Park Rager

Linkin Park's newest album would suck without help from a Valley native

A A A Comments (0) By Christopher O'Connor Thursday, Apr 3 2003

"This is a terrible way to have your first experience at the Cajun House," Roberts writes in his note. "I will never see a show at your venue again. Don't care if Bob Marley or Jimi Hendrix shows up."

Tracy Lesko, who books shows for the venue, put the blame for the door fiasco described by Roberts squarely on the promoter, Big Diehl Entertainment. "I wasn't there that night, and the promoter sometimes changes the way we do things," says Lesko, explaining that the Cajun House usually has an orderly system to help the will-call folks. "That's not something we normally do."

Chester saves the day: Linkin Park's Meteora's not awful, thanks to its Phoenix-bred singer (left, in sunglasses).

More About

She says she also has no control over the price, another prohibitive element -- who the hell wants to pay $33.40 plus a $12 service charge for Common, save for the true believers? But Lesko's dismissive attitude -- she says she's starting to shy away from hip-hop shows to cut down on the "thuggish" factor -- certainly doesn't help, especially when most of the notable hip-hop shows in town have been held there in recent months.

The promoter, for its part, blames the Cajun House, a shocking position to be sure. Wendy Ashwell of Big Diehl insists that both lines moved simultaneously and that poor door management caused Roberts' line to crawl as it did. "This and all other concerns and complaints will be noted, and may play a big part in our decision if we ever do business there again," Ashwell says.

Either way, whoever's telling the truth, it's all just straight-up wack.-- By Christopher O'Connor

Got a problem with Kick & Scream? Let's hear it. Contact the author at his online address: christopher.oconnor@newtimes.com