David Cook Heads Out on a College Tour Feb 13

The full tour routing should be announced this week, Cook told us after the show.

It’s half way through Thursday already, still waiting for dates and locations….

I saw a date posted for VA, don’t know if it’s legit or not.
I really hope he plays a Boston area show, I missed the Idol tour and really want to see him live.

o.k nevermind on second look that’s in May so it must be different from his ‘tour’ tour maybe.

The concert in VA is on May 30th in Va. Beach for the Patriotic Festival. I am going to this show, but hope we get to see him here before May on the solo tour.

great idea

dave matthews built an awesome career by starting out giving
concerts at colleges but then dave matthews is AWESOME

ooh and they are both davesssssssss

david cook is awesome also (no caps yet but soon hehe)

Slightly OT, but kind of an FYI thing:

For those that remember David being on the cover of the 2009 World Almanac, here’s a video of the editor explaining why he was chosen:

YouTube

More David Cook tour information.

David Cook and the band will be performing at the Beau Rivage Theatre in Biloxi Mississippi on February 14th.

http://brivage.admission.com/html/evinfo.htmI?CNTX=77513&l=EN&C=US

I am curious as to why the information is just dribbling out?

I am curious, too, lovegoodmusic. But, if anyone sees any dribble about David being in Chicagoland, please post it. I am dying to see him in person again.

Once a venue finalizes a booking they can put up information whenever they want. David’s team can’t stop a venue from posting info. I figure they would rather release the whole schedule when all the dates/venues are finalized.

Just bought my tickets to the Biloxi show. Floor and 1st level tix are all sold out, all that’s left is 2nd elevation. It’s a small venue though, only 1500 seats. If you want to go to this, buy your tickets now!
As per a poster on dot org, this is probably to gauge Dave’s popularity with the “adults with money” crowd, hence the reason there was no official announcement. This prevents the hard-cord rabid fans from blitzing the ticket office and skewing the results. So if this is an experiment….I’d say the answer to the hypothesis is “YES”. Dave CAN sell out with an exclusively adult crowd. (The BR is also a really swanky place. The swankiest in Biloxi, and the only casino to survive Katrina. The place is HUGE.)

…anxiously awaiting Southern California dates! Hm, we have 3 big unis in our metro area, bunches in LA…

Just bought my tickets to the Biloxi show. Floor and 1st level tix are all sold out, all thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s left is 2nd elevation. Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a small venue though, only 1500 seats. If you want to go to this, buy your tickets now!

Is this the first show of the tour? Why is there no mention of it yet on his official website or myspace? I’m waiting for NorCal dates. I live right by Stanford so hopefully there’s something here or even UC Berkeley or UC Santa Cruz.

Keel, like I said in my post above, this probably wasn’t announced by TPTB because they DIDN’T want Dave’s hard-core fans (us) to blitz the ticket office. They wanted to see how well he could sell to an adult crowd that are more casual fans. BTW, just got word from a fellow fan that called the ticket office for more info- floor tickets sold out within A DAY. ONE DAY. Tickets have been on sale for one week, and are almost all sold out. I think this bodes well for Dave. The college tour is for the young fans; the Biloxi show is for the adults.
Found this post on dot org by “Scott”:

Good morning everyone. Sorry for sending you all to a pity party. I know only a couple of people are angsty. So here’s something to chew on. Made some calls out here to two friends who have worked with smaller promoters, and here’s what both came up with instantly. Biloxi is likely a trial balloon. Management wants to see how well David sells without heavy promotion, for the simple reason of measuring how far outside his AI fanbase he is. If that’s the case, then this bodes very well. It looks like in a small (but resort) market, David will sell out. This will help determine size of venues on ALL tours (college & main tour), and it could mean he’s more likely to headline his own main tour rather than open for someone.
They said it’s highly unlikely that tour dates and locations would all be done in secret like this – once the tour plan is finalized it will be widely publicized with advance notices of dates the tickets will go on sale. So relax, like I said, Biloxi is an anomaly. And of all people, it’s not the webnerds who are responsible. Please don’t single these hard working men & women out.

Hope that helps.

Eh, I don’t expect the official site to have the tour schedule up till all dates are confirmed. They’ve never had the “scoop” on any major event and I don’t think they really mean to. I turn to them more for solid, official info, not the latest breaking rumor.

And considering they are requesting venues of 1000 or LESS, I wouldn’t be surprised if the stops aren’t publicized till after the respective campuses have had a chance to promote it to their students first.

Hi, I’ve never posted here before but I just wanted to add that Cook is coming to my school, Rowan University in South Jersey on March 7th. I am very excited when I found out that he was doing a college tour I asked if they could book him and they did. I can’t wait!

Thanks for the scoop, Jeter! I live nearby!

The news is out for Cook appearing at the University of Northern Iowa on Feb.19. Tickets will first go on sale to students January 26, and then to the general public.

