To me, the best time to go an watch a band/artist in concert is when they are on their first album. The music is new and exciting, you'll hear the vast majority of the album at the gig as they won't have much more material to play and everyone is there because they like the only album the artist has released. I remember for example going to see Nelly Furtado in 2002 where she played virtually every track from her debut album and left the concert thinking how good was that. I've not been to see Nelly Furtado since, partly because the music she has released since then is a bit of a mixed bag, but also there are some album tracks that sounded so good hearing out loud at the gig I went to that she is highly unlikely to play at gigs now her back catalogue has grown, so I know it won't be as good.
There always comes a point in a band/artists career where they need to decide whether they continue until no-ones interested anymore, quite while there ahead and if so, do they reunite in several years time. Whatever decision they make, it will divide their fans opinions.
In 2016 so far, there have been two reunions which have caught my attention.
First, there is the LCD Soundsystem one. They intend to write a new album as well as tour, but one could argue that the new album part is not really a reunion because James Murphy is the only one who plays on every track. The live element though is most definitely a reunion and has divided opinion. When they called it a day 5 years ago it was a big event. They played a 4hr gig at Madison Square Garden and released a film documenting their final days. On that basis a reunion does seem quite silly. However for me personally, I think its fantastic news because I never got to see them the first time round but hopefully I can finally get to see them play now.
Secondly, there is the Guns n Roses one. It's not really a reunion though as they never went away, they just had many changes in personnel leaving Axl Rose as the only original member, although this was actually the case when Izzy Stradlin left in 1991. It's actually a reunion of the classic line-up rather than the original one, except it isn't really. Basically Slash and Duff have re-joined the group, there is no Izzy, and neither of their classic era drummers, Matt or Steven, are in it. Because of this, some people are not interested unless its the full classic line-up and inevitably fans will be divided by the Matt era or the Stephen era. For others though, the important thing is Slash being back and I suspect many would still be interested even if Duff hadn't re-joined. For me personally though, knowing the extortionate prices they are charging for their gigs in USA it's unlikely I'll attend one if they come to the UK, it's not worth it.
The Guns n Roses example though raises an interesting point, all bands have a classic line-up but what changes in personnel matter and which don't?
Several years ago, the Temptations were doing a gig at a venue near to where I lived at the time. The classic line-up of the Temptations is Otis Williams, Melvin Franklin, Paul Williams, Eddie Kendricks and David Ruffin. By this point though, Otis Williams was the only one from the classic line-up still alive. Further to that, he was the member who never sings lead vocal, so initially I wasn't interested. I changed my mind later and went to see them play and it was a very good concert. An interesting point though is that "Papa Was a Rolling Stone", one of the most popular Temptations songs did not feature David Ruffin, Eddie Kendricks or Paul Williams. So the only singers from the classic line-up on that track were the bass singer and the one who never sings. Another point is that current member, Ron Tyson, has been in the band for 33 years and is only a couple of years off being the second longest serving member of all time. Don't get me wrong, I would much prefer to see the classic line-up, but as this is not possible the current line-up is the best thing available.
On the other hand, another group I like is UB40. Several years ago, Ali Campbell left the group and went solo. My thoughts were that I didn't want to see UB40 in concert without Ali Campbell, but then I didn't really want to see Ali Campbell because I wanted to see UB40, not Ali as a solo artist. Then a couple of years ago, Astro, who to me was the second most important member, left the group. He joined forces with Ali and keyboardist Mickey who had also left the group several years ago, to form their own version of UB40. Whilst not the official UB40, this is the version I chose to go and see in concert. To me, it doesn't really matter that the other members are not there as Ali and Astro were the ones I've always noticed in the group.
Back to the subject of actual reunions though, the main question is do you make new music or just play the old stuff?
Deacon Blue reunited several years ago and do make new music. My personal favourite song of theirs though is "Real Gone Kid", the one they are most famous for. I went to see them at the Royal Albert Hall a couple of years ago and they played that song quite early on. They did one of these big endings to the song and lead singer Ricky Ross was hyping up the crowd say it was just going to get better. I made the comment that it wouldn't as they've just played their best song, but instead of ending the song they just extended it. So clearly they knew that would be most people favourite. If you didn't know any of Deacon Blues music though, you would be able to tell what was old and what was new. For the old song, everyone was stood up dancing and singing along and for the new ones most people were sat down in silence.
Something interesting I did read some time ago was on the official website of Dennis Locorriere, the former singer in Dr Hook. He mentions that he often gets asked if there will ever be a Dr Hook reunion. His answer is which Dr Hook do you want to reunite? They went through several line-up changes, the only other member who was in it for the whole duration was keyboardist Billy Francis who has since died. There are other members who have since died too, so it may only be possible to reunite people who never played with each other in the first place. However, whilst Dennis is making a good point, the real question about a Dr Hook reunion is whether Dennis and Ray Sawyer will play together again. I suspect most people won't mind who else is involved, they just want to see Dennis and Ray back on the stage together again. If it does happen though, it would need to be soon as Ray turns 80 next year so time is running out.
So what should a band/artist decide?
Well it depends on who they are and specifically which fan they are trying to please. Maybe one of the positives of me never making it in the music industry with my band is this is a decision I'll never have to make.
