In the summer of 2014, Classic Rock fans will be in for a treat, as Journey, Steve Miller Band, and Tower Of Power do a tour together across North America! It seems that now-a-days, more and more, you see multiple legendary acts teaming up to tour together. Often, the lineups are as impressive, and sometimes more impressive, than massive lineups from the 70’s and 80’s, but there’s a reason it looks so impressive NOW. For instance, back in the 80’s, Styx did a stadium concert in Dallas for the Killroy Tour (Mr. Roboto). Also on that show was Sammy Hagar, Triumph, Ted Nugent, and Uriah Heep. Now, back then, aside from this show, these big lineups were typically done, because depending on what year they were done, nobody may have ever heard of Ted Nugent, Triumph, or Uriah Heep yet. They certainly weren’t considered legendary yet. Also, it was always seen as a big party. Music lovers from around the world would gather at these big concerts, and have a party, while they heard music they loved, and some music they had never heard before, but ended up loving just the same. Music fans were more open-minded then. If a new band was on the bill, they would listen, and if the band was good, they would buy their albums and go see them again. That’s what happened with bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd. Skynyrd started out opening for bands like The Who and The Rolling Stones, and they would always tear the roof off of the joint, to the point where it was said they “blew The Who off stage”. Because of the open-minded audience, they supported Skynyrd, and of course, we all know what happened to Skynyrd’s popularity after that. You don’t see that today. When I went to see Robert Plant a couple of years ago, it was advertised that there would be no opening act. Well, the lights go down, and out comes two members of The North Mississippi Allstars. Had it been advertised, many people probably would’ve skipped the opener and came later. I’m not like that. The guitarist and drummer from the Allstars were so impressive, that I went in search of their albums, and have been keeping track of their concert schedule, in hopes they’ll come back here. That’s the point we’ve gotten to. To get their openers noticed, headliners won’t advertise them. Sure, the audience might feel hostile, but if the band’s good, they shouldn’t mind. So, instead of a big name taking out a few lesser-known bands these days, what you see are lineups boasting multiple big names like Journey, Steve Miller Band, and Tower Of Power. The reason this is done is to sell tickets. The number of people going to concerts has gone WAY down from what it used to be. Concerts are a lot more expensive than they used to be, so people have to be careful when selecting the concerts they attend. When Journey or Steve Miller go out on the road alone, they get crowds generally from 5,000-10,000, and overseas they sometimes get more. However, when the two join together, the audience doubles. More people are willing to spend their money on both together, rather than choosing one or the other. They look at it as a bargain, which it might be. Currently, tickets are going from $50-$160 per show, so in a way, the ticket price has also doubled. Not to be disrespectful, but the fact that Tower Of Power is on the bill really has no effect on the sales. Tower Of Power can’t fill enough seats in these places to even be considered for booking there by themselves. Sad but true. So, when they join with Journey and Steve Miller, a few hundred to a couple thousand people might show up early to see them. And, the very few who are big fans of all three will be satisfied, but due to the high prices, I can guarantee you that nobody’s paying just for Tower Of Power. It’s like buying a new car, and getting free repairs and service for 1 year, then they throw in a free key chain. Journey and Steve Miller are the car and free repairs. Tower Of Power is the key chain. Sure, all three are good, but you’re not buying a car for a free key chain. For a Tower Of Power show at a casino, tickets are $20-$50. Sure, you can pay $50 and see Tower Of Power on the Journey/Steve Miller tour, but you’ll be on the lawn, a mile away from the amphitheater. So NOBODY’S buying a ticket JUST for Tower Of Power. It makes no sense to do that, when you can see them by themselves for less. They’ll probably be doing 45 minutes on the Journey/Steve Miller tour. In a headline show, they’d probably play a couple of hours. Due to the fact that many of their songs have been commercialized through the years, it’s a no brainer for Journey to close the show. Steve Miller’s still a big name, but Journey will pull in a couple hundred more people, and that’s enough to get them the headline slot. Big name bills like this happen almost every year. The last couple of years, it was REO Speedwagon, Styx, and Ted Nugent. Who will be next? It’s only December, so we’ll just wait and see…
Journey’s website: http://www.journeymusic.com
Steve Miller Band’s website: http://www.stevemillerband.com
Ryan Harmon's Music Blog 