Craig Manning
A&E Editor
Miller Auditorium in 2012, bedecked in musical theatre attire.
Ever since it opened, all the way back in January of 1968, Miller Auditorium has been a landmark of the Western Michigan University campus. Over the years, the 3,497-seat performing arts center has brought an eclectic range of entertainment to Kalamazoo, including everything from Broadway touring companies (their specialty) to noted comedians. But as a passionate music fan first and foremost, I am often disappointed in Miller?s annual schedules and their lack of touring bands and solo artists. Sure, the Campus Activities Board tries to bring at least one major show to the Miller stage each year and certain showcases, like this year?s ?Rain: The Beatles Experience,: sort of blur the lines between a live band and a touring show, but in my time as a student at WMU, not much has caught my eye in that regard.
This would all make a certain amount of sense if Miller was solely an outlet for touring Broadway shows, but that isn?t the case. I have found myself in the Miller Auditorium Green Room on a number of occasions now, waiting backstage to perform at choir concerts and School of Music showcases, and the room?s ?wall of fame? display has always caught my eye. Not only does it show off many of the premiere theatrical events that have come through town, but it also boasts pictures and signatures from the likes of Johnny Cash and B.B. King. When was Miller in the business of bringing such legendary performers to Western?s campus and why have they (mostly) stopped doing so in recent years? Those are the questions I hope to answer this week.
Looking back through the annals of past Miller Auditorium performances (using ultra-useful website tools like setlist.fm and theconcertdatabase.com) I?ve compiled a list of some of the most notable acts to ever grace the stage at WMU?s proudest venue. From a selfish point of view, I found it fascinating that I have stood and performed on the same stage that many of my idols once shared. But from a communal standpoint, I believe it?s worth noting that Kalamazoo once played host to such major concerts. In Michigan, most music fans must drive an hour north (Grand Rapids) or three hours east (Detroit) to see big-name performers in concert, but with major venues as luxurious as Miller (as well as a slew of great club-sized venues downtown) maybe more booking agents should be taking note of Kalamazoo.
(Note: These are really in no particular order. I just tried to include all of the artists that I felt have earned ?legendary? status over their years in the music industry. So as much as I like Ben Folds, he won?t be making this list.)
Bruce Springsteen (Sept. 24, 1996)
Anyone who knows me well knows that I worship Bruce Springsteen above any other musician or songwriter to ever live, and his electric, marathon live shows are a big part of the reason why. Still on the road playing three-plus-hour shows this very year (he turned 63 last month), Springsteen?s one and only stop in Kalamazoo brought him to Miller Auditorium back in ?96. For the record, this show took place during the years when ?the Boss? was writing and recording music without the legendary E-Street Band, and as such, it was likely an intimate solo concert. Clearly in support of a purely-acoustic record called ?The Ghost of Tom Joad,? which had released the year before, the setlist is rife with deep cuts, but it?s still worth noting that a number of Springsteen?s classics?including ?Born in the U.S.A.,? ?Darkness on the Edge of Town? and ?Atlantic City??once rang through Miller?s vast, multi-tiered hall.
Bob Dylan (Oct. 29, 2010)
This one is notable, not only because Bob Dylan is widely considered to be the greatest songwriter and lyricist in the history of rock ?n? roll, but also because it is the only show on this list to have occurred in my time at Western. I was either out of town or working when this one went down, and I have heard from a lot of sources that Dylan has lost a lot of his spark as a live performer in his later years anyway, but the setlist has a lot of appeal. The tour was meant to support ?Together Through Life,? Dylan?s 33rd studio album (he hit no. 34?along with his 50th year in the music industry?in early September), but the key tracks are some of his best and most long-lasting works, from ?Just Like a Woman? to ?Tangled up in Blue? to main-set closer ?Ballad of a Thin Man.? And what would any Bob Dylan show be without ?Like a Rolling Stone,? his definitive classic?
Johnny Cash (Oct. 11, 1996)
Only a few weeks after Springsteen left his mark upon the Miller Auditorium stage, country music?s most legendary troubadour did the same. Though the ?Man in Black? is most well-known for playing concerts in prisons (his most oft-noted albums are ?Live at Folsom Prison? and ?Live at San Quentin?), it?s not too difficult to imagine his deep, distinct baritone voice booming all the way to the furthest reaches of Miller?s balconies.
Ray Charles (Sept. 28, 1985)
For a school that boasts one of the most renowned jazz programs in the world, it must have been a dream come true to have this blind piano prodigy, with all his class and soul, make a stop on campus. The online setlist is only partial, but with staples like ?What?d I Say? and a (presumed) opener of ?Some Enchanted Evening? (from Rogers and Hammerstein?s ?South Pacific?), this one is on my ?wish-I-could-have-been-there? list. The not-being-alive thing might have been a road-block there, though?
Ella Fitzgerald (Jan. 25, 1980) and Tony Bennett (Jan. 29, 1980)
Speaking of jazz, how is it that two of the most legendary singers in the genre made their Miller appearances only four days apart from one another? This year?s Miller season may not include any major jazz performers (other than Gold Company themselves), but students in that department can at least take comfort in knowing that, 23 years ago, the performing arts center booked two household names in a week.
Stevie Ray Vaughan (Oct. 2, 1985)
This real-life guitar hero (you know, the kind that you pretend to be in the car when no one is watching) played Miller less than five years before he passed away. And while Vaughan?s secret weapon was a Fender Stratocaster, it?s hard to imagine that he didn?t at least break out his Gibson Flying V in order to honor Kalamazoo?s guitar heritage.
B.B. King (Nov. 24, 2007)
Speaking of guitar heroes, a lot of students probably missed out on B.B. King when he played Miller Auditorium on the Saturday after Thanksgiving back in ?07, but those who were there were undoubtedly treated to an array of his souring guitar solos, blues-indebted riffs and signature, vibrato-laced tone. When King turned 87 last month, he only added to his legacy of rock ?n? roll longevity. Throw this one on my wish-I-could-have-been-there list as well.
So where have all the legends gone lately? Maybe it was a change in management at Miller that decided to focus more on theatrical events, or maybe it has something to do with inflation and the rising fees that high profile artists like these demand. Either way, it seems like the Kalamazoo music scene, as special as it is, lost something vital along the way. And that?s not to say anything bad about the truly stellar season Miller is presenting this year: it?s merely a music fan stating, quite truthfully, that he would be much more inclined to buy tickets regularly if the venue was still pulling in the Bruce Springsteens and the B.B. Kings.
Want to keep up with the Zoo Mixtape? Follow me on Twitter @FurtherFromSky for weekly updates to the column.
Tags: B.B. King, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Ella Fitzgerald, Gibson guitars, johnny cash, Kalamazoo musi, Miller Auditorium, Ray Charles, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Tony Bennett, Wings Stadium, Zoo Mixtape
Source: http://weekend-scene.com/?p=560
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