Touring in the US is “not really viable at the moment”

[whirlygirl]

As someone who's never been to a show, I'm curious, what's the difference between a festival show and a solo show (other than, obviously, one happens at a festival, and one is just a solo show)? What about them feels different?

Also, I got COVID a few months ago and it messed me up BAD. Second time I had it, I think. And I'm vaccinated. If I wasn't, I can't imagine what it would have done to me.

A festival show will be a shorter set (most usually) and solo shows tend to be longer. Example would be the 2 Coachella sets and the solo Santa Barbara and Seattle shows sandwiched in-between. The solo shows got longer sets with encores and the Coachella shows didn't.  As for the different feels... I could go on for ages! But both experiences are special!

That stinks to read about yours and others' experience with Covid. It caught up with me back in January and it messed me up bad and lingered for weeks. Hate everything about it.

[Enjoyed]

The easiest (and certainly much too reductive) way to look at the differences in the vibes, is the crowd that each is likely to contain. A solo show is, in theory, going to be 99% full of fans who came to see The Chemical Brothers. A festival show should have a very large number of fans, but there is going to be a non-negligible number of people who are there because it was the better choice between other headliners, or are there because of a vague memory of the band name they have from college, or (at some festivals I'm sure) just ended up there randomly.

Obviously not all true, all the time and everyone will have their own view of the differences, but for me I'd argue that at a Solo show, if you turn around to look at the crowd during Star Guitar, it's gonna feel like you're a child at Christmas with your entire family - compared to a festival show where you might feel like you're the only one who spotted the squirrel in the tree munching on a mouth full of acorns while you're all waiting for a bus after work.

Or something.

[Biff]

Both are great in different ways. I'll add for the festival shows I've been to there's also the magic of people seeing them live for the first time when maybe it wasn't on their radar before-like going to get the mail and seeing the face of god. 

Also, at Coachella they have been a favorite of frequent attendees. The show they did in 2011 had planned glow stick throwing during Galvanize. Not only way I there, but one hit me in the eye.😜

Here's a clip, skip to 2:30:

[rynostar]

The show they did in 2011 had planned glow stick throwing during Galvanize. Not only way I there, but one hit me in the eye.😜

Is it all over Biff's face / eye? (Yes it is!)

[Enjoyed]

Both are great in different ways. I'll add for the festival shows I've been to there's also the magic of people seeing them live for the first time when maybe it wasn't on their radar before-like going to get the mail and seeing the face of god.

True! George & Mildred also seem to consistently induce involuntary gasps and wows from all around, which is so wonderful!

Also, while a solo show may be expecting Galvanize and be totally ready to party when its played, the sudden shift of excitement for an entire festival audience when that HUGE hit comes on is a palpable and electric feeling! HBHG/BRB to a similar but lesser extent as well.

[gfa2001]

@gfa2001

Residency for a 3 day weekend at something with the capacity of SB Bowl would essentially up the attendance to 13,500. If you charge $100 a tix and sell out all 3 nights, we are above the million mark...

3 nights means 2-3x the costs though, i bet their electric bill isn't cheap

There will be a size of a show where its worth doing in each locations and it clearly isn't possible in the US at the moment

Once demand builds up again i'm sure they will go back


----

I've only seen them at festivals so far live but generally I really like festival shows. Its nice being outdoors and the set is basically the same length either way, the only thing cut is reel which is like 5% of the show so its not a significant amount really

[Bosco]

Also, at Coachella they have been a favorite of frequent attendees. The show they did in 2011 had planned glow stick throwing during Galvanize. Not only way I there, but one hit me in the eye.😜

It should be known that this was spearheaded by a PLUR friendly group on the Coachella forum (RIP), they literally spent weeks/months planning getting the word out, having people procure every glow stick west of Albuquerque.

I'm almost positive that the original timing of the "glowruption" was supposed to hit during Don't Think. But because of a delayed start (Thanks Kings of Potato-Rock!), a bit of a buzzkill loomed about in the crowd. The group smartly deployed early into the show.

[whirlygirl]

That glowruption was wild! Seriously almost put a few eyes out including mine 

[shakermaker]

I'm almost positive that the original timing of the "glowruption" was supposed to hit during Don't Think. But because of a delayed start (Thanks Kings of Potato-Rock!), a bit of a buzzkill loomed about in the crowd. The group smartly deployed early into the show.

you remember correctly - "don't think, just let it GLOW" was the plan. everyone had gotten annoyed from sitting around waiting, then super pumped when it finally began, and we couldn't... hold back.

fun fact, it was a sequal to an orbital glowruption the year before (which went off much more according to plan).

