Palladium opens with a 2-fer weekend

by Teresa Gubbins

DALLAS — If you liked Gilley's, you'll LOVE the Palladium Ballroom. The "new" venue, which has basically cannibalized the Gilley's space, had its grand opening this weekend with back-to-back concerts starring Los Lonely Boys and Three Days Grace. (A soft opening took place last week with local band Black Tie Dynasty.)

Los Lonely Boys drew a crowd of nearly 1,500; Three Days Grace nearly hit the 2,800 capacity.

The new venue represents the magic that can happen when you take an established club and slap on a new name. A couple dozen flat-screen TVs served as the only indication that the ballroom had changed one iota from its previous incarnation as Gilley's, which has moved into an expanded space built off the Palladium complex.

What makes the Palladium significant is that the booking of acts will be handled by the promotion team from AEG Nokia, which includes veteran agent Danny Eaton. This sets the stage for a face-off between AEG (Nokia + Palladium) and HOB Entertainment (Smirnoff Music Centre + House of Blues at Victory Park, opening in March).

Aside from the flat-screen TVs, the Palladium boasted a new high-tech wristband procedure that scans your license and instantly prints out a personalized wristband, with the wearer's name as well as the date and time of issuance. The goal is to prevent under-age drinking, but it's weird to be wearing a paper wristband with your name on it.