The Seattle PI posted this earlier today, is this the natural evolution of online social networking? Is the trend reversing by moving from online to off-line events and venues?
The first-ever MySpace Music Tour may not be making history, but the Internet-inspired concert trek is an interesting milestone in the history of packaged concert tours, which are as old as rock ‘n’ roll itself.
The tour opened Tuesday night in Seattle and will visit more than two dozen U.S. cities before closing Nov. 23 in Las Vegas.
A good-sized crowd turned out on a school night to enjoy the music of four bands whose careers have been jump-started by MySpace, the massively popular social-networking Web site that has become a significant player in the do-it-yourself world of band promotion. Even superstars like Bruce Springsteen are tapping the site’s awesome connective power to boost their careers.
The lineup at Showbox Sodo (formerly the Fenix and before that, Premier) included Polysics, Young Love, Say Anything and Hellogoodbye. The latter two are co-headliners on the tour – blending punk, pop and “emo” – while Young Love and Polysics are relative newcomers with a lot to gain from additional national exposure.
Polysics, a four-member Japanese band dressed in orange jumpsuits, spoke very little English, but managed to turn a stock-still, early evening crowd into an arm-waving cheering section. The band was hyperkinetic and fun loving, bringing a comic bent to a show that was a manic mix of live music, hype and product promotion.
Tour sponsor VO5 offered several “styling stations” where concertgoers could get their hair cut and styled while enjoying the show and watching band videos on multiple screens.
Parents who accompanied their kids to the show divided their time between the lounge and the showroom, often grinning at the youthful displays of enthusiasm – i.e. screaming – for each band.
As might be expected on the opening night of a brand-new tour, minor glitches, delays and other missteps resulted in clunky pacing. But did young fans care? Not likely. After all, for many concertgoers, it was their first chance to reach out and almost touch the bands they had discovered on the Internet.