Has there ever been a concert at Michigan Stadium? - Question for Michigan historians.
Not sure how many people heard but last week the University held the first concert at Crisler Arena in a very very long time. It got me thinking about whether there has ever been a concert at the Big House. It hasn't happened in my 30-someodd year connection to the University. Curious if any of the Michigan historians on the Board know anything I don't.
Obviously there have been non-football sporting events (soccer, hockey) and graduation but I'm curious if the University has ever gone there.
September 29th, 2021 at 5:28 PM ^
There was a concert of snow angels after the Indiana game a few years ago. .
Photo credits to Melanie Maxwell | [email protected], Saturday, November 19, 2016
September 29th, 2021 at 6:35 PM ^
Thanks for posting this. In all my many years attending Michigan games in the Big House, that night was the most surreal and amazing spectacle I've seen, when the heavy snow moved in.
September 29th, 2021 at 6:39 PM ^
That snow was so random. I live just 25 miles east of Ann Arbor and when I saw that snowfall on TV, I figured it would reach my area within about a half hour or so. It never snowed.
September 30th, 2021 at 10:35 AM ^
I was at this game and watching the players and dance team making snow angels on the field showed me everything that is great about college football. As much as we get caught up in wins and losses and star ranking that was one of the most amazing things to watch.
September 29th, 2021 at 5:34 PM ^
Yes. Lawrence Welk played there back in 1937. The Blue Hairs found his subtle hip gyrations scandalous and that was the end of It!!!
September 29th, 2021 at 5:50 PM ^
Down in front, Delores!
September 29th, 2021 at 5:35 PM ^
I think Groove Spoon (the predecessor to Wulfpeck) played a pre-show at the 2010 commencement.
September 29th, 2021 at 6:02 PM ^
Sure do enjoy some Joe Dart on bass.
September 29th, 2021 at 5:35 PM ^
No, but the painful memory of Pop Evil and "At the Big House" still haunts the place.
September 29th, 2021 at 5:38 PM ^
Why... Why did you have to bring this into my brain?
September 29th, 2021 at 6:03 PM ^
Because...I can!
???
September 29th, 2021 at 5:47 PM ^
heavy competition from Freekbass on Things I'd Like to Forget
September 29th, 2021 at 7:54 PM ^
Good god this is even worse than the Pop Evil song
September 30th, 2021 at 11:40 PM ^
I love the Freakbass video, but only because I get to send it to my Domer friend every time we play them.
September 29th, 2021 at 5:56 PM ^
Way to Seth this whole discussion.
September 29th, 2021 at 5:39 PM ^
No, but Rodgers and Hammerstein did compose some sacks back in the 80s.
September 29th, 2021 at 6:06 PM ^
I see what you did there you genius you. #66 was the man.
September 29th, 2021 at 6:06 PM ^
I see what you did there you genius you. #66 was the man.
September 29th, 2021 at 7:21 PM ^
Elvis played the Big House multiple times.
September 30th, 2021 at 8:39 PM ^
Brandstatter wanted them for an Oklahoma game.
September 29th, 2021 at 5:46 PM ^
On the subject - lets say Michigan wanted to do it..... what bands could sell 80,000 to 100,000 tickets (depending on whether they seated the field)? I had this conversation once about a year ago. Three bands that came up were (1) Foo Fighters for broad appeal (2) The Killers for broad appeal and the Mr. Brightside thing (3) Eminem but I raised the point that he has a little bad history with the school.
September 29th, 2021 at 5:53 PM ^
Pop Evil. Duh.
Metallica has had some monster shows through the years (watch their video from Russia).
Rolling stones? Aerosmith? Ac/dc?
I'm sure people would go for the novelty of the world's largest stadium concert.
September 29th, 2021 at 6:09 PM ^
Some bands with huge, faithful, traveling followings that sell waaaay more tickets than people realize are Pearl Jam, Phish, & any iteration of The Grateful Dead.
Id imagine there are also a couple country acts that might be able to pull it off like a Garth Brooks. Aerosmith is another possibility while Im spit balling here.
September 29th, 2021 at 6:34 PM ^
My Dad was in arena management before he retired. I was able to go to many excellent shows because of it. He worked for multiple universities over the years. There are a few major reasons you didn’t see many outdoor stadium concerts at school stadiums. Acoustics suck; bands don’t want to have to reschedule or refund tickets due to weather; the band gets paid no matter what, so it’s a risk for the university; in most cases you can’t sell the entire stadium because of speakers/acoustics and it’s incredibly difficult to rig up speakers, special fx equipment. However, the biggest reason was that most universities (up until recently), refused to sell alcohol at their stadiums/arenas. Alcohol sales make up a huge portion of the income for these events and without it, many of these shows were simply unaffordable.
September 29th, 2021 at 9:40 PM ^
I'm a huge phish fan and there is no way they could sell 75,000 tickets to a single show in Michigan. Their fan base is most concentrated on the east coast, and even when you get to somewhere like deer creek where people can come and camp for a few days, they wouldn't sell half that many to any one show.
September 29th, 2021 at 11:01 PM ^
I was mostly just brainstorming bands that throw their own festivals or have sold out arena shows. Michigan really isn't a great location for jam. And there are also certainly some Top 40 artists that would fit into that category that I didn't feel like thinking about.
