Jay, here.
Just got back from the Kevin Costner & Modern West concert this evening at the Hult Center.
It’s late. I’m tired. So, let’s cut to the chase.
Here are some answers to a few of the questions you might be asking yourself.
What?
An Evening with Kevin Costner & Modern West, presented by the U of O Baseball Program.
Where?
Silva Concert Hall, Hult Center - 7th & Willamette, Eugene, Oregon.
When?
Friday May 30, 2008 & Saturday, May 31, 2008 at 8:00pm.
Why?
Kevin Costner & Modern West are presenting these benefit concerts for the University of Oregon’s new baseball program (in support of Mr. Costner’s good friend, U of O baseball coach George Horton).
Who?
Well, not as many in the audience as I think the U of O was expecting. There was no one in the balcony and only a smattering of people at the mezzanine level. The orchestra level was relatively full. But I’m guessing the Silva was only at about 45% capacity. And Mr. Costner took note of the disappointing turnout, inviting people to come on down and sit in the empty seats.
How?
I received a comp ticket. But tickets are $60 and $70. $25 for students. Although, I just heard that the price of the tickets might have been dropped down to $45.
What should you expect at the concert on Saturday?
This is just a guess. But if it’s anything like Friday’s performance, here’s how it will go:
The show starts with a montage of clips from Kevin Costner’s films. As those clips finish up, Mr. Costner makes his entrance at the back of the orchestra level. And if you can get a seat on the aisle, you have a 50-50 shot at shaking his hand as he makes his way to the stage. As soon as he gets on stage, he performs for about two hours straight. In between songs, he interacts with the crowd a little bit and explains where the songs came from. At the end of the concert, the bands comes back for two more songs.
Take your camera. People were snapping pictures all over the place.
How was it?
It was OK. Mr. Costner and the band are clearly talented individuals. But it was difficult getting into country-like songs I’ve never heard before (and Mr. Costner acknowledged this fact to by pointing out that some of the songs were new to them and all of them were new for us). They performed all original songs, except for one. And the Silva Concert Hall does not encourage people to stand up in its setup. Although, I think the energy level was expected given the number of people in attendance.
It was also very surreal. I was watching Kevin Costner give a music concert in Eugene, Oregon to benefit U of O baseball. That’s a lot to take in.
What were the highlights of the show?
There were two highlights. About half-way through the show, Mr. Costner invited people to come up on stage and dance. About 10-15 attractive women between the ages of 40 and 55 (Sorry, if you were younger. Blame it on the fog.) got up there to dance with Kevin and the band…and one guy. And he was hilarious. Worth the price of admission alone. Which for me, was nothing. But if I had paid $75 for my ticket, that would have made it worth it. Very funny stuff.
The second highlight was a low point, as well. Towards the end of the show, some woman tossed her red underwear on stage. When did Kevin Costner become Tom Jones? Expected, but I was really hoping the crowd would disappoint me.
Unfortunately, I don’t think there is any kind of guaranty of these happening Saturday night.
Should you go?
If you view this concert as an opportunity to see a movie star and support the U of O baseball program, then you should probably go. But if you’re expecting a great music concert and are not interested in the baseball program, you might want to save your money.
What’s the bottom-line?
The bottom-line is that Kevin Costner seems like a very talented and personable performer who was doing a solid for a good friend.
Did you go the concert? If you did, what did you think?
While we’ve got Kevin Costner on the brain, here’s my list of Top 10 Kevin Costner films:
Top 10 Kevin Costner Films
10. No Way Out
One of the more unexpected endings of all-time. It’s no Keizer Soze, but it’s still good.
9. Revenge
Tony Scott directs one of the best revenge movies ever. The best being the 2002 version of The Count of Monte Cristo (directed by Waterworld’s Kevin Reynolds).
8.Wyatt Earp
Even though Tombstone is more entertaining, Dennis Quad should have been nominated for an Academy Award for his take on John Henry “Doc” Holliday.
7. A Perfect World
One of Kevin Costner’s best performances with Clint Eastwood’s deft direction.
