Girl Talk Venue Clarification

Hello everyone! AMP expected an intense demand for the Girl Talk show, and we're thrilled so many people got their tickets early! The show is now sold out. This has led to some understandable frustration, and requests that we switch venues for the show to allow more concert-goers. The short answer is that there is no way a switch in venues is possible. Here is a lengthier explanation of why:

First and foremost: if we were to change the venue after the fact, we would have to renegotiate the contract in light of any new capacity. Girl Talk agreed to play this show knowing we would lose money because of the ticket sales. If we were suddenly to drastically increase capacity, he would likely (and rightfully) back out as a breach of contract. It takes several months to negotiate contracts for the artists we bring here. Our lawyers and his lawyers could not renegotiate within two weeks. Further, AMP has a Spring budget that gets set in the mid-Fall. If we change venues, we would have to totally recalibrate our budget (b/c Girl Talk would need significantly more money). This is impossible due to the fact that we have already booked the majority of our Spring events, and settled upon accepted payment.

W&M Hall: they have basketball games the night prior to and the day after Girl Talk. For that reason they are not willing to give us the date. In addition to that, the capacity for the floor is not as big as you would expect it to be. At least 1/3 of the floor was empty during the My Chemical Romance show, and we could not convince the fire department to allow more than that. All of the seats would be empty; we couldn't possibly get a good light show in there. The room would feel empty, and we wouldn't be able to sell many more tickets than we can now in the Chesapeake.

Lake Matoaka: The venue is closed for the season. In addition to that fact, it is an outdoor venue. We could only sell as many tickets as our rain location, which would be the Chesapeake. So there would be no net gain in # of tickets sold, despite the fact that we have moved to much bigger and more spread-out venue. The concern isn't just a rain location. We're also talking about a show near midnight in February. If it's too cold, we won't have any way to move indoors. Artists are within their contractual rights to refuse to play outdoors if they deem the weather to be inclement. Gregg Gillis would be perfectly justified in refusing to play in the rain, snow, or excessive cold, and then we would be left with no concert at all.

To everyone who is frustrated they did not get a ticket: I am sorry. If there were any way to get every W&M student who wants to go to Girl Talk there, we would find a way. AMP's music committee is working around the clock to try to find ways of improving this scenario, but a change in venue is out of the question. Watch this blogs in the days and weeks to follow; I will repeatedly update it with any news.

-Sean O'Mealia