College.

So this is where people come to indulge themselves in all those new experiences everyone’s always talking about. Some people have never seen this kind of cultural diversity in their lives while others have grown up in cultural melting pots. And while Iowa State may not be the most diverse college in the nation, it does carry some range of variation; for instance, the music scene. And what better place is there for musical diversity than right here in Ames? After all, it’s a big college town right in the middle of the United States, give or take a state. One would have to figure that bands drive through here at some point on their a way across the country.

They may drive through here and then pass us right on by.

Is Ames just an untapped resource with hungry students looking for a good show, or are the local clubs just not booking these willing bands for fear of turnout?

What are some of the venues around the ISU campus?

There is, of course, the Hilton Coliseum, which is the biggest venue in Ames by far. Certainly it couldn’t be that difficult to book huge national acts with its huge seating capacity. The Hilton saw Matchbox Twenty, Vertical Horizon, Tina Turner and Five For Fighting all play shows there as recently as last year. In the past, Crystal Method and the Goo Goo Dolls have even graced Ames with their presence via the Hilton. But it seems the days of Robbie and the Goos coming to Ames could be very much in the past.

“They should be booking bigger bands like the REMs of the world,” KURE General Manager Sharlene Macatangay says. “I know they can get big bands like that but they just don’t want to put in the effort.”

“I know that we are working to book some events into Hilton,” Director of Marketing Sara Huber says.

However, some would say that Hilton’s concentration hasn’t been on drawing talent to the city of Ames, but drawing up a contract for new ownership. Until that contract is finalized and signed, students may be seeing a much smaller list of appealing acts on that flashy lighted sign on Lincoln Way.

However, Huber maintains that “Ames has been a top spot on most tours” and that the Hilton has “set precedence on this campus with our history.” Huber also claims that “The University of Iowa hasn’t had half as many acts.”

So are ISU students getting a good channel of live music but don’t know it? Why is it, then, that Ames has been unable to pull in any of the MTV Campus Invasion tours? Not to mention many other mainstream acts that cross the country.

“It depends on who’s touring and when they are touring,” Huber says.

Macatangay has a different view on why the Hilton seems to miss the bigger acts coming through Ames. For example, she believes that although the Family Values Tour will be making its way through Iowa this fall, it probably won’t include a stop at the Hilton “because of security being a big issue.”

In fact, the artists that Hilton does manage to bring in, Tina Turner, Sting and Billy Joel, do not cater to the college audience, which collectively is half the city’s population, but more nearly to the adult contemporary audience. Is this because of security being a smaller issue at these concerts?

“I don’t agree with their booking practices,” Macatangay says. “Back in the day they used to bring in some really cool acts and now they aren’t receptive to students at all.”

But is it not the Hilton’s job to grab the best mainstream acts to play Ames, as it is the biggest venue around? Yet in the last few years they have come up short with only a handful of bands a semester, even though bands tour across the country constantly. All the while, students are complaining about some of the concerts going on at the University of Iowa and across the Midwest that never come to Iowa State.

“What we book is based on athletic schedules and construction,” Huber says.

And while athletics obviously get priority since they are the building’s main use, students can now expect even fewer open dates due to renovations at the Hilton Coliseum. While this will hopefully increase the overall experience at Hilton in the future, it will undoubtedly open up less dates for potential concerts in the present.

Macatangay also believes that there just isn’t an available venue in Central Iowa for some of the lower level national acts. Recently Super Toad in Des Moines closed its doors to live acts. But just last year they saw bands such as 311, Goldfinger, and MxPx take their stage to sold-out crowds.

“We need more national acts,” Macatangay says. “We get a lot of regional acts and the local scene works their butts off.”

Part of the problem is finding a place for these bands. Stephens is a great place for sit-down shows. However, it may be too nice for some acts. Hunky Dory’s is renovating and may become an outlet for these types of bands. But right now there simply isn’t anywhere for national mid-level acts to play.

And if that isn’t enough to wreak havoc on the Ames music scene, just wait until the dust settles and the smoke rises on the recent smoking ban.

While the ban has caused quite a stir within the Ames club circuit, one place that won’t follow it and may not have to is the Boheme Bistro, 2900 West St. Owner Pete Sherman has decided to make his club private, which means that guests who want to smoke freely at the Boheme will have to pay a membership fee.

According to Boheme bookie Justin Means, the membership fee is so the Boheme can pay for and maintain its private status in the city of Ames and therefore allow smoking in the venue. And if the club is granted its right to be a private club, Means says you can expect to see venues like People’s becoming private as well. Not only will this become more of a hassle for regular bar hoppers who are out trying to have a good time, but it will also close the doors on potential concertgoers who don’t want to shell out the money to have memberships at all the Ames clubs.

However for members of the club, the Boheme will be back with Saturday Rocks and Wednesday Live Music Night. And with some good connections in the booking department one can expect to see some impressive regional bands hit there this fall including Index Case, Johnny On the Rocks, the Vida Blue and Oh My God. Not to mention some of the bigger local acts such as Pookey Bleum, Boy Cow (Ex-Grubby Ernie), and Far Cry.

But Means won’t stop there: “I’d like to get some of the bigger bands that are on the college scene.”

With most of the regional acts being taken care of by the Boheme, this gives the M-Shop the freedom to get some of the lesser known national acts. And with the Shop’s great connections and rich history, they have never had much of a problem getting bands to play there.

“I think they do a great job with what they have.” Macatangay says. “People like the shop and the reason they book Stuart Davis every year is because he sells out two shows when he comes here. They do bring out perennial favorites but they still are good about bringing new people in.”

KURE Music Director Darryl Moton uses a simple method for measuring student feedback. “If a show sells out, that’s pretty good student feedback,” he says.

So does the decision of agents to book or not to book lie within the concertgoer. Are we as students at fault? Have we brought this lack of national music coming through Ames upon ourselves? Do we not speak out enough? Are club owners reluctant to try new acts simply because the students are reluctant to see these new acts?

After all, it’s much easier for a club owner to book a band they know is going to sell out than to book a new band that might not get much of a draw.

“I think it’s preposterous that Iowa State students don’t care to see the same thing over and over again,” Moton says. “The part I don’t understand is that the student population is content with this, they simply refuse to take any risks with their music.”

Means also constantly sees the turnout at the shows he books, which he said is evidence of the students’ sway. He says he has found that it has been tough to get people to come to see bands they’ve never even heard of, let alone try and please everyone’s needs. Moton believes that it’s possible for Ames to get more progressive acts but the students need to show the support for it.

“It’s partly the students’ fault,” Moton says. “When Eric Yarwood [M-Shop booking agent] booked the Black Eyed Peas for Rock VEISHEA he took a big risk and the few people who showed up saw a great show. Watching shows like that could have opened people’s eyes. And coincidentally, the Peas broke on to Top 40 radio the summer after.”

To bridge the gap, how can the venues around Ames get students to take the risk of going to a show they’ve never heard of so the venue can take the risk of booking an unknown band?

“Brainwash them,” Moton jokes. “I would take independent music out of the background. At the University of Iowa, it’s all right there, right in people’s faces.”

Moton’s solution is simple, but a long process. If the independent scene is given the coverage and exposure it deserves than it will be easier for venues to book these national acts.

“Whatever happens, has to happen progressively,” Moton says. “And at the same time the people who organize and bring in performers will have to realize that it will take time, if not next year, maybe the year after. If people are exposed to these artists and the venues bring them in than eventually people will catch on.”

Means also urges students to support the local music scene.

“What else are you gonna do?” Means says. “Get out of your dorm room, take back some beer cans, get a couple bucks, and come see some good bands.