Manchester Orchestra Band • Page 141

I can't see how anyone can equate watching a livestream to going to a show. I say more people out to shows, not less once things are safe. Livestream or not.

 

You have valid points, but I think ~artistically~ they want to present new material in the proper way. They want to play it to the most people in the most places, and they want it to be based around the new record. I can see Black Mile ‘play’ type shows as the new norm for them. They really really enjoyed presenting it that way.

But touring gets a little weird when you aren’t able to actually play in most states, and certainly not in the ideal settings of a real venue, especially when you are committed to the ‘play’ presentation.

 

*my speculation, I don’t have any inside knowledge, promise*

 

Watching something live isn’t the same, but it’s something cool and you still supported the band.

So I could see some people skipping going to lives venues until they feel comfortable again, and that may not be the bands first tour cycle back (depending on venues and crowd sizes) and where locations are with numbers. Certain genres and stuff will probably impact differently too.

Being in control of your own musical destiny has been huge over the past year.

 

I for one am going to go to more shows once it’s safe to do so. I’ve taken it for granted this past year and will without a doubt go to more shows to see bands I don’t really care or know about.

 

I think in general we are just hungry for new content and to be able to do the things we enjoy again like going to shows when the time is right.

 

I’m 10,000% in favor of bands doing whatever they want and are comfortable with here. I know some incredible albums have been released during the pandemic with bands saying, ‘it’s a tough time, hopefully these songs can help even though you won’t see them live.’ I appreciate that and have gone out of my way to support them for it.

On the other hand: I also think that live shows are gonna be bonkers when they’re allowed again. I would be surprised if a band with a fan base like Manchester Orchestra doesn’t sell out every show of their next tour - people want live music and people want to see their favorite bands again (and it feels like most MO fans say they’re one of their favorites. This isn’t a band with casual fans, it doesn’t seem like.).

 

I'm 1 billion percent supportive of artists doing whatever they can to stay relevant/make money during the pandemic. I'm just not into livestreams, nor are friends of mine. When shows come back, I'll be first at the door. All my favorite bands have done livestreams and I'm just not really interested to sit and watch it on my computer/tv. And I think its awesome if you do enjoy it.

 

I think the biggest problem for me is going to be WHO to see. Funds are obviously finite, and I had to cancel like 10 shows, and all those bands are going to be back out when they can.

 

It’s almost as if their Patreon was a test run to see if their fans would support them in the off season.......................................

 

Ideally, in a perfect (and normal) world, artists would present their new material in a proper way...but a global pandemic happened and every business in the world has been forced to adapt and survive. There is no “proper way” anymore. There is no normal. The quicker bands, artists, businesses realize this, the better off they’ll be. There are far too many people in the world who are just waiting for the pandemic to blow over and things go back to normal. Things will never be like it used to be pre-Covid.

I assure you MO will play to the most people in the most places once it’s safe to do so *regardless* if they’re touring on a new album or not.

Sitting on an album for another year or so doesn’t seem to be like an ideal option imo. If they’re worried about capturing peoples attention they may lose out on the sight that some people may stop paying attention as we are already going on four years since Black Mile was released. It’s a slippery slope but the quicker bands learn to adapt, the better off they’ll be for it.

 

You’re not wrong in principle in anything you said.

But I wouldn’t worry about the gap in albums. 4 years is a slightly higher average in comparison to most bands. MO fans will always find the album, but maybe the casuals won’t unless there’s more happening. (Tour, promo, etc.).

 

You're going to be seeing a lot of bands rushing to put their stuff out all at once, and competing for attention, flooding the market in music and tours as well. And in an economy ravaged by a pandemic, people are going to have to make hard choices on what concerts they can afford to swing. Idk, it just seems like not a great idea to hold off and wait for touring, when so many other bands already are doing that. You're going to have a hell of a time getting the focus on you for a decent amount of time.

