Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, July 5, 1993 TAG: 9307050013
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: HOLIDAY
SOURCE: MICHAEL STOWE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PULASKI LENGTH: Medium
When Compton told the store's deli worker he was picking up sandwiches for the concert's headliner, Blood Sweat & Tears, she replied, "Is that a local group?"
Hardly. Fresh off a concert tour in Russia and headed back to Europe later this month, Blood Sweat and Tears - headed by David Clayton Thomas - is know around the globe for its soulful jazz tunes.
Even so, less than 400 fans took time out of their holiday weekend to come hear Blood Sweat & Tears, Clarence Carter, the Impressions and two other regional bands rock the night away at Kenneth Dobson Stadium at Pulaski County High School.
Those who did come didn't let a brief rain shower dampen their enthusiasm. They danced under their umbrellas, garbage bags and ponchos. They ate funnel cake, nachos, hot dogs and cotton candy.
The showstopper was Clarence Carter and his smash hit "Strokin."
Still, everyone was talking about the sparse crowd.
"It was kind of like getting your own private concert," one spectator said after the show.
"It could have been great," said state Sen. Malfourd "Bo" Trumbo, R-Fincastle.
Roscoe Cox, director of Pulaski Main Street Inc., the event's sponsor, was visibly distraught at the lack of support. He'd hoped as many as 5,000 fans would attend.
"I'd be lying if I told you I was happy," he said. "You do the best you can to bring in the big-name bands and hope the people come."
Cox has worked almost nonstop for four months lining up the bands, securing a site and publicizing the show.
The concert wasn't designed to make money in its first year, but Cox had hoped to at least break even.
It didn't.
"I'd rather not say how much we are in the hole," he said.
Some concert-goers said the show's attendance was low because the county's two largest employers - Pulaski Furniture and Volvo-Gm Heavy Truck Corp. - shut down for the holidays and gave all employees a week's vacation.
Others said some people stayed away because no beer was allowed inside the stadium.
A few said the ticket prices - $18 in advance and $20 at the gate - were too expensive.
Whatever the reason, Cox said he doesn't know if the event will be repeated next year.
If it is, Pulaski antiques dealer Carmella Jessee has a suggestion.
She's lived in the town less than a year, but Jessee knows one sure fire way to fill the stadium - Cougar football. Last year, Pulaski County's fanatical fans followed the Cougar trail to the 1993 state AAA football championship.
"Schedule this concert after a football scrimmage and this place would be packed," she said.
by CNB