If Billy, Bobby, Phil, & Mickey got back together for a run they could certainly fill any stadium. The Soldier Field shows 6 years ago each had 70k+ and I believe 500k people entered the lottery or joined the Ticketmaster queue.
September 29th, 2021 at 6:32 PM ^
peak U2 had some big silverdome crowds, not 80K+ though...
September 29th, 2021 at 6:44 PM ^
I don’t know about today, but ~30 years ago I saw Billy Joel and Elton John in concert together at the Silverdome. Acoustics were terrible.
September 30th, 2021 at 10:10 AM ^
Yikes…my 86 year old aunt said she saw this same concert at Foxboro (now Gillette Stadium) and it was the best concert she ever saw…
September 30th, 2021 at 10:28 AM ^
The Silverdome had horrible sound. In addition, any summer show usually started with sunlight blasting through the roof, which usually dampened the atmosphere.
September 29th, 2021 at 7:45 PM ^
I saw many sold out shows at the Silversome. The Boss, Zeppelin, U2, and others. I also saw The Who at Giants Stadium/NJ Meadowlands. That one was outdoors. All were sold out within hours. The acoustics suck
The issue for Michigan Stadium could be the restriction on alcohol sales, but I’ve seen concerts at Chrysler.
The only other potential issue might be damage to the grass. I don’t recall if Michigan is grass or turf these days. The Silverdome and Giants stadium are turf which is protected from what would be considerable damage.
September 29th, 2021 at 8:13 PM ^
I went to several concerts at the Silverdome back in the day. In 1975 I saw The Who, the first concert at the Silverdome, and I was 1 of 75,962 which at the time was a world record for indoor concert attendance. Great show!
In 1981 I saw the Stones there. In May of 1976 I saw Aerosmith / The Outlaws / Ted Nugent / Foghat. But the biggest concert crowd I saw at the Silverdome was Led Zeppelin in April 1977 in front of an world record indoor audience of 77,229.
September 29th, 2021 at 8:14 PM ^
Don't know much about them but probably that BTS K-Pop band.
September 29th, 2021 at 8:34 PM ^
That serial killer had a pop band?
September 30th, 2021 at 8:20 AM ^
That guy was actually BTK (bind, torture, kill). Dude was a Grade A psychopath...
September 29th, 2021 at 8:25 PM ^
Always thought that Bob Seger could fill the stadium. Would’ve loved to have seen that one.
September 29th, 2021 at 8:36 PM ^
I've only ever seen him play in his kitchen. Still rocked!
September 29th, 2021 at 9:51 PM ^
Don’t think any of those bands could sell 80K tickets for a show. Maybe the Stones could pull it off
September 29th, 2021 at 11:29 PM ^
None of those artists could fill it up - not even for $20 tickets.
I was really curious how the U.S. Rammstein Stadium Tour was going to turn out - it was announced right before the pandemic hit. I didn't think it had a chance - but still a pretty ballsy thing to attempt a Stadium tour for them.
September 30th, 2021 at 1:47 AM ^
I saw Rammstein live twice, once at MSG and the other at the Prudential Center. Both were sold out within days of being announced because their live shows make Gwar look like Taylor Swift. They've been doing stadium shows since before Obama got re-elected. Highly, highly recommended.
I could definitely see people traveling to fill a stadium for Rammstein. Especially with a smart opener. Maybe Ministry?
September 30th, 2021 at 5:36 AM ^
From my experience with concerts (festivals not included) at Ohio Stadium that sold 80k-100k tickets. Taylor swift, Jay-z/Beyoncé, and The Rolling Stones. I went to see Metallica and Avenger Sevenfold when the new Vikings stadium opened in 2016. It sold every bit of 75,000 tickets, that place was shoulder to shoulder jam packed. I’ve never been really close to the tunnel at the big house so I’m not sure how it would workout, but it seems rather small from a distance. I feel like it would be a logistical nightmare to get the trucks, stage, ect on the field to set up for a concert at Michigan Stadium.
September 30th, 2021 at 8:26 AM ^
"...a logistical nightmare to get the trucks, stage, ect on the field to set up for a concert at Michigan Stadium."
This is a great point. I don't think a band like U2, with their legendary stage shows, would even look twice at that tunnel before walking away! But if they did, I'd buy a ticket and make the drive!
September 30th, 2021 at 9:22 AM ^
You're correct. It was well known that U2 wanted that show in the Big House but because of the elaborate stage show they couldn't get everything through the tunnel. It would have taken a crane and two weeks to build that stage. That said, a less elaborate stage and doing it in the spring where a band can have as much time as they want to set up would likely work.
September 29th, 2021 at 5:53 PM ^
No, but there were actually a minimal provision of beer tents for a brief period in the 80's .... a necessary precursor to music events.
September 29th, 2021 at 8:01 PM ^
They sold beer at the Winter Classic, so it’s not out of the realm of possibility
September 29th, 2021 at 5:54 PM ^
No, because the acoustics are awful. There have been high school proms there though...
U2 played at Spartan Stadium in 2011 if I remember right.
September 29th, 2021 at 6:36 PM ^
Rolling Stones played there as well….a long time ago.
September 29th, 2021 at 11:04 PM ^
I saw U2 at the L.A. Coliseum. Was pretty packed.
September 29th, 2021 at 5:55 PM ^
Josh Groban?
September 29th, 2021 at 6:42 PM ^
Too soon.