They all do it…tour.
Taylor Hicks once told an interviewer that all the great bands have toured. It’s connecting with the ones who put you where you are.
According to some industry experts, touring is where it’s at—live music, ticket sales, and merch. Yet, there is a lot of controversy about the workings of the industry and who is at fault when very few artists can sell out arenas or stadiums these days.
This is not about such serious matters.
This is just a little fun comparing and contrasting “then and now”—Taylor’s first solo tour in 2007 and his upcoming tour starting Sunday.
The 2007 Modern Whomp Solo Tour began in Jacksonville, FL on February 24th in the same theatre where Elvis began his first National tour. It was sold out.
Taylor’s last performance in 2007 was in Pearl River, MS, on November 1. “Forever Man” was his encore for that final show.
The Taylor Hicks Summer Tour 2010 begins Sunday in New York City at The Highline Ballroom, an historic live music venue in the trendy meat-packing East Side. And then, he is looking at about five weeks of a rather tight schedule of concerts.
In 2007, he traveled for nine months on a very tight schedule of shows with long stretches without a break.
He was sick. We learned that some of his best performances were when it was well known that he was quite ill. He confided to the audience in Vicksburg, MS, that someone had told him that when he got into the music business, he got into the germ business. Doctors do make bus calls and hotel calls.
Fans worried, but nothing slowed him down as he took his tour to 100 cities from coast to coast.
We wish him good health for the Summer Tour 2010!
Venues in 2007 were an eclectic mix of historic theatres, auditoriums and hip clubs like The
House of Blues. There were many places like the beautiful Alabama Theatre in Birmingham, AL in the 1,000 to 3,000 seat capacity.
Taylor’s 2007 tour was the 27th largest grossing tour of ALL the tours that year—not bad for his first solo outing!
The venues in 2010 are also an eclectic mix of clubs, theatres, casinos, and picturesque live music venues. They are a snapshot of America from the beautiful gardens around Jonathan’s in Ogunquit, ME, to hip urban rock rooms like Reggie’s in Chicago, to the Gold Rush country of the Chukchansi Resort & Casino in Coasegold, CA.
Variety will be rampant in 2010!
The road band in 2007 was a tight group of phenomenal musicians led by Musical Director Loren Gold. They were as good as it gets—then.
What we know about this tour’s band is that some of the members have been with Taylor before. Musical Director and keyboardist, Brian Less was with The Taylor Hicks Band “back when” and traveled with the 2007 tour. The rest of the band is officially a secret until Sunday morning when they perform live from New York for Fox and Friends on FOX News!
Much of the music in 2007 was from Taylor’s first post-Idol album, “Taylor Hicks” which had been certified platinum in January before the opening of the tour. However, he also covered great artists like Eric Clapton, Van Morrison, and The Beatles.
Taylor’s first live concert DVD, “Whomp at the Warfield,” captured the music as he performed at the historic Warfield Theatre in San Francisco during the West Coast leg of the tour. It’s available on Amazon. Eric Clapton’s “Badge” and Taylor’s own song, “The Fall” are opposites on the musical stage. They are worth the price of this DVD.
If Taylor repeats any songs from 2007, may they be “Badge” and “The Fall!”
The music for 2010 is a well kept secret, at least until Sunday when you can bet there will be tweeting from NYC with the setlist! Every concert will be a little different, though. The setlist will be tweaked and a “surprise” here and there is a good bet.
The 2007 merch was varied from t-shirts to coffee mugs to refrigerator magnets. Taylor kidded the audience in Birmingham, “I never thought I’d have my own refrigerator magnet!”
Recently, Taylor tweeted the merch promo: @TaylorRHicks “Tour merch is going to be Great!! Excited for you to see it!”
There was no Twitter on Tour One. Fans stayed connected on fansite message boards and with, what is now, “simple” cellphones.
On Tour Two, fans will be tightly “in tow” with Twitter. Yesterday, Taylor tweeted from the airport, in the “twair,” and last night, a twitpic from the Widespread Panic concert at Radio City Music Hall in NYC. The new smart phone can snap and send my pictures to Twitter easier than I could call my friends in 2007.
It is a new, connected touring world!
Give yourself a summer treat and go to all the shows you can. They will be different. They will be entertaining. During his early times on the “chitlin’ circuit” in the South, for Taylor it was either “entertain or go home.”
He learned well. Taylor Hicks will entertain!
The 2007 Modern Whomp Solo Tour will be hard to surpass. I’m betting on Taylor Hicks to do just that with new music, old passion, and renewed enthusiasm for touring!
On that Opening Night in Jacksonville three years ago, some of us sent a message that included this:
“We celebrate your success tonight! Thank you for remaining true to your dreams and for sharing this amazing journey with the Soul Patrol!
Taylor Hicks once told an interviewer that all the great bands have toured. It’s connecting with the ones who put you where you are.
According to some industry experts, touring is where it’s at—live music, ticket sales, and merch. Yet, there is a lot of controversy about the workings of the industry and who is at fault when very few artists can sell out arenas or stadiums these days.
This is not about such serious matters.
This is just a little fun comparing and contrasting “then and now”—Taylor’s first solo tour in 2007 and his upcoming tour starting Sunday.
The 2007 Modern Whomp Solo Tour began in Jacksonville, FL on February 24th in the same theatre where Elvis began his first National tour. It was sold out.
Taylor’s last performance in 2007 was in Pearl River, MS, on November 1. “Forever Man” was his encore for that final show.
The Taylor Hicks Summer Tour 2010 begins Sunday in New York City at The Highline Ballroom, an historic live music venue in the trendy meat-packing East Side. And then, he is looking at about five weeks of a rather tight schedule of concerts.
In 2007, he traveled for nine months on a very tight schedule of shows with long stretches without a break.
