Duran is one band that seems to take a lot of breaks. Now, being honest, I don’t follow any other bands this closely so it might be that all bands take breaks. Duran obviously takes breaks to work on albums but they also take them in between legs of a tour, like now. I can definitely understand that. I’m sure that many/most/all of them are checking in at home, trying to rest up, etc. Maybe they are even getting ready to introduce new songs into the setlist (please, oh, please…*coughLateBarcough*). These breaks, though, sometimes, seem to bring out the worst in us fans. I worry that this time might be even worse. Why? Why would it be worse? Two reasons, really. The first and most important reason is that we have all been able to feel closer to the band because of their use of social networking. They have become more of a constant entity in our daily lives. The second one has more to do with the nature of our fan community. I’m sure that there is some negative feelings towards or between those fans who got to see a show or two on this run. Maybe, there is animosity towards those who have shows coming up. Perhaps, those negative feelings (fair or not) might be coming from the people who won’t get a show for whatever reason. In my experience, when Duranies are restless, bored or annoyed, shit tends to hit the fan.
In the past, whenever there has been downtime, Duranies seem to start to get on each other’s nerves. I’m not sure why. My theory has always been that when you have nothing else to focus on, you tend to focus on each other. Yet, it seems to be relatively calm and peaceful on most message boards I have glanced at recently and I haven’t heard anything too crazy going on in the world of Twitter or Facebook. People commented about their shows, shared their stories and seem to be accepting of one another. This also surprises me. Does this mean that there wasn’t any drama during this leg? I can’t imagine that. I’m sure that there had to be some drama somewhere. I’m not saying that there should be drama or conflicts anywhere just that I’m surprised by this and am preparing for it now that the guys are gone. Although, I don’t know if the others are taking a break from social networking, too, or if it is just John?
Could the quiet be a sign that our fan community is growing up a bit? Could be that everyone really just sticks to their own group of friends so there is less interaction and less conflict? Could it be that people are being better about this type of thing? I don’t know. I know that there has been conflicts in the last month or so. I can’t imagine that everything has improved that dramatically in such a short time. Is it that everyone is tired from following all of the action? That could be. I obviously welcome this. I am still preparing myself, though, as I know that the peace can end quickly. This could be the calm before the storm. To be honest, that is one thing I’m really looking forward to in the UK. No known drama. I’m sure that drama is quite possible there, too, but I’m not as familiar with it. The trip can be drama-free, at least for my group.
Thus, as I continue to plan for my trip, I will be missing John’s tweets and will be watching and waiting to see if all of the Duranies can handle the silence and the break.
-A
