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MULTIMEDIA »  Hampton Beach Casino Video

Pop quiz:

Q:  What do Jimi Hendrix, Louis Armstrong and the Ramones have in common?

A:  They all drove fans crazy at the Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom.

A bit of history

Many don’t know that the Casino, which first opened its doors in 1899, has featured some of the greatest musicians and acts to appear on any stage over the past 100-plus years. From the Artie Shaw, Jimmy Dorsey and Bing Crosby orchestras in the 1920s and ’30s — when up to 5,000 people would dance the night away — to Janis Joplin, Led Zeppelin and The Who in the ’60s, the Casino became a "must-play" stage.

In 1971, when Jethro Tull’s "Aqualung" hit No. 1 on the charts a riot occurred as more than 3,000 ticketless fans were turned away at the doors. Kids climbed the walls, dropped in through the skylights and the National Guard was called in to restore calm. The town fathers promptly banned rock shows at the Casino and things mellowed out for awhile. The venue reopened in the mid-’70s as the Club Casino — a smaller, more intimate venue.

A chance to book the Rolling Stones was turned down in the 1980s because owners feared a repeat of the Jethro Tull show. This "no more Tulls" mindset led to a crackdown on dancing in the-late-’80s and early-’90s, enthusiastically enforced by thuggish college jocks on summer break, which gave the venue a bad name — both with fans and the acts they came to see. A "must-play" stage gave way to a "stay-away" venue.

I remember going to see Steel Pulse, the British reggae band, and watching with glee as lead singer David Hinds threatened to walk off the stage if people didn’t start dancing. (I mean, seriously, how can you not dance at a reggae show?) Perhaps fearing another Tull-like incident, management caved — pissing off the bouncers but delighting the fans — everyone started skanking, and there were no riots that night.

The rep had gotten so bad that my friends and I almost skipped a Ramones concert a few years later until my buddy, Emmons, confirmed that the "no dancing" rule (more like "no moshing" in this case) had been lifted for that show.

For a long time it seemed like the folks in charge of booking the bands were playing it safe — Eddie Money, KC and the Sunshine Band, leftover disco and has-been rock acts became the staple. But maybe I, and others like me, just weren’t paying close enough attention. U2 played here on one of its early tours, as did The Stray Cats, Sinéad O’Connor, Ziggy Marley and The Mighty Mighty Bosstones.

The Casino is now considered one of the Top 30 venues under 3,000 seats worldwide, according to Andrew Herrick, the Casino’s director of sales and marketing. "That designation is based on information we get from Pollstar, an organization that tracks ticket sales," said Herrick.

Last year, I was treated to two great shows that couldn’t have been more different — or hipper. Trio — a modern jazz outfit consisting of Stanley Clarke on bass, Jean Luc Ponty on violin and Bela Fleck on banjo, nearly packed the house, while breakthrough up-and-coming artists Kings of Leon thoroughly rocked the house with songs from its chart-topping "Aha Shake Heartbreak" CD. Disturbed performed a sold-out show on Sept. 22 — the day its CD hit No. 1 — proving that, perhaps, the days of riots were over.

This year marks a continuation of a booking policy that straddles the line between old reliables (Huey Lewis, KC, Eddie Money and The Beach Boys) with new hitmakers such as Panic! at the Disco and The Dresden Dolls (July 4/Sold Out).

Last year’s Crosby, Stills & Nash coup, is followed by this year’s snatch of The Pretenders (Aug. 2).

Last week, Alice in Chains broke a Casino sales record by selling out the 2,200 seats for its Aug. 3 show in a mind-boggling four minutes!

Another fact that may have run under some people’s radar, mine included, is that the Casino has become the premier top-of-the-line comedy stage between Boston and Montreal. Just look at this summer’s line-up: Damon Wayans, June 9; George Carlin, July 20; Brian Regan, July 22; Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood, Aug. 5; Jim Gaffigan, Aug. 19; Kathy Griffin, Aug. 23; and Lewis Black, Aug. 26).

See the full summer and fall schedule at http://www.casinoballroom.com/events.php.

Michael Keating is managing editor/ features at Seacoast Media Group.