He was sick. We learned that some of his best performances were when it was well known that he was quite ill. He confided to the audience in Vicksburg, MS, that someone had told him that when he got into the music business, he got into the germ business. Doctors do make bus calls and hotel calls.
Fans worried, but nothing slowed him down as he took his tour to 100 cities from coast to coast.
We wish him good health for the Summer Tour 2010!
Venues in 2007 were an eclectic mix of historic theatres, auditoriums and hip clubs like The
House of Blues. There were many places like the beautiful Alabama Theatre in Birmingham, AL in the 1,000 to 3,000 seat capacity.
Taylor’s 2007 tour was the 27th largest grossing tour of ALL the tours that year—not bad for his first solo outing!
The venues in 2010 are also an eclectic mix of clubs, theatres, casinos, and picturesque live music venues. They are a snapshot of America from the beautiful gardens around Jonathan’s in Ogunquit, ME, to hip urban rock rooms like Reggie’s in Chicago, to the Gold Rush country of the Chukchansi Resort & Casino in Coasegold, CA.
Variety will be rampant in 2010!
The road band in 2007 was a tight group of phenomenal musicians led by Musical Director Loren Gold. They were as good as it gets—then.
What we know about this tour’s band is that some of the members have been with Taylor before. Musical Director and keyboardist, Brian Less was with The Taylor Hicks Band “back when” and traveled with the 2007 tour. The rest of the band is officially a secret until Sunday morning when they perform live from New York for Fox and Friends on FOX News!
Much of the music in 2007 was from Taylor’s first post-Idol album, “Taylor Hicks” which had been certified platinum in January before the opening of the tour. However, he also covered great artists like Eric Clapton, Van Morrison, and The Beatles.
Taylor’s first live concert DVD, “Whomp at the Warfield,” captured the music as he performed at the historic Warfield Theatre in San Francisco during the West Coast leg of the tour. It’s available on Amazon. Eric Clapton’s “Badge” and Taylor’s own song, “The Fall” are opposites on the musical stage. They are worth the price of this DVD.
If Taylor repeats any songs from 2007, may they be “Badge” and “The Fall!”
The music for 2010 is a well kept secret, at least until Sunday when you can bet there will be tweeting from NYC with the setlist! Every concert will be a little different, though. The setlist will be tweaked and a “surprise” here and there is a good bet.
The 2007 merch was varied from t-shirts to coffee mugs to refrigerator magnets. Taylor kidded the audience in Birmingham, “I never thought I’d have my own refrigerator magnet!”
Recently, Taylor tweeted the merch promo: @TaylorRHicks “Tour merch is going to be Great!! Excited for you to see it!”
There was no Twitter on Tour One. Fans stayed connected on fansite message boards and with, what is now, “simple” cellphones.
On Tour Two, fans will be tightly “in tow” with Twitter. Yesterday, Taylor tweeted from the airport, in the “twair,” and last night, a twitpic from the Widespread Panic concert at Radio City Music Hall in NYC. The new smart phone can snap and send my pictures to Twitter easier than I could call my friends in 2007.
It is a new, connected touring world!
Give yourself a summer treat and go to all the shows you can. They will be different. They will be entertaining. During his early times on the “chitlin’ circuit” in the South, for Taylor it was either “entertain or go home.”
He learned well. Taylor Hicks will entertain!
The 2007 Modern Whomp Solo Tour will be hard to surpass. I’m betting on Taylor Hicks to do just that with new music, old passion, and renewed enthusiasm for touring!
On that Opening Night in Jacksonville three years ago, some of us sent a message that included this:
“We celebrate your success tonight! Thank you for remaining true to your dreams and for sharing this amazing journey with the Soul Patrol!
Safe travels.
We have miles to go…”
To Taylor now, Congratulations on another Opening Night—your second in New York City!
Best wishes for a successful, safe and healthy 2010 Tour!
We still have miles to go…
Happy touring, Taylor!!!
For Complete Schedule and more information visit:
http://taylorconnections.com/forum/1573907/
Catch the first “preview” of Summer Tour 2010 with Taylor and the band on Fox and Friends Sunday Morning, at 9:50 a.m. EST.
Photo by san: Taylor in Atlanta, March, 2007.
We still have miles to go…
Happy touring, Taylor!!!
For Complete Schedule and more information visit:
http://taylorconnections.com/forum/1573907/
Catch the first “preview” of Summer Tour 2010 with Taylor and the band on Fox and Friends Sunday Morning, at 9:50 a.m. EST.
Photo by san: Taylor in Atlanta, March, 2007.
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3 comments:
Oh wow, you brought a lump to my throat with that look back at the 2007 tour. I will unfortunately be missing out on the 2010 tour unless it comes south. Traveling is not in the picture this year, even for our Soul Man.
Thanks for the look back and the look ahead. What an adventure it has been and I hope continues to be for a long, long time.
While the internet and other methods of immediate communication are not new, the social networking that has joined MySpace as a means to "staying in touch" is new
Beginning with 'Grease' , Cone Ranger tweeted from his confection conveyance. Since 'Grease' has completed its run, Taylor has been exploring the world of the tweet. This device will continue to keep us fans up to date on whatever Taylor is doing , wherever he is doing it.
As I write this , I just got a tweet from Taylor saying he is in NY and will tweet some pictures to us tomorrow.... now "ain'" that a gas.
Cheers to the new "old" band and may these Birmingham Band of Brothers enjoy the ride.
cath
This 2010 tour has me pumped; even though ~ like tishlp ~ I will not be able to attend any of the concerts. Videos for me at the moment.
It is amazing to think back on the 2007 tour & now, witness the growth in Taylor that has taken place since then. Taylor has taken us on a ride & its only gonna get better.
Looking forward to all the great videos coming our way.♥
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