Centrum in Worcester / DCU Center
In 1981, when Chistopher Cross won the Song of the Year and Record of the Year Grammys for “Sailing,” the biggest indoor concert venues in New England were Boston Garden, Providence Civic Center, New Haven Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Hartford Civic Center, Cumberland County Civic Center and Springfield Civic Center, in that order. But in 1982, when Kim Carnes won Song of the Year and Record of the Year for “Bette Davis Eyes,” the region’s large-hall landscape changed dramatically with the opening of an arena in Central Massachusetts that replaced New Haven’s Coliseum as the third largest and punched well above its weight in terms of attendance due to its location: the Centrum in Worcester.
Though Worcester’s population was only about 163,000 when the Centrum opened, it’s about 40 miles from Providence, 50 from Springfield and Boston and 55 from Hartford, meaning the new venue was great for big-league touring artists since they could add yet another huge room to a tour of New England and great for fans because they could see their favorite acts in their hometown one night and in “The Woo,” as Worcester’s known, the next. The city had a vibrant music scene decades before the Centrum came along, supported by venues like Mechanics Hall, Worcester Memorial Auditorium and what’s now The Palladium, but the Centrum put it on the map for countless music lovers from outside the area, particularly rock ‘n’ rollers.
The arena’s original capacity was 12,000 (expanded to 14,800 in 1989) and it’s hosted a parade of musical icons, among them Frank Sinatra, Luciano Pavarotti, Diana Ross, Eric Clapton, Dolly Parton, Stevie Wonder, Whitney Houston, Prince, Johnny Cash, Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan, in addition to a who’s who of regionally, nationally and internationally acclaimed bands. Other events have included bull riding, motocross, dance competitions, graduation ceremonies, political rallies, hockey, basketball, football, wrestling and boxing (including the 1983 match in which Brockton, Massachusetts-raised Marvelous Marvin Hagler successfully defended his middleweight title against Tony Sibson).
OPENING, FIRST CONCERTS, REGIONAL IMPACT
Owned by the City of Worcester, the Centrum opened on September 1, 1982 at 50 Foster Street with a free concert by the New England Symphony Orchestra, emceed by Mayor Sara Robertson. The first commercial performance was the following day, when Frank Sinatra played a sell-out show opened by actor-comedian-drummer Charlie Callas; “Ole Blues Eyes” took the Centrum stage four more times over the years (‘83, ’88, ’91, ‘92). The venue’s second sold-out concert was on September 15, when Fleetwood Mac appeared (with opener Men at Work) and other September acts included Anne Murray, Ted Nugent, Rick Springfield, Greg Khin Band and Blue Öyster Cult (with opener Aldo Nova).
The arena soon became known to locals as “the Foster Street Vitamin” after the Centrum brand of multivitamins introduced in 1978, and its outsized impact on other venues was obvious immediately. Within weeks of its opening, Rhode Island-based promoter Frank J. Russo booked KISS for January concerts at the Centrum and the Providence Civic Center but he canceled the Providence one after selling a mere 2,000 tickets; instead of cash refunds for those who bought tickets to the Providence show, he offered to exchange them for tickets to the Centrum concert and provide free transportation to and from Worcester from Providence. Hundreds took the deal and Providence-based WPRI-TV featured the story as an example of how the Centrum was causing serious damage to the Civic Center’s business.
NOTABLE 1980S APPEARANCES
The Centrum remained a dominant presence on Southern’s New England’s scene throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s, though the opening of the 12,000-capacity Great Woods amphitheater in ’86 in Mansfield (about 40 miles from Worcester) reduced its significance somewhat between May and September. The venue flexed it muscle in November, October and November of ’82 with concerts by top rock acts including Van Halen, Rush and The Who along with shows by Liza Minelli, Kenny Rogers, Dan Fogelberg and Barry Manilow. Among the others that took the stage were Billy Joel, John Mellencamp (billed as John Cougar), 38 Special, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Jethro Tull, Heart, Jefferson Starship, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, REO Speedwagon, The Beach Boys and Pat Benatar. The J. Geils Band, whose Freezeframe LP hit #1 in the Billboard 200 in February ’82, played the first New Year’s Eve show and Aerosmith played the second one in ‘83.
The ’83 roster was rock-focused, but featured acts as diverse as Diana Ross, The Grateful Dead, Ozzy Osbourne, Johnny Cash, Styx, Lionel Ritchie and Helen Reddy. In June, U2 headlined their first-ever arena show at the Centrum, which was booked by promoter Don Law and didn’t sell out; when they returned for a three-night stand in April ’85, every show sold out. “We made the first arena offer for U2 at the Worcester Centrum,” Law told Craig S. Semon of Worcester magazine in June 2023. “People would say, maybe, it was at Madison Square Garden or the L.A. Forum. No, it was the Worcester Centrum. The date in 1983 was their first arena date anywhere.”
Others that appeared in ‘83 included The Kinks, Eric Clapton, Neil Young, Hall & Oates, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Billy Squier, Willie Nelson, Foghat, Def Leppard, Bryan Adams, Journey, Genesis, Robert Plant, Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Joe Walsh, ZZ Top, Joan Jett, The Righteous Brothers, Stevie Nicks and AC/DC. The variety continued in ’84 with concerts by Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, The Clash, Madonna, Bon Jovi, The Pretenders, Tina Turner, Culture Club, Rod Stewart, Hank Williams Jr., Duran Duran, Elvis Costello, Huey Lewis & The News, Ronnie James Dio, The Cars, John Denver, Waylon Jennings, The Go Go’s and Neil Diamond (who’s appeared 21 times, more than any other artist).
