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August 27, 2010

Top acts like cost to prep in NEPA

By Steve Mocarsky smocarsky@timesleader.com
Staff Writer
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So why would major acts such as Roger Waters want to rehearse for his world tour in the Wyoming Valley? How about AC/DC? Simon & Garfunkel?

Some big names in the local entertainment industry on Tuesday talked about why they thought internationally known performers decided to prepare for their months-long cross-country or worldwide stints at Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre Township.

“It’s pretty easy to see why they’re coming here,” said Joe Nardone Jr., owner of Joe Nardone’s Gallery of Sound.

“It’s not too far from New York or Philadelphia. … And in the summertime, most of the shows are at Montage Mountain, so the arena has a scheduling gap” and can accommodate a weeks-long rehearsal without interruption, Nardone said.

Cost is another big factor, Nardone said. “Imagine trying to price this thing in New York.”

Waters, of the defunct band Pink Floyd, is preparing for his “The Wall Live” tour by rehearsing at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza. Simon & Garfunkel practiced and performed there in 2003 and AC/DC performed a dress-rehearsal show after rehearsing there before a 2008 world tour.

The only other rehearsal venue choices for major acts might include “some sound stage or maybe an airport hangar,” Nardone said.

Marilyn Santarelli, executive director of the F.M. Kirby Center in Wilkes-Barre, echoed Nardone’s sentiments, citing the Wyoming Valley’s “easy access, great talent pool” and the fact that coming here is “more affordable than Philadelphia or New York. It’s a symbiotic relationship. It works for us, and it works for them.”

Santarelli said the Kirby has also had its share of big names spend time rehearsing there before starting a tour.

“When we had Adam Lambert, he spent a couple days at the Kirby Center before he kicked off his tour, ” she said.

And, Santarelli added, the phenomenon of big stars appreciating the area is nothing new.

“Many times, we’ve had people like Don Rickles, Joan Rivers, Bill Cosby, and they’ve all recalled previous dates they came here. They would say, ‘If you can’t make it in Wilkes-Barre, you can’t make it anywhere,’ ” Santarelli said.

All the musical artists performed at least one show in the area after rehearsing here, but neither Waters nor arena officials have even publicly acknowledged his tour group’s presence at the arena for at least the past two weeks, let alone whether he’ll put on a performance before beginning his world tour in Toronto on Sept. 17.

Santarelli noted Pink Floyd – the band Waters co-founded and with whom he first performed “The Wall” 31 years ago – still has a huge following locally, as evidenced by a sold-out performance by tribute band Pink Floyd Experience at the Kirby in February.

“If it were to go on sale as a secret show, it would sell out in a half-hour or less,” Nardone said. “If they think there’s time (to finish rehearsing and still perform locally before leaving for Toronto), they could probably collect back all the money they spent on rent and more.”

 

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