Hot Summer Sounds Concert Season Looks Solid, If Not Spectacular, But May Hold Surprises
As the winter tour doldrums recede, once again music fans are getting hungry for the usually bountiful spring and summer concert season, and this year it’s shaping up to be meat and potatoes. To be sure, it won’t be the full-course meal of ‘94 when the Eagles, Pink Floyd and Rolling Stones hit the road, but neither will it be the famine of ‘95.
With a variety of star performers, including U2, Garth Brooks, No Doubt, Toni Braxton, Snoop Doggy Dogg and Enrique Iglesias, consumers are looking at solid acts. When coupled with what may be a less cutthroat atmosphere for local promoters, they may be seeing reasonable ticket prices as well.
“I don’t think anybody’s predicting a banner year comparable to ‘94, but the plan is for a solid summer,” said Gary Bongiovanni, editor of Pollstar, a concert industry magazine.
Except … some mega-acts may materialize. Rumors swirl about a Rolling Stones tour and a Fleetwood Mac reunion. Most tantalizing, there’s the possibility of three Beatles on tour - not together but separately.
Sure, it’s a long shot. But by some weird alignment of the planets - or maybe the momentum of “The Beatles Anthology” - Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr could all hit the road this summer or fall, each pursuing a solo tour.
The ex-Beatles’ separate tours aren’t just the figment of some promoter’s overheated imagination, Bongiovanni said. Starr will group another “All-Starr” band as he has in previous years and announce a tour soon.
Both Harrison and McCartney’s representatives placed tentative holds on concert dates recently, Bongiovanni said - that is, they asked that promoters hold open certain dates in certain cities for their artists to play.
“There were overtures made,” Bongiovanni said. “It was real. But whether they decided to follow through on it, I don’t know.”
McCartney has taken to touring in past years with a vengeance. His publicity firm in New York says there are no plans, formal or informal, for him to tour as yet, but it couldn’t rule it out. His new album, “Flaming Pie,” is a rock ‘n’ roll effort produced by Jeff Lynne and George Martin and includes a duet with Steve Miller. That’s due in late May. What’s after that is uncertain.
Harrison’s tour is less concrete. He hasn’t toured the United States since 1974 and last toured Japan in 1991 only after pal Eric Clapton dragged him out.
Canceling any plans is as easy as making one phone call saying “I’m not doing it.”
Fans will find a good, healthy, reasonably priced season out there. Depending on a person’s definition of “reasonable,” of course. U2 tickets are $50-plus, and there’s little in the $20 range, despite No Doubt’s determination to sell its tickets for that price.
The concert industry is one area where competition doesn’t always mean savings for the consumer. You can’t really shop for the best deal. A Bruce Springsteen fan is going to see Springsteen wherever he plays at whatever cost; the fan isn’t going to decide to see Barry Manilow instead because the cost is lower or the concert is closer to home.
Many acts got burned by charging high prices last year wherever they played. Expect to see The Who’s “Quadrophenia” making the rounds of amphitheaters and probably charging quite a bit less than the $75-per-ticket price of last fall’s arena tour.
Much of the year is business as usual, though. Reunions are in the air again. All four original Monkees will hit the road for the first time since the ‘60s. Fleetwood Mac rumors abound that the band will appear in its classic ‘70s lineup. News from the Jackson camp may be unreliable, but there’s talk of a Jackson Five tour, headed by Michael himself. Motley Crue announced its presence at an awards show recently; a reunion album and tour are due. Supertramp will tour the United States in July but without founder Roger Hodgsen.
The money machine that is KISS will roll on through 1997. The Eagles reunion is apparently over for now, with Don Henley working on his next solo album and Glenn Frey reportedly returning to an acting career.
The Rolling Stones may be a strong bet for going back to arenas as well, though the band has played almost nothing but stadiums since 1978. Despite official denials, promoters are holding fall dates in arenas. If it comes true, expect prices that could eclipse the Eagles’ $115 tickets of 1994.
R&B and rap are expected to make a healthy showing this year. Toni Braxton’s power has only increased after her Grammy wins. Last year’s “Smokin’ Grooves” rap tour will see a sequel. But maybe the biggest rap show of the year will be Snoop Doggy Dogg headlining Lollapalooza, along with Tricky and others.
The H.O.R.D.E. trek is looking more like Lollapalooza. Blues Traveler is traveling on its own this year, not on the H.O.R.D.E. tour that it founded. Instead, Neil Young is headlining, and acts as far afield as Beck have been mentioned as supporting acts. Time will tell.
Electronica, the latest term for electronic dance and ambient music, is all the rage but isn’t yet the strong live lure that traditional rock is. Expect to see the Prodigy and Orbital and others hit the road but not in blockbuster tours.
In country, youngster LeAnn Rimes will be wooing crowds - and not in tiny clubs. Industry insiders expect Shania Twain will make good on her vow to do her first tour this fall.
And the stalwarts - Jimmy Buffett, James Taylor, etc. - will be out again this year, singing their songs and filling amphitheaters.
Of the newer bands, Marilyn Manson likely will stay on the road and solidify the fan base that has arisen through the controversy that surrounds the group.
“They’re getting press you just can’t buy,” Bonviovanni said.
311, Live, the Offspring, Bush and other newer bands are all expected to do good business, but the top of the crop - the Alanis Morissette-sized blockbuster for ‘97 - could well be No Doubt. With low ticket prices and high demand, promoters are seeing quick sellouts of No Doubt dates.
Pearl Jam is due, but its ongoing battle with Ticketmaster promises to continue to limit what it can do and where it can go.
“Pearl Jam is supposed to work. More dates than last year, but it’s not going to be an 80-date tour or anything like that,” Bongiovanni said.
Fans may be more disappointed by the acts they may not see.
Journey was supposed to be the big reunion concert of the year, especially after the band’s reunion album, “Trial By Fire,” charted well and spawned hit singles late last year. But internal and personal problems have kept the band from going out. Some insiders fear it may never materialize, leaving a slam-dunk multimillion-dollar payday untouched.