MedicCook
01-09-2008, 07:20 PM
Hotel bumping incident can't stop Hannah Montana momentum
Meanwhile, concertgoers crowd outside Times Union Center
COLONIE - Miley Cyrus boarded her tour bus without makeup, in a tan sweater and wearing her short, blonde hair in braids at 2 p.m. today at the Desmond Hotel.
The 15-year-old entertainer was headed for a sound check at the Times Union Center, where, in a few hours, she would be transformed with the help of a platoon of makeup and hair artists into her alter-ego, Hannah Montana, the hottest pop star in the land.
Tonight's Albany show is sold out, as are the 53 other dates on the "Best of Both Worlds" tour, where the highly coveted tickets have fetched as much as $3,000 at auction.
After rolling into the suburban hotel at 5 a.m. Wednesday with her entourage, which included her grandmother and an uncle, the teen singer slept until mid-morning before her tutor arrived and she studied that day's lessons for the next few hours.
"She was totally down-to-earth and very unassuming," said Fernando Cortina, the Desmond's sales manager.
"Miley is a wonderful young lady," said road manager Jack Albeck, father of a 15-year-old daughter who happens to be a big Hannah Montana fan.
"Miley has great values and is a tremendous role model," Albeck said.
Albeck praised Cortina and his staff at the Desmond, who made available 30 rooms at the 11th-hour after a dispute arose regarding their previous arrangements at the Crowne Plaza in downtown Albany.
"Thank God the Desmond rescued us, otherwise Miley and the rest of us would have been stuck on the tour buses or sleeping out in the cold," Albeck said.
The manager at the Crowne Plaza did not immediately return calls seeking comment on the disagreement over the rooms.
"They told us at the Crowne Plaza that our rooms had been canceled, without an explanation," Albeck said. "It's very upsetting and very difficult to swallow."
Getting bumped at the Crowne caused logistical problems for the tour, which included popular opening act the Jonas Brothers, and a rolling fleet of 10 tour buses and 15 tractor-trailers filled with lights, sets, props, rigging and stage craft.
"It's a huge show," said Albeck, a concert industry veteran who's toured with acts ranging from Bruce Springsteen to Barry Manilow over the past three decades.
Although he was part of the "High School Musical" tour, another Disney extravaganza, nothing prepared Albeck for the shrieking teenyboppers who have packed arenas coast-to-coast for Hannah Montana, who's riding a wave of popularity with a top Disney TV show.
A sound engineer recorded the Hannah Montana concert at more than 110 decibels, or roughly equivalent to the noise of a jet take-off.
http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=653744&category=&BCCode=&newsdate=1/9/2008
Meanwhile, concertgoers crowd outside Times Union Center
COLONIE - Miley Cyrus boarded her tour bus without makeup, in a tan sweater and wearing her short, blonde hair in braids at 2 p.m. today at the Desmond Hotel.
The 15-year-old entertainer was headed for a sound check at the Times Union Center, where, in a few hours, she would be transformed with the help of a platoon of makeup and hair artists into her alter-ego, Hannah Montana, the hottest pop star in the land.
Tonight's Albany show is sold out, as are the 53 other dates on the "Best of Both Worlds" tour, where the highly coveted tickets have fetched as much as $3,000 at auction.
After rolling into the suburban hotel at 5 a.m. Wednesday with her entourage, which included her grandmother and an uncle, the teen singer slept until mid-morning before her tutor arrived and she studied that day's lessons for the next few hours.
"She was totally down-to-earth and very unassuming," said Fernando Cortina, the Desmond's sales manager.
"Miley is a wonderful young lady," said road manager Jack Albeck, father of a 15-year-old daughter who happens to be a big Hannah Montana fan.
"Miley has great values and is a tremendous role model," Albeck said.
Albeck praised Cortina and his staff at the Desmond, who made available 30 rooms at the 11th-hour after a dispute arose regarding their previous arrangements at the Crowne Plaza in downtown Albany.
"Thank God the Desmond rescued us, otherwise Miley and the rest of us would have been stuck on the tour buses or sleeping out in the cold," Albeck said.
The manager at the Crowne Plaza did not immediately return calls seeking comment on the disagreement over the rooms.
"They told us at the Crowne Plaza that our rooms had been canceled, without an explanation," Albeck said. "It's very upsetting and very difficult to swallow."
Getting bumped at the Crowne caused logistical problems for the tour, which included popular opening act the Jonas Brothers, and a rolling fleet of 10 tour buses and 15 tractor-trailers filled with lights, sets, props, rigging and stage craft.
"It's a huge show," said Albeck, a concert industry veteran who's toured with acts ranging from Bruce Springsteen to Barry Manilow over the past three decades.
Although he was part of the "High School Musical" tour, another Disney extravaganza, nothing prepared Albeck for the shrieking teenyboppers who have packed arenas coast-to-coast for Hannah Montana, who's riding a wave of popularity with a top Disney TV show.
A sound engineer recorded the Hannah Montana concert at more than 110 decibels, or roughly equivalent to the noise of a jet take-off.
http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=653744&category=&BCCode=&newsdate=1/9/2008