Touring - Styx = Meat & Potatoes

[SuiteMadameBlue]

This article is about the current tours. Styx is Meat & Potatoes? LOL

http://au.launch.yahoo.com/050514/11/4f6j.html

Big guns could save fragile concert biz
(Reuters, Saturday May 14)
NASHVILLE (Billboard) - On the surface, the 2005 touring landscape seems a perfect mix of proven mega-stars, consistent veterans and promising newcomers. But underneath, there are some deep-rooted concerns about how it will all pan out.
In 2004, high ticket prices and bad packaging, among other factors, left the industry crying foul. But this year, many hope things will turn around, and they believe the key to success is in the abundance and quality of the tours expected this summer.

Leading the mega-star treks are U2, whose Vertigo tour is poised to become one of the top-grossing tours ever. Also criss-crossing the country this fall will be the Rolling Stones and Paul McCartney, two other acts that have been Teflon at the box office no matter what the overall touring environment.

In the realm of proven acts on the road this year are Bruce Springsteen, Coldplay, Tom Petty, Neil Diamond, Dave Matthews Band, the Eagles, Green Day, Jimmy Buffett, Kenny Chesney, Toby Keith, Sting, Rod Stewart, Elton John, Tim McGraw and Oasis.

Synergistic packages are abundant, too: Judas Priest/Queensryche; Chicago/Earth, Wind & Fire, Alan Jackson/Sara Evans, John Mellencamp/John Fogerty, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony/Geto Boys, Good Charlotte/Simple Plan, 3 Doors Down/Staind and Los Lobos/Ozomatli.

Also making the rounds will be the Sounds of the Underground tour, featuring a bevy of metal and hardcore bands; String Cheese Incident's BIG Summer Classic; and, on the Zooma tour, Ben Harper and Trey Anastasio.

Bankable road festivals like Vans Warped and Ozzfest also make the list of consistent winners, and the Eminem/50 Cent tour, augmented by some of the top names in hip-hop, will likely be the top-grossing rap outing ever.

The best-produced one-off festivals continue to thrive, including Bonnaroo, Coachella, Austin City Music Festival and New Orleans Jazz Fest in the United States and Download Festival, Roskilde and dozens of others in the United Kingdom and Europe. Lollapalooza, having been repositioned as a one-off to be held in Chicago, is sure to have a high profile.

Acts whose touring stock is already solid and clearly rising include Rascal Flatts, Keith Urban, Audioslave, Weezer, Slipknot, System of a Down, Josh Groban, Sum 41, John Mayer, the White Stripes, Alicia Keys, Juanes and Kanye West.

Meanwhile, the promising newcomers segment of the business also seems particularly vital. Hitting the road are such acts as the Mars Volta, the Arcade Fire, Bright Eyes, Franz Ferdinand, Kings of Leon, Hilary Duff, Kelly Clarkson, Jack Johnson, Gretchen Wilson, Alter Bridge, Death Cab for Cutie and Cross Canadian Ragweed.

Then, there are the meat-and-potatoes acts -- the artists that make their living on the road. Cottage industries unto themselves, these acts cover a broad array of styles. They include Widespread Panic, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Ted Nugent, Def Leppard, Meat Loaf, Santana, James Taylor, Hank Williams Jr., Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Charlie Daniels Band, Styx, REO Speedwagon, Journey, Cheap Trick, Allman Brothers Band, Gov't Mule and Slayer.

Of course, many touring years are defined by their pleasant surprises -- acts that either few anticipated would tour or whose success few saw coming. Motley Crue would certainly qualify as the latter. Including already confirmed treks by Robert Plant and the Pixies, tours like Queen & Paul Rodgers, Loggins & Messina, Beck, Don Henley/Stevie Nicks, Stevie Wonder and Barbra Streisand would be in the former class, provided tour talks come to fruition.

In addition to the Crue, bands that are reuniting for at least limited runs this summer include the New York Dolls, Gang of Four, the English Beat, Dramarama and Dinosaur Jr.

TIMING IS EVERYTHING

Timing is a huge factor for any tour, according to Danny Zelisko, president of Evening Star Productions, Clear Channel Entertainment's Phoenix operation. "I feel like, after being gone for a while, Coldplay's tour is very strong," Zelisko says. "I also like the Mellencamp/Fogerty package. It's really the first meaningful support Mellencamp has had on tour."

Other tours that look good to Zelisko are the reunited Loggins & Messina outing and Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers.

"The acts that seem to do well are those that stay away for the right amount of time, and then people are ready for a dose," he says. "The audiences are out there, they're ready to see new twists on old things. But it's still show business. You have to provide audiences with the mystique, set up the show and sell them."

On the flip side, many other touring years are defined by their disappointments -- tours that looked good on paper but turned out to be stiffs. No one is copping to what those might be, but there's surely one or two in the many tours previously mentioned, and they will be well-known come September.

"Someone is not going to do well, we just don't know who right now," Zelisko says.

"That would be true in any year," asserts Peter Grosslight, worldwide head of music for the William Morris Agency. "Right now, we're busy trying to get the summer booked. I'm sure there's never a year where every tour does well."

Many believe the sheer volume is a big part of this problem. "From February through May you have 100-plus shows going on sale, and there's no way a promoter can micromanage that many shows," manager Allen Kovac says. "It leads to generic promotions."

Mega-tours by the likes of the Stones, U2 and McCartney can boost the business for everyone, if one follows the "rising tide lifts all boats" philosophy.

"I've always felt that the more strong touring artists that are out in a given year, the better it is for everybody," Grosslight notes. "If there's some compelling stuff out there, it gets people in the mood to go to concerts. They feed on one another."

Reuters/Billboard

[kansas666]

Interesting article. I wonder what happened to the package tour of Boston/Styx that got a lot of press earlier this year.

My guess is the Europe dates came up for Styx and that took precidence.