List of entertainment events at Civic Arena (Pittsburgh, PA)
From its opening in 1961 until its closing in 2010, Pittsburgh's Civic Arena (formerly located at 300 Auditorium Place and later 66 Mario Lemieux Place), has hosted many local, regional and international artists, spanning a wide range of musical genres. A list of notable concerts are given in the table below, with other non-concert entertainment events also included.
All events are arranged in a chronological order.
1960s[edit]
| Entertainment events at the Civic Arena | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dates | Artist | Tour | Supporting acts | Attendance | Notes | Reference |
| 1961 | ||||||
| September 17 | Pittsburgh Symphony | -- | -- | -- | Grand opening event at the Civic Arena | [1] |
| September 19 | Ice Capades | -- | -- | -- | The Ice Capades were founded by former Pittsburgh Hornets' owner John H. Harris | [2] |
| September 20 | Ice Capades | -- | -- | -- | -- | [2] |
| September 21 | Ice Capades | -- | -- | -- | -- | [2] |
| September 22 | Ice Capades | -- | -- | -- | -- | [2] |
| September 23 | Ice Capades | -- | -- | -- | -- | [2] |
| September 24 | Ice Capades | -- | -- | -- | -- | [2] |
| September 25 | Ice Capades | -- | -- | -- | -- | [2] |
| September 26 | Ice Capades | -- | -- | -- | -- | [2] |
| September 27 | Ice Capades | -- | -- | -- | -- | [2] |
| September 28 | Ice Capades | -- | -- | -- | -- | [2] |
| September 29 | Ice Capades | -- | -- | -- | -- | [2] |
| September 30 | Ice Capades | -- | -- | -- | -- | [2] |
| October 1 | Ice Capades | -- | -- | -- | -- | [2] |
| October 19 | Judy Garland | -- | -- | 12,365 | First ever music concert with a headlining entertainer at the arena. Garland performed thirteen songs of primarily cover songs that evening, closing with "Over The Rainbow". |
[3][4] |
| October 17 | Studio Wrestling | -- | -- | -- | This is the first of many professional wrestling events that took place at Civic Arena. | [3] |
| October 20 | Fats Domino | -- | Brenda Lee | 9,385 | -- | [3] |
| October 31 | Johnny Mathis | -- | -- | "about 5,000" | -- | [5] |
| December 7 | Sammy Davis, Jr. | -- | -- | -- | -- | [3] |
| 1962 | ||||||
| March 12 | Studio Wrestling | -- | -- | 8,086 | Bruno Sammartino makes his Civic Arena debut, defeating Gene Stanlee via bearhug submission in 8:03. This show brought in $20,435 at the gate. | [6] |
| March 12 | Shipstads and Johnson Ice Follies | -- | -- | -- | -- | [1] |
| May 11 | Jackie Wilson | Porky Chedwick's Groove Spectacular | The Drifters, The Coasters, Bo Diddley The Flamingos, The Marvellettes, Jerry Butler Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles, Bobby Vinton Hank Ballard, Gene Pitney and "numerous local artists." |
-- | -- | [3] |
| July 2 | Carol Burnett | -- | -- | -- | -- | [1] |
| July 3 | Carol Burnett | -- | -- | -- | -- | [1] |
| July 4 | Carol Burnett | -- | -- | -- | The Civic Arena dome is opened for the first time at this show, with Carol Burnett announcing to the audience "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, ALLOW ME TO PRESENT... THE SKY!" The wind became a factor for the rest of the performance. | [2] |
| July 5 | Carol Burnett | -- | -- | -- | -- | [1] |
| July 6 | Carol Burnett | -- | -- | -- | -- | [1] |
| July 7 | Carol Burnett | -- | -- | -- | -- | [1] |
| July 10 | Jerry Lewis | -- | -- | -- | -- | [1] |
| July 11 | Jerry Lewis | -- | -- | -- | -- | [1] |
| July 12 | Jerry Lewis | -- | -- | -- | -- | [1] |
| July 13 | Jerry Lewis | -- | -- | -- | -- | [1] |
| July 14 | Jerry Lewis | -- | -- | -- | -- | [1] |
| July 15 | Jerry Lewis | -- | -- | -- | -- | [1] |
| July 17 | Civic Light Opera | Flower Drum Song (Musical) | -- | -- | -- | [1] |
| August 26 | Harry Belafonte | -- | -- | -- | -- | [1] |
| August 27 | Nat King Cole | -- | -- | -- | -- | [1] |
| September 13 | Ray Charles | -- | Gloria Lynne | 8,107/8,109 | Concert grossed approximately $31,000. Hundreds of tickets for this show were stolen from nearby Lomakin Music Store a week earlier. | [7] |
| 1963 | ||||||
| June 14 | Dion | World Artists Tour | The Chiffons, The Shirelles, Freddie Cannon The Impressions, Mary Jo Tropay, Little Peggy March, Al Caiola Orchestra |
-- | -- | [8] |
| July 8 | Robert Goulet | -- | -- | -- | -- | [1] |
| July 14 | Dion | KQV Shower Of Stars | The Chiffons, The Shirelles, Freddie Cannon The Impressions, Mary Jo Tropay, Little Peggy March, Al Caiola Orchestra |
-- | This may be an erroneous date, as a similar tour with the same artists performed a month earlier. | [1] |
