When fans walked into the PMAC last basketball season, they saw a bevy of empty seats. But 30 years ago, crowds packed those same chairs for shows by the likes of Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen.The Rolling Stones stopped at the PMAC in 1975, U2 played a concert on Thanksgiving night in 1987 during their Joshua Tree Tour, Led Zeppelin rocked a campus crowd in January 1975 and even “The King” himself, Elvis Presley, brought his legendary live show to the arena in 1976.When Groovin’ on the Grounds moved to the PMAC in March because of weather      concerns, the show was just a glimpse of an era when concerts in the assembly center were commonplace.”You could go to a show there on such a regular basis that you actually had to make choices between them,” said Louis Benedetto, a 1977 University political science alumnus.”There would be at least 10 shows a semester with the biggest names in music to choose from.”The now-defunct Student Union Pop Entertainment Committee was aggressive in booking concerts in the PMAC for more than 15 years, and the University leased out the arena to each tour’s production company for a concert.”They did a great job bringing in the top acts to campus,” said John Brewer, a 1983 University alumnus and former KLSU station manager.Unlike Groovin’ on the Grounds, students had to pay for tickets, but they usually received a 10- to 20-percent discount.Ticket sales meant fewer restrictions on which artists the University could afford to book.Students on Target, who books the Groovin’ on the Grounds artists, censored recent acts like Big Boi and Akon and wouldn’t book psychedelic act MGMT because of drug references in their music.Whether it was the androgynous David Bowie, the hip-shaking Elvis or the overtly sexual Rolling Stones, shows weren’t censored in the PMAC during the 1970s and ’80s. “I’m disappointed that we are now spending money for artists that do not reflect student feedback and aren’t very desirable,” said Taylor Copeland, psychology sophomore. “It would be incredible to have the kind of options for campus concerts that were available for students 30 years ago.”The concerts were often the year’s most prominent campus events. “[A concert in the PMAC] was like a big football game in terms of the excitement level on campus,” said Chip Chesteen, a 1984 University alumnus and former KLSU DJ.PMAC AS A MUSIC VENUEWhile the PMAC was relatively small for rock concerts, the acoustics in the arena for acts like Pink Floyd were decent, Brewer said.The stage was usually situated on the north end of the PMAC, and tickets were available on the floor or through assigned seating.Seats behind the stage were usually blocked off, but tickets were sold throughout the building for the biggest acts like the Stones, U2 and Springsteen’s third visit in 1984.”The crowds at the PMAC concerts were absolutely raucous,” Chesteen said. “College is when the majority of people are the most passionate about music, so that translated into an intense atmosphere for the shows.”Chesteen called the 1975 Rolling Stones concert “a quintessential rock ‘n’ roll” event.”I was still in high school at the time, but I’ll never forget seeing Mick Jagger ride out on a giant, glowing 40-foot penis into the crowd,” Chesteen said.Benedetto said it was “very seldom” that concerts failed to sell out.Brewer noted the shows weren’t always for the faint of heart. “There was always a fairly sizable contingent of people on any number of drugs, drinking heavily or smoking,” Brewer said.But in the early ’80s, the constant stream of high-profile rock concerts both in the PMAC and in Baton Rouge began to dwindle.THE DECLINE OF THE MUSICBaton Rouge has slowly become less desirable for rock music’s big names.The city had long benefitted from the fact that no arena in New Orleans was comparable to the PMAC or the River Center in size. The Superdome was too large for most artists, making the PMAC, which holds 10,000 to 13,000 people for concerts, the most attractive destination for many tours in south Louisiana.In 1983, Lakefront Arena in New Orleans, which has a capacity of about 10,000 for concerts, finished construction. And in 1999 the New Orleans Arena — which can hold anywhere from 10,000 to 17,000  people for a concert — was completed.”It’s an economic decision for these bands, because they can now go to a venue of comparable or better size in a city with better demographics and a richer music scene just an hour away,” Benedetto said.The Cajundome in Lafayette, a 12,000-seat venue that opened in 1985, has also cut into some of Baton Rouge’s concert business.Former District Attorney Ossie Brown led a campaign in 1982 against rock concerts in Baton Rouge after the drunken exploits of an overzealous crowd at an AC/DC concert in the River Center was publicized.Brown convinced the Metro Council to pass a prohibitive tax on large music productions, which applied to concerts in the PMAC and the River Center and crippled the ability of local venues to be attractive options for national production companies.Chesteen said the University told students in the 1980s the “wear and tear” the concerts inflicted on the assembly center led the University to reduce the number of shows booked on campus.”Smoking was still allowed indoors then, and people would always put out their cigarettes on the seats.” Chesteen said. 
 
 
—-Contact Chris Abshire at [email protected]