6. JFK
Forget the history. This is an education in film-making techniques.
5. Open Range
The best gun fight in movie history. And it’s all in the sound design.
4. Field of Dreams
The most unrealistic portrayal of a sports culture ever put on film.
3. Bull Durham
The most realistic portrayal of a sports culture ever put on film.
2. Dances With Wolves
An epic Western and Civil War period piece with a non-traditional portrayal of Native Americans.
1. The Untouchables
Brian DePalma’s best directorial effort. A David Mamet script. Sean Connery’s Academy Award-winning performance. Ennio Morricone’s masterful score. Robert Deniro as Al Capone. And Kevin Costner at the beginning of his rise to fame as an American movie icon.
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Tags: Baseball, Concert, Ducks, Kevin Costner, Modern West, oregon, Review, University of Oregon
Norman Says:
May 31st, 2008 at 7:33 pm
I loved the concert. Very entertaining, a professional show by a great guy. Surprised that he would shake my hand!
Ina Hendry Says:
June 1st, 2008 at 6:24 am
Modern West played in Charleston SC. The Music Barn sold out with a lot people waiting outside at show time hoping to get in . People are still talking about the band and waiting for them to come back.
Jay Says:
June 1st, 2008 at 8:48 am
Ina -
The band was good. And considering Costner is primarily an actor, director, and producer, he was good, too. I just have a feeling that the Hult Center was not the right kind of environment for that show. But it was probably the best option in the area.
If you’re referrring to the Smokey Creek B B Q & Music State Barn in Charleston, that’s what I’m talking about. I could imagine seeing Costner and Modern West in that kind of setting would be blast.
Jay
DSN
Jay Says:
June 1st, 2008 at 8:49 am
Norm -
Glad you enjoyed the concert.
I’m glad I went because I would have been kicking myself if I had not gone.
Jay
DSN
brayden Says:
June 1st, 2008 at 1:08 pm
I did not get to go to the show as my wife and I were out of town….but Modern West is obviously a talented band that yes, would play off better in a different environment. That is my feeling about the Hult Center in general. If it’s Opera, Ballet or Theater - I will go to the Hult. If it’s a band, The Hult is the wrong place for most any of them. The Cuthbert would have been a far better venue. Outdoor with the smell of cut grass and BBQ would add to the sense of what Modern West is all about. Sorry to have missed the show, we would have love to have been there. Maybe we will fly to Chicago to catch them at the House of Blues????
Zachary Vishanoff Says:
June 1st, 2008 at 5:04 pm
He has alot of nerve showing up at Civic when these guys want to doze it. They ought to forget about movie stars get rich quick schemes, use Howe field, keep Oregon Wrestling ,fix the Pit, and send Kilkenny to the golf course.
Jay Says:
June 1st, 2008 at 8:21 pm
Zach -
I have to agree with you. Costner at Civic was a strange one. And in some of his interviews he talked about how great Civic is. Kind of ironic.
Jay
DSN
Sara Says:
June 2nd, 2008 at 11:26 am
I went to the concert on saturday. Comp’ed tickets & backstage passes from his manager. I was a little hesitan when I heard he would be playing country music (i’m not a country music fan). However, after attending the show I would label his band more as rock ‘n roll than country. I came away loving the show. I would recommend that everyone see his band if given the chance!
Btw, how did Robin Hood: Price of Thieves not make your top 10 list? (Mr. Brooks was a good Costner flick as well)
Deborah Says:
June 2nd, 2008 at 11:53 am
I was at the Friday night concert, and I thought it was very good. I was surprised it wasn’t a sellout, considering it was a benefit concert. Guess Oregonians aren’t behind college baseball to the extent one would hope.
As far as I’m concerned, Modern West is a very good band. They would be better if they had time to practise and play together more than just a few times a year. But as long as Kevin Costner is still making films his primary focus that’s all it’s going to be - an occasional band.
Jay Says:
June 2nd, 2008 at 12:15 pm
Sara -
What was the attendance like Saturday?
