Qwest Center Tickets

John Mellencamp Performs Intimate Set Sunday

The crowd at the Qwest Center was not full on Sunday night at the Qwest Center in Omaha for the John Mellencamp tour stop.  But I think thats what made the night even more special.

Mellencamp played more new songs than I thought he should have.  But the crowd responded well to the new songs showing that the Cougar has not lost his songwriting chops through the years.

The highlights of the show were the songs "Jack and Diane" and his new song "Jena" that dealt with the recent Jena 6 ordeal.  The songs showed that a musician can be an entertainer and an educator.

I also enjoyed the acoustic set played by Mellencamp.  His quiet singing was almost haunting in the half full Qwest Center.

Tomorrow we will analyze the Creighton basketball game last Friday at the Qwest Center and its significance on the season ahead.

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.

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.

Elton John Dazzles Omaha

People lucky enough to get tickets to Elton John on Saturday night at the Qwest Center saw a breath-taking show.  John switched his wardrobe several times as well as switched the style of music he was playing.  John started off the concert with a slow ballad and showcased his under-appreciated piano skills with a long piano solo.

John played mostly old favorites the entire concert obviously promoting his greatest hits CD that was just released.  John only played one song from his newest LP release that surprisingly was one of the nights crowd pleasers.

Elton interacted well with the audience.  He dedicated a few songs to "the audience" and seemed very comfortable talking about random things at random times.  During the encore he came out early to sign autographs.

River City Roundup Was a Success

River City Roundup ended on a high note at the Qwest Center Saturday night with Trace Adkins' rocking performance.  The Qwest was nearly full for the cowboy rocker's performance.  His performance put the perfect capstone on the weekend's events.

Adkins started off the show with the song "I Got My Game On" from his upcoming CD.  This set the tone for a loud and strong performance with a 7-member backing band.  Adkins kept the crowd clapping with an up-tempo set, shying away from his slower ballads.  He was very friendly with the crowd, talking throughout the performance and making jokes.  It seemed like the good vibes from the Roundup rubbed off on Adkins and as a result everyone benefited.

Allen Rocked Last Night, Prepare to Laugh Tonight

Gary Allen sure knew how to get the Qwest Center crowd moving last night.  Allen played mostly his old hit songs and played them with an energy not normally seen by a country artist.  He had 4 guitarists total in the band and used each and every one to create a large, powerful sound.  There was a large crowd for Allen due in large part to the successful rodeo that took place before it.

Tonight Kellie Pickler and Bill Engvall will perform.  Expect a short set with Pickler as they have to fit in her performance and Engvall's stand up routine.  Make sure to stick around for Bill Engvall.  You won't be disappointed with his family oriented material which in one way or another will relate to your family life.  Feel free to take your kids to the show, Engvall's show is family friendly and Kellie Pickler will surely put on a fantastic show.

Groban Pleases Omaha Crowd

If you were a young woman in Omaha on Friday there is a good chance you attended the Josh Groban concert at the Qwest Center.  I would also be willing to bet that you had a great time if you were a young woman at the concert.

The women at the concert went crazy for the 26 year old classical/pop crooner that has become a musical sensation in the world of music.

During the concert Groban sang mostly off of his 2006 album Awake and some off of his previous works.  Not surprisingly the old material that he sang got a lot of praise from the crowd who obviously came to hear their favorites and not his new material.

American Idol Live Tour Was a Hit

The Qwest Center was filled with a variety of different people for the American Idol Live show Friday night.  Old and young attended the event that lasted about three hours.

The show started with the group of 10 finalists from Season six singing "Let's get it Started" by the Black Eyed Peas.  Melinda Doolittle and LaKisha Jones came out next to perform a soulful "Stop in the Name of Love."  Sanjaya scared and wooed the audience with his take on Michael Jackson's "The Way You Make Me Feel."  He was dressed like Michael and he "attempted" the dance moves.

The obvious highlight of the night was the solos by Jordin Sparks.  It made you remember why she was the winner of season six after you heard her rendition of Jewel's "You Were Meant for Me" and her closer "This Is My Now."

Keith Urban Show Full of Surprises

Keith Urban fans were treated to some spectacular surprises at the Qwest Center Omaha on Friday.  Urban was touring in support of his latest album Love, Pain and the Whole Crazy Thing.

Urban filled the show with high and low points.  He began the show with the country radio hit "Once in a Lifetime."  This energy continued throughout most of the first half of the show before he sat down with members of his band to perform acoustic only songs that were nothing short of breathtaking.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the evening was the drum line of Papillion La Vista high school who performed live on stage with Urban.  The band performed a composition by Urban's drummer Mark Arnold called "Hot Pepper Cheese."  It was performed after the song "I Told You So."

Whether it was the music, the looks, or the showmanship that brought you to Urban's show, I believe everyone will agree that it was a good time.

Luis Palau Festival a Huge Success

The Qwest Center parking lots were filled with good vibes and summer heat this weekend.  It reached 90 degrees on Saturday, but that did not stop over 50,000 people from attending the free event.

People of all ages and denominations celebrated Luis Palau's message of finding spirituality in your life.  Speakers all day had the general theme of the festival in mind; no matter who you are, God loves you.

The Livin' It extreme sports show had high flying stunts for the first half of the show followed by a speech that spoke to the young people in the crowd about accepting everyone no matter who they are.  The crowd was happy to participate and actually joined together in the center of the stage to pray.

The bands were all well received during the festival.  KJ-52's performance was by far the most unique.  He rocked the house with old school hip hop beats and lyrics about the Christian lifestyle and also played some of his original music including a song based around prayer for fellow rapper Eminem.

Palau spoke in between the concerts and spoke for around 30 minutes for his main speech.  He spoke about general Christian themes and got the crowd to chant and raise their hands in celebration.