The NortherNIowan has the details.

Mainstage Productions’ website now says by David’s name TOUR BOOKED NO MORE DATES. Let’s have that schedule already, Mr. Cook. Puuuuhhh-leeeeeez. You’re making us CRAZY!
:jittery_tb:

jeter– where is south jersey located?? in New Jersey?? Trying to figure out to see if i can go!! Do u have to be a student there?? Please lemme know!!! Emaikl me” pinkprincess4242@hotmail.com
i’m new to this site and dont know how to use it! LOL

This whole college tour is fascinating to me. It is common to allow students first rights to the tickets at these shows but by doing this Cook is not allowing his staunchest fans to have access. Perhaps he wants to direct his efforts to younger people in general and rebuild his fanbase to a younger demographic.

The University of WI, Green Bay will host David Cook on Feb. 20th. The student tickets will go on sale on Jan. 26 with general sales on January 30th. There has been some promotion on local TV.

It is common to allow students first rights to the tickets at these shows but by doing this Cook is not allowing his staunchest fans to have access.

Not true. If the tickets were going out to students only, that would be a problem, but the only thing students are getting is an early chance of purchase, as you said yourself – how is that keeping anyone out? In each venue there will be tickets sold to the general public as well. No worries (well, other than that they release the dates already).

David made it clear this tour is for everyone. No one is excluded – but this is a college tour so makes sense to give college goers first rights to make sure they can even get tickets to a show at their own campus.

Jolene: Nice post.

And if anyone is interested, here is a link for artists that are currently offering college tours. There are a lot of big names on there that do not have anything scheduled. So lets thank our lucky stars that the David Cook band got picked out quickly from the crowd.

http://www.main-stageproductions.com/music#

I would love to go to a David Cook concert. But I am happy that he is growing his fan base, and will patiently wait to buy my tickets when they are available.

And he needs the growth in order to succeed in order to put out another album.

Thanks Jolene and lovegoodmusic. You made the point better than I could. I remember checking out a lot of new bands that I had never heard of when I was a college student. If it weren’t for these college tours, I would not have been able to afford most of those concerts (money was very tight then!). I’m glad Cook is doing this.

Agree with Jolene’s post. Also luckeee55, as you can see from Jeter021922′s post, college students can also be staunch fans of David Cook. Congrats Jeter021922 for helping bring Cook to your campus! Lucky you.

Jolene thanks for your comments. My concern was the college students would buy up all the tickets before anyone else had a chance at them, but i guess it seems that he may not sell much to that demographic after all so I don’t have to worry that the non students will be left out.

Also wanted to comment that David’s been snapped up because he is charging bargain rates and I am sure that appealed to the college bookers. They are getting a national rock star for practically nothing which is a good strategy.

I see there a few dates/places people are mentionining. Is there a full schedule already??

My concern was the college students would buy up all the tickets before anyone else had a chance at them

Nah, see, you said “Cook is not allowing his staunchest fans to have access.” The fact is – as long as the plan is to sell tickets to the general public, no one is being excluded. It’s true that there may not be many tickets left once the students buy theirs, there are no guarantees. However, I’m pretty sure that those who truly want to go will either snatch up the public tickets once they’re out, or there will be a secondary market on eBay where some students will offer theirs. If there’s a demand, there will be someone to supply.

What you said in your first post suggests that there’s a desire to keep existing fans out (it also wrongly implies that Cook has no college age fans – Hi, I’m a college age Cook fan). Again I say – this is the only way to do a college tour (which was Cook’s intent from the get-go) and not have it sell out before the college crowd even has a crack at getting tickets.

It’s all good – the tour will sell out, Cook will make new fans out of casual concert goers, and the existing fans will get a chance to attend as well.
It’s heartening to see such concern for Cook and his fans, though.

The fact that he’s so cheap should ensure he won’t have a hard time selling to that college demo. Back when I was in college and stars put on these free shows I snapped up tickets to even people I was only vaguely familiar with because it was entertainment and it was cheap. I suspect that will happen a lot here. My niece goes to SUNY in Albany and she already said she would go see him if he plays there and she’s only really familiar with LO and TOML. One Republic played her school last year and she went solely because it was cheap.

It is nice that in this day and age a huge rock star like David is willing to sell himself so cheaply so students are able to attend a free or nearly free concert. I still don’t see how there will be tickets for the general public left over since the students get first crack at them and certainly Cook’s appeal will cause them to snap up every ticket, especially since they will be so affordable. That is my concern.

I think that’s misplaced concern.

RCA and Simon Fuller have so far proved not to be morons (massive understatement!) in handling his career so far in this current music market slump. They’ve gone for the slow and steady progress, and he’s held his own against far established rockstars and even some big popstars in the album sales rankings. This planned college tour seems completely in line with all that they’ve done so far. They and David understand that the TV AI audience is not the same as the music audience, and they have to start building and expanding a core music audience for David & band. A college tour gives access to a desirable demographic and at the same time does not shut out David’s hardcore fanbase (ahem! not THAT fanbase).

