In vogue on the road
On the road, music vets are getting ahead by shifting into reverse.
Nostalgia wafts over the season’s live musical offerings, whether it’s the 20-year menus of Madonna and Prince or the broader buffets of David Bowie, Rod Stewart and Carole King. Despite a comparatively short career, No Doubt plans a hits retrospective, as does Van Halen in the comeback of its lineup with Sammy Hagar.
Bygone hits are hitting the road. And judging by ticket action, those hits are hip.
“These older acts built their fan bases by touring, and people know they’re going to get a great show,” says Ray Waddell, who covers touring for Billboard. “It’s a phenomenon we’ve never seen before: parents and kids going to the same show. Kids in my generation didn’t want to see Mitch Miller. But kids now want to see bands from the ’60s and ’70s. Those bands are going to play 20 hits and play them well. What can a baby band do, play a medley of its hit?”
While boomer acts are booming this season, the bubblegum bubble has burst. The second leg of Britney Spears’ U.S. tour is expected to fill arenas, and Jessica Simpson and Hilary Duff might draw crowds, but there’s little else on the tour schedule to bolster the genre.
“A few years ago, you had the Backstreet Boys and ‘N Sync doing stadium-level business,” Waddell says. “That’s gone, maybe forever.”
No acts, in fact, are booking stadiums, a venue quickly becoming obsolete in music. Superstars prefer the cost-effective option of inflating ticket prices and playing multiple nights in a single arena.
That seems to be the strategy behind Madonna’s Reinvention tour, expected to be the year’s top-grossing trek.
“She knows what her fans want and she’s giving it to them,” Waddell says, “which is exactly what Prince is doing.”
Younger fans hungry for rock heroes are flocking to elder icons who value musicianship over visuals.
“Some of these acts are just better than what’s being offered to younger kids,” Waddell says. “Nothing against Britney, but she ain’t no Madonna.”
Source: Edna Gundersen, USA Today