New Moves From Nederlander
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The theater itself is a 40,000-capacity accident-waiting-to-happen tucked away in the chainsaw massacre country of southern Wisconsin.
Dobbs has been watching the facility for some time. Since 1984 the theater’s been legally protected against county interference by a zoning clause grandfathered in when Walworth County took over jurisdiction from the nearby town of Lafayette. But conditions finally got so bad that in 1990 the county actually got a state statute changed to allow it to use its police powers over the site. “I would say that the facility was essentially uncontrolled for years,” says Dobbs. Among the county’s restrictions: a limit Of 28,300 people until the owners come up with a comprehensive security plan. This isn’t as tough as it sounds: the facility’s free to put on smaller shows without restrictions, and Dobbs is not ruling out zoos of 40,000 in the future. But the new owners are on notice that the old days are gone.
The New York Times ran an embarrassingly respectful tribute to expected sweeper Eric Clapton the same day, the Trib a rather more skeptical career overview. DeRogatis accompanied his Grammy coverage with a front-page reaming titled “The Ultimate Grammy Geezer.” Included in the article were the Top Ten Reasons Eric Clapton Is Overrated. Among them: “9. Cream, “7. The ‘Cop Killer’ double standard” (i.e. Clapton got no grief for “I Shot the Sheriff’), and “6. Credibility for sale” (referring to the ex-junkie and alcoholic’s Michelob commercials)….Hitsville’s predictions for the Village Voice’s Pazz and Jop critics’ poll, out soon: Arrested Development wins. Filling out the top ten, in roughly descending order, are Kiko, R.E.M., Pavement, PJ Harvey, Dirty, Disposable Heroes, Neneh Cherry, Lou Reed, and possibly even Ministry.
