The dust seems to have settled from most of the North American presales and sales, generally. Of course, there are still a few shows left to go on sale, most notably, Boston and New York City. Interestingly enough, there still is no official word about the venue for NYC or what is going to make the show special. Ugh. Don’t they realize that a lot of people are anxiously awaiting the news. Yes, the rumor is that the show will be in Madison Square Garden, which I admit would be pretty cool. Anyway, as the rest of the shows have settled down, people are starting to talk about other topics beside presales and tickets. One topic that I have seen come up more than once is the need for Duran to do publicity during this upcoming North American tour. This idea bothers me.
While I realize that many fans are concerned about album sales, chart positions, etc., I don’t think we or the band should be focusing there. Are we really that quick to forget a few months ago when none of us really knew if Simon was going to be able to sing again and, if he did, how long before he was capable? While I’m sure that there were still people talking about record sales and the charts, those comments were drowned out by the louder, more numerous voices of concern about Simon’s health. Where are those voices now? Do we no longer care about Simon’s well-being now that he appears to be well or getting well? Or is it that we, fans, have short-term memory disorders?
Personally, I don’t want Simon out there doing the talk show circuit because I can’t imagine one of them in which he wouldn’t HAVE to sing. Goodness, wouldn’t that be the point? Duran appears on talk shows in order to perform, in order to advertise their album? How would this be good for Simon? Frankly, I’m concerned that these tour dates are too close together and that there are too many of them. It seems to be that they were trying to get away from doing three show in a row and yet, they have some dates like that on this tour. Is the tour going to put Simon at risk to re-injury himself? If so, what will the damage be this time? How long will it take to heal, assuming that it can be? Then, there are fans who would like him to do more performing, put him at more risk? I don’t get it. Shouldn’t the top priority be Simon’s health? In connection to that, shouldn’t we be focused on the band having the ability to continue? Shouldn’t album sales be one of the last things to worry about?
I’m sure that these fans would say that they are only wanting the best for the band and that they want them to have commercial success. Maybe they are, but it seems to me that some fans are just too worried about how commercially successful Duran is. Are they worried that it looks badly on them to be fans of a band that isn’t selling well? Are they concerned that their opinion about AYNIN will be lessened if it doesn’t do well in the charts? Is it really about the band or is it about the fans and fans concern about how THEY will be perceived? Yes, I know that some will claim that the more commercial success Duran has, the longer they will continue. Maybe. Maybe not. I’m not in the band. I don’t know what matters to them in order to continue. That said, I bet that if Simon is pushed too hard and he injuries himself again, it won’t matter where AYNIN or Girl Panic is in the charts. It may mean the end of Duran. To me, lack of commercial success seems trivial, seem VERY unimportant compared to the end of Duran’s and Simon’s career, in particular.
-A
Spot on…and to add to your point: When has promoting any album really helped them? They've done Leno, Today Show, Early Show, etc. in support of the last several albums dating back to Pop Trash or Medazzaland, and it's not like it helped them sell. They haven't had a hit album since Thank You went Gold in '95 for pete's sake! (I guess Astronaut sold decently worldwide but it certainly flopped in the US–doesn't show up on the RIAA site for certification). So…I agree with you, let Simon rest his voice. The NY/Boston shows intrigue me because I live in CT, halfway between both…was selfishly hoping they'd sneak a CT date in until I realized how crazy the schedule is. I remember seeing them at MSG in '05, at the end of the Astronaut tour–I'd already seen them twice and then decided that, since I'd never seen them live back in their heyday, I had to see the original lineup at MSG…so I got a ticket on eBay or some website and had the guy fed-ex it to me..crazy in retrospect, but I don't regret it…went to the show bymyself, had floor seats, and had just a magical experience. Anyway…I do want to see AYNIN do well but not at Simon's expense. So let's hope he's okay and makes it through all these shows…Chris
Chris-I hope you are able to catch one of the shows! I have realized that every show could be the last! You said it well. You want the album to be a success but not at Simon's expense.
-A
“I'm sure that these fans would say that they are only wanting the best for the band and that they want them to have commercial success.”
To me, any band that is still performing after 30 years, doing what they do best, and still entertaining their fans, is a success in my book! I could probably name on one hand the number of other bands that have been around since the 80s that are still performing today, and I think a lot of their fans lose sight of that. I don't get hung up so much on chart position or sales, what matters to me is do I still enjoy their music. I consider myself lucky that I still have the opportunity see them perform today…and can afford much more expensive seats!
-Susan-
I think we are lucky that the band is still performing, but it is not enough for some people. Why can't we appreciate what we have? Thanks for reading and commenting!
-A
I think there might be an element of worry that if the band can't maintain a certain level of sales or however you define “commercial success,” that they might break up, or take even longer to produce new work.
But we can't spend all our time as fans worrying about what might happen in the future (All You Need is Now, right?). We have to enjoy them while we can.