The delay was not worth the payoff yesterday.
After several set backs, Cheyenne Frontier Days finally announced Journey as their rock act Wednesday, citing contract troubles with another band that dropped out as the reason for the delay.
CFD had pushed this announcement back several times starting in November when they failed to announce a rock band at their annual reveal party. With each passing month nothing was announced, speculation and interest continued to grow. No act would have filled that gap, but I'm sure there were others out there that would have drawn a bit more excitement than what is essentially a Journey cover band that played the exact same venue last year.
In my few years here, the rock act has always seemed like an after thought. Something of a gift to those in the city who don't like country music, but are subjected to it during the last full week of July. Still, many people in the community pin their hopes to it, as it is one of the few chances to see real stars outside of country music without having to drive to Denver. With that in mind, it's easy to picture the disappointment for that group when they heard that a band with less than a third of its original membership would be taking the stage again.
The CFD officials I talked with all said they were excited to have Journey back (they will be supported by Styx this year). They talked about the positive reviews from last year and the demand from their customers to bring them back. They also talked about how the act they had originally booked fell through, leaving them in a lurch "for the busiest fair and festival day of the summer." Incidentally, those are the same things they mentioned when I interviewed them about Alan Jackson replacing Lady Antebellum, which I guess says more about their ability to create and maintain a party line than anything else.
In the end, what are they going to say? Clearly having Journey isn't an ideal solution. They still put on a good show and move tickets, but it is the same exact show. They haven't put out a new album anyone wants to hear in years. Are people really going to buy tickets again to hear "Don't Stop Believing" one more time?
At some point I would love for someone from CFD to tell me how this process works. From the outside, it looks like they bring the same 10-14 acts ever year in some combination and tell us it is what we want. I'm sure those acts sell very well, but it would be nice to get some diversity in here. Not everyone filling out a survey is saying bring the same show again right?
Of course I am sure they would say their job isn't to heighten the cultural sensibilities and variety of the area. Their job is to make money.
That part they seem to have a good handle on.
CFD tickets are available online here. Tickets for Journey go on sale Mach 15 and range from $38-$58.
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