Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Orange Peel the center of rock world for 9 nights

It's being described as the biggest rock event to hit Asheville since Elvis played there in 1975, but in all honesty, it's even bigger than that.

The reunited Smashing Pumpkins' decision to do nine shows at the Orange Peel will make the "Paris of the South" the center of the rock world beginning Saturday.

"All 8,478 tickets sold in just minutes, in a burst of pure Pumpkins power that crashed an online ticketing service and frustrated many fans who were left empty-handed. But 20 percent of the tickets went to buyers in Asheville, and half were sold in North Carolina. Other buyers are traveling from as far as Canada, the Northeast and Midwest to see the band here.

"The Pumpkins are doing only a handful of U.S. shows, including a similar run at the legendary Fillmore auditorium in San Francisco and a few major American festivals," writes the Asheville Citizen-Times. 'This is huge for us,' said Karen Ramshaw of Public Interest Projects, which owns and operates The Orange Peel."

“It’s an automatic home run for Asheville,” said Mike Rangel, co-owner of the Asheville Brewing Co. brewpub and restaurant, just a few blocks from The Orange Peel. “It puts us up there with the big boys.”’ ...

Simply put, the band requested The Orange Peel, said music promoter Ashley Capps, of Knoxville, Tenn. ...

“We started the discussions two or three months ago,” he said. “They were already interested in The Orange Peel at that point. It’s testimony to The Orange Peel, and to the Asheville community. The region has been so supportive of live music. Asheville is such a cool town.”

While the band is not doing interviews, Capps believes that the Pumpkins were tuned in to Asheville. “From what I understand, they are excited about spending a couple of weeks” here, he said.


Read the rest of the article here.

No comments: