Classic or dud: Bands that go on tour playing an old album in its entirety decades down the line

From the Interpol thread:

going to see them perform this album live in september , should be interesting .

― (•̪●) (carne asada), Tuesday, August 1, 2017 4:06 PM (thirty-seven minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Could be a thread of its own, but has this always been a thing? Performing an old album in its entirety 20 or 30 years down the line? Always thought that was a band saying: we basically have given up on thinking we'll ever make anything nearly as good ever again.

― Le Bateau Ivre, Tuesday, August 1, 2017 4:10 PM (thirty-one minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i think it started at ATP or Pitchfork Fest about a decade ago

― rock and roll tucci coo (voodoo chili), Tuesday, August 1, 2017 4:30 PM (twelve minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yup

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, August 1, 2017 4:32 PM (ten minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

This seems to be all the rage lately. U2's doing it right now (Joshua Tree), and there's loads of others revisiting an old album and touring with it. As noted above, it seems to me as giving up a bit. Granted, U2 can tour with anything and still sell out a tour - and they don't even need the money - but for a lot of others it seems cashing in in a way a new album or tour likely never would.

I've seen one of these last year, when Ash played '1977, 20th anniversary'. Couldn't fault them for doing this, as even they themselves seem to have given up on creating good, original music. As far as a nice trip down memory lane goes it was just that, and very enjoyable. But for others it seems like a creative death knell.

I've no problem with a band wanting to cash in, mind. But I can't quite see why bands would do this if they'd still feel like they have something to say, good music to make. Thoughts?

This is classic if I like the album and dud if I dislike the album.

i have never seen a band do this, but i rarely go to shows these days.

buuuut, i think it would be classic if the album was reinterpreted or visually presented in a really surprising way, like "here is a one-time alt version of the album that you have already heard a million times"

"it's Wonderwall--but fast!"

it would be fun if the performance was introduced with that exact quote

OR it's classic if you're an infamous recluse, like kate bush doing Hounds of Love

This is classic if I like the album and dud if I dislike the album.

― this iphone speaks many languages (DJP), Tuesday, August 1, 2017 4:55 PM (six minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Lol, I hear you, but not really though. I adore Turn On The Bright Lights but the idea of seeing them do this live *now* doesn't appeal to me at all. Like, get yers to the studio and make a decent album again ffs.

100% dud.

When once forward-looking bands reduce themselves to this kind of thing, you know it's over.

is Carlos D back in the band again

I have no interest in seeing bands do this personally but then I hardly see shows at all these days

(Interpol have always been shite though, IMO.)

(xxpost)

I saw Dinosaur Jr. do You're Living All Over Me in its entirety on the record's 25th anniversary, was a pretty great show.

I kinda like it because you at least get the opportunity to hear album tracks that would never get performed otherwise. How many bands doing this are we really expecting to still be active and creative?

Googling "perform their classic album" turns up a lot of questionably classic albums.

Maybe there's a difference between bands that have once broken up and are reunited/ressurected, and bands that never broke up and suddenly start doing this. I could give the former a pass, but it's a total dud if the latter does this imo. xxxp

My DVD of The Cure's Trilogy concerts is screaming Classic at me btw

nostalgia's a helluva drug

I kinda like it because you at least get the opportunity to hear album tracks that would never get performed otherwise. How many bands doing this are we really expecting to still be active and creative?

― frogbs, Tuesday, August 1, 2017 12:09 PM (three minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

that was certainly the only time that i will ever hear "Poledo" live in concert

The Who played Tommy on their 1989 tour, but only twice. And it being a reunion tour, there were no illusions re: anything new to say (even though they did a couple songs off Townshend's then-current solo record). The arrangements were vastly different from the album, largely owing to the 1989 band being 15 musicians instead of 4. Also, the arrangements were completely awful.

If Interpol did Meat Is Murder in its entirety it might be fun. That might actually be the only good idea Phish ever had. Doing someone else's album from start to finish. They should do that every night actually.

Would go see Dinosaur do a Wipers album or something like that.

I think it's cool as a special one-off, like when Cheap Trick played their first three albums here over three nights years ago, or some sort of unique come back, like Brian Wilson touring Pet Sounds. But once they do it again and again it's massively depressing.

Among the lamest was when I saw Weezer play their first two albums a few years ago. Both of them are short enough to fit on the same night but they still spread it out over two nights. I thought Jenny Lewis doing Rabbit Fur Coat was dumb. Who thinks of that album as a piece?

When I saw Midnight Oil a couple of months ago they played one of their best albums from start to finish with no warning. Had never done it before, might never do it again, night was not billed as such. They did it just for the heck of it. Which is cool.

I saw Roger Waters do The Wall, which was pretty boring. He has also toured Dark Side of the Moon in its entirety, too, but when I saw him last week he did most of that album anyway.

i'm sure i've seen more than one of these shows but i can only remember third eye blind playing their s/t album a few months ago. it ruled

Thunderous, awful dud, and I judge every band that does it.

as i discovered yesterday van morrison's astral weeks live album from 2009 is excellent (he fucked with the track order tho)

When these happen, do the bands tend kick off with the featured 45 minute of beloved tunes, close with them, or not even pad them out with other material?

It's interesting that these are seen somewhat distinct from just going out and playing the hits and three cuts off the latest disappointment. I'd think it would end up being a momentum killer in lots of way, not the least of which being that album sequencing doesn't always match live energy. But band enthusiasm obviously isn't the prime concern.

I saw Bang on a Can perform Eno's Music for Airports, it was totally pointless but kind of cool. Where do you all stand on bands covering someone else's album in its entirety?

When I saw Jesus and Mary Chain do Psychocandy, it was several minutes of best of, followed by the album.

Van Morrison and "excellent" don't belong in the same sentence, IMO.

oh wait now i remember, i saw trail of dead do source tags a few years ago. it was fine

lou reed was some kinda pioneer. watching him do new york was a snooze on that tour. he did do a second set of favorites thankfully. the feelies blew him off the stage though. something tells me the feelies probably do this now too.

When I saw Midnight Oil a couple of months ago they played one of their best albums from start to finish with no warning. Had never done it before, might never do it again, night was not billed as such. They did it just for the heck of it. Which is cool.

however this is otm - as a surprise, it's kind of a cool move - I can see how if the big hits were on other records, people might be bummed, but just save em for the encore. but PLAYING THE ALBUM IN ITS ENTIRETY I just loathe instinctively as a selling point

Are there examples of bands doing this with their more obscure or less-favoured albums?

i'm sure i've seen more than one of these shows but i can only remember third eye blind playing their s/t album a few months ago. it ruled

― ToddBonzalez (BradNelson), Tuesday, August 1, 2017 10:19 AM (four minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

can confirm

that midnight oil show sounds awesome. doing it unannounced is kind of an antidote to my big problem with this approach, which is that there's no surprise in the song selection

Ween did The Mollusk in full for its 20th anniversary and it fucking ruled

I think it's cool as a special one-off, like when Cheap Trick played their first three albums here over three nights years ago,

I was at the Heaven Tonight show at Metro, and it was amazing. Even though I knew what was coming next, it was surprisingly thrilling.

Ditto the Stevie Wonder Songs In The Key Of Life shows a couple years ago. It's not my favorite record of his classic era, but I couldn't sit down. Songs I didn't think much of -- "Contusion," for one -- completely killed.

Lou Reed's New York show was pretty snoozy -- scott otm. But Husker Du's Warehouse live demolished the studio record.

All that said, I hate when bands do this. I like being surprised at shows.

My DVD of The Cure's Trilogy concerts is screaming Classic at me btw

― this iphone speaks many languages (DJP), Tuesday, August 1, 2017 5:12 PM (ten minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

It's interesting to hear the Bloodflowers line-up tackle some of the lesser-played tracks from Pornography ... but let's be honest, the band as a creative force slowed down to less than a crawl since those shows... they've only put out two albums since! Arguably, they were long past their peak by the time of Trilogy, with only the really dedicated still paying attention!

oh wait yeah, stevie doing songs in the key of life was fucking incredible

Pixies doing Doolittle was fun. The most amusing bit was doing the whole album, then doing all the b-sides from the singles, in the order of release.

That said I'm not a really big fan of this approach. I don't think there's a lot of shame in going on a backcatalogue tour. I guess it's an effective marketing gimmick because more bands seem to be doing it more often.

iirc he did the seven-inch songs in the middle which made the way it unfolded kinda surprising

xp

True, and he did this long solo on some strange stringed instrument that brought the house down. It felt like so much more than Stevie "just" playing the album; it was like he was playing it as much for people who hadn't heard it -- like he had something to prove -- as for people who knew it backwards and forwards.

^^ otm

Always thought that was a band saying: we basically have given up on thinking we'll ever make anything nearly as good ever again.

Simpler than that, it's a band saying we need the money.

Sometimes it's cool but mostly it's sort of lazy. A lot of these groups can just pass off the heavy lifting to a musical director, and more to the point, most albums aren't that long, let alone cohesive as albums. I think it's bad enough that setlists are increasingly predictable and, well, set these days. Speaking of Hukser Du, I saw Mould solo in April, and despite it just being him and a guitar with a catalog of dozens and dozens of songs, the setlist barely changed from night to night. Contrast that with Springsteen, who over the course of a tour might play 170 songs, some for the first time ever, some the same every night, but the setlist always changing, and there is no question the spontaneity makes a huge difference. Pearl Jam does this, too.

One thing I did like is when Wilco had a residency here a few years back, five nights, and played literally everything they had ever recorded, just totally out of order and over the course of those five nights.

this is cool if a band that like flaming lips did this with their older material. Their tours for years now have been so static with the exception of when they threw in "riding to work in the year 2025". Wayne told me back in the day that they saved their older/obscure stuff for radio shows.

Some of this is a reformed band just playing their classic material. It's a bit different for a long running band that never stopped to go back and play something out of their back catalog, some of which hadn't been played live in a long time or some tracks never had been played live. Yeah it's kind of a ploy to usually sell reissues and/or get lapsed fans to get back to a show, but if you are in a band that has lasted that long, it's a hustle to keep it moving. If it's a good show, it's a good show.

trying to remember if I've ever seen a band do this... generally though I think DUD because good album sequencing isn't necessarily good setlist sequencing.

Always thought that was a band saying: we basically have given up on thinking we'll ever make anything nearly as good ever again.

Simpler than that, it's a band saying we need the money.

― weird echo of the falsies (Tom D.), Tuesday, August 1, 2017 12:39 PM (fifty-two minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

this literally the only good reason to reform a band, esp now that no one makes any royalties for back catalog thanks to spotify, no decent human being should have a problem w/it. it's a new era.

I am pretty sure when I saw Interpol the first time, behind the first album, they just played the album in its entirety anyway, just in a different order.

there's the possibility they won't live up to the recorded versions but that is always a possibility with live music.

what if the drummer is sick, what if they have a bad night? god forbid you aren't 100% in control of an experience.

It’s a good two thirds of a record we’d never played live

honestly I have no idea what Pierce meant by this, p sure every single track on L&G has been played live at some point, except for maybe "All of My Thoughts" and "Home of the Brave"...?

xp

some people join bands just to get chicks.

my kid is going to see D.R.I. tonight. they could play the Dirty Rotten EP and their first three albums in one set.

they pretty much do if it's a headline slot iirc

That is an odd statement, yes. xxp

yeah, current DRI sets are heavy on the 1st one and Dealing With It

I have the Kraftwerk box of all the albums live.

