148 replies to this topic

[Victoria Watcher]

Those are the questions these days. When you have one (or zero) original members is it a really just a tribute band?

 

Sometimes when an old band just plays their old hits, they are a bit of a tribute band to themselves.  Pet Shop Boys / New Order have been absolutely cleaning up on ticket sales this summer.  But I'm not so sure.  They play Vancouver in October.  Floor tickets are $500+, anything close is $400+.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 26 September 2022 - 08:52 AM.

[Nparker]

#ABBAtars

[Victoria Watcher]

Sometimes when an old band just plays their old hits, they are a bit of a tribute band to themselves.  Pet Shop Boys / New Order have been absolutely cleaning up on ticket sales this summer.  But I'm not so sure.  They play Vancouver in October.  Floor tickets are $500+, anything close is $400+.

 

[FawltyVic]

Any of you go see Hamilton when it hit Vancouver?

Nope.

 

If I go to Vancouver to see a show I prefer to see a smaller show, i.e. anything being performed on the Granville Island Stage or a stadium music concert to a bar band.

 

Besides, I'm still holding a grudge against the musical of Hamilton and I'd rather not give them money for a ticket.

[FawltyVic]

Sometimes when an old band just plays their old hits, they are a bit of a tribute band to themselves.  Pet Shop Boys / New Order have been absolutely cleaning up on ticket sales this summer.  But I'm not so sure.  They play Vancouver in October.  Floor tickets are $500+, anything close is $400+.

Yeah, agreed.

 

I know it's harder these days to put out a full album under a record label of any decent size. Playing new unrecorded songs at a show, selling an indie CD on a tour or just releasing a new pay-to-own song on a media site is a hell of a lot better than just touring as a tribute to their glory days.

[Victoria Watcher]

.

 

I mean God bless them, it's impressive.

 

 

This is their setlist from their last show in Philadelphia.

[spanky123]

Most people who go to shows want to hear the hits they know sounding the way they remember them. If an artist can sprinkle in a few new songs then great but it would never represent a majority of material.

Tickets, merch and VIP sales are the only way to make money these days for most artists which is why everyone tours!

[Victoria Watcher]

Most people who go to shows want to hear the hits they know sounding the way they remember them. If an artist can sprinkle in a few new songs then great but it would never represent a majority of material.

Tickets, merch and VIP sales are the only way to make money these days for most artists which is why everyone tours!

 

I sort of feel that back when these hits were big, the people that enoyed them were less likely to be able to afford concert tickets.  So now, people can pay $400 or $500 to see these guys, since the audience is all in their 40s 50s and 60s now.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 26 September 2022 - 11:01 AM.

[Matt R.]

Nope.
 
If I go to Vancouver to see a show I prefer to see a smaller show, i.e. anything being performed on the Granville Island Stage or a stadium music concert to a bar band.
 
Besides, I'm still holding a grudge against the musical of Hamilton and I'd rather not give them money for a ticket.

Don’t like how they did him dirty, or what?

Great production. I loved it.

[Mike K.]

Most people who go to shows want to hear the hits they know sounding the way they remember them. If an artist can sprinkle in a few new songs then great but it would never represent a majority of material.

Tickets, merch and VIP sales are the only way to make money these days for most artists which is why everyone tours!

Funniest show I ever went to was a performance of Blondie in Vegas, with Garbage (Garbage!) as the opening band. The audience just sat there confused, bewildered and shocked as Garbage played their set. The best part was the singer walking off the stage dropping her mic and saying “**** you, you Trump loving ************s.”

…and now a big round of applause for the inventor of rap, Blondie!

[spanky123]

I sort of feel that back when these hits were big, the people that enoyed them were less likely to be able to afford concert tickets.  So now, people can pay $400 or $500 to see these guys, since the audience is all in their 40s 50s and 60s now.

 

I think that hits the nail on the head. What a lot of people don't do though it look at the lineups. They see a name they recognize and assume that it has at least some, if not the majority, of members who played at the time they followed the band.

 

Take my Heart reference as an example. There are two versions of Heart that is touring, one with Nancy and one with Anne and in neither case are there other original Heart members (IIRC). Anne's version has a singer who was a finalist in the Voice and other members whom she has played with for about a year. Anne is a very good guitar player but not a guitar hero. Tickets to see Heart start at about $100 for an ok seat (inc fees) and granted they have Styx on the bill but replace Anne with an equally capable guitar player and it is a club act with a $5 cover charge. 

