ticket scalping, why is there such a large problem with this?  In the capitalistic society we live in buyers pay a price that they think is reasonable for a product that a seller sells.  When people pay $100 for a Bob Dylan ticket they are saying that a Bob Dylan ticket is worth more to them than $100, and the ticket broker is saying that $100 is worth more than a Bob Dylan ticket. 

So what about the people that can't afford re-sale priced tickets?  Let me answer that question with another question, what about people who can't afford expensive cars?  No one is telling car dealerships that they can't raise their prices above of what they originally payed for the car.  So why are tickets so much different?  That will have to come in a future Qwest Center blog, because I am still wondering myself.

Hannah Montana Tickets High Priced, But Worth It

For those who managed to get Hannah Montana tickets to the Qwest Center here in Omaha tonight should be a great night.  Getting Hannah Montana tickets to the show tonight has taken up most of the 14 year old's publicity in Omaha.  So much that legislation is being introduced in Lincoln to stop the scalping process that furious parents likely pushed for after their child screamed enough in their ear.

But lets get back to the show for a minute.  Miley Cyrus will share the stage tonight at the Qwest Center with her alter ego Hannah Montana.  Expect a hour and a half to two hour concert of fast paced teen dance music that is bright and poppy.  After looking at some reviews of past Hannah Montana concerts I found that the sound has been a problem for kids at shows.  Most young kids attending this show probably do not have much concert going experience and might need to wear earplugs if their ears are sensitive.

Enjoy the show tonight!

WWE, Hannah Montana, Bob Dylan This Week!

The Qwest Center will host three great shows this week, and they could not possibly be more diverse.

For starters we have WWE Raw tonight at the Qwest Center.  John Cena, Triple H and all of other pro wrestlers will call Omaha home for the night as they beat the living crap out of each other.  What else could you ask for: fighting, loud music, flashing lights...drama?  Its all there and it should please all of the die hard and casual fans.  Remember, the fun is not seeing which pro wrestler will win, its enjoying all of the other antics that they pull along the way!

Tomorrow night the Qwest Center hosts Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus.  These two performers might be the same person, but each character brings something different to the stage.  Kids will enjoy seeing the familiar Disney channel character Hannah Montana, and parents will enjoy the rockstar-esque performance of Miley Cyrus.  Where your earplugs to the stadium if you are a parent, the concert sold out faster than Elton John so the kids will be screaming with excitement the whole time.

Bob Dylan will play at the Qwest Center on Friday.  The musical legend will dazzle a mix of old and new fans.  Dylan is a master performer and has performed every year of his musical career.  More will come on Dylan's concert later this week as I am a huge fan.

Rieu Full of Surprises

I'm not sure what to expect of Andre Rieu at the Qwest Center tonight.  And after reading some reviews from other cities I still don't know what to expect.  Rieu changes his performance each time and is sure to put on a interesting and surprising show at the Qwest Center tonight.

I do know that fans should expect up beat waltzes and relatively joyful music.  Rieu likes to get people dancing and the only way to do that is to put on "happy" music.  Also expect some amazing solos from Johann Strauss Orchestra members.  In the concerts I have seen, Rieu likes to use his orchestra in interesting ways and lets the soloists shine.

And last but not least, expect to have a good time.  Rieu is a world class performer and Qwest Center ticket holders should enjoy every minute of it!

Rock Star Violinist

Andre Reiu, who is performing at the Qwest Center in Omaha tomorrow, is a talented violinist but is also quite the rock star.  Reiu is known for living extravagantly with expensive cars and his own private jet to carry around his band and whatever else violinists carry around the world. 

Reiu puts on shows as if it were just another rock concert and not a classical orchestral performance.  Reiu's forte is getting the audience to get involved.  He has had the entire audience do a wave, and during one of his more popular songs has everyone participate by gargling water along with the music.

Reiu jumps all across the stage during his shows and never stays in one place.  You can never predict if he will be on the front of the stage or sitting in with the Johann Strauss Orchestra for a number.

Don't miss Reiu at the Qwest Center in Omaha on Thursday night.

Andre Rieu Will Impress All

This Thursday, October 18, Andre Rieu & The Johann Strauss Orchestra will dazzle the Omaha audience in the Qwest Center.  Rieu is quite possibly the most well known violinist in the world and is credited with reviving waltz music that sat dormant for decades.

Rieu is from the Netherlands and travels with his critically acclaimed Johann Strauss Orchestra to each concert.  His shows are filled with unbelievable music as well as silly antics and showmanship.  If you have ever watched one of Rieu's specials on PBS you will have a little understanding about the kind of show he puts on.  It is not a classical show as one might expect, Rieu is a performer above all else and has embraced his strength.