There was no overarching entertainment trend in the Treasure Valley this year. (Guiltily penny pinching while spending your hard-earned dough on fun?) So instead of manufacturing trends, let’s just take a scatterbrained look backward — and forward — at the stuff that stood out:
SUMMERTIME ROLLS: Just when it seemed like the number of summer concerts had to shrink, promoters Knitting Factory and CTTouring kicked up the jams another notch. Band after band rolled into the Idaho Botanical Garden and Eagle River Pavilion. (But not into Eagle’s Woodriver Cellars, which, after launching the construction of an amphitheater, fizzled out as a potential major player.)
The Botanical Garden definitely will host another concert series in 2012, says Knitting Factory COO Greg Marchant.
“Absolutely,” he says. “We love it.”
But what about the Eagle River Pavilion? It was never intended as a permanent venue. It was created as a way to make use of land originally approved for residential development.
The city of Eagle has approved two more seasons of music. But will promoter CTTouring move on to greener pastures before that?
“I think it’s likely we’ll take advantage of this summer (at the Eagle River Pavilion),” says Creston Thornton of CTTouring.
“Long term, we’ll just see how it plays out with some new opportunities in the Valley,” he adds.
SMOKER BAN: I was too busy sucking down cartons of Lucky Strikes to get involved in Boise’s smoking-ban debate. (Kidding, Mom.)
Actually, I just couldn’t see the point of wading into the mess. The inevitable was always coming: In November, the Boise City Council banned smoking everywhere except behind your garage where the neighbor’s cat does its thing.
Face it. Idaho ain’t the Wild West anymore. Might as well drop the entire state next to New York.
But I gotta admit, I won’t miss the nasty stench that permeated the fiber of not just my clothes, but my being, after a concert or happy hour.
Here’s a prediction: Confusion over where smoking is actually allowed outdoors will surpass high-back lawn chairs as an instigator of fisticuffs at concerts next summer.
FUNNY BONED: Comedy fans didn’t have much to smile about in 2011.
Meridian’s Bull’s Head Pub, which offered weekend comedy, closed. China Blue axed its one-night-a-week Chuckles Cabaret.
But Boise nightclub Liquid, across the alley from the Knitting Factory Concert House, plans to pick up the pieces in January.
Calling comedy nights “Liquid Laughs,” the club will host Emo Philips (Jan. 13 and 14, $15), Roy Johnson (Jan. 19-22, $8-$10) and Troy Baxley (Jan. 26-29, $10.)
Check out LiquidLaughs.com for more details and ticket information.
CLOSURES: Considering the perpetually slow state of the economy, 2011 wasn’t too bad for restaurant and bar closures. (For a peek back at the restaurant scene, see page 18.)
One death cry will come this weekend from The Lobby, a small bar at 760 W. Main St. opened in 2009. (The space used to be Lush.)
The Lobby will shut its doors after a final bash on New Year’s Eve. Get this: For $20, it’s an open-bar, all-you-can-drink party from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. At least Downtown taxis all line up across the street.
New owners will take over the space, but I’ve heard no word yet about what’s coming, except another “service-industry” business.
If the new mystery owners see this column, maybe they’ll let us know what’s coming in 2012 for fans of the Lobby — other than a throbbing New Year’s Day headache.
GENEROSITY:Arena act Kid Rock arguably delivered the concert of the year. Not only did he gig at the 999-capacity Knitting Factory, he donated proceeds to local charities.
Still, his generosity couldn’t top Curtis Stigers’ annual Xtreme Holiday Xtravaganza, which generated nearly $71,000 for homeless shelter Interfaith Sanctuary.
The benefit show sold out three nights at the Egyptian Theatre.
“No one makes money off this but Interfaith,” Stigers says, “and we're able to cover more than one-third of their annual operating budget. It feels good.”
Michael Deeds appears on TV on Thursdays on Channel 6 News. He’s on the radio at 12:40 p.m. Fridays on NewsRadio 99.1 FM and from 9 to 10 p.m. Sundays on “The Other Studio” on 94.9 FM The River. (The show returns Jan. 6.)
