One quick post to (hopefully) put a button on my recent country-fried road trip: Some of you may recall that I reviewed the Rascal Flatts concert in Vegas on March 10th, noting that lead singer Gary LeVox was quite sick that evening and doing a poor job of hiding it. Well, the band went on to cancel their show at the Houston Rodeo last Wednesday, and my review went on to inspire a whole bunch of childish behavior on our PopWatch comment boards. (Honestly, people. Crack on me all you want, but leave each other alone.)
But this left the glaring question of who, exactly, filled RF’s enormous boots? Turns out they rounded up a three-fer of acts: Joe Nichols, Clay Walker, and Jack Ingram. The latter’s story of how he got to Houston’s Reliant Center is pretty epic: He was in New York at a photo shoot that afternoon, got the call, jumped in a cab for the airport, hopped on a private jet, flew to Houston, enjoyed a police escort through the streets, and pulled up basically in time to walk onstage and play. Now that’s rock ‘n’ roll!
So three questions:
- Was anyone there? Can we get a report on how the show turned out? I’m sure it didn’t compare to seeing the biggest country act in all the land, but was it at least a decent night of entertainment? Who won the chuckwagon race?
- Can anyone think of a comparable story of emergency concert substitution? Springing to mind: Aretha Franklin’s last-minute fill-in for Pavarotti at the 1998 Grammys, where she learned an aria in like 10 minutes. What else?
- I’m exploring a larger idea about how decreased record sales have led more and more acts to spend their entire lives on the road in order to turn a profit, thus wrecking their health as well as, in some cases, their creativity. I know we all like to see our favorite acts live… but is there such a thing as too much of that particular goodness? (I’m thinking about the last U2 show I saw on their endless …Atomic Bomb tour; that band, much like the Rascal Flatts I saw, appeared to be just going through the motions.) Perhaps more importantly: Will you continue to download music for free if it means ticket prices keep going up… and concert quality goes down?
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I don’t think that free downloading is what’s making music sales drop… it’s just really crappy music out there. I mean, have you listened to Top 40 radio lately? There are some TERRIBLE songs being made, and so it’s no wonder that sales are down. And really, are these bands touring excessively since they’ve got a hardship because of lower record sales, or do they a) just like to tour, or b) tour a lot because they get paid a lot per show.
And ticket prices have been going up for years, even when record sales were better, but since quality has gone down, very few acts can command top tier prices and still sell out their shows.
Didn’t Faith Hill do a last minute replacement for Whitney Houston at an awards show a few years ago? Is my memory serving me correctly?
yeah, abp, I seem to recall it being the Grammy’s from a view years back, where Whitney was too messed up or something? I could be making this all up, though, someone correct me if I am wrong.
Yes, Faith Hill subbed for Whitney on the day of the Oscars when it was obvious at rehearsals that Whitney was in no condition to perform.
this type of thing has happened at the houston rodeo before…a few years ago i was supposed to see lynyrd skynyrd and they couldn’t make it so they were replaced by clint black and jerry jeff walker
Jack Ingram is a great entertainer and most important my beloved Whitney(seriously, beloved!!)unlike Gary LeForeverFlu, Jack can sing!!! Now “I” wish I had been there.
Remember Celine Dion surpringly having to learn within 5 minutes before performing it, Barbra’boring’Streisand’s 1997 Oscar nominated song “I Finally Found Someone”???
I’d rather see Jack Ingram any day if given the choice between he & Rascal Flatts. I hear the show was great.
Ingram wasnt the only one doing a last minute scramble from the northeast to get there …that same morning Clay Walker had been an in-studio guest at the Philadelphia country station WXTU, and he was supposedly the last one on the HRLS stage that night according to our local Philly DJs.
I do not like all the bashing that is going on about Rascal Flatts, they are my favorite groups out there today, i have seen them in concert alot of times and i will see them again, i think gary, jay,and joe don can sing. They all can do a whole lot more then just sing. So, I would just like to stick up for our boys and say that they put on an amazing show and i hope that next time they are in texas all the fans that want to see them can. But, to the rest of you who think they sound horrible, i must ask you have you ever seen them in concert? Truly amazing.
Sam, your boys are making gazillions of dollars and married to playboy models. You really think they care what goes on here? Everybody is entitled to there opinion and no one on here is hurting RF in the long run. They are always gonna have more money than us, so let the posters have their fun!
This is just my opinion, but I think that the last musical era of any real significance ended the moment Kurt Cobain ended his life. I am speaking in generalities, and I acknowledge that there are some exceptions here and there. But, overall, music has not been very good in over a decade. Paris Hilton, Fergie, K-Fed, Chingy, Akon – are prime examples of what’s wrong with music today.
