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Per Mrs. Steel's suggestion, I thought I'd start this.
After seeing The Police this past weekend and realizing that Raleigh wasn't on their tour itinerary (nor was Charlotte), I started wondering, who *does* come to the Triangle area? I've always lived in cities that were on everyone's tour itinerary (Seattle, San Francisco, Boston, Phoenix, etc.) or at least close by. But the closest place they are playing to Raleigh is Tampa!
So those of you who are from there or have lived there for a while can you tell me? Who comes through the Triangle on tour?
I know it isn't as hot a market as LA, Boston, NYC, Seattle, or the like, but it isn't totally awful. I didn't look at places like Virgina Beach, or such, it is a 4 hour drive there, but for a good concert, people in this area of CA will drive to Riverside, or San Diego, so it is doable.
The other thing is that if there is a partucular band you really like, email their website. With all the transplants moving to the Raleigh area they might start scheduling concerts closer or in town. Worth a shot anyway.
It list Aretha Franklin, Elvis Costello, Big Bad Voo-Doo Daddy, KD Lang, of course this covers ALL of NC. I am kinda of suprised that with the big universities there (that usually seems to be hot spots) that there are not more concerts in the area. Guess the more requests bands get the more concerts might come to town.
When I lived in Portland OR, we'd go to Seattle easily. It's a 3 hour drive but for a great concert, it's worth it. But I'm considerably older now and we have kids, so we just can't pick up and drive 3 hours to go see a concert.
We've had a lot of bands come through over the years. The really, really big acts would sometimes play Carter Finley, but it has been awhile since I've been to a show there (probably Buffett on July 4th, 1998). Prior to that, though, we got the Stones (twice), The Who, The Grateful Dead, Paul McCartney, and Pink Floyd (twice) at the Carter in the early 90s or so. (Going way back, there was a legendary show with Van Halen and Boston).
When the Dean Dome first opened, it was a really hot spot for concerts, but I never hear of stuff there anymore. The RBC has had lots of big name shows of late from the Chili Peppers to Beyonce to local boy Clay Aiken (my daughter's former camp counselor at the YMCA turned American Idol superstar). Green Day and Prince have performed at the RBC in the past.
The whole "summer shed" industry has really changed and isn't as big as it once was. But we still remain a popular stop. I saw Rush a month ago and had a blast. Dave Matthews is coming up in the Fall. Widespread Panic plays a stand every April since the place opened.
Koka Booth in Cary has become more popular the last 5 years or so.
The clubs get some great bands. The White Stripes, Interpol, and that sort all have played in the last couple of years. Lincoln Theater and the Cat's Cradle being the two biggest that have a regular schedule. And Disco Rodeo (formerly the Ritz) gets good midsize acts.
And Raleigh has lots of free concerts - the Bud series downtown, etc. While the headliners have been pretty washed up this year, the openers have been very good and the crowds are less early in the day.
Lots of small clubs, too. I especially like The Pour House.
If that's really big on your list you might be seriously disappointed. I haven't seen any concert in the past year that I'd like to see. There was one exception (can't remember who) but the minimum ticket price (bad seat) was like $75 + taxes so I passed.
Thanks everyone. And for my oldest son (the one who would have the most trouble with this move), I wonder if Reel Big Fish, Less Than Jake, etc., play Raleigh?
We just took our younger son to see Blue Man Group. Somehow I don't think they perform in the Triangle either.
Actually, the Blue Man Group had some performances here just a couple of months ago. So ya never know!
We've had some fairly big names come through recently (Christina Aguilera, Beyonce, Harry Connick Jr., John Mayer), but I'd be lying if I said this was a popular stop for major tours.
I agree with the previous posters in that the Walnut Creek Amphitheatre in Raleigh and the Koka Booth Amphitheatre in Cary capture a lot of the mid sized acts that do the outdoor Amphitheatre tour throughout the country. As previously mentioned, these are the places where you can catch shows by the likes of Dave Matthews, Cold Play, John Mayer, Gwen Stefani, Harry Connick Jr., James Taylor ect ...... The smaller clubs and venues in places like downtown Raleigh and the Cat's Cradle offer a great opportunity to see great local and regional acts in a smaller setting. Every once in a while a HUGE major act will come through and put on a show at the RBC center or at Wallace Stadium in Duke. Billy Joel performed at the RBC Center in Raleigh back in March 2007 and The Rolling Stone's 2005 concert tour made a stop at Wallace Stadium on the Duke Campus in Durham.
While there aren't a plethora of "Giant Stadium" type concert stops here in the area, I don't really find the area to be lacking at all. Quite frankly, with the constant increase in ticket prices across the country, I find myself attending free concerts more and more and have become very selective in choosing what major acts I am willing to plunk down my hard earned dollars for.
I plan on stopping by the North Hills Mall in N. Raleigh this Thrusday evening to catch some free jazz music on the outdoor sqaure from 5-9pm. I may even go to see John Mayer tonight at Walnut Creek if there are still lawn tickets left, but I am having trouble parting with the cash, but may cave to my wife's desire to go anyway!
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Here is some from ticketmaster