I guess Robin Hood could sneak in at either 9 or 10. Alan Rickman’s scene-chewing performance is probably worth higher consideration alone.
Jay
DSN
Jay Says:
June 2nd, 2008 at 12:18 pm
Deborah -
I think the concert was OK (with an upwards inflection). And I completely understand the challenges they face as a group.
To me, this is a case of the sum of the parts being greater than the whole.
It comes down to what kind of expectations you had going in.
Deborah & Sara, thanks for the comments.
Jay
DSN
Zachary Vishanoff Says:
June 2nd, 2008 at 12:41 pm
Jay -Glad I’m not the only one to notice the irony here. I was starting to think it was just me. If he were on the level with us he would have shown up there riding a yellow and green bulldozer with a large O brand on it. At least then there would be a honest community debate instead of the current(intentional) drown the issue and decisions in hype situation. A successful and subversive agent. If you can ,try to cover the upcoming June 3 decision on the UO arena vs. Fairmount neighbors case. The Eugene Planning office has all the records on it . The verdict will probably not be a widely reported thing but I’m pretty sure there is alot on the line with this escalating case.
Zachary Vishanoff Says:
June 3rd, 2008 at 4:23 pm
Why don’t you put a link up to the new UO land buy -thats the land bank monster issue(out of control already)-scrutiny necessary. It’s in the Cashregisterguard today. The bigger story is the public-private(Farkas report)Nike shadow campus but it is too complicated for the current media goons.
Jay Says:
June 3rd, 2008 at 5:04 pm
Zach -
There’s a link up on DSN right now about the UO Foundation buying the land on Franklin.
The “Farkas Report”? You’re going to have to explain that one.
Email us. You’ve the address.
Jay
DSN
Zachary Vishanoff Says:
June 3rd, 2008 at 6:05 pm
The Farkas report was something Kilkenny funded(Im pretty sure) to design a medium density lifestyle mall /public-private sports themed development(UO foundation) in association with the arena and future Emx “improvements” 100 mill later .To best get an idea of what I mean use the Daily emerald’s search or google using the title to search(my friend wrote it) it is: Report analyzes development options . I’m glad you ask because the planning of UO expansion in Fairmount will not proceed well without solid support until it is adequately scrutinized. The main point of the Farkas report seems to be the transformation of the UO mission from education to becoming a player in urban village sustainable development partnership development (the arena entices condo development oppurtunities . The Emerald article I mentioned is worth reading and even asking the UOAD about it.
Zachary Vishanoff Says:
June 4th, 2008 at 7:05 pm
The UO loses a land use round today! This is a big deal. Ill be studying what this means for next couple days but you should be interviewing Kilkenny about this(no comment I’ll bet). If I can figure out details of what this will mean I’ll send in a short summary.
Western Man Says:
June 5th, 2008 at 7:47 am
What does this mean Zach? Thanks.
Zachary Vishanoff Says:
June 5th, 2008 at 3:30 pm
Western Man, The project was supposed to move so quickly that numbers could always keep changing by the day(very legally convenient for the firms involved). This successful challenge slows the” just build it” thrust to a set of questions that get investigated -just build what for whom and why, how and what will tickets cost. If you use google with keywords Nike just build it you’ll find a good article .The hope of Frohnmayer was to just morph all the rules away and screw the details/neighbors and rush it through . I talked to a U.O. official today who said even some on the U.O. admin wanted this to get caught up in a permit process. So my point is Nike wants the arena not to cooperate or respond to neighbors. Hyper competitor ethos. Phil wants an indoor track here too. Getting bogged down in a arena dispute menas the nike pipeline of interelated uo projects gets clogged. Phil is getting older and wants Eugene to be a home away from home sports playground-not legal battleground. There are about 25 issues here but the main ones are:
*parking(green architect goons think they can cry global warming and skip it-wrong)
*the other proposed Nike projects may be slowed/stopped because they require the same parking lots.