[shakermaker]

sooo here's my take on the solo vs festival. both have their pros and cons and of course there are exceptions to ALL of these.


at a festival they will be one attraction of many. people will be there for a variety of reasons.
at a solo date they are THE attraction. everyone is there to see the brothers, with an insignificant number of exceptions.

festival sets tend to be shorter, though the brothers command a decent set length at this point. encores are very uncommon.
solo dates they have more control over set time, with options of encores.

festival crowds may be huge or may be thin depending what else is scheduled at the same time.
solo dates there's nothing to compete with, everyone is in one place

(this next one is almost a coincidence, or a side-effect of the size of the event, but...)
festivals are more likely to be outdoors, which is nice for fresh air and scenery but not as great for sound engineers
solo dates are more likely indoors, which helps if you're really into sound quality

festivals you are going to have to deal with portapotties
solo dates you are more likely to have real bathrooms available

and nowadays, festival sets are more likely to be streamed online.

for me generally speaking for an artist I am really into I will always prefer a solo date over a festival appearance, while acts I am a more casual fan of the condensed festival sets are sometimes more attractive

[gfa2001]

sooo here's my take on the solo vs festival. both have their pros and cons and of course there are exceptions to ALL of these.


at a festival they will be one attraction of many. people will be there for a variety of reasons.
at a solo date they are THE attraction. everyone is there to see the brothers, with an insignificant number of exceptions.

festival sets tend to be shorter, though the brothers command a decent set length at this point. encores are very uncommon.
solo dates they have more control over set time, with options of encores.

festival crowds may be huge or may be thin depending what else is scheduled at the same time.
solo dates there's nothing to compete with, everyone is in one place

(this next one is almost a coincidence, or a side-effect of the size of the event, but...)
festivals are more likely to be outdoors, which is nice for fresh air and scenery but not as great for sound engineers
solo dates are more likely indoors, which helps if you're really into sound quality

festivals you are going to have to deal with portapotties
solo dates you are more likely to have real bathrooms available

and nowadays, festival sets are more likely to be streamed online.

for me generally speaking for an artist I am really into I will always prefer a solo date over a festival appearance, while acts I am a more casual fan of the condensed festival sets are sometimes more attractive

Chems will have a fair crowd at basically any festival, certainly far more than how many would be standing at one of their arena shows. Not sure this point applies much - as you said there are exceptions to all of these but chems getting a small crowd is 100% the exception. Not sure they've had a proper poor turnout at any point recently at a fest?

The shortened fest sets are great for acts you don't know as well, if its an act you love only doing 40 minutes then yeah its shit. Atmosphere just fantastic at festivals is the key thing for me

[;]

The show they did in 2011 had planned glow stick throwing during Galvanize. Not only way I there, but one hit me in the eye.😜

Holy crap, that was about the coolest thing I have seen next to George and Mildred (and Jerry's return)! Definitely not the safest, but a sight to see for sure. Galvanize live never fails to give me the chills, and that clip was no exception. So cool that people planned that. 

Thanks everyone for your input and insight on the difference between solo and festival shows! That makes a lot more sense. I think, if there's any chance of me seeing them, it would likely be a festival show (the venue I saw Kraftwerk at was probably too small for the Chems, so I couldn't see them doing a solo show there), but I would love to see them at a solo show with other fans. Maybe one day, I'll travel.

[shakermaker]

Chems will have a fair crowd at basically any festival, certainly far more than how many would be standing at one of their arena shows... Not sure they've had a proper poor turnout at any point recently at a fest?

sure, I'm not aware of any times it has happened to the Chems specifically, but also would not consider it impossible at a US festival.

which, callback to Bosco's question - we may be out of US festivals that will book them until goldenvoice is ready for another round, so maybe it is a moot point. 

[gfa2001]

sure, I'm not aware of any times it has happened to the Chems specifically, but also would not consider it impossible at a US festival.

which, callback to Bosco's question - we may be out of US festivals that will book them until goldenvoice is ready for another round, so maybe it is a moot point.

I think that last point is the big one to be honest - although basically anywhere they play they would be headlining (or at least a pretty big act like Coachella) so there would be a significant amount of people going to watch them specifically.

We're lucky in the UK (and Europe too I guess) that there are so many fests that they could get booked at

[hstn]

https://apnews.com/article/music-visa-free-interational-artists-immigration-4077f28ce201ab32817b60a650cbd79c

I am never gonna see The Chemical Brothers again ffs

Context: The US bumped the rates for applying to perform in the US as a foreign artist exponentially higher than it used to be, that includes number of performers and crew

"If you're a musician from outside of the United States hoping to perform stateside and you filed visa paperwork before April 1, the cost per application was $460.

After that date? $1,615 to $1,655.

Bands and ensemble groups pay per performer. A standard rock band of four members went from paying $1,840 to around $6,460. And if you can't wait a few months for approval, add $2,805 per application for expedited processing.

If the application is not accepted, that money is not refunded — on top of losses from a canceled tour and missing out on "significant, potentially career-changing opportunities," says Jen Jacobsen, executive director at The Artist Rights Alliance."

