Brace yourselves and start saving your pennies – OK, make that dollars – live music fans.
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band’s announcement today of another U.S. tour, the first without late saxophonist Clarence Clemons, is just the tip of the iceberg for what promises to be one of the busiest, most-hyped years for high-profile tours in recent memory.
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The morning Springsteen announcement of North American tour with an April 12 date at the Palace of Auburn Hills, following the March 6 release of his new “Wrecking Ball” album, comes on the heels of other major tours already in the works, including Van Halen, The Beach Boys, Roger Waters’ “The Wall,” Kenny Chesney/Tim McGraw, Madonna, Radiohead, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Lady Gaga, Adele, Katy Perry, Kelly Clarkson, Neil Diamond, Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber and an Ozzy-led Black Sabbath, with Fleetwood Mac also expected to reunite for some concerts.
(Tickets for Springsteen’s Palace show, $35-$95, go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday.)
This doesn’t even count the possibility of a Rolling Stones 50th anniversary tour, though I’m beginning to wonder if it’s getting a bit late in the game to assemble and trot out such a massive 2012 event by the reigning dinosaurs of rock.
All of this comes after Pollstar, the concert industry tracker, reported that last year’s Top 100 tours raked in more than $2.3 billion, a 6 percent increase over 2010. Who says the music biz is hurting?
The good news for West Michigan is that Grand Rapids already has snared some coveted 2012 shows and I’m guessing more Van Andel Arena concerts are in the works: The Black Keys (March 18), Nickelback (April 12), Barry Manilow (April 26), Red Hot Chili Peppers (May 26), Roger Waters (June 6). Meanwhile, Jane’s Addiction hits DeVos Performance Hall with its “Theatre of the Escapists” on March 21.
Of course, the staying – and earning – power of older classic rock acts remains impressive.
Michigan’s own Bob Seger proved with not one, but two, recent national tours that there’s real demand for 60-something, Hall of Fame rockers who still deliver the goods by delivering enduring music. Maybe Springsteen was inspired to tour by his recent duet with Seger on a New York City stage to perform “Old Time Rock & Roll.”
Or maybe it’s just that old time rock ‘n’ roll still sells lots and lots of tickets.
Email: jsinkevics@gmail.com
Oh joy. The Obamathon comes early to Michigan. Vote For Change Three. Ooops! Can’t call it that. Nevermind.
Arguably cheesy populist sentiment notwithstanding, the new Springsteen single picks up where “Queen of The Supermarket” left off. It’s awful. His voice buried amidst Radiohead-like twitters’n’bleeps is just weird. I LIKE to hear new music when I go to shows, if it’s any good. I’ve seen Bruce perform Born To Run enough to last multiple-lifetimes so I’m going to save my shekels for the plethora of other shows you mention.
Take it or leave it, for some artists, political expression is just part of the package. One powerful example: Roger Waters’ “The Wall.”
There’s expression like Water’s “Wall” which I’ve seen on pro-shot video and is absolutely incredible (can’t wait for the real deal) and then there is lecturing, preaching and full-blown advocacy which is what Springsteen has passed off as art for the last 6-8 years. Given the choice between paying $110 a head (all in) to be berated or twice that to be stunned, ala Waters, I’ll opt for the latter.
My first Bruce show pre-dates BTR and my last was “The Rising.” I never missed a tour in between and, politics not withstanding, I’d likely still go if the new music he was making was worth the time and expense.
I have a theory, borne out by numerous artists, that as their political activism increases their artistic relevance suffers in direct proportion. Examples: John Mellencamp, Jackson Browne, Tom Morello (I KNOW Rage’ was an ardent leftist band but they roared, Morello bores), CSN (last gasp, ’79) and Melissa Etheridge.
Hey R, you are so full of S*!T. Roger Water’s show is so any establishment, government, etc…., and you are paying $200+ for a tickets. The only political Statement Bruce makes is about giving to local food banks. He occasional you don’t win unless we all win. Oh the horror. But I for one am glad you will not be there
sorry, anti-establishment
I never said the Waters show wasn’t, any(sp) establishment, Shawn. If you’ve seen it then you know he tackles all manner of totalitarianism along with a healthy dose of organized religion (the root of all war IMHO). All of it presented in a stunning fashion which leaves the audience pondering a wide array of points of view. That’s real art. On the other hand, Bruce WAS what you describe until 2004 when he became another leftist shill with Vote For Change and continued to do so with his personal appearances for first Kerry and later Obama. Now he’s as artistically relevant as Janine Garafalo as borne out first by much of the ‘Magic’ album ALL of ‘Working On A Dream’ and likewise the forthcoming “Wrecking Ball” if the lead-off single is indicative. The more activist he has become the more his music has suffered. To his credit Bruce still donates $10K a night to the local food bank for whatever town he plays in. That’s about 5% of his guarantee.