It also doesn’t surprise me at all that tickets are going for cheap prices.

a. I mean, it’s college! David himself has only left college a couple of years ago (like moi) – where I believe he minored in Graphic Design and majored in Rock (LOL) playing enough gigs that he had to repeat his final year! I went to every music gig that was free and/or cheap and in the process got introduced to a lot of new acts that I follow to this day. The Killers were pushing Hot Fuss in my day, and look where they are now!
b. David himself has always understood that that as far as the music market is concerned he’s a new artist, and he’s shown never to take his audiences for granted. He’s consistently shown appreciation for every single fan who buys his music, no matter how “undesirable” the demographic (if you read rock-snob critics: the AI audience (that’s us!) are in this bunch LOL).
c. It will pull in casual fans / curious fans – hence he has access to new audiences. I have a feeling he’ll be just fine handling hecklers as he handles cooing fans. Heh.
d. Hardcore fans needn’t worry. I don’t think they’re enough of us in Tallahasee for instance to sell out the venue! I suspect a lot of us will find ingenious ways to get hold of the college tixes. And if not, there’ll be chances to see him down the road, since he’s already spoken of planning another summer tour after this spring college tour and keep moving “until the wheels fall off” as he’s said.

So yeah, I’m totally with RCA and Fuller. It feels good to be a David Cook fan right now!

i completely agree that the college tour is a smart move. i suspect i won’t personally get to see as many shows as i would like, because the tickets may not be easy to come by, but the potential boost to david’s fanbase is worth it to me.

just wanted to make one comment about biloxi – i very much doubt that david actually sold out all those floor seats before any of us heard about the show. casinos almost never put all the tickets for a show up for sale. they generally reserve a fair number of the best seats for their own high rollers, and they also sometimes hold a block of tickets for sharing with other casinos in the market. so while the box office is technically not fibbing when they say the floor is sold out, that doesn’t really mean the whole floor was available in the first place.

I went to every music gig that was free and/or cheap and in the process got introduced to a lot of new acts that I follow to this day. The Killers were pushing Hot Fuss in my day, and look where they are now!

Word.

Methinks the college leg of the tour likely isn’t the only plan in the works. Cook’s career is in the early, early stages. Most new artists with debut albums will start out with a round of shows in smaller venues to build up buzz for the live show in order to book the bigger venues for a later leg of the tour, etc. It’s a progression (tm The Man Himself.) Cook has said he specifically asked to go out on the college circuit as he’s interested in making a grassroots type of promotional effort to compliment the more mainstream exposure he’s gotten via AI. I think this is smart largely because David Cook in person is an even more impressive experience than David Cook on television, and being in the audience for a fairly intimate David Cook gig is something I won’t forget. Ever. Man in the mofo Box ten feet away is all I’m saying. And I mean that in the best possible way. Hopefully the college kids come away with the same lasting impression. David Cook is his own best promotional tool. I don’t think it was dumb luck that he won that indie award for Analog Heart when he was working the Tulsa music scene. Would a huge corporate sponsered tour with pyro and a gaggle of roadies and everything be cool someday? Sure. But Cook knows from playing these kinds of intimate gigs, and I think it’s a good place to start, and a good way to remind people that he’s legit and not just some dude who won a reality show.

Perhaps he wants to direct his efforts to younger people in general and rebuild his fanbase to a younger demographic.

There’s a world of difference between rebuilding his fanbase and expanding his fanbase. Rebuilding suggests a lack of regard for the existing fanbase, an out with the old in with the new kind of attitude. Expanding suggests he’s reaching out to new people to add to the existing fans. I’m thinking you meant expanding the fanbase? I’m pretty sure that’s where Cook’s head is at. If I can’t catch a gig this time around, which likely will be the case because the uni closest to me only books concerts for it’s shiny new 3000 seat arena, I will be happy to wait until he hits venues like the HOB again or (fingers crossed) Hard Rock Live. Hopefully the rest of the existing fanbase won’t mind being patient if they aren’t lucky enough to catch a show on this small college venue leg of the tour, because I’m guessing a second tour leg is quite possible and dare I say probable.

Word back at ya Sunchick!

Another thing: it seems obvious to me that the main objective of the concert tix pricing is to only cover the basic costs, and to get as many bodies in the target audience as far as possible. David would probably do it for free if he thought he could get away with it. To which I’m now imagining some unfortunate RCA executive’s eyeballs rolling to the back of their head. Hee.

I’m going to the concert at UW Green Bay in two weeks!!!! YAY!! The tickets were only $8 cuz my brother goes to school there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AHH I can’t wait!!!