| July 15 | New York Philharmonic | -- | -- | -- | Leonard Bernstein conducted the orchestra during this show | [1] |
| October 3 | Perry Como | Kraft Music Hall | June Allyson, George Burns, Cyd Charisse, James Mitchell Allan Sherman |
"around 6,000" | Como became the first local entertainer to headline the Civic Arena. He filmed an episode of "Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall", a monthly television series on NBC, at this event. | [3] |
| 1964 | ||||||
| June 5 | The Dave Clark Five | -- | Lou Christie, Bobby Comstock and The Counts, The Secrets, The Fenways | "4,759 youngsters"/"about 6,000" | The show was stopped three times due to audience members jumping onto the stage before the police shut down the show. | [3] |
| June 19 | Pittsburgh Jazz Festival | -- | Dakota Staton, Art Blakey, The Theolonious Monk Quartet, The Mary Lou Williams Trio, Walt Harper's Quartet, Blakley Sexton, and Joe Williams | -- | -- | [1] |
| June 20 | Pittsburgh Jazz Festival | -- | Sarah Vaughan, The Dave Brubeck Quartet, The Harold Betters Quartet, The Jimmy Smith Trio, and the Bernice Johnson Dancers | -- | -- | [1] |
| July 6 | Nat King Cole | -- | -- | -- | -- | [1] |
| August 24 | Arthur Godfrey | The Arthur Godfrey Revue | -- | -- | -- | [1] |
| September 14 | The Beatles | -- | Jackie DeShannon, Clarence "Frogman" Henry, The Exciters, The Bill Black Combo, The Searchers | 12,603 | DJ Chuck Brinkman recalls The Searches performing instead of The Exciters. The Beatles were originally guaranteed $25,000 for the show and a percentage of the gate. The gate ended up being $75,000 and The Beatles took home $37,000. | [3][9] |
| November 27 | Roger Miller | Grand Ole Opry Tour | Ferlin Husky, Ernest Tubb, Skeeter Davis, Bill Anderson, David Houston, Connie Smith, Jack Greene, Jimmy Gateley, Simon Crum | -- | -- | [3] |
| December 8 | Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Mendelssohn Choir | Handel's Messiah | -- | -- | -- | [1] |
| December 28 | Roy Orbison | KQV's Christmas Shower of Stars | Jackie Wilson, The Shangri-Las | -- | This show set an attendance record at the Civic Arena. | [1][10] |
| 1965 | ||||||
| June 2 | Henry Mancini | -- | Earl Wild | -- | -- | [1] |
| June 18 | Pittsburgh Jazz Festival | -- | Count Basie, Miles Davis, The Stan Getz Quartet, Theolonious Monk | -- | -- | [1] |
| June 19 | Pittsburgh Jazz Festival | -- | John Coltrane, Duke Ellington and his Orchestra, Earl Hines, Carmen McRae, the Modern Jazz Quartet, and Mary Lou Williams | -- | -- | [1] |
| September 1 | The Beach Boys | -- | Peter and Gordon | 8,963 | Floor tables were available for the show for $600. The roof opened at 9:12 PM for this show. | [3][11] |
| November 24 | The Rolling Stones | Out Of Our Heads | The Byrds, Bo Diddley, Paul Revere and the Raiders, The Vibrations, We Five | 9,131 | This was the Rolling Stones' second stop in Pittsburgh, but the first time playing the Civic Arena stage. They previously played at Danceland in the former West View Park amusement park on June 17, 1964. Simon And Garfunkel were also believed to be at this show but were unadvertised. | [3][12][10] |
| 1966 | ||||||
| February 10 | Johnny Mathis | -- | The Young Generation | -- | Mathis' second show at the Civic Arena was backed by a twenty-six orchestra | [3] |
| April 11 | James Brown | -- | Elsie Mae, The Famous Flames, Bobby Byrd, Vicki Anderson, James Crawford, The Jewels, Swanee Quintette | -- | This is the first of eleven shows that Brown would play at the Civic Arena | [3][2] |
| May 31 | Duke Ellington | -- | Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra | -- | -- | [3] |
| June 25 | The Rolling Stones | -- | Syndicate of Sound, The Standells, The McCoys, The Deejays | -- | A teen fashion show sponsored by Joseph Horne took place before the Rolling Stones' performance. | [3] |
| September 16 | James Brown | -- | The Jewels, Swanee Quintette, The Famous Flames, Bobby Byrd, Vicki Anderson, James Crawford | -- | -- | [3] |
| October 14 | Harry Belafonte | -- | Nipsey Russell, Nana Mouskouri | ~11,000 | -- | [3] |
| October 16 | Lou Rawls | -- | -- | -- | -- | [3] |
| November 23 | Sonny & Cher | KQV Thanksgiving Shower of Stars | Gary Lewis & the Playboys, Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs, Brian Hyland And The Jokers, The Yardbirds | -- | -- | [13] |
1970s[edit]
| Entertainment events at the Civic Arena | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dates | Artist | Tour | Supporting acts | Attendance | Notes | Reference |
