A TOSC poster complained there's too much talk of politics on the site. Another suggested in response, she should start threads about other stuff. Goodness, i love logic and simplicity. The hot button issue of the lawsuit and subsequent legislation is too important to ignore. However, in an effort to enhance the site's coverage of all things Sun City AZ, i will start this thread and ask any of you who have taken advantage of this winter/spring shows to jump in and tell us what you thought. Unfortunately we haven't made it to a single one of them. Bummer. In 1968, if memory serves me, the Sun Bowl opened. They brought in top name entertainers and sold tickets as a concert series. They jammed the Sun Bowl with as many as 7,000 people. It was a stunning time in Sun City and the yearly winter series always sold out. Model homes would be open following the afternoon show and always got folks touring them and invariably resulted in sales. In 1982 the Del E Webb Development Corporation (DEVCO) made the RCSC an offer they couldn't refuse. Well not quite, they gave them the venue but they needed to be able to pay for the upkeep. That resulted in the RCSC giving residents the opportunity to vote on an increase of $2 to cover the cost. It passed. Since that time, the yearly shows (fall and winter programs) have been provided to residents. They have been free, which in Sun City is akin to winning the lottery. People get pretty darned excited over them. For years entertainment was selected by an entertainment committee; sometimes with mixed results. They tended to bring the same groups back year after year, unless the really stunk the place out. As shows grew in popularity, there was a change made. The RCSC hired a person to oversee the clubs office and entertainment. She had contacts in that field and at she used them to create a Winter/Spring concert series at the Sun Dial auditorium. Consequently, we had the Sunday evening free shows at the Sun Bowl and the concert series at Sun Dial, both are wildly popular. There are still 4 shows left at the outdoor venue that are free to Sun City cardholders and their escorted guests. Seating is crazy as i am told the Eagles Tribute band several shows back had folks arriving 4 hours early. As a reminder, you can's show up and set up chairs, you had to have your butt in them. Everyone has told me the shows were a blast. The concert series just concluded. They sold out most of the shows with seating right around 1500. My friend Ben bought the series package, and said it was the best series to date. The Weds evening shows have become crazy popular and folks eagerly await the release of who will be appearing the coming year. On top of all of this, there are countless other performances all year long. There are a number of options for those with any musical talent and they all perform during the year. Sometimes free, sometimes for nominal ticket prices. It may be a stretch to suggest Sun City is the entertainment capital of the world, but for those of us living here, it just doesn't get any better. Check out this seasons shows here.
Timely topic as I have attended at least 3 of the latest concerts at the Sun Bowl. I find the entertainment venue to be getting a little stale in that many of the performers appear year after year. For instance, Mogolon seems to perform in both spring and fall performances for the past 2 or 2 years(could be wrong here). In any case, I think the instrumental portion of their performance is fine, I find the vocals to be lacking. Now, maybe it is the sound system, but if that is the case, it should be looked into and corrected if necessary. Members may have their own recommendations for entertainers, and I have one of my own that I would like to offer here. The entertainer is known as BAT. He usually frequents the valley in the winter months and makes the rounds of establishments outside of Sun City like the Irish Wolfhound and other similar venues. When he performs, he performs for 4 solid hours without a break. He can perform almost any song you can name, he plays a 6 and 12 string guitar, and he takes requests from the audience. I personally have never seen any performer with the abilities and stamina that BAT exhibits when he performs. his site is located at https://sites.google.com/site/wheresbat/home. If you have the time, check out the site and especially check out his videos. When BAT is in town my partner and I attend every performance he has. Granted, they are all out of Sun City, but he is definitely worth the travel to any of his performances. We have gone to at least 50 or more of his performances and gone as far as New Jersey to watch and listen to him perform. Don't take my word for it, but go to any of his performances when he returns to the area. He posts a schedule of his appearances on his web site and you have to check religiously to see when he will be in the Sun City area in the winter months. Don't take my word for this, go check out his site, his videos, and go see him in person when he returns tro the valley. Lets get the sound system checked at the Sun Bowl and lets get some fresh entertainers.
I live approx 1-mile from the Sun Bowl. I sat in my recliner last evening with adult beverages at hand and the front door open -- and listened to the concert. It brought memories of good music and younger days. What a treat it was! Sadly, I don't go to SB in person -- crowds and mosquitoes ruin the experience for me. I've been here long enough to remember SCW's Sun Dome, too -- saw many great shows there, mostly national talent (eg, Garrison Keillor, Bill Cosby, etc). It was a very accessible venue, 7000 seats (largest single floor theater in the USA when it opened in 1980). Del Web sold it to ASU for $1. ASU couldn't make a go of it and it closed in 2013.
Damn SCR, been bitching about the sound system at the Sun Bowl since i was on the board. Nuts to think it hasn't been replaced, it's wholly inadequate.There has been some duplication of shows. Not sure why? I wonder how many of us are still around who had the opportunity to see shows at the Sun Dome IC? I suspect the vast majority are unaware it even existed. It was quite the spectacle. Too damn big and the sight lines were atrocious as you moved to the wings. Don Tuffs, who is the president at the Del Webb Sun Cities Museum these days, ran it until they gifted it. He's got great stories from its glory days. And, he tried to tell John Meeker it was too big but John was a bigger is better kind of guy. For those unfamiliar, there is a cool display featuring it in the little room off the back that was the original sales office in Sun City. You can sit in some of the old seats from it while you watch The Beginning. Way fun.
I never sat in the wings, but the center area of seats were very good as I recall. Nice wide isles moved people in/out easily. I do remember it was a long long walk up the sloping parking lot in 112+ heat if you got there late and had to park at the bottom. As I recall, the stage was too small for some types of shows, but the sound was decent. I read somewhere the SD was intended to draw people to SC & SCW when DW owned it. Got pretty angry at ASU when they took over because they seemed to favor putting shows at ASU-West instead of the SD. The SD demonstrated that a right-sized venue in this area could draw major entertainment. Certainly the Casino in Glendale will be hosting shows to compete with those in Scottsdale's casinos -- I don't know if that leaves room for anything more grandiose in SC. Something to think about if planing for a theater ever materializes.
Interesting comment IC. I hadn't really thought about the new casino becoming a destination for entertainers, but it stands to reason. What's even more odd has been the lack of any real press coverage about it, when it will be ready and just how spectacular it will be. Admittedly, i don't take the AZ Republic where that would be, but the local news has been devoid of any coverage either. Maybe they are waiting till they get closer to the opening. I will say this about whatever we do with a performing arts venue; We should build it for our purposes, not in hopes we attract outside ticket sales. Meeker, when he built both the Sun Bowl and the Sun Dome, knew it was as much a marketing ploy as it was for practical purposes. Our goal should be to insure a comfortable venue, adequate seating, great sound and situated in the community for easy access and good parking. If we need sell tickets to those outside the wall, with the unsold seats, it should be at a higher price and only if we need to get to capacity.