Among the most notable events of 1985 were Prince’s two shows in March, seven months after Purple Rain hit #1 in the Billboard 200 and made him a superstar, and operatic tenor Luciano Pavarotti’s concert in December. Other acts included Roger Waters, Dolly Parton, Sting, Phil Collins, The Neville Brothers, Mötley Crüe, The Firm, Air Supply, Chicago, George Thorogood & The Destroyers, Foreigner, Supertramp, Tears for Fears and ‘Til Tuesday. The second half of the ‘80s were the Centrum’s halcyon days, with annual ticket sales topping $12 million for five years straight, and over 200 acts appeared but the most popular by far was Boston, who played nine sold-out shows in August 1987 (with Farrenheit opening each). Originally booked for three nights, the band added another concert whenever the “last” one on the schedule was close to selling out, which prompted a parody ad on WBCN referencing the multi-day runs by the Ice Capades: “Now appearing at the Centrum: Boston on Ice!”
Many acts returned to the Centrum between ’86 and ’89 but there were lots of first timers too, among them Stevie Wonder, Iggy Pop, Alice Cooper, Billy Idol, Peter Gabriel, Whitney Houston, REM and Cyndi Lauper. Others included Deep Purple, Beastie Boys, Peter Frampton, The Psychedelic Furs, Eurhythmics, The Judds, Metallica, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Bachman-Turner Overdrive, Jimmy Buffett, INXS, Public Image Ltd., Eric Carmen, Randy Travis, Yes, Toots & The Maytals, Indigo Girls, Milli Vanilli, Paula Abdul, Winger, George Strait, Jeff Beck, Gloria Estefan, the Boston Pops Orchestra, Pixies and New Edition. New Kids on the Block headlined the New Year’s Eve show in 1989.
NOTABLE 1990S APPEARANCES
The Centrum began the new decade with bang by hosting Paul McCartney for three sold-out nights in February 1990. Other new faces to the Centrum that year included Cher, Don Henley, Janet Jackson, Lenny Kravitz, Julio Iglesias, Bad Company, Cheap Trick, Megadeth, Reba McIntire and Bonnie Raitt and acts that returned included Elton John and Billy Joel. Among others who appeared in the first half of the ‘90s were Paul Simon, The Black Crowes, George Michael, Guns N’ Roses, Luther Vandross, Alice in Chains, Perry Como, Soundgarden, Boyz II Men, Dire Straits, The Cure, Mariah Carey, Stone Temple Pilots, Garth Brooks, Michael Bolton, Phish, The Fools and Bell Biv Devoe.
In 1997, when a convention center was attached to the Centrum, it became part of a complex called Worcester’s Centrum Center and continued hosting top acts but the number of concerts began to dwindle compared to the ‘80s and early ‘90s, making it a smaller part of the regional scene. Newcomers in the final years of the 20th century included Nine Inch Nails, Collective Soul, Korn, Green Day, Red Hot Chili Peppers, John Hiatt, Depeche Mode, Dave Matthews Band, Smashing Pumpkins, Screaming Trees, Garbage, No Doubt, LeAnn Rimes, Usher, Rage Against the Machine, Toni Braxton, Béla Fleck, Limp Bizkit, Smash Mouth, Barenaked Ladies, Radiohead, Oasis, Rob Zombie, Bim Skala Bim and Staind. Letters to Cleo, Dropkick Murphys and The Mighty Mighty Bosstones played the 1999 New Year’s Eve show.
RENAMING, NOTABLE 2000S APPEARANCES
In 2004, Digital Federal Credit Union bought the naming rights to the venue, rebranding it DCU Center. Since then, the arena has hosted far fewer concerts than the Centrum in Worcester did but has kept presenting a wide variety of acts, from The Eagles, Dixie Chicks, Pearl Jam and Jane’s Addiction to Britney Spears, Tim McGraw, Eminem and Michael Bublé. Others who’ve taken the stage over the last two decades include Ringo Starr & His All Star Band, The Offspring, Weezer, Slipknot, Sevendust, Cypress Hill, Kelly Clarkson, Clay Aikin, Snoop Dogg, Nelly, Linkin Park, Jonas Brothers, Sarah McLaughlan, Hilary Duff, Miley Cyrus, Faith Hill, Luke Combs, Godsmack and Peter Wolf.
The arena held only three concerts in 2018, prompting some to wonder if the venue was moving out of music altogether. Asked for comment in June 2019, nine months before statewide shutdowns in response to the Covid pandemic, General Manager Sandy L. Dunn said her goal was to hold between eight and 10 shows per year, noting that the venue is a key part of Worcester’s economy and one of the area’s top spots for music and other entertainment. “The DCU Center has and will continue to have an important impact to the city for all types of events,” she told Craig S. Semon of The Worcester Telegram & Gazette. “We are the largest draw to the region for events, with approximately 500,000 people through our doors annually.”
(by D.S. Monahan)
