The place has seen
saints and sinners: the Dalai Lama and
Pope John Paul II; George Carlin and Chris Rock.
Heads of state and
rock royalty have shouted out from the stage:
Barack Obama and Bill Clinton; B.B. King, Miles Davis, and Joni
Mitchell.
I personally witnessed
great performances by Weather Report, Elton John, Steve Winwood, James Taylor,
Kenny Loggins, Natalie Cole, Toto, Michael McDonald, and Dan Fogelberg.
My memories include
nearly getting arrested when I snuck backstage to meet Chuck Mangione. Then there was the New Year’s Eve debacle
with Barry Manilow where the guy behind me in the balcony threw up into his
party hat for a good 30 minutes before medics could extract him from his seat.
My first date with my
wife was to see Christopher Cross perform at the Universal Amphitheater (as it
was called until 2005 when the Gibson Guitar Company bought the naming
rights). The girl I originally asked
turned me down. My wife never lets me
forget that she was second choice.
On the subject of
love, we were well into our married years when someone gave us front row seats
at the Tom Jones concert. During “What’s
New, Pussycat?” a mob of middle-aged women rushed the stage and a barrage of
panties flew over our heads like so many brightly colored cotton birds. I thought I’d seen it all when several women lifted
their shirts to shake their bare breasts at the gravelly-voiced Tom. I was traumatized. Tom took it all in stride and turned in a
stellar performance, ever the consummate professional.
The venue started life
as an open air amphitheater in a Hollywood back lot with a few exhibits and a
studio tour. The first performers were
the cast of the rock musical Jesus Christ
Superstar. I saw one of the last
concerts there in the early 1980s before it closed for remodeling. The grand reopening in 1982 featured an
enclosed space with state-of-the-art sound and lighting. These were the days when the Universal
Amphitheater was the concert venue in
Los Angeles. The Fabulous Forum was
larger, but Universal did not have a bad seat in the house. It was intimate yet held more than 6,000
people.
Backstage, the name of
every performer who graced the 41 year-old hall has been stenciled on the
walls. Lots of history; lots of great
performances.
This fall,
the place will be demolished for “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.”
It seems Universal Studios is coming late to
that party; Harry Potter is old now.
It
is an unfair trade.
The amphitheater had
more than a few good years ahead of her with a little remodeling and a
technology upgrade.
The competition from
the Staples Center, Nokia Theater, the Greek Theater, and the Hollywood Bowl as
well as smaller venues like the Walt Disney Concert Hall have all drawn artists
and audiences away from the Gibson.
Recently, I attended
an event there and was able to wander around a bit both in the front of the house
and backstage where these photographs were taken. There was the occasional loose railing or
wobbly seat, but she looked good for four decades of use.
We tear down things
too quickly in this city. In the
process, we erase cultural icons and discard our history. But there is beauty in the aged and lined
faces of buildings. Who needs a “Wizarding
World?” We can visit that place in the books
and films. Great performances live on in
our memories. A searing guitar solo and
another encore never get old.
By the close of 2013,
the Universal-Gibson Amphitheater will be dead and gone. Construction jackhammers and bulldozers will
silence the thundering applause. The history,
the performers, the music will remain only with those of us who remember. And that will have to be enough.
