Finally, good concert news, Boise: Venue to reopen with ‘safe’ shows. Here are the acts
Silence has filled the Revolution Concert House and Event Center since the coronavirus shut down the live music industry in March.
But the Garden City venue is about to crank the volume again — “in a safe and controlled manner,” owner Creston Thornton says.
In conjunction with promoter Live Nation, the RevCenter has scheduled a cabaret series. The concert house will reopen next month with protocols that follow state and federal COVID-19 guidelines. Primarily offering well-spaced tables with four seats sold as a package, the venue at 4983 N. Glenwood St. will operate at about 30 percent of its normal capacity, or 650 people maximum.
“We’re just trying to get creative,” Thornton says, “and get our crew and artists back to work in a safe manner.”
Here are the concerts booked so far.
▪ Strangelove — The Depeche Mode Experience, with opener Electric Duke: July 18. Tickets start at $10 and range up to $35 for VIP.
▪ Bruce Campbell — “The Evil Dead” movie with Q&A: July 25. “The Evil Dead” movie from 1981 will be screened, and Campbell will introduce the film and answer questions afterward. Tickets start at $25 and range up to $65 for VIP, or $75 for a limited meet-and-greet with a photo with Campbell. (Details about how that might work with social distancing were not immediately available.)
▪ Brian Regan — A night of comedy: Aug. 2. Tickets start at $35 and range up to $59.50 for VIP.
▪ The Young Dubliners — “Because we all missed St. Patty’s Day!”: Aug. 7. Tickets start at $10 and range up to $35 for VIP.
▪ Super Diamond — The Neil Diamond Tribute, two full sets: Aug. 8. Tickets start at $10 and range up to $35 for VIP.
Tickets to all five shows will go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, June 19, at Eventbrite.com or cttouringid.com.
As a safety precaution, Revolution Center staff will wear masks and gloves, Thornton says. A sanitizing crew will clean before, during and after shows. Patrons will need to get their temperatures checked at the door. Cocktail waitresses will provide full service at tables. Bathroom lines will include 6 feet of separation.
Packed bodies and dancing normally seen at Revolution Center concerts? That will be conspicuously absent. But Thornton still hopes people can have fun, he said. Maybe even — gulp — dance? “I think you can stand up and kind of groove in your controlled area,” he says. “You’re basically buying your seat area.”
“We don’t have any shows that are going to encourage people to come forward, get together in front and congregate,” he adds.
Some of the acts will tailor performances to the cabaret setting. For example, Celtic-rockers the Young Dubliners plan to weave acoustic music and Irish stories into their show, Thornton says. The Dubs last performed at the RevCenter on March 13, right before the virus shut down venues nationwide.
In addition to table seating, about 100 general-admission tickets will be offered to each show. Those concertgoers will stand in the back, where there is room to social distance, Thornton said.
“We have 35,000 square feet,” he says. “That’s how we’re able to do this safely.”
Unlike Boise, Garden City has not limited group gatherings to 250. That’s how the RevCenter is able to set its capacity at 650.
As long as things go well, Thornton said, the cabaret setup will continue. Maybe even after the virus fades away.
“There’s not a bad seat in the house,” Thornton says. “It’s a pretty cool thing we’ll probably use going forward for comedians.”