They got the venue, they got the date and they got the cause. The thing they couldn't get was the band.
Citing a lack of time and resources to book a big-name act, organizers have abandoned plans for "K-ville Kares," a concert scheduled for Feb. 7, 2003 in Cameron Indoor Stadium that would have benefited the Duke Cancer Patient Support Program.
The show was going to be the first major concert in the basketball stadium since 1996 and signaled a significant policy change for the athletics department, which approved the use of the famed location.
Campus Council, Duke Student Government, the Duke University Union and the Graduate and Professional Student Council were all co-sponsoring the event in their first-ever joint venture.
The organizers had hoped to bring a reputable artist in the $50,000-per-show range, ensuring a sell-out and greatly improving their chances of reaching their $50,000 fundraising goal. Offers were made to the Counting Crows and to Dave Matthews--who is beginning a solo acoustic tour next year--but neither could commit to the set date.
Other names such as Incubus, Sheryl Crow and Matchbox 20 were also entertained, but the DCPSP would not agree to spend the money that such sought-after acts required.
"People started having different goals," said Rachel Schanberg, director of the support program. "Some wanted to have the most famous concert they could ever have. But since the [DCPSP] is laying out the money, we can't afford to risk our services...."
Schanberg said the cooperation among the student groups to book the date in Cameron was exemplary, but that eventually the cooperation subsided. She noted, however, that the process has been a learning experience for everyone involved.
"The whole idea was groundbreaking, and it was awesome that we rallied around the goal of helping the program," said senior Amy Unell, one of the chief organizers, a volunteer at the program and a photographer for The Chronicle. "We had the enthusiasm, the energy and the purpose to make it happen. I take it as, 'What can we do to build on our accomplishments?'"
The collaboration among the four main student governing and programming bodies was one of the main reasons why Director of Athletics Joe Alleva broke from tradition to allow the performance.
When the plans were first announced, Alleva called the concert an "experiment" to determine if such events could be profitable and if Cameron could be protected. In years past, the availability of the stadium, protection for its new floor and the overall expense were all hurdles in booking the space.
Alleva said Wednesday that the athletic department would still be willing to host future concerts in Cameron on the same experimental basis, but stressed that Cameron is a basketball venue first and foremost, and he would prefer if the potential events were scheduled during the off-season.
The Feb. 7 date, which falls in the middle of the Krzyzewskiville tenting season, was a major obstacle, said sophomore Elizabeth Dixon, who represented DSG in the committee of organizers. Most bands and musicians in the winter are either in the recording studio or are getting ready for their spring and summer tours.
"It's even more difficult to offer only one random date," Dixon said, adding that with future events, it would be important to offer a variety of date options and to begin the planning and booking more than just a few months before the show.
Union President Jesse Panuccio said he was disappointed the event did not work out, but that he was optimistic the Union could eventually use Cameron.
"I would love for the Union to start programming in Cameron again," said Panuccio, a senior. "We are always ready to negotiate with the Department of Athletics as we have been for 10 years, and we would hope that the administration will support us in the effort to give students concerts in the stadiums in the future."
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