You know Whitney, you can do a complete story about concerts feeding artists vs. album sales. Honestly. Don’t these rappers and R&B singers know that CDs won’t keep them in their lifestyle and they have to tour their arses off? I imagine the same with country. The music landscape has changed so MUCH in the last few yrs. I remember when a James Brown and Dollie Parton lived on the road. They worked non-stop. I don’t know about Rascal, but you can see it with other acts. Maybe that’s why Celine Dion stayed her arse in LasVegas for 2 years!
I was involved in the s-storm that Whitney’s review became. Not to drag over to this blog, but it is sad that so many tried to tear her down personally simply because they didn’t like her review. Pathetic.
Now, onto this blog and the three questions:
1. I was not there, so I cannot comment.
2. I believe Travis Tritt sat in for Garth Brooks at either the CMA’s or the Grammy’s one year. I can’t remember which. Also Metallica had to add a separate rhythm guitarist for James Hetfield not once but twice – skateboarding accident and when he went up in flames. And let’s not forget Keith Moon.
3. I stopped downloading music for free about five years ago. The quality of the music wasn’t that great, for starters. And, honestly, paying for it is the RIGHT thing to do. No one gets into music hoping to NOT make any money. Prior to the digital age, I bought hundreds of CD’s. Why stop now? Besides, with itunes and all, you aren’t roped into buying songs that you don’t want.
Maybe the need for performers who tour will lessen the success of the “artists” who’re so studio-manipulated that when they sing “live” it’s either so badly lip-synched it’s pathetic or so horrendously off-key that it’d be better if they just stood there and looked pretty (I’m lookin’ at you, Britney, back when you were pretty.)
The bottom line is that musicians make more money touring than recording, so that’s why these tours go on and on. Honestly, the Eagles have been touring for over ten years now since their ‘reunion’ and MAYBE we’ll get a new record from them this year. No one’s talking about a Police record; why should they when they are making money hand over fist? Same with U2. Again, Whitney, follow the money trail.
Some good questions, Whitney; I definitely think that more acts are going on the road to earn a living rather than banking on record sales since most of that money goes right back to the record companies anyway. That said, there are some acts who will always be great live (U2 being one of them…I had a chance to hear some of their rescheduled “Vertigo” shows from 2006 and they sounded rejuvenated and roaringly alive). What I think you’ll see, though, is a diminished interest in live shows by the majority of people who buy and listen to “popular” music. Some reasons for this: lack of stage presence/performing ability, less interest in artists reworking or expanding on their songs live and more emphasis on simply re-creating the studio sound of their hits; and also the cost of tickets (especially when you add in all of the service charges, facility fees, etc.). It’ll be interesting to see who continues to go to shows in the future, and what type of music gets supported.
Homerox makes some really good points. Music as we knew it growing up is SO different than it is now.
As to what kinds of bands get supported, I think we are getting a good idea of that right now – and it’s not pretty.
With the exception of bands that will ALWAYS sell out (U2, the Police, etc.), most of what is going out on tour is the same garbage that one will find if they look at the “Top 100″ on itunes.
I mean, there are a few bands listed on the “Top 100″ that are talented (Augustana, the Fray, for example), most of it is just awful. Who can even stomach to listen to Fergie or Paris Hilton, much less pay good money to see them? Ick!
i wish the Fray would stop touring and release another album! they’ve been touring for about 2 years.. need more music!!
If I had to guess..I would say that Jack Ingram’s show blew the pants off the other two. That man and his band can ROCK.
Not to start off the RF Kool Aid drinkers again, Whitney, but don’t you mean:
“I’m sure it didn’t compare to seeing the MOST OVERRATED country act in all the land, but was it at least a decent night of entertainment?”
They may be the biggest, but I think my minor revision there is just as accurate.
Respond, Bubbas, Respond! LOL…
I really loved Joe Nichols, but was sad that the Flatts weren’t there. The attendance wasn’t that large, but Beyonce kicked butt the next night! I believe that Kroger’s won the wagon race.
I read somewhere that i-tunes play a role in low record sales. I also feel that top 40 radio is not what it used to be. I do hope that the success of that Robin Thicke song “Lost Without U” brings back the trend of singing and writing without a hip hop line.
Bands like Ratdog are way ahead of the fade.Bob Wier has toured,and so have all the other members,since at least the early sixties.Still we continue to see them,young and looking ten years backwards.Some have two or three engagements a night on average.That is a lot of shows,for a fact!
I hope this doesn’t sound too shallow, but Whitney, you’re sort of cute.
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