I wish Sparks had issued one of those.

what's Frank Black supposed to do? He's been Frank Black his whole life now, it's too late for him.

fucking write good songs! record them with people who will call you on your shit if you're not doing your best! this is do-able over a long period of time by any songwriter because it's not magic, it's labor. FB is known to be a dude who got pretty "I call the shots, I'm the Pixies man" as soon as Surfer Rosa jumped off. Frank Black is supposed to elevate his game, and then play "Bone Machine" and "Where Is My Mind?" in the encore. I toe a hard line on this shit

Bibliography
Invisible Man (Random House, 1952). ISBN 0-679-60139-2
Flying Home and Other Stories (Random House, 1996). ISBN 0-679-45704-6; includes the short story "A Party Down at the Square"
Juneteenth (Random House, 1999). ISBN 0-394-46457-5
Three Days Before the Shooting... (Modern Library, 2010). ISBN 978-0-375-75953-6

Ellison died in 1994. Insult-to-injury: Juneteenth and Three Days Before the Shooting are basically re-edits of the same book.

frank black must write great songs you will never listen to to play at concerts you will never attend?

does his guitar make a sound if nobody hears it

see, the solution is simple. when you have been making music for decades and are in your 40s or 50s and maybe have kids to put through school and get called up by Coachella to run through your hits just hang up that phone and get to writing old timer! you must re-create the magic! your life now depends on it!

like I respect what you're saying and ultimately yeah I admire the Wires and Leonard Cohen and Dylan's and The Falls of the world but I guess I get that for some people it IS just a gig and given how brutal the world is esp towards artists i don't begrudge like for for ex. Tommy Keane who I recently saw open for Matthew Sweet run through 45 mins of old stuff and a Big Star cover solo acoustic (presumably because he probably doesn't want to split the small take with a band)

i'm with ums and djp on this one..

and is songwriting really just pure labor, is it not possible to just lose it or whatever?

i understand the naysayers though, it's often a really corny move.

this Machine Head tour was fun because their second set was a Burn My Eyes set, but saw something you don't often see at shows like these where the lineup has changed over the years...they actually had a different band for the second set!

they got Chris Kontos and Logan Mader back just for that set and just for the tour. only person who didn't come back from the original album is Adam Duce, cos he sued the band.

A couple of things:

fucking write good songs! record them with people who will call you on your shit if you're not doing your best! this is do-able over a long period of time by any songwriter because it's not magic, it's labor.

I completely disagree. Songwriting, or pop spngwriting in particular, is a Romantic form that succeeeds or fails according to a degree of inspiration that cannot be summoned on demand. A little magic in the hands of a novice can give you goosebumps, and an expetrly crafted whatever can fall flat. I suspect that often what you perceive as a songwriter "not doing their best" is relying entirely on labor and craft in the absence of any major inspiration.

"What is Frank Black supposed to do now?" - this isn't really anyone else's problem.

Dud.

I suspect that often what you perceive as a songwriter "not doing their best" is relying entirely on labor and craft

(that poster toes a hard enough line on this shit that they have written actual hundreds of songs for public consumption btw)

something you don't often see at shows like these where the lineup has changed over the years...they actually had a different band for the second set!

As well as The Cure playing their first three albums in full at the Sydney Opera House ... used a larger line-up on each successive album, going from a trio to a quintet by bringing back an acrimoniously-fired past member on each return to the stage, I know of the Zombies touring in 2017 with the current lineup doing a full set, and then all living 1950s/60s members playing the Odessey & Oracle album.

Very nice

A year or two ago I saw Fairport Convention perform Liege and Lief in its entireity. None of the current members of the band appeared on the album.

A year or two ago I saw Fairport Convention perform Liege and Lief in its entirety. None of the current members of the band appeared on the album.

Simon Nicol?

(that poster toes a hard enough line on this shit that they have written actual hundreds of songs for public consumption btw)

Ah, excellent! Serves me right for being so presumptuous.

my wife and i saw stevie wonder perform the entire songs in the key of life album (WITH the bonus ep tracks and an encore) and it was the greatest concert i’ve ever been to. i sobbed in public twice (first when he started singing and then during “if it’s magic”)

^read this as Stevie Nicks at first at thought it was an interesting twist to play somebody else’s album like that

ts: stevie wonder playing "rumours" vs. stevie nicks playing "songs in the key of life"

As well as The Cure playing their first three albums in full at the Sydney Opera House ... used a larger line-up on each successive album, going from a trio to a quintet by bringing back an acrimoniously-fired past member on each return to the stage,

It would be hilarious to follow this up by acrimoniously firing them again, one by one, thus finishing the show as a trio again.

Best version of this I've seen was a one-off Kayo Dot show at John Zorn's venue The Stone, where they played two sets: Their fan-favorite debut album Choirs of the Eye in its entirety, followed by their soon-to-be-released album Coyote in its entirety.

Their performance of the debut album wasn't as good as the record, but their performance of the new album was much better than the record. Go figure.

c/d bands doing complete albums by other bands

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/primus-rush-tribute-to-kings-tour-les-claypool-interview-953590/

Shearwater toured Bowie's "Lodger," iirc.

Would rather see 100% new material than this. Although I've been tempted to pull the trigger on Steely Dan album shows before.

Nite Jewel and Peanut Butter Wolf played Kraftwerk's "Computer World" in a Spiegeltent in Sydney 7 years ago

I completely disagree. Songwriting, or pop spngwriting in particular, is a Romantic form that succeeeds or fails according to a degree of inspiration that cannot be summoned on demand. A little magic in the hands of a novice can give you goosebumps, and an expetrly crafted whatever can fall flat. I suspect that often what you perceive as a songwriter "not doing their best" is relying entirely on labor and craft in the absence of any major inspiration.

this post is bad and wrong

otoh it was definitely inspired

Nite Jewel and Peanut Butter Wolf played Kraftwerk's "Computer World" in a Spiegeltent in Sydney 7 years ago

that sounds awesome

One of my favourite memories from the many ATPs I went to is White Fang (who?) playing Purple Rain, in costume.

This summer, Primus will pay homage to prog-rock legends RUSH with a "Tribute to Kings", a cross-country tour that will feature the iconic 'A Farewell to Kings' in its entirety. Special guests Wolfmother will be joining the tour, with The Sword and Battles opening select dates.

"A little over one year ago, Ler LaLonde and I started kicking the idea around of Primus performing a series of shows featuring an iconic Rush album from our youth," says bandleader Les Claypool.

"Being that 'A Farewell to Kings' was the first Rush record I ever heard, and that it contains my all-time favorite Rush tune, "Cygnus X1", the choice narrowed quickly.

Years ago, I had done something similar with Colonel Claypool's Fearless Flying Frog Brigade, when we covered Pink Floyd Animals in its entirety. It was an insane amount of work, but ended up being one of the most enjoyable live endeavors I've ever done. Dubbing the tour 'Primus: A Tribute to Kings'; it was originally scheduled to be performed in the Fall of 2019, but when we were asked to support Slayer on their Final Campaign, the "Tribute to Kings" tour was postponed.

Geddy, Alex and Neil had been superheroes to Larry, Herb and I in our teens, so when we all became pals while touring together in the early 90's, we were pretty
delighted; partially because of the musical geek-out factor, but mostly because the three guys whom we had admired so much from afar, turned out to be truly great, down-to-earth humans, and like us, a tad eccentric.

The "Tribute to Kings" tour will be just as it is implied, a respectful and loving tribute to three spectacular musicians, songwriters, legends and friends"

A special pre-sale, including VIP upgrade options, will go on sale tomorrow, Wed, February 19 at 10am local time. General public on sale is this Friday, February 21 at 10am local time.

Ticket & show info at www.primusville.com/tour

Just remembered this, and the whole show I saw is online in pro video: Public Enemy toured the 20th anniversary of It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back, now in their chopsular-live-band era. At the first Australian show, not only was Professor Griff kept home by visa issues, but Flava Flav was unable to fly out of NYC due to a blizzard. Real cover-band vibes.

which reminded me of

funniest version of this was GZA's "Liquid Swords" tour of 2012, which was supposed to be that album in full, but....wasn't.