"If a musician has support staff, a backing band or other employees to bring on the tour, these individuals need visas, too.

"Even if you're Capitol Records and you have all the money in the world to throw at it, you still can't get rid of U.S. bureaucracy," says immigration attorney Gabriel Castro."

At this rate it'll be easier to fly overseas to see them, which I wouldn't mind but I'm not made of money either at the end of the day, this ofc is gonna affect MANY acts for the foreseeable future but just...especially considering how grand the crew/cost to get the show for the Chems together and touring the world, this is absolutely devastating

[Enjoyed]

I am genuinely interested to hear what the fuck the thought is behind this change.

Costs increase, sure. Labor is more expensive - heard. But this seems to be a decision with very little thought paid to the long term ramifications. Even if a larger (fame wise) artist can afford the difference, OK - so you get Glass Animals to come and play a sold out arena tour to a bunch of existing fans. What happens when they stop making music, or touring, or even just take a break, and there's no next band in the pipeline (someone who might have played smaller club shows this year, but now can't justify the cost) - what is the plan? You just get local bands to play? Keep sending Taylor Swift around the country until her fans have completely run out of money? Seems like that would very quickly lead to a lot of frustration and, like HSTN suggested, people just deciding to leave to spend their money in some other country's economy.

It has felt like fewer bands are coming through Portland this year. I doubt this is the main reason, but surely could be a factor.

A rather large bummer all round.

[Explud]

Welcome to our world.

Working visa for foreign citizens in Russia is 100$ max.
Please come and welcome, we have been waiting for you for 2 years.

The only thing is to get politics out of your head.
Well, logistics is also expensive, because due to the politics, you can only come to us and transport equipment with transfers or with private flight.

But. You can do a smarter thing and rent most of the equipment right here. We have a lot of equipment and companies that rent it out.
This can even be attributed to the organizers of the shows.

[Csar]

I am never gonna see The Chemical Brothers again ffs

Ugh, this is truly a weird development. Just last week I read an article about a possible antitrust lawsuit by the DOJ against Live Nation and Ticketmaster.
https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/16/business/live-nation-antitrust-violations-lawsuit/index.html
I was sort of relieved at that news because it may mean prices could come down in the future through more competition. And now this? What a bummer.

I am genuinely interested to hear what the fuck the thought is behind this change.

Yeah, me too. Could it be some sort of tariff for foreign artists in order to protect domestic ones? The amount it's projected to increase really is off the charts..

Welcome to our world. Working visa for foreign citizens in Russia is 100$ max. Please come and welcome, we have been waiting for you for 2 years. The only thing is to get politics out of your head.

Spoiler

Difficult topics territory

Not that I don't understand your frustration about that, I really do. But honestly, nobody (or at least I) could genuinely believe that, with the current state of affairs of your country and the

Spoiler

atrocities it commits

, artists would want to perform there. I certainly wouldn't. It's not a minor thing of "politics" as in differences between opinions, it's much more serious than that.
And the fear alone for anyone involved to potentially end up as a bargaining chip (Brittney G. comes to mind) because of one man's idiocy would make me considering it twice before going there. I'm sorry to say that It would be an interesting country to visit otherwise. The Russians I've met in my life all have been very nice folks.

[Bosco]

Maybe I'm just arrogant, but I'm not convinced that more expensive work visa spells the end of the Chems coming to the United States. It makes it more financially more difficult, but there's too much opportunity and exposure to pass up in a market like ours.

If anything, stuff like Seattle and Denver/Broomfield, are probably something that will never happen again. New York and Chicago probably have to be absolute best case scenario type deal. California will still get the love as long as Goldenvoice pays them as a headliner through one of their festivals.

Best advice I can say to my fellow stateside peeps hungry for a show. Take the big jump. Start saving your money, take a trip to their next Cali show. As a midwest boy that has done this a few times over the course of my irrational fandom, it's not ideal, but Cali is fun and you make strong memories with the sacrifice.

You can do a smarter thing and rent most of the equipment right here. We have a lot of equipment and companies that rent it out.

I love this concept. I've thought about this before, and wonder if this would be workable.

[ThePumisher]

But. You can do a smarter thing and rent most of the equipment right here. We have a lot of equipment and companies that rent it out.
This can even be attributed to the organizers of the shows.

I love this concept. I've thought about this before, and wonder if this would be workable.

Thing is, taken the Chems for an example, all their gear is programmed with patterns, loop points, synths have all the samples saved and so on. I don't think you save so much money by renting all that "at place" because you need to programm it all again - and thats not done in one day and you need to pay your crew for every day they are touring together. Rehearsals, where all this work is done, require several days and weeks in advance in order to have as little work as possible on site.
Same with other bands and musicians. Guitarists play their guitars, because rental sounds different (other strings, tuned differently).

We're not talking about a DJ that takes a USB-Stick with all the music saved on and all is fine.