ENTERTAINMENT: LAGGARD TICKET SALES SURPRISE COORDINATORS

Sheryl Crow has sung with Pavarotti, has toured with Bob Dylan and has sold out concerts around the world since bursting onto the pop music scene in 1993 with her single "All I Wanna Do."

So why, officials at the Show Me Center and Southeast Missouri State University are wondering, are people in Southeast Missouri ignoring the Kennett, Mo., native.

Ten days before Crow's benefit concert at the Show Me Center, only about 1,800 of the potential 7,000 tickets have been sold. David Ross, director of the Show Me Center, plans now to set up for a capacity crowd of 4,400-4,900 Dec. 2. That involves draping curtains to obscure unfilled seats and provide a more intimate feeling.

The sluggish ticket sales mystify Ross, who thought the first concert here by the Southeast Missouri girl who became a star would be a popular ticket.

Various factors could be involved, he says. Crow is in the studio now working on a new CD, so she doesn't have any songs on the radio. He also maintains that concert-going is a habit.

"You feed that habit and you do it more often," he said. The Show Me Center now only hosts about four concerts per year and few of those are by rock 'n' rollers.

"Or maybe it's the Christmas season and people haven't turned their thought process to what they're going to be doing," Ross said.

Tickets to the Crow concert are $30 and $25, with a $250 sponsor's ticket available for those who want to meet Crow at a reception after the concert. Proceeds will go to the Kennett Higher Education Center and to fund scholarships at the River Campus School for the Visual and Performing Arts.

Ross said the prices are comparable to those for other recent concerts at the Show Me Center. About 200 of the sponsor's tickets are expected to be sold.

Students missing

Southeast students are noticeably missing among the ticket buyers so far. "We haven't seen a large response from the student body," Ross said, adding that Crow's fan base probably is a bit older.

Greg Porter, a technical graphics major, isn't going to the concert. "She hasn't put anything out new recently, and I am not a big fan of what she did put out," he said.

Porter prefers country music but says he's never liked going to concerts much. "I'd rather just go out and buy a CD," he said.

International business major Michael Diwonski describes himself as "sort of" a fan of Crow's and plans on getting tickets. "This is a one-time opportunity to see her," he said.

He hasn't bought tickets yet because he's trying to organize a group of friends to go.

Crow is donating her performance fee, but the university does have to pay her band and production costs. Ross said about 2,500 tickets must be sold before the university breaks even.

Crow's management is aware of the slow pace of ticket sales, Ross said. "Things happen when they go into different markets. I'm sure they're questioning what's up."

A Christmas concert by Kenny Rogers two days before Crow's and a performance of the "Nutcracker" Dec. 8 should not be affecting Crow's sales, Ross said. Both of those events are selling as expected.

Ross wonders whether the presidential election turmoil may be affecting ticket sales. "What I'm hearing on the street is that people are holding off from making decisions much like they did during the Gulf War."

CONCERT ATTENDANCE

Attendance for recent concerts at the Show Me Center:

Bush/Moby

April 5 - 2,853

ZZ Top/Lynyrd Skynyrd

March 3 - 6,908

Def Leppard/Joan Jett

Jan. 21 - 5,009

Vince Gill/Jodee Messina

Oct. 8, 1999 - 5,148

Ray Boltz

April 15, 1999 - 2,370

Goo Goo Dolls

April 9, 1999 - 3,683