While the Lowcountry watches “in the round,” from the front row and in “the rafters” of the North Charleston Coliseum, Dave Holscher enjoys a unique view on the periphery of hundreds of concert stages.
Holscher, the general manager for the North Charleston Coliseum, has been in the drivers seat of most every major concert or entertainment event in the Lowcountry since the venues doored opened in January 1993.
Legendary rocker Bob Seger, with family in tow, arrived in Charleston in January 1996 to begin rehearsals for his long-awaited return to live touring.
On January 19, 1996 Seger kicked off his tour at the North Charleston Coliseum. As Seger rocked his way through classics like “Old Time Rock and Roll,” “Against the Wind,” “Main Street” and “Like a Rock,” a minor emergency was developing backstage.
“His son went into the dressing room and grabbed Bob’s curling iron with his hand,” remembers Holscher. “They rushed him to the MUSC burn center. There was a lot of talk whether or not to tell Bob [Seger] during the show or wait until after. His wife decided to wait until he came offstage.”
In the wings, Seger’s wife and new family, watched. “He’s [Seger] on stage and his son has his hand wrapped in this huge bandage.”
Holscher’s office walls are like a who’s who of celebrity events in the Lowcountry: The Eagles, Elton John, Bob Seger, Hootie and the Blowfish, Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, Garth Brooks, Rod Stewart, Jimmy Buffett, Neil Diamond. You name it, if they’ve played in Charleston over the last 15 years, most likely Holscher’s responsible for it.
That includes the Eagles Hell Freezes Over concert in 1995. It stands as one of the fastest sellouts in Coliseum history, despite a ticket price controversy.
Tickets went on sale at $90. Fans were outraged and promised to boycott the show. It didn’t matter. Tickets sold – fast. It was the highest ticket price to date.
More than that, Holscher was concerned about the show’s preparation.
According to Holscher, the band’s equipment trucks were delayed by a snowstorm in Knoxville, Tenn., Typically, a production crew arrives at the coliseum by 9 a.m. on the day of a show, but the Eagles’ equipment trucks arrived at 11 a.m. Despite the delay, things went smoothly and the band was doing its sound check by 4 p.m.
“They are perfectionists,” said Holscher, who witnessed an even more tense atmosphere backstage.
“There were a lot of rumors that the band didn’t get along,” he said. “They all had separate dressing rooms and stayed in seclusion until it was time to go on stage.”
By the time the lights went down and the Eagles took the stage to a sell-out crowd of 10,782 people including South Carolina Gov. David Beasley.
When the band returned for a second show, almost 10 years later in March 2005, tickets were $120 and, again, the show sold out within hours.
From the opening note of the historic first concert (Lorrie Morgan and Alan Jackson) in January 1993 to the highly-anticipated next major concert (Elton John) on November 9, the North Charleston Coliseum has been the site of many emotions.
Known as “Casa del Ray,” the Coliseum played host to the South Carolina Stingrays Kelly Cup championship in 1997, the tragic death of a rodeo worker in 1998 and, most recently, the venue that hosted the Charleston firefighters memorial in June.
In 2003, in an emotional ceremony, the South Carolina Stingrays retired Mark Bavis’ #12 two years after the former Stingray died on American Airlines Flight 11 on September 11, 2001. Bavis’ number hangs alone in a special corner of the arena (#14 Dave Seitz and #24 Brett Marietti are the other two retired Stingrays numbers).
The famed Stars on Ice tour arrived in Charleston on their 1996-1997 tour. The show was at its peak featuring former Olympic skaters Scott Hamilton and Christi Yamaguchi.
Hamilton purchased the tour bus from Tim McGraw. The same bus McGraw used while touring with Faith Hill, then his opening act. While giving Holscher a tour of the bus, Hamilton showed him the circular bed in the back of the bus. Their were mirrors on the ceiling.
“He [Hamilton] had the same bus driver that Tim McGraw used,” said Hoslcher. “He said when Tim and Faith started dating it got so wild back there he had to get a leather divider to block the sound.”
Hamilton travelled to and from each show alone, by bus. An avid golfer, Hamilton bought the bus so he could plan golf outings in the city’s where he was performing. In the days leading up to the performance at the Coliseum, Hamilton phoned Holscher and asked if he could schedule a tee time at the famed Ocean Course at Kiawah Island.
“On the 15th or 16th hole, Scott said he wasn’t feeling well,” remembers Holscher. “At the time, he thought he just needed something to eat. When we went in, we sat down and had lunch, he seemed fine. A couple days later he keeled over during a performance and we later learned it was testicular cancer. It hit me, because I felt close to the story.”
The highlights are framed, dotting the walls. Yet, they are a small sample of what Holscher has been part of it. When asked, Holscher struggles to put a number on how many concerts and major events have come and gone. Doing the math out loud, Holscher says, “Maybe 300 concerts in 15 years … but that’s just a guess.”
Then, there are those numbers etched on gold plated plaques: like Garth Brooks three shows on three nights (January 30, 31 and February 1, 1997) resulting in three sellouts. Then there’s the best-selling single event: Billy Joel. He had a 360-degree stage which allowed the Coliseum to open additional, unobstructed seating that increased ticket sales. Or, Hootie and the Blowfish performing to huge hometown crowds on back-to-back nights August 29 and 30, 1994 and Elton John, who performed October 14, 1997, and sold 12,500 tickets.
