Wednesday, May 8, 2013

To The Gibson Amphitheater: Thank You and Goodnight



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.









5 comments:

  1. Such true words.....I started as an Usher there in 1987, The Beach Boys were my first concert - 26 yrs late Pepe Aguilar would be my last. My love of music brought me there, but the people I worked with kept me there - we were truly a family. It's a vagrant job, some months 25 shows, others 2 - but we all worked together to give the audience the best experience possible, something the larger venues lack now. It's half my life and the experience will never leave me. I cry all the time about loosing it, watching it get demolished and for what.....She had it all, and those of us that loved her, she will always be in our hearts ♥

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  2. I worked there from 1979 to 1981...I was a backstage bartender and worked food service at times. My memories were amazing...I started a book on the experience and I still have a lot of stories to go. I was there for amazing sites. I saw Elton pass out on stage...I partied with Willie Nelson....I helped Billy Joel take a wine stain off his white suit...I delivered flowers to Pat Benetar and was this close to closing the deal with her in the trailer...I sat next to Governor Brown as his girlfriend Linda Ronstadt sang...I made Jack Daniels drinks for Sinatra...got yelled at by Gordon Lightfoot (which was probably the only thing anyone heard while he was there). I probably have 100 stories and those are the ones I remember. Not to mention the countless backstage shenanigans I partaked in with the staff and crews. Security has its whole set of stories on its own. Parking lot guys also as well. My stories are filled with sex, drugs, and rock and roll. Sorry Universal...you lost your way and stopped promoting the summer events when you popped that roof on. That was done for money...and look where it got you. Bad move. But what is done is done. You will never take my memories away from me.

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  3. I worked at Universal/Gibson from 7/99- 9/13 started out as food stand then worked myself up to be bartender. the greatest job and the greatest team members who became long time friends. its so sad the Universal had to tear down this great venue and would not even think of finding another space for harry Potter I think city walk is now suffering do to the lack of night foot traffic that the shows used to bring in. Its going to take years to build Harry Potter and in the mean time lose of jobs for over 300 people who worked at the Gibson and lose of revenue for venders and
    shops on citywalk In my opinion Big corporations are really stupid!!!!!!!!!!!!! just hungry to make the Big Bucks and do not consider the losses....

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  4. We all miss it - the Universal/Gibson AmphitheaTRE

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  5. Worked there 17 years. This was my family. I miss it alot.

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