Suburban Decay: The Story of The Germain Amphitheater
Vložit
- čas přidán 7. 09. 2024
- This is the story of the Germain Amphitheater in Columbus, Ohio. Ironically, the land has been very recently been purchased by the Polaris Chambers of Commerce. I must have jinxed it.
I moved to Lancaster Ohio in 2001. On the evening of August 28th 2007, I was at a party and won the $5 raffle ticket prize. 😳 4 VIP EVERYTHING PASSES! 😳 Crosby Stills Nash & Young for the next night! OMG ❤️! Being a newcomer to the area Nationwide arena was just there already. Not to mention I had never experienced VIP EVERYTHING in my life. Do you know how blessed I was? I was just still trying to figure out how to get into the parking lot when all the sudden they saw my EVERYTHING! 🤯 ❤️ It was like Moses parting the Red Sea... 🤣. Holy Cow. And by the way on this day in 2022 I have been listening to music to soothe my soul and when I listened to the Southern Cross I felt the need to see pictures of that place and I entered it on CZcams and this video came up... Thank you for this production and guess what? You are now a part of EVERYTHING! 💯✌️❤️
This is so sad to see. I attended my first concert ever here, the band Live back in 1995, and attended several other shows here, including the infamous ill fated Ozzfest 1997. The addition of both the Schottenstein Center and Nationwide Arena killed this place.
I was one the last to leave that day, not that I did nothing at all actually. I was so geeked on lsd I was just afraid to move. Not to glorify drug use. Its ruined my life !
I went to Ozzfest 99,2000, and 2001 at Polaris Amphitheater!
Thank you for posting. That place meant so much to me -- still does. I filled a plastic bag with grass from the lawn at the last concert I attended which was Rush in 07. I'd have gone to Toby Keith but I can't stand country, so Rush was the last one for me. I saw tons of shows there over the years and that void for big summer acts has returned. Bands such as Phish & DMB that were regulars now go elsewhere and skip over Columbus. It is beyond sad and frustrating to me that this all transpired. Polaris/Germain was a special place and it won't be forgotten.
DMB has played Crew stadium a couple times, but yeah, the summer road warriors generally bypass Columbus in the summer these days.
I saw so many shows there. My favorite was probably the Cranberries. Sad this place is gone because it was a lot of fun to go to this place, even with lawn seats.
Saw several concerts here over the years. First show I saw at Polaris was Metallica July 4th 1998. I liked how it was just north of Columbus and close to several places to eat/drink beforehand. I've since moved to Indiana and have been to several concerts at Noblesville, Indiana. Same type of outdoor amphitheater set up but they are further from Indy.
Problem with Polaris is the surrounding area already had development going on before it was even built. These types of outdoor venues need to be in the "sticks", not the suburbs to make it work without subdivisions complaining about the noise, traffic, etc.
With Noblesville(aka Deer Creek, aka Verizon, aka Klipsch). The surrounding areas that have built housing, restaurants, etc., they knew what they were getting into before they came out there so they have no right to complain. That's like building your house next to an already existing airport and then complaining about the noise.
That Metallica concert was also my first show there!
It's weird how eerily similar the story of the Germain/Polaris Amphitheater is to the Starwood Amphitheatre. Starwood amphitheatre was a venue in Antioch, Tn that pretty much went through the same fate. The last show at Starwood was Aerosmith in 2006. Luckily we have a new amphitheatre in Nashville now called the Ascend. But before that we were without one for almost 10 years after Starwood shutdown.
Sad. This is where I saw all the Ozzfests I'd been to. Also saw Aerosmith and Monster Magnet there :(
*Polaris* Amphitheater is where I saw my first concert... Scorpions!
Saw them there myself. Great concert. The pussies around the area in the neighborhood brought it down.
Dear God that's terrible lol I'm sorry
I saw Ozzfest there 3 times! I f*cking loved it...
Ozzfest 2007 Lamb Of God started playing, the "new" lawn started flying...good times...good times.
Great video. It's weird how some amphitheaters can't survive (Polaris and AmSouth come to mind) while others seem to thrive (Blossom & First Niagara, e.g.). When I explored it back in 2009, the guys I was with said they heard that it closed because the people who lived nearby were tired of the noise and crowds, but what do you expect living there? I wouldn't chalk it up to any single cause; I'm sure there were many, and greed was probably the straw that broke the camel's back.
I was at the infamous
Ozzfest 97 riot
From my perspective
On the field
Bottles started filling the sky
Toward the stage
Phil from pantera
Finally made the announcement
Ozzy will not perform
I remember one guy yelled
Tear down the fence
Then all hell broke loose
Side story
I made it back to my car
It was chaos
Me and a buddy were sitting on my trunk
Passing a joint back n forth
Out of the crowd
A cop walked up to us
Asked if that was my car
I said yes
He said
Stay at your vehicle
Were going on lock down
( I dont even care about the joint)
If your here at your car
Then your not causing trouble
Lol
Awesome 😎
One last thing
Giving credit where credit is due
Big thumbs up
And a great job
By the Columbus police department in 97
Later I read alot of officers were off duty, even sleeping
All officers were called to Polaris
They had very quick response time
They contained the situation
So rioters would not spill on the streets
There were injuries
But no deaths
Great job Columbus PD of 97
Fuck Columbus PD. They are all pieces of shit.
Lollapalooza 95 was my first show there, and then the Ozzfest 97 mess was my last.
