Like many Duranies, I am dying for a show. As I’m sitting here in my living room, I’m hoping that the band and its management, whereever they may be, are talking about the upcoming tour that I assume will happen. Before they finalize all of their plans, I have some suggestions for them. 😀
Like real estate, a good tour, in my opinion, depends on location. While I have loved seeing shows in fun places like New York City, New Orleans, Atlantic City and Las Vegas, I would really be good with smaller cities that are closer together. Some of the fun cities mentioned here are the most expensive ones. I want to have less expensive places to go in order to go to more shows. I’m sure that the band would like this as well. The close together aspect is also an important one as driving for hours between cities isn’t fun, even with the best company. Driving wears us out and we can’t have as much fun during the actual show and that isn’t good for anyone! Therefore, I may recommend spacing out shows as needed in order to allow the fans some down time!
Venue choices are also important. I have seen the band in large arenas, smaller theaters and large club type venues (House of Blues types). Truly, I would pick the smaller theaters because I love the intimacy of a smaller show but I require actual seats. I’ll be on my feet during the whole show but would love to sit while I wait. Again, this allows me to have more energy and have more fun during the actual show. On top of that, it means that I don’t have to fight for space, which happens at any and all general admission shows. This type of battle usually doesn’t work well for short people like me! The last benefit to having actual seats is that I don’t have to get there super early to get a good spot. This extra times allows more time to spend with other fans, having a nice dinner, getting a drink or two and relaxing. I think that the dedicated fans deserve this!
While the locations of the shows and the venues play a role in how great the show is, the band makes the real difference. I always have more fun when the band actually interacts with the fans in the audience. Who doesn’t love making eye contact with Simon, John or even Dom? Who isn’t looking for a way to get Nick or Roger’s attention? Of course, the set list makes a big difference as well. Personally, there are many songs that I have heard enough to last me a lifetime (I’m thinking here of songs like “Hungry Like the Wolf”). I also don’t need any songs that force Simon to do something unnecessary like the finger licking thing of “Come Undone”. I’m sure that many Duranies would disagree with this but this is how I feel. One way to make most Duranies happy, however, is to play more obsure songs like “Late Bar” and “Secret Oktober”. Heck, I think most of us would be happy with a larger variety of songs played. I always prefer songs with lots of JoSi moments, though!
Lastly, the band could include better customer service, which begins with the announcement of the tour dates. Can we please have some advance notice before the tickets go on sale? I don’t need a month but a few days to a week would be nice. Then, can we include more to the VIP packages? I would need a strong reason to pay for VIP at this point since they are SO expensive and the little extra gifts are not doing it for me. Of course, this leads me to discuss merchandise available for purchase. Many of us like to buy t-shirts but they need to both fit and look good. The material should be soft but not see through. The image on the shirts should look nice. One thing that the band should sell is a means of getting the show on cd or dvd or both. I would LOVE to have a copy of every show that I have been to.
While I’m sure that I haven’t covered every aspect of touring, I know that I would be a much happier Duranie if some, or all, of these suggestions were followed. (By the way, I’m free to tour anytime after the first week in January and have vacation the third week of April!!!)
-A
