Please share news stories about the show here. Copy/Paste the story into the forum, but PLEASE, also provide a link to the source immediately fdollowing the article. There are legal reasons for this, so help me out and post it properly.

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Interestingly, none of the NewsObserver (an event sponsor) or local TV stations covered this. The only review I could find anywhere on the show was
cary.mync.com/site/cary/news%7CSports%7CLifestyles/story/9401/koka-booth-amphitheatre-rocks-benefit-concert

(I omitted the http:// in case that causes the same problems it did on the old site)

Thanks for the video link blindfaith! I suspect there will be some coverage in the weekly papers like The Indy, and Yes Weekly when they hit the racks. I wouldn't be surprised if a large part of the old forum coming down wasn't an effort to keep public complaints out of the mainstream. Remember, lot's of people were "observers" of Rick's forum and the press is no exception! I look forward to more posts on this topic as they develop...

I checked out the HOF website and The Entwistle Foundation, and nothing yet. HOF still has the July press release up.

I at least left a comment on the news 17 site, why not?

Mike

http://stockforrest.com/2008/09/23/rock-hall-of-fame-benefit-concert-review/

The Mayor of Cary's blog:
http://weinbrecht.org/JournalPage.html
that like will stop working with his next post, but this next one should work when that one goes offline:
http://weinbrecht.org/Journal/JournalEntry092108.html

Ha! It's so funny cause the mayor thinks it was a great success while the critic was a little scathing (albeit mostly correct, I think).

From the Cary Mayor's blog....ONLY THREE SONGS WERE CUT? Also, looks like the HOF already committed to next year. Could that be true?


"Friday’s main event was the first day of performances by artists from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Being a Rock and Roll fan I can say that the performance of the White Sox All Star Band was one of the best I have seen in my life. During the show I talked with representatives of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame about coming back to Cary next year. They said they would consider it but the plan was to move from place to place each year.



Saturday’s main event was the second day of performances by artists from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Again, this was an outstanding show. The best news from this show was that after much prodding the board members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced that they would come back to Cary next year. Cary will be glad to host them and I am looking forward to helping make next year’s event even better than this year. The only downside about the two days was that the show went about 45 minutes over and we had to ask that three songs be cut from the last set. But in my opinion this event was a huge success for Cary and hopefully for the John Entwistle foundation and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. "

David Menconi posted the following to the N&O and referenced both this site & the Yahoo group

Also, a Cary News article

I hate it when it does that...
newsobserver.com/105/story/1231328.html
carynews.com/arts_more/story/10296.html

Here is the N & O's story from today's paper:

Cary show more 'guess who?' than The Who

By David Menconi, Staff Writer Comment on this story <#MI_Comments_Link>
Five days after the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame concert in Cary, it's still either a question or an answer: Who was backstage as the unannounced big-name "special guest" Saturday night?

Whoever it was never appeared onstage. Jack Bruce's set ended about 11:45 p.m. Saturday, well past the 11 p.m. curfew at Cary's city-owned Koka Booth Amphitheatre. But the scheduled closing "tribute to The Who" didn't happen.

When asked, concert chairman Rick French declined to identify the mystery guest.

"Who was or was not there is a moot point," French said. "What we had planned is no longer relevant. People can speculate all they want, and it doesn't matter."

Before the show, rumors were flying around that the closing guest would be Pete Townshend, guitarist for The Who. Lending credence to the rumors, the two-day festival was a benefit for the John Entwistle Foundation. Named for the late Who bassist, the foundation provides music education for needy children.

Townshend would have upped the concert's celebrity quotient considerably. Cary resident French, a trustee of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, announced the show in April with a Web site likening it to Woodstock, Monterey and Isle of Wight -- historic and legendary rock festivals all.

"This will be one of the bigger music events in the country without a doubt," French told the Cary News.

Instead of big names, however, the lineup largely consisted of lesser-known acts, including former members of Styx, Deep Purple and Grand Funk.

In the wake of the show, some posts appeared on the rockhallbenefit.com <http://rockhallbenefit.com> forum complaining about the show being cut short. Saying the forum had been hacked, French shut it down Monday.

In the forum's absence, a couple of online groups started up, launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/RockHOFCary <http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/RockHOFCary> and caryrhofshowlives.forumotion.net <http://caryrhofshowlives.forumotion.net>.

Two of the hot topics this week have been whose fault it was that the show was cut short, with various posters blaming the venue, the town of Cary and the promoter; and whether Townshend was actually in Cary. One poster even claimed to have seen Townshend get out of a limousine at the venue.

But it does not appear that Townshend was in Cary last weekend, or even the Western hemisphere. Contacted by e-mail, Townshend's personal assistant Nicola Joss responded: "Pete was enjoying a quiet family weekend here in Richmond [England]. There was never any question of Pete appearing anywhere."