*N.E.P.A. laws
*Autzen field of schemes(it is competing with arena now-public patience with Kilkenny running low)
*Character-Phil is not particularly patient or subtle-he’s prone to throw fits over this.He is pretty accustomed to having it completely his way
*media coming for olympics-hide Nikes UO whip now!
*Nike is politically tone deaf-these all add up to a potential perfect political storm(UO secrecy has stoked the waves that could crash over parts of Nikes brand)If UO hurts Nikes feelings it is hammer time. It is hyper complicated. Did you ever see Citizen Kane? The main character is so powerful he undermines his own life with a pathological stubborn quality. Just do it is a lot like a religion…..a religion whose mantra may build pyramids on not so solid foundations or data. To really know how Nike responds to this planet you are best to read”Whos Afraid of Niketown”. It is a remarkabe book that has information related to what Nike hopes will happen in the future in Eugene development. If you have not time for the book there are two essays on similiar issues you can find online: Brandhubs is the name of the first article(50pages)and the second one is called: Corporate Urbanism and Sustainability. Just using their titles in google should work to find them-if not add the keyword Nike also. Let me know if I am not clear and I will go back over my meaning on this stuff. Now the neighbors have time for a careful challenge with solid facts and figures on the table which means UO Foundation aint Just doing it for Nike.(streamlining their project)
Modern West Says:
June 5th, 2008 at 5:58 pm
Zack, you seem to be an angry man. The University of Oregon has NOTHING to do with the fate of Civic Stadium. That is in the hands of 4J which owns it. Oregon just didn’t use it for their baseball stadium because it wasn’t financially feasible. Why are you blaming them for that? I’m sure if they did use Civic you’d probably be screaming that they were wasting taxpayers’ dollars and that they should have built their own stadium on their own property.
Brian Says:
June 6th, 2008 at 12:08 pm
I don’t know why Oregon is going through all this trouble. Phil Knight wants that arena. He is worth around 8 billion dollars. Why doesn’t he just buy a piece of land and build his arena and ballpark the way he wants it. Why ask for bonds and argue with neighbors? Make it a private enterprise.
Zachary Vishanoff Says:
June 6th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
Angry ,yes ,but well informed. If getting angry makes people get the facts then I do not mind pissing everyone off. The Cashregister Guard(believe it or not) is the real force endangering the project with overspun and chearleady coverage. The project is going down (promise) and the R.G. just did it!!!!
Zachary Vishanoff Says:
June 6th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
Also their own property is actually our own property(state school remember). How long have you studied the civic situation? Have you considered a job doing damage control for the UO because your oversimplified assertions are just the kind of talk they need to defend their indefensible planning schemes? I suppose the sale of Westmoreland housing also had nothing to do with the arena goose egg project? Just because this is sports politics does not mean we can spin through the dirty details like drunk duck fans. You have no arena coming and RG chicken counting before hatching is the culprit(along with the secretive antics of the thuggish and lawless UO Foundation)
Modern West Says:
June 6th, 2008 at 6:16 pm
Zachary,
LOL. I just went to saveoregonwrestling.com and found you to be one of it’s main supporters. It’s obvious now where your anger and hatred come from. Take a pill and realize that MOST Duck fans don’t share your anger. We don’t WANT Oregon Athletics to fail like you do because we love our Ducks. Are we sad wrestling is gone? Yes. Do we share in your hatred of the Athletic Dept.? No. Sorry.
Zachary Vishanoff Says:
June 8th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
It is not about hate my friend-it is much more like tough love? Do you really want a arena by a firm who has never built one? It is all very complicated. Fans may not know the facts and may not be angry yet-big deal .That is a lazy/embedded media problem. When UO proposes a project that is not unilateral or illegal it will get built . Until then the deal is a train wreck. Frohnmayer made a person decision here to Goose the duck arena deal so his legacy is looking like the biggest flopped omelet quack attack in history.Kilkenny’s agenda throws all your average duck fans to the wolves. How “sustainable”is that? Are you thinking of that new elite cheerleading squad/delta force as a positive gain for the UO or goofy phil knight table dance patrol? You probably know what I think on that.