I was there at ozzfest 97
Yes it was a mess
Couple cool things
Tony Iommi wrote about that night in his book iron man
In pantera memoirs
Told the story of
Dimebag very drunk
Being escorted in a golf cart
To check out the chaos
It's very true
I was walking back to my car
Someone behind me said
That's dimebag
I turned to look
I'll be damn
There he was in a golf cart
They were going kinda fast
Even for a golf cart
So I didnt get a great look
Horrible waste of a great venue. I knew when Germain stuck his name on it he would drain all profit and dump it. Greedy thoughtless perversion of what some folks in Columbus valued. The lack of care for the property is pitiful and a sad remainder of some priceless memories. Sorry folks, the show is over.
Fuckyeah it is. Its the same story with starwood that was located in Antioch Tennessee. everything from aerosmith, Fleetwood Mac, to ozz and buzzfest come there. These corporate suits tore it down. Damn each and every last one of you. To hell with inside concerts. Outside was where the magic was and was why we always came.
Germain, Germain - forget the name. People who can't stand loud music have sand in their vaginas.
Interesting... thanks for posting!
Ticketmaster has made it nearly impossible for us poor folk to go to a concert nowadays. I anit paying a thousand bucks to see anyone ever!!
almost all of the concerts I go to are in Amphitheater's, I just went to Mayhem fest in PA and it is almost exactly the same as Polaris was, there is one in Charlotte and Atlanta that are also the same. sad I saw Pantera and Metallica there :(
Buckeye lake music center will always be my first love but i have cheated on her with Polaris a few times , honestly hated it at first it took all the good acts but then i came around . was ozzy 97 . 22 yr old hillbilly strait out the hills , yes it was different, Dwight Yokem and Billy Ray dont want none of that !
I smoked weed on the lawn with a few friends before leaving them and hiding under the pavilion. I had a pavilion ticket with a couple other friends, thankfully, as it was a fkn scorcher that day. It was the 2000, Ozzfest, with Pantera. The main stage and the second stage both had so many amazing acts, that I wanted to see, so I was running back and forth from the main stage to the second stage. I just now realized this place got sold and all the buildings were destroyed. Sad, when a little piece of your history dies.
I saw that show too. '97 Ozzfest was my first show there. I smoked alot of weed there ;)
I have a piece of the fence from that show . Good memories grim flashbacks.
You forgot to mention that the acts are pretty greedy themselves. One hit song on the radio and the want 35 to 40 grand and that's if your providing all of the production gear. Audio and lighting. The larger acts with multiple hits and big shows on the road are in the 1/4 million dollar range. I do realize that it cost's a great deal of money to pay a large crew and put 4 or 5 tractor trailers and several buses on the road but it isn't like they only play 1 or 2 shows a week. When they are out they are playing at least 5 shows a week. Personally I would like to see the acts go back into the arenas and theatres. Shows are much better in a smaller setting but people can't afford to pay 150.00 for tickets and 75.00 for cheap seats. I do know first hand how much Live Nation doesn't care about the people who are effected by their greed. It's all about profit and bonuses for them.
I saw Coldplay here live on August 31, 2005, and one of the best concerts I have ever been to. This makes me sad.... :(
REPLY
Lol Coldplay
That's really awesome. I got to see them in Cleveland in 2017, and it was one of the best concerts I've ever been to. I wish I got to see a show at Germain Amphitheater.
It's now going to be a friggin Ikea
11to15million bucks is pennies to artists like ozzy,its zoned for amphitheater only,so I say a major artist,buy it put a personal museum,a few concessions,portapottys and a stage,start booking major stars,luke bryan has scheduled two shows one a Saturday,and the next day at Cincinnati riverbends out door venue,so yes u can sell out large crowds,our reds stadium is where Jason aldean and Miranda lambert sold out in hours,large venue,once again!!yes people will get free music off the internet and free videos,but no matter how bad the economy is or gets,one thing a fan will never do is miss there favorite performer in concert,and outdoors is the best concerts,everyone agrees,look at rock on the range,jamboree in the hills,people love the outdoors,and hell even a small recording studio could be in basement of the museum,so many possibilities for long term profits for the artist that bought this,hell for the winter set it up as xmas north pole family even,so much can be done,dont let the music die!!!!
Have you ever attended school? Good god lol get your life together and learn how to fucking write sentences with correct spelling and punctuation.
Sad...the city under Michael Coleman....that land prob worth 20 mill...this was the best place ever..fun timed
The site is now a center of Swedish culture (i.e. IKEA).
Swedish culture? There aren't any fucking people from Sweden in Slowhio lol you're on bath salts
It's so weird, I stare at this exact plot of land 3 or 4 days a week on the treadmill at my gym. I'm literally looking at it as I'm writing this and walking. Almost surreal knowing how much great music was played in that exact same spot many years ago.
@@JohnT-kg3oi my exact thoughts, i drive past the abandoned parking lot like every other day
Maphre Stadium is next. Once the Crew moves, ROTR once ayear won't keep it open. It'll be another abandoned blight & waste of money.
You can predict the future my friend. Sadly, this and COVID I believe has spelled the end for ROTR/Sonic Temple.
Greed greed and more greed. Poorly designed venue to begin with. Ohiowa
I thought I was the only person to ever say Ohiowa lol
photo credits...?
Hate going to concerts now polaris was the best place. The venues in town sucks for sound quality and concerts
Just because an Ampitheater is gone doesn't mean to it has to permanently ruin shows for you. There are plenty of other places with a better chance to actually be up close to the stage.