Lyman Collins, cultural arts manager for the town of Cary, said there was no sign of Townshend at Booth Amphitheatre on Saturday night.

"I never saw Pete Townshend there, and I was backstage the entire time," Collins said. "No staff member saw him or interacted with him."

*'Rumor has it ...'*

As Saturday's show wore on, there were conversations between Collins, French and Booth general manager Becky Schmidt about allowing the show to go past curfew -- which it did, with the approval of Cary mayor Harold Weinbrecht.

Schmidt says that French himself implied that Townshend was going to play.

"It was mentioned that he may or not be at the venue, and he may or may not perform," Schmidt said. "Rick phrased it, 'Rumor has it that he may or may not be here.' I consulted with my production staff, but we could not confirm that he was there."

French denied Schmidt's version of the conversation.

"I didn't say, 'Rumor has it,'" French said. "That's not exactly what I said. But it was a private conversation about where we were at the time."

As to where the Townshend rumors came from, French said he was not the source.

"We put it on sale and announced the lineup," French said. "Whatever people believed or imagined about who the guests might be, that didn't come from me. It was a fabulous show, people got their money's worth. We hope to do it again somewhere next year. Maybe Cary, or Raleigh, or some other part of the country."

david.menconi@newsobserver.com <mailto:david.menconi@newsobserver.com> or blogs.newsobserver.com/beat <http://blogs.newsobserver.com/beat> or (919) 829-4759

The link for this story:

http://www.newsobserver.com/105/story/1231328.html

Here is the review from this week's Cary News:

Rockers, fans turn out for benefit show

By Kelly Behling, Correspondent
A Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Benefit Concert at the Koka Booth Amphitheatre in Cary last Friday and Saturday showcased rock and roll favorites “from psychedelic to theatrical,” Rick French said.
“I am absolutely thrilled and couldn’t be happier with the turnout,” said French, benefit concert chairman and a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum’s national board of trustees.

Cary Mayor Harold Weinbrecht even declared Sept. 19-20 as Rock and Roll Weekend in the town because “the art of rock and roll has enriched our lives.”

Friday’s concert began with Pete Hopkins, a National Band Search winner from visit Raleigh.com. He was followed by Rick Derringer and then the White Sox All-Star Band.

“The White Sox All-Star Band was very good,” said Tom McKay of Cary. “They were a lot better than I had been expecting. Especially the guy on the fiddle, he was playing so hard and so fast that he went through bows like they were disposable.”

The All-Star Band included singer Eric Bazilian from The Hooters, Yes drummer Alan White, Geoffrey Castle, an internationally known electric violinist, and Bernt Bodal.

Closing Friday night’s show was Dave Mason of Traffic. “Dave Mason was very good, he was excellent,” said Joe Norkus Sr. of Carrboro. “He had a very tight band with a good rhythm section. For his encore he performed Dear Mr. Fantasy.”

Saturday’s festivities began with an emerging artist showcase featuring Grand Society, Parmalee and Supagroup. They were followed by North Carolina groups The Connells and Arrogance.

Concert-goers began to stream heavily into Koka Booth just after 5 p.m. while Tom Constanten of Greatful Dead played a quick set on the keyboard.

Jefferson Starship took the stage following Constanten, playing hits like “Ride the Tiger,” “Law Man” and crowd favorite “Somebody to Love.”

Dennis DeYoung of Styx entertained the ever-growing crowd with a little humor mixed in his set. “Now, tell me the truth,” he began, “how many of you are seeing me for the first time?” After the crowd cheered, he retorted, “Where the hell have you been? I’m 60!” His set included “Don’t Let it End,” “Show Me the Way” and “Mr. Roboto.”

Saturday’s closing set featured performances by Joe Lynn Turner of Deep Purple, Buck Dharma of the Blue Oyster Cult and Mark Farner of Grand Funk Railroad. Their songs included “Burnin’ for You,” “Godzilla,” “(Don’t Fear) the Reaper,” “Loco-motion,” “Some Kind of Wonderful” and “I’m Your Captain.”

They were joined by Jack Bruce from Cream, who took the opportunity to speak about John Entwistle, whose foundation was also being supported through the concert. “It’s so great to be here and remember John,” he said.

“We were so pleased with the town of Cary and the visitors bureau,” French said. “Koka Booth is beautiful, artists loved coming here, and the support has been so great. We might do it here again next year.”

The link for this:

http://www.carynews.com/arts_more/story/10296.html

Moving this story (N&O) over to the "Hot Air Vent" thread located as a sticky on the home page. I have a feeling this is going to generate some heat! Please respond to it there!


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