City Beat: The realities of attending a crowded show

Seeing Steve Martin and Martin Short last week at Memorial Auditorium was a pretty great experience. It was just one more in a series of great shows that have come to town in recent months.

The show opened with a montage of video clips of the many characters the two have presented over the years. Most comedians are lucky to have a couple of memorable creations, but both had almost a dozen each and every time a new one popped onto the screen, the applause got louder.

Barry Courter

It was fun hearing the two lifelong friends swapping barbs and stories from their careers.

Without giving too much away, how they managed to present Short's Jiminy Glick character was very clever, and the bit itself was hilarious.

The highlight of the show, besides seeing the two in person, was no doubt hearing Nicky Sanders of the Steep Canyon Rangers play the fiddle. I think he did everything a person can do with a fiddle except set it on fire.

The evening was not, however, without its challenges, as it started almost 20 minutes late. Apparently, quite a few of the nearly sold-out show of 3,700 attendees figured they would be able to show up a few minutes before 8, find a parking space right by the front door and get to their seat just as the curtain opened.

When we got to our seats after the house lights flickered announcing the show would soon start, it appeared that about 25 percent of the seats were filled. As you can imagine, the staff trying to seat everyone was suddenly overwhelmed by not only the folks who did arrive on time, but by the ones held up getting through security.

I mention this because it is the new reality of attending an event, whether it's a football game, a concert or a symphony. Parking will be a challenge, you will be searched and you will hardly be the only one who thinks it's possible to show up at the last minute.

As I said, the show itself was a lot of fun.

» Local singer Jimmy Allgood dropped his latest single, "

Jimmy has a smooth, soulful voice and it is definitely worth checking him out. You'll be able to see and hear him perform live during Riverbend this summer as well.

» Congratulations to Kane Brown for being the first country artist to simultaneously hold the No. 1 spot on five charts in the United States. He is now a Guinness World Records titleholder after earning those top spots on various charts for his album and singles "Heaven" and "What Ifs" with friend Lauren Alaina.

Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.