Artists who play the Barclays Center get more than a paycheck — they get a trip down memory lane.
Arianna Kane, premium services manager for the arena, is in charge of finding personal gifts for each of the venue’s headliners. For instance, when Barbra Streisand played in 2012, Kane read an interview where the singer praised the simple joy of sitting in a rocking chair.
“I found out in 2004 that Barbra auctioned off different pieces of furniture with the proceeds going to charity,” Kane says. Among the items was a fabric-covered rocking chair from the singer’s childhood home in Brooklyn. It took two months, but, “I was able to track down that fan who bought the chair and repurchase the chair.”
Streisand, in a handwritten thank-you note, said she loved it.
In the competition to land big-name performers, Barclays hopes this sort of personal touch sets them apart — and keeps the artists coming back.
Kane, 32, jokingly calls herself a “glorified stalker” who scours the web for old magazine profiles and fan pages.
Last Saturday, for instance, Miley Cyrus unwrapped custom dog collars with her pups’ names on them and vintage Chanel jewelry for herself.
“It’s not always about the luxury item. It’s about something that pulls on their heart strings,” Kane says.
Piano Man Billy Joel let out a huge “wow” when he was presented with a framed original pressing of the 1949 song “Alone in This City” from Ray Charles’ Maxin Trio days. Charles has long been Joel’s idol, and Kane had been told by a Rolling Stone editor that finding the record was impossible, but she managed to locate it from a collector. It was Kane’s favorite gift to date.
In the case of Bob Dylan, her “aha!” moment came while Kane was taking a cupcake tour with her family in downtown Manhattan. When the guide happened to mention that the singer was discovered at the Greenwich Village club Cafe Wha?, Kane was three weeks out from the Dylan show and needed an idea. She immediately thought about giving him a piece of the marble flooring at the iconic bar. It was framed with a photo of him performing there.
The budget varies for each artist and can be dictated by many different factors, including ticket sales. Kane will shop anywhere: from the white-gold counter at Cartier to the gardening section at Target, as was the case for Lionel Richie.
“Lionel is known for his love of music and his love of gardening,” says Kane, who put together a “favorite things” basket for the singer, including Uggs slippers and sweats. “I happened to be in Target buying the basket I was putting his gifts in, and I saw a pair of pruning shears. [Richie] has said that’s his favorite gardening tool.
“I put them in the middle of the basket, just because,” Kane recalls. “And he picked them out and said, ‘I can’t believe you knew this!’ ”