Question: If 35,000 people are willing to pay $100 or more to see Mary J. Blige at the Essence Music Festival, how many will show up to hear her for free? Answer: Not as many, but a bunch.
Mary J. Blige and her band perform during a free concert at Woldenberg Park in downtown New Orleans on Thursday, March 1, 2012.
On Thursday night, Blige and pop-rock songwriter Gavin DeGraw performed on an outdoor stage alongside the Mississippi River in downtown New Orleans’ Woldenberg Park, as part of a nationwide promotion by Caesars Entertainment, the parent company of Harrah’s New Orleans Casino.
The concert was announced two days ago. Free tickets were distributed via Ticketmaster.
Not that it mattered – inexplicably, organizers opted not to collect tickets at the gate. Thus, precise attendance figures are impossible to determine. But it was at least several thousand, enough to strain the capacity of the site and make moving about difficult.
Caesars spent millions on the nationwide event. Simultaneous free concerts in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and elsewhere featured the likes of Sean “P. Diddy” Combs, Lil Wayne, Maroon 5, Mariah Carey, Cee Lo Green and Nicki Minaj. Footage from the other shows was broadcast on video screens at the New Orleans event.
Each act likely received a performance fee well into six figures, as they generally make more at corporate events than normal concerts.
Add to that production costs of staging, security, audio and video, the simulcasts, and all those glow-sticks – the total hits seven figures quickly.
The point of all this effort and expense? To announce that Caesars has revamped its Total Rewards “loyalty members’ program” for frequent gamblers. The goal, according to a press release, was to transform Woldenberg into a place of “escapism and excitement.”
And, apparently, glowsticks. Hundreds of oversize orange glowsticks bearing the Total Rewards logo were distributed to the crowd.
Entertainment reporter Maria Menounos -- like DeGraw, she was revealed this week as a contestant on the upcoming season of “Dancing with the Stars” -- tottered around the site on towering heels, emceeing from the VIP tent.
''This looks like my people are definitely out there tonight,' Blige said.
Some attendees dressed as well as if they were bound for the Essence Fest. Many toted the portable, collapsible chairs popular at Jazz Fest; predictably, it was difficult to move through the crowd near the stage because of them. People also stood six deep along the barricade blocking off the VIP/press area, straining to at least see video screens flanking the stage.
Toward the downriver end of the park, fans unable to glimpse the stage sat in a semi-circle in front of a large video screen. Unfortunately, there were no remote speakers at the back of the field, so the sound was dicey.
Blige and DeGraw were allotted 35 minutes each. Sticking to the schedule was critical, so performances in different cities could alternate via video links. Thus, fans were able to see homegrown rapper Lil Wayne on video, if not in person.
DeGraw specializes in the sort of middle-of-the-road, adult contemporary pop-rock that makes Better Than Ezra seem as heavy as Black Sabbath. DeGraw and his band knocked off a set of agreeable if unremarkable songs.
Blige arrived onstage at 9:25 p.m. “This looks like my people are definitely out here tonight,” she said, surveying a crowd that skewed heavily toward black women.
Blige is not one to phone it in, even during a 35-minute promotion for a corporate client. She and her tight band navigated the likes of “25/8” and “My Life.” During her second song, the horn of a train passing alongside the park joined in; earlier, a riverboat sounded its horn during DeGraw’s set.
She showed love for the city she visits each summer for Essence. “I love the food, I love the people. I love New Orleans so much.”
She also had a schedule to keep. Spanning fewer than 10 songs, her set was over as quickly as it began; there was no time for “No More Drama” or the emotional exorcism she typically performs on herself at Essence.
After a final “Family Affair,”Blige escaped to a black Escalade waiting near the railroad tracks. Escorted by Orleans Parish sheriff’s deputies with sirens and lights blazing, the Escalade scooted through the departing crowd onto Bienville Street and disappeared into the night.
Posted By: Siebra Muhammad
Friday, March 2nd 2012 at 10:44AM
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