Of all the emotions I felt since the loss of WNUA, perhaps strangely, there was no sadness. Until last night (Monday, June 15), that is.

I was at Navy Pier last night for the “Guitars and Saxes” concert. Walking through the main gate and into the patio area, several people—former WNUA listeners who recognized me (bless their heart)—came over, and we talked about what would be the main topic of the evening: the sudden end of WNUA as a smooth jazz station. For much of the evening leading up to the 8:00 start of the concert, I spoke with quite a few people. That in itself wasn’t sad. In fact, a listener put it best when, as she was saying goodbye and making her way toward her seat, she commented, “I’m glad we had a chance to talk—I feel a sense of closure now.”

What struck me as sad came in the couple minutes right before the show began, as I was taking a quick stroll around the patio. If you’ve been to the Skyline Stage before, you know that just south of the seating area is an open space.  It’s where sponsors of WNUA’s annual Navy Pier series used to set up. In past years, when the series was at its peak, the area was abuzz with activity. Sponsors would be describing their products and services (and putting on the soft sell) to concert goers. We would be giving away various goodies and signing listeners up for the evening’s raffle at the WNUA table. People would be milling around, conversing with each other and members of the WNUA airstaff who would be congregated there. Last night, that area was dark and eerily unoccupied.

In the late ‘90s heyday of the annual WNUA concert series on the Pier, the patio area itself would be a crowded place before showtime.  There would be multiple lines to the refreshment stand, and each would be quite long.  Open tables would be scarce.  And listeners would be milling around the shiny new automobiles which our primary sponsors, the Chicagoland Audi dealers or BMW, would provide.  Last night, however, there was only one line for refreshments, nearly every table was open, and there were no new cars to be gawked at.  Listeners were noticeably subdued, proceeding from the main gate directly to their seats.

Finally, the red and orange lanterns which hung overhead by the hundreds, added to my feelings of loss.  It was evident to me that the Skyline Stage was no longer even an occasional home to smooth jazz anymore.  The Chinese acrobats of Cirque Shanghai had taken over.  We were in their territory.  The neighborhood had changed.

The show got underway at around 8:15—with no formal introduction by a WNUA personality, by the way.  I looked around and saw that the seating area was half-filled at best, a far cry from the nights we’d pack the place to its 1,500 seat capacity.  The wave of nostalgia was slowly lightening its grip on me.  By the end of the evening, as I drove up the ramp to northbound Lake Shore Drive, a trip I’d made dozens of times going home from a Navy Pier concert over the years, I was feeling more philosophical than sentimental.  Smooth Jazz had had its day on the Skyline Stage.  We had our moments of magic out there.  The shows we did were outstanding.  I knew I’d always have the memories.

This entry was posted on Sunday, June 21st, 2009 at 3:04 pm and is filed under Smooth Jazz and Music. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.