[Spy Black]

Take my Heart reference as an example. There are two versions of Heart that is touring, one with Nancy and one with Anne and in neither case are there other original Heart members (IIRC). Anne's version has a singer who was a finalist in the Voice and other members whom she has played with for about a year. Anne is a very good guitar player but not a guitar hero. Tickets to see Heart start at about $100 for an ok seat (inc fees) and granted they have Styx on the bill but replace Anne with an equally capable guitar player and it is a club act with a $5 cover charge. 

I think you've got Ann and Nancy backwards here.

Nancy is touring with the Voice singer. Ann does her own singing, and doesn't play guitar.

 

Nancy was a child prodigy on guitar, and is roundly considered somewhat of a virtuoso ... so I'm not sure where you get the "not a guitar hero" from ... there's very few performers who can play guitar up to her standards of excellence. She also has a killer voice on her own, as can be heard on more than a few big original Heart hits.

[spanky123]

^ My bad, I mixed them as you stated.

 

No doubt Nancy is a very good guitar player, but she is not on anyone's top 20 list.

 

My point though is not whether Nancy is a good musician, it is that many touring bands these days are one member away from being a tribute band yet still command premium ticket prices because (IMO) people are attracted to the band name and not the lineup.

Edited by spanky123, 28 September 2022 - 09:03 AM.

[Spy Black]

My point though is not whether Nancy is a good musician, it is that many touring bands these days are one member away from being a tribute band yet still command premium ticket prices because (IMO) people are attracted to the band name and not the lineup.

True ... and personally, as much as I like Heart (and The Lovemongers, which was basically "Heart"), I'd not go to see either band with just one of the sisters in it.

For folks who are fans, it's no secret that Heart came into its own when Ann and Nancy sang harmony together ...  as only sisters can do, and as they often did on their biggest hits.

 

Out on the road individually, but still cashing in on the "Heart" name, it just seems like a cash grab - and begs the question why they don't just make up with each other (they're sisters after all), and get Heart back out on the road for their die-hard fans.

Edited by Spy Black, 28 September 2022 - 09:57 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

Come From Away now on sale.  Pre-sale code BROADWAY.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seems to be tickets available for any date.

 

 

 

 

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 28 September 2022 - 10:17 AM.

[sdwright.vic]

Edit because of edit ^

Edited by sdwright.vic, 28 September 2022 - 10:16 AM.

[Mike K.]

Classic!

[spanky123]

True ... and personally, as much as I like Heart (and The Lovemongers, which was basically "Heart"), I'd not go to see either band with just one of the sisters in it.

For folks who are fans, it's no secret that Heart came into its own when Ann and Nancy sang harmony together ...  as only sisters can do, and as they often did on their biggest hits.

 

Out on the road individually, but still cashing in on the "Heart" name, it just seems like a cash grab - and begs the question why they don't just make up with each other (they're sisters after all), and get Heart back out on the road for their die-hard fans.

 

Agreed. From what I had read on google, the disagreement between the sisters was largely based on whose hired guns joined the duo. 

[todd]

This promoters previous shows have all had 5 or so sold out shows per run, and Come From Away is a Canadian story with the script and music written by Canadian playwrights and musicians.
It also was somewhat of the toast of Broadway, which is a rather difficult honour to achieve.
 
This will easily be the biggest theatre show in Victoria in 2023, and will easily draw an audience locally as well as from up island and the mainland.
 
There reaches a point with these touring Broadway shows (usually around 6 or 7 performances in any given run in any given city) where all the bills are paid, and as long as your nightly gate exceeds your nightly labour bill, each performance after that is seen as a gravy train ... in other words, the last 5 or so shows in a 12 show run don't need to sell out for theatre, tour, and promoter to be making a crap-ton of money.

I’m just not sure about seeing a show about a group of folks who were briefly inconvenienced by an airline delay. It gets good reviews though I see, can see how it may be very interesting to an American living in New York City


https://youtu.be/Af77C4zUkjs

[Spy Black]

Point taken ... it may not be a show for you personally - BUT - taking a look at the ticket page on the Royal website, it would appear that in less than two days they've sold well over a million dollars worth of tickets (based on the seating charts, and the number of seats already sold and marked as unavailable).

 

So there will definitely be more than just a few folks in attendance throughout the shows run!