The Avett Brothers announced this week that the band’s New Year’s Eve show, which sold out within minutes, will move to the Civic Center Arena.
The arena has about 7,200 capacity, versus the 2,431-seat Thomas Wolfe Auditorium. Tickets for the new show will go on sale Friday at 10 a.m.
Watch for more details in Wednesday’s Mountain Xpress.
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Good for folks who could not get tickets…sucks for the show as the Civic Center is just about the WORST place I have ever seen a concert. Still, it is the Avetts, and they will rock the place….
Am I the only one that feels a little bummed out about this? Call me selfish, but the acoustics won’t be as good and there’s something about seeing an Avett show in a more intimate setting… I worked hard to get my tickets to the Thomas Wolfe, not the civic center.
I am happy for the fans who were shut out at Thomas Wolfe, but I am HUGELY disappointed to be moving from an acoustically nice room with reasonably comfy seating to something much, much less. The sound cannot help but suffer. And I pray we do not see the camera cranes the Avetts had in Charlotte (astonishingly obnoxious! I was confident they wouldn’t be in Thomas Wolfe; now, I’m not so sure).
The move means that more people will get to enjoy an experience made less enjoyable by the move itself. Still, I see that the calculus has to favor the arena over the auditorium for two simple reasons. First, and most obviously, many more people will now be able to see the show — so, more happy fans, and I guess a bigger economic boost for downtown. But the second reason is my favorite: scalpers still holding tix for NYE will get screwed by the new supply flood, and those who already purchased from scalpers should feel pretty lame in the bargain. Anything that puts a damper on scalpng is okay in my book.
Still, it’s a bummer (for one who already had tickets) to be relocated to a an uncomfortable venue with poor acoustics simply because it has three times the capacity. Mais, c’est la vie.
I completely agree with you, Jake. As someone who has tickets, I’m much less excited about the show now.
Your points are very well made. However, as someone on the other side of the equation, I am happy that I should be able to score a ticket now.
It is very odd to see them booked at the Civic Center when the previous 2 times I saw them were at the Orange Peel (and one of those was as an opening act for the Blue Rags).
Amen, Jake. I have already talked to six people who are going to try to get refunds. After the Peace Center and the Orange Peel the Civic Center is not my idea of a good time.
The Civic Center certainly is no Carnegie Hall. That said, there have been some examples of decent, even good, sound there. The Robert Plant/Alison Krauss show comes to mind. And the Christmas Jams generally sound good for most acts. Let’s hope that the Avetts production crew finds the magic! Plus, it will be easier to get a drink than at T. Wolfe. And it is still a great way to spend NYE in Asheville!
man, I personally think this is lame. The people who got tickets to Thomas Wolfe were buying tickets to see the band at a particular venue with a particular type of feel and sound. going to the civic center vs. thomas wolfe is a serious bait and switch. these decisions need to be made before they announce the show. as someone who worked very hard to get what i knew would be limited seats to a great venue and was planning on traveling 7 plus hours to get there and pay up for a downtown hotel, i don’t know now if it will be worth the effort and money to see a big civic center show. definitely feel a little worked.
It is very odd to see them booked at the Civic Center when the previous 2 times I saw them were at the Orange Peel (and one of those was as an opening act for the Blue Rags).
You want odd? When I first started I closed up one night and caught them at the Westville Pub.
The Civic Center is the WORST place I’ve ever seen a live show at, acoustically speaking. Good luck.
That’s pretty cool about the Westville Pub.
The Civic Center isn’t the best room acoustically but I wouldn’t say it’s the worst I’ve seen a show at. IMO it’s maybe somewhere in between. I agree with the previous poster about the Plant/Krauss show and most of the Xmas Jam artists…also I thought Dylan, Pearl Jam and Phish sounded good. The Allman Brothers and Widespread Panic sounded horrible…Primus was not to great either. Concerts at the CC sounded better when they had the ice rink and had to cover it up with that padded flooring. It tended to damped the reverb a good bit.
I’ve also heard pretty terrible sound in the Thomas Wolfe Aud. I love Tom Waits but I though his show sounded awful…same for the last time Wilco played there. The 1st two Wilco shows there sounded great but the most recent time…not so much.
I’m sure the sounds of bluegrass instruments being banged on will not sound that much worse echoing off the concrete walls of the Civic Center than they would at the Peel.
I’m sorry, they just seem way overrated to me. But I hope you guys all have fun.