'Big 4' metal bands Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Anthrax to perform April 23 in IndioEmpire Polo Club will be only U.S. stop for groups, Goldenvoice promoter saysFour of the world?s top heavy metal bands are tentatively scheduled to perform April 23 at the Empire Polo Club in Indio ? during the one dark Saturday between the Coachella and Stagecoach festivals, it was announced today.
The Los Angeles-based Goldenvoice company told The Desert Sun in an exclusive interview it won a bid last weekend to present the only United States concert by the lineup of Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax.
The concert promoters are scheduled to present a proposal to the Indio City Council at 5 p.m today for permission to stage the concert from around 4 to 11 p.m. Indio Mayor Lupe Ramos Watson said Monday she plans to attend the show if the council approves a permit.
?I grew up in the time of Metallica,? she said. ?It?s an enjoyable experience.?
The tickets would be $99 plus fees and go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday through Ticketmaster outlets.
Digitaldreamdoor.com ranks Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax as the four best thrash or speed metal bands, as distinguished from the broader genre of heavy metal bands such as Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden. The foursome have been touring Europe as The Big 4 and were widely expected to perform a tour of the United States.
But Goldenvoice promoter Paul Tollett said this will be their only U.S. concert. He categorized winning the bid over other concert promoters as ?winning the lottery.?
Tollett was forced to move Stagecoach: California?s Country Music Festival back to April 30-May 1 because it would have ended on Easter Sunday if it had maintained its tradition of following the April 15-17 Coachella Music and Arts Festival at the polo field. It might have cost Goldenvoice millions of dollars to keep equipment rentals and security on the Empire Polo Club for three weeks, but now there will only have to be minor adjustments to sandwich a third major concert between the two festivals.
There won?t be camping and there probably will be fewer concertgoers for The Big 4.
Tollett refused to speculate how many people the metal bands might attract, but Metallica drew 50,000 people for its 2003 concert at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum with Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park. Goldenvoice plans to run a shuttle service from four or five locations around Southern California to the polo club. It also will run shuttles to and from major hotels in the east valley.
Last year?s Coachella festival drew 225,000 people over three days, and Stagecoach attracted more than 100,000 over two days.
The festival will give Coachella Valley hotels major tourism events for five consecutive weeks with the Dinah Shore Weekend starting the celebrations March 30-April 3. The White Party in Palm Springs is scheduled the next weekend.
Watson said she won?t know how neighbors of the Empire Polo Club will feel about three major concerts on three consecutive weekends until they?ve had a chance to be heard at today?s City Council meeting, but she said past festivals have created ?a very positive experience for everyone who lives in the area.?
?My personal feelings are that the events held at the polo fields are a big boost to the economy for the Coachella Valley as a whole, not just the city of Indio,? she said. ?If you collectively count all the festivals that are held at the polo grounds, we have over a million visitors to our Coachella Valley annually and that brings with it disposable cash that gets spent in our community (and) creates job opportunities for our residents in the Coachella Valley. So I see it as a very important part of this CV?s economy.?
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