an even better version of this: De La Soul doing a 20th anniversary of De La Soul Is Dead tour, announced as being the entire album in full, with actors in costumes and set changes to perform all the skits as well. This turned out to be a completely standard hits show that MAYBE included four songs from the album, but honestly could have just been the two singles. Not only were there no sets, actors, or costumes, but their DJ Maseo didn't even make it to the country. This led to the bittersweet circumstance of opening DJ Prince Paul filling in:

a) sure it was kinda cool to see them with their original producer / Plug 4 backing them up,
but b) as they had not rehearsed, probably ever, let alone for this tour, this did not make for a notable performance,
and c) two years before they'd played with a ten piece jazz-funk band, The Rhythm Roots Allstars, and it had ruled incredibly hard.
(and Cut Chemist had been opener that time, doing an A/V scratch set: imagine him stepping in to improvise a fill-in backing.)

BTW I saw GZA doing Liquid Swords too and he did the whole thing, but it was pretty shoddy presentation: a white guy in a plaid button-down ostensibly DJing the show by just playing the backing tracks after the Genius did an intro. Gza ambled around with one paw in his jeans pocket the whole time, he could have done the same thing with the pause button on an iPod Nano.

Would rather see 100% new material than this. Although I've been tempted to pull the trigger on Steely Dan album shows before.

I saw them do "The Royal Scam," which is not only my favorite Steely Dan album, not only made them play "The Fez," but the night featured Larry Carlton as special guest.

lol was there any advance notice that this wouldn't be happening after all or was it a complete bait and switch?

in my GZA show, he definitely did most of Liquid Swords, but there were a handful of songs he didn't do, for whatever reason.

No warning about the content at all, and just a note on the doors that Mase wasn't there.

My Liquid Swords show was on Jan 7th 2012, and even included B.I.B.L.E. He might have started mixing it up later bcz he got bored or the crowd was lagging during some of the deeper cuts.

Almost always dud? I've had a fair few dispiriting experiences anyway. Maaaaybe non-dud if the band/album didn't receive their due back in the day?

That recent Cure/Disintegration show in Sydney was a next-level instance, playing a bunch of b-sides and demos as well as the LP. Even as an avowed Cure trainspotter who was profoundly looking forward to the night, I found it really quite dull and horribly sequenced. Deluxe edition CD as concert experience.

Conversely it's pretty cool when a band is so into their new LP that they play it to the exclusion of their old material? Nick Cave's Abattoir Blues tour springs to mind (back catalogue didn't get cracked open til the encores anyway).

talk about yr duds if you have the time?

not only was Professor Griff kept home by visa issues, but Flava Flav was unable to fly out of NYC due to a blizzard

welp, turns out I just got a preview

just saw the They Might Be Giants Flood show, I'm a bit lukewarm on this idea as a whole but for ~them~ I think it works. one because they have like 1000 songs and its cool to hear them play songs they otherwise wouldn't play live, especially given that their average tune is like 2 minutes long. two because Flood is one of those albums that seemed to appeal a lot to young people, and judging by the age of the crowd (mid-30s, early-40s) I suspect that for a lot of them Flood was not only one of their first CDs but also a gateway into the idea that a "major label band" could make something that's on that wavelength. either way everyone seemed to know it front to back probably because we've all played it a hundred times. there's something surreal about hearing the deep cuts from that album.

I saw ABC here a couple of years ago, and they played Lexicon in its entirety. Unfortunately they fucked it up by leaving out Valentine's Day, and by playing Poison Arrow a second time at the end. Argh.

wtf Valentines Day is the best song on the album

Why would a band tour an album in its entirety and ... skip a song?

tour from last year w/Massive Attack doing Mezzanine was pretty enjoyable. some slight reordering, inclusion of some songs sampled on the original tracks, and ott Adam Curtis visuals

I saw GZA doing Liquid Swords but it was a pitchfork fest one-off in 2007. Sounds like it was a better experience -- iirc he also had Cappadonna and Killah Priest with him

Why would a band tour an album in its entirety and ... skip a song?

That's one of the eternal sorrowful mysteries. And playing Poison Arrow again as an encore made it feel a bit cabaret-ish. Very good show overall, mind you.