Promoter defends concert

Tickets will be honored at next month's concert, the promoter said.
By SHERRI L. SHAULIS
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
NILES -- A local concert promoter says he doesn't believe the postponed show of a major rap artist last week led to a near-riot among patrons at an after-party.
LaShawn Ziegler of Warren said there were no problems during the concert, which ran from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. a week ago.
During an after-party at the Center Stage Lounge in the Eastwood Expo Center, patrons began fighting, spilling out into the parking lot around 1 a.m. One person was injured by gunfire and a police officer was hit over the head and face with a glass bottle.
Several people were arrested and are scheduled for preliminary hearings next week in Niles Municipal Court.
Police have said they believe patrons became upset because the Center Stage ran out of alcohol around 12:30 a.m. and because one of the scheduled acts did not appear during the concert.
Ziegler confirmed last week's concert at the expo center was to originally feature two acts: Lil Scrappy, a hip-hop recording artist, and Juvenile, a gangsta rapper. When ticket sales ran slow, however, Juvenile agreed to postpone his performance to May 30.
"When people came into the concert, they got their tickets marked," he said. "People with those marked tickets can come to the Juvenile show May 30."
That concert will be held in Akron, as opposed to locally, Ziegler said.
Representatives from Cash Money Records in New Orleans and Universal Records in New York City, the labels that handle Juvenile, did not return phone calls seeking comment on the scheduled performances.
When trouble began
Ziegler also noted that there were no problems during the concert itself, only afterward at a party that was not his event.
"I helped to advertise the after-party, but that was not something I put together," he said.
Larry Tura, general manager of the Center Stage, said he had been advised not to comment on the matter, since police were still investigating and sorting through what happened.
He did confirm that he has a meeting scheduled Friday with Police Chief Bruce Simeone and Mayor Ralph A. Infante. City officials have said they wanted the meeting to discuss how similar problems can be prevented.
If people were upset because they didn't get to see Juvenile, "that's not a reason to punch the person next to you," Ziegler said.
slshaulis@vindy.com