 

Yep...think of all the tours that were scheduled that got cancelled or postponed...those sponsors and venues (if they're still even open????) will likely give priority to tours that were supposed to be on the books for 2020/2021. I feel like new tours will be very difficult to schedule once things are safe to do so. The competition to even book shows will be off the charts. Every artist in the world will be trying to get something on the books to make up for lost time.

Look, the band can do whatever they want, and I obviously will support any decision they make, but we're 12 months into a global pandemic...if you just think you can resume normal business after this, then I don't know what to tell you.

 

The flood of tours and music will be real, without question. You’re going to see a ton of tours in odd venues, in my opinion. Some too big, some too small. At least for a minute.

So, get excited to see Jimmy Eat World play at a 600 cap room again or maybe playing on a massive stage to a completely full floor empty seat hockey arena!

 

There could also be a creative flipside to un-coupling touring from new album releases. The show could be free to be less about presenting new material that most people aren't familiar with, more about creating a unique live experience apart from the pressure of pushing album sales. Could provide artists with more time to rest in between making an album and touring, as well. Robin pecknold was talking about this recently. Of course, I'd understand why a band would want to present brand new material in a live format as well, but good could come from not making that the only way to do it. At the end of the day, it's probably a good thing if different artists have different strategies regarding this.

 

There are lots of cost saving/profit increasing touring ideas that will come out this for bands.

Business Smart bands will adapt.

 

While I understand what you’re saying, I can’t see any ‘scene’ band just going out and touring just because without it being based around a new record or an anniversary type tour, outside of Pandemic times obviously. It’s just not viable for a lot of bands. You aren’t always trying to cater to the hardcore fans that’ll show up no matter what, you also need to consider the casuals. That’s where the real money is. The casuals wanna see the band they heard on the radio or that they keep seeing the promo all over social media.

Off cycle touring, especially in the MO world these days, is rare rare. Maybe MAYBE a handful of dates on the way to a festival or something.

I’ve seen them 25-30 times? And I think the last time they played Coachella was the last time I saw an off cycle show.

That all being said, I can see some bands (maybe even relatively inactive ones) doing a ‘We made it!’ type tours.

 

Totally. That approach would be a luxury many bands can't afford.

 

I’ve always found it common to have a band play slightly larger venues in just bigger cities with album release cycle first tours, and then second run tours played slightly smaller venues or made extra stops in smaller cities they didn’t play on their first run.

I’ve always had a tendency to try and hit the second run tours because I like the smaller venues, and I’d rather be at a show with dedicated fans. They never talk over a sets and they are just more a fun audience.

 

I think this would apply for relatively newer bands, or bands with only 1 album or 2. But Manchester's fans aren't going anywhere and at this point it's more people who are already into them then bringing new fans into the fold. Brand New use to go huge gaps between albums and people's anticipation would just be heightened. I think it's the same for Manchester with their size/fan base in their tier.

You take the Wonder Years, they can go 6 years not make an album and a fan base will be there. You take Hot Mulligan who is still kind of in building mode, they can't afford to have a gap like that. Just my 2 cents.

 

That's...quite literally what I have been saying. MO has reached a point where - new album or not - they're going to play the same type of venues and they can rely on the same type of fan base to attend.

 

Wouldn't that be an argument to not release something?

 

Some on here are saying that the band is purposely delaying the release of the album until they can properly tour surrounding the album's release. I've been saying all along that there is no need for the band of their stature to sit on a record until they're ready to tour. We have NO CLUE when touring will be allowed again. It sure as hell isn't going to be anytime soon.

Once it is allowed again, I can assure you people will still go to MO shows, regardless if they have a new album or not. Whether or not they tour on a new album isn't going to change the type of venues they play, or the size of the crowds. They've been a band for 15 years and have been pretty much been playing the same type of venues for the last 8-10 years with the same size crowds. A new album released today, tomorrow, next month or one year from now most likely will not change that.

I highly doubt there are people out there - who have been sitting at home for 12 straight months not going to shows - will pass over the chance to see MO once it's safe to do so because they aren't touring on a new album. Like, they're going to be ECSTATIC just to go see them regardless. That's the type of fan base that they've already established.