ward3brighton.ca

The City of Summerside is taking a public flogging after being allegedly duped by a shady entertainment outfit from California. The city transferred two payments of $650k to producers who claimed to be lining up a star-studded Michael Jackson tribute concert. We all know the details at this point; you can read the lawsuit yourself.

I wish Summerside good luck in recovering the lost money, and I don’t want to add to the storm of criticism they’re facing. But in defending their own actions, Summerside officials have drawn parallels to events that have been hosted in Charlottetown. So let me just state a few facts for clarification.

When I was first elected to Charlottetown city council I became vice-chair of a committee responsible for event attraction. In that role I spent a great deal of time dealing with the promoter who brought the Aerosmith concert to Charlottetown. Never, in any discussions with the promoter, was the city asked to put up the kind of cash Summerside did. Our sole contribution was police and fire services in-kind, which we estimated at a maximum value of $25,000. The city provides the same type of services, in the interest of public safety, for many large public events such as the Gold Cup & Saucer Parade, for example. The concert promoter took all the risks; he secured the artists and paid for the entire production, with his own money and with money from wealthy US investors he persuaded to share the risk with him.

Likewise with Tourism Charlottetown’s Cirque du Soleil shows last summer. TCI is an independent, non-profit organization. The city pays TCI about $125k/year for a range of specific services like leisure tourism marketing/advertising, and small operations like the Confederation Players troupe. Our contribution to the Cirque shows was again emergency services in-kind, and a small sponsorship fee of $10k. For TCI, the Cirque shows were not a financial success, but they were certainly great entertainment for thousands of people.

The amounts we contributed to these events was tiny compared to Summerside’s investment in their no-show event. Mega-concerts are great fun and welcome entertainment but the City of Charlottetown is not in the business of producing and promoting entertainment events and has never assumed the massive financial risks that come with them.

I was quite amused last night with the whole council discussion about Nickelback frontman Chad Kroeger’s repeated use of the “F-bomb” during the band’s performance at the Festival of Lights on June 30th. Let me just say for the record; I was not offended by the bands language, I was offended by their music! I was certain they were playing the same song over and over, except when they covered Elton John’s Saturday Night and I could actually distinguish a melody. My wife and I left halfway through.

At the time, Kroeger’s constant cursing and sexual innuendo struck me as a very lame and deliberate performance to fulfil a bad-boy rock star cliche. What I didn’t know then was that the organizers of the event had actually asked the band not to swear during their performance. I think we should all be able to draw upon forty-odd years of historical experience with rock bands who were asked NOT to do something. It always backfires, and I think we’re just lucky Nickelback didn’t go back to their hotel room and toss the furniture out the window. Lesson learned.

I’ve been to many, many large rock concerts with louder and lewder and more outrageous behaviour than Nickelback’s, and I don’t personally have a problem with profanity, but Tourism Charlottetown should not promote an event as “family friendly”, if indeed they did, when the headliners are very well known not to be. I believe, as I’m quoted in the paper, “it was a mistake to ask the band here in the first place if the city is concerned about providing family entertainment.”

I should say, however, that Tourism Charlottetown — poor choice of entertainment aside — deserves credit for a very well organized and successful event. The Charlottetown Police should also be congratulated for keeping a lid on things, as much as was possible under the circumstances.