| 1970 | ||||||
| May 2, 1970[14] | The Doors | Roadhouse Blues Tour | Blues Image | |||
| 1979 | ||||||
| May 29, 1979[15] | Rod Stewart | Blondes 'Ave More Fun Tour | ||||
1980s[edit]
| Entertainment events at the Civic Arena | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dates | Artist | Tour | Supporting acts | Attendance | Notes | Reference |
| 1982 | ||||||
| August 21 | J. Geils Band | Freeze Frame Tour | The Motels | [1] | ||
| 1984 | ||||||
| April 9 | Judas Priest | Metal Conqueror Tour | Great White | |||
| May 28 | Madonna | The Virgin Tour | Beastie Boys | [16] | ||
| September 21 | Bruce Springsteen | Born in the U.S.A. Tour | 34,517 / 34,517 | |||
| September 22 | ||||||
| 1988 | ||||||
| September 26, 1988 | Michael Jackson | Bad Tour | 48,694 / 48,694 | |||
| September 27, 1988 | ||||||
| September 28, 1988 | ||||||
| 1989 | ||||||
| September 19 | Elton John | Sleeping with the Past Tour | ||||
1990s[edit]
| Entertainment events at the Civic Arena | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dates | Artist | Tour | Supporting acts | Attendance | Notes | Reference |
| 1990 | ||||||
| January 25 | Aerosmith | Pump Tour | 16,635 / 16,635 | |||
| 1993 | ||||||
| February 26 | Bon Jovi | Keep the Faith Tour | ||||
| 1998 | ||||||
| September 29 | Korn | Family Values Tour 1998 | Rammstein, Ice Cube, Limp Bizkit, Orgy | |||
| 1999 | ||||||
| July 19 | Kid Rock | Devil Without a Cause Tour | Limp Bizkit, Staind | |||
| September 21 | Limp Bizkit | Family Values Tour 1999 | Filter, Staind, Mobb Deep | |||
2000s[edit]
| Entertainment events at the Civic Arena | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dates | Artist | Tour | Supporting acts | Attendance | Notes | Reference |
| 2000 | ||||||
| April 25 | Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band | Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Reunion Tour | ||||
| April 26 | ||||||
| July 26 | Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, Eminem | Up in Smoke Tour | ||||
| 2004 | ||||||
| September 22 | Metallica | Madly in Anger with the World Tour | Godsmack | |||
| 2005 | ||||||
| April 23 | Green Day | American Idiot World Tour | My Chemical Romance | [17] | ||
| October 22 | U2 | Vertigo Tour | Damian Marley | [16] | ||
| 2008 | ||||||
| March 17 | Celtic Woman | A New Journey Tour | ||||
| 2009 | ||||||
| July 22 | Green Day | 21st Century Breakdown World Tour | The Bravery | [16] | ||
| October 1 | Taylor Swift | Fearless Tour | Gloriana, Kellie Pickler | |||
| December 13 | Kiss | Alive 35 World Tour | Buckcherry | |||
2010s[edit]
| Entertainment events at the Civic Arena | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dates | Artist | Tour | Supporting acts | Attendance | Notes | Reference |
| 2010 | ||||||
Notes[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab "Civic Arena Concert Schedule". Pittsburgh Music History. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Eberson, Sharon (May 30, 2010). "Arena timeline -- Highlights of 50 years of entertainment". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r "Remembering The Civic Arena". WYEP 91.3. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
- ^ Setlist: Judy Garland, October 18, 1961
- ^ Sebak, Rick (October 17, 2019). "Johnny Mathis Is Coming for a Sleepover". Pittsburgh Magazine. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
- ^ "1962 Match History". Retrieved May 20, 2020.
- ^ "Ray Charles Video Museum". Retrieved May 20, 2020.
- ^ "Music As Written (Pittsburgh)". Billboard. May 25, 1963. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
- ^ "The Beatles in Pittsburgh; September 14, 1964 at the Civic Arena". Retrieved May 21, 2020.
- ^ a b Roteman, Jeff. "Jeff Roteman's KQV Page - KQV Concerts and Show". Retrieved May 21, 2020.
- ^ "Beach Boys at the Civic Arena". January 8, 2013. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
- ^ Tady, Scott (April 10, 2015). "9 past Rolling Stones visits to Pittsburgh". Herald Standard. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
- ^ Mervis, Scott (April 16, 2019). "How Cher became a beloved part of the 'Gay Trifecta'". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved November 10, 2013.
- ^ "The DOORS – " Live Pittsburgh Civic Arena 1970 "". November 22, 2017.
- ^ "Remembering the Civic Arena". October 6, 2020.
- ^ a b c "Remembering the Civic Arena". WYEP-FM. October 6, 2020.
- ^ "Remembering the Civic Arena". WYEP-FM. October 6, 2020.