Back on the chain gang,..

I recently saw someone write on Twitter that they hated bands doing anniversary tours as it means they've sold out and have no new material. Not sure I agree with that one to be honest. An artists back catalogue is not necessarily something they should be ashamed of, but I do take on board that some bands seem to use it as their weapon of choice.

The Rolling Stones for example are nearly as old as time itself. They are still out there playing live though and pulling in the crowds. Nice work if you can get it. I like the Stones, they are one of the building blocks of music, but I can't see myself ever going to see them live. I'd probably need to re-mortgage my house for a start off.  Anyway.

Looking good lads...

I was both overjoyed and ecstatic in equal measure when I heard last month that my beloved Bluetones were doing an anniversary tour later this year to celebrate 20 years together. Bearing in mind I had written not long beforehand that I didn't think they would ever reunite, I was left gobsmacked and a wee bit shamefaced when I heard the news. Let's just say there might have been some tears. Literally a few days before I had published an article on their final album 'A New Athens' and was droning on about it being their swan song and then blam. Reunion tour. Clearly my writing had made all of this happen. Ahem....

So, does this mean they have sold out? I would say no. The fans want it so doesn't that show that the need is there? I for one am over the moon that this is happening. Those of you who have read some of my other posts will know why, but let's just say it's been a long time in the making. I have friends online who have seen the band somewhere in the region of 20 times now, and yet they have bought their tickets and are as excited as I am about seeing them again. I think this tells us that regardless of how long a band has been performing, if they give a good show then the fans will want to see them play live.

Course it was all down to you Nic...

There is the question of new material though. I was fortunate enough to interview Adam Devlin from the 'Tones and I asked him whether there would be any new stuff. He said not at the moment, but who knows what will happen. This tells me that this perhaps dependant on how this tour goes we may well see something new come out of it. They are nothing if not creative chaps, so watch this space and keep your fingers crossed.

At the other end of this are the bands who do nothing but tour with the same old dirge year in and year out. They may have had a few hits in the 1970's or something and have been trying their luck with it ever since. Classic bands such as 'The Hollies' I can forgive, mainly because I think they are fab, but I'm sure you can think of some others that always seem to be on the gig listings and you have no idea why. Who actually goes to see them? Quite possibly the same people each and every time and I would guess they probably know the set list better than the artist.

Coming soon to a theatre near you. Again.

I was interested to see that Badly Drawn Boy is touring in a few months as it's been 15 years since the release of 'The Hour Of Bewilderbeast'. How time flies huh? I am hoping to make it to a show as I've never seen him play before and would enjoy hearing him perform the album live. Last year I saw two bands perform 20th anniversary tours in celebration of their landmark albums. Therapy? toured with the epic 'Troublegum' which left me with hearing loss for 2 days afterwards (true story) and Linkin Park played their album 'Hybrid Theory' from start to finish at the Download Festival. Both were awesome and the fans loved it.

Unbelievably this is 15 years old

I think this goes to prove that if an artist has a great back catalogue then touring could be considered something of a necessity. I do take on board though that if someone has been singing the same song for the last 20 years it could be a rather painful experience for them to have to keep doing it. I've seen this at shows before where someone in the audience demands a song that the artist simply doesn't want to sing. I think in these circumstances we have to appreciate that it's up to the artist themselves as to what they want to perform. As fans, we can ask, but be prepared to hear no. As an artist, don't be such a bloody good songwriter then :0)