Hardly Missing a Beat

The Boss failed to report for work in Orange County, but Bruce Springsteen is the only one of the nation’s 10 top-grossing concert performers of 1999 who has yet to play here.

Of Pollstar magazine’s recently released list of the year’s biggest pop and rock tours, nine visited Orange County in the last 20 months, cementing its place as a top-tier concert market.

“It proves once again what we’ve been saying all along: that Los Angeles and Orange County are two separate markets--and two absolutely fantastic concert markets,” said Tim Ryan, general manager of the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim, which hosted six of the top 10 tours, from highest-grossing tour of all, the Rolling Stones, through Cher and the Backstreet Boys.

“Artists will play when and where they can,” said Brian Murphy, president of Avalon Attractions, which booked the 18 pop and rock concerts at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre last year, two of which were in Pollstar’s top 10. “Most will play an Orange County date and a Los Angeles metro date. . . . I don’t think the [Orange County] public is going to [be in the position of] losing anything to the L.A. market.”

While the $375-million Staples Center in Los Angeles instantly became the hot new kid in Southern California when it opened in October with four highly anticipated performances by Springsteen and his reunited E Street Band, so far it has acted more as a friendly neighbor to the Pond than a competitor.

“The arrival of Staples Center, which is an absolutely beautiful building, has only enhanced the concert business in Orange County,” Ryan said.

Because the Nederlander Organization, which books concerts at the Pond, has also recently signed a deal giving it exclusive rights to book concerts at Staples, the two will be working ever more closely in tandem.

“I was on the phone with the Nederlanders this morning talking about parallel routing for [tours that will stop at both] Staples and the Pond, so I’d say those types of concerts are going to take place on a regular basis.”

In fact, Ricky Martin played both arenas in November, as did Bette Midler last month. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young will hit both in February.

The real competition in Orange County, then, is within the county--between the Pond and Irvine Meadows.

And even there, 1999 showed a bit of sharing, with ‘N Sync (the third-highest grossing tour of 1999, according to Pollstar) and Alanis Morissette playing both facilities, albeit months apart in each case.

The Pond posted a record year with 31 concerts ranging from Andrea Bocelli to ZZ Top that drew 448,000 people, 31% more than in 1998. Gross concert revenue at the Pond came to almost $19.4 million, up from $11.4 million a year earlier and topping the record $16.1 million from 1994 that included $12 million from six high-priced Barbra Streisand concerts.

In addition to the Stones and ‘N Sync, other top-grossing tours snagged by the Pond included Cher (No. 6), the Backstreet Boys (No. 7) and Bette Midler (No. 10).

Shania Twain was No. 5 on Pollstar’s lineup and played the Hollywood Bowl and the Blockbuster Pavilion in San Bernardino, having stopped at the Pond in 1998 at the outset of her “Come On Over” tour. Elton John, No. 8 in Pollstar, didn’t veer below Bakersfield on his 1999 solo tour, but hit the Pond during his previous band tour in August 1998. George Strait’s Country Music Festival (No. 9 last year) last stopped in Orange County in April 1998 at Edison International Field in Anaheim.

The rest of the Pond’s season ran a gamut from the sophisticated boomer pop of the Bob Dylan-Paul Simon tour to the up-to-the-minute hip-hop of Lauryn Hill, from the raw shock-rock of Marilyn Manson to the G-rated Christian pop of Amy Grant.

Irvine Meadows included the No. 3 and 4 tours--’N Sync and the Dave Matthews Band, respectively--as well as O.C. punk group the Offspring, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Jewel, Phish, the annual KROQ Weenie Roast and others. Irvine Meadows officials declined to release attendance and revenue figures for the ’99 season.

“I think Dave Matthews has found a home in Orange County,” Murphy said, “He’s been here three consecutive years now and each year has sold out.”

As another highlight, Murphy cited a local success story. “The fact that an Orange County band--the Offspring--did two nights at Irvine Meadows is a big deal, not only for the band, but for that genre of music as well.”

Overall, Murphy said, “It felt like a good year. The emergence of the teen bands doing the kind of business that Britney Spears, ‘N Sync and Backstreet Boys are doing is good.

“These new bands are bringing a whole new audience into the concert experience at a young age, and they’ll want to come back,” he said. “So while the music may change, the audience will go on.”

The Rolling Stones’ Pollstar-topping tour grossed $64.7 million, a figure bolstered by ticket prices that averaged just under $110. That figure was more than double the industry average for the year of $43.63, which itself is nearly a third higher than the 1998 average ticket price of $33.59.

Total concert revenue in the U.S. as measured by Pollstar hit a record $1.5 billion, up 15% from $1.3 billion in 1998. Most of the increase reflected those higher ticket prices, not increased ticket sales.

The Pond’s Ryan said that even should his facility fulfill its ongoing goal of landing an NBA team, “the concert business is going to remain an integral part of what we do.”

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10 TOP-GROSSING POP AND ROCK CONCERT TOURS DURING 1999

Here are the 10 top-grossing pop and rock concert tours during 1999, according to Pollstar magazine:

1. The Rolling Stones: $64.7 million

2. Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band: $61.4 million

3. ‘N Sync: $51.5 million

4. Dave Matthews Band: $48.5 million

5. Shania Twain: $40.8 million

6. Cher: $37.7 million

7. Backstreet Boys: $37.1 million

8. Elton John: $32.5 million

9. George Strait’s Country Music Festival: $32.4 million

10. Bette Midler: $31.7 million