Music writer Tim Finn gives a review of both the Hothouse Flowers and the Elders in the Preview Section of the local paper today. And in it, he brings up an interesting topic that I've heard a few comments on before and after Irish Fest. That is why the Elders were "headlining" on both Saturday and Sunday. The short answer is, they weren't.
Let me explain that. At the conference of Irish Fest promoters that some of us attended in Pittsburgh this past Spring, we had a discussion on entertainment with two of the top agents in our industry, Tim Drake and Herschel Freeman. These two guys between them represent some of the biggest names in Irish and Celtic music, some of whom you saw on our stages this past weekend. The question was raised as to what were the prime spot for bands to play during a festival weekend. That is, what do the top acts consider the "headline" slots in a weekend long schedule. Without hesitation, both men said early evening on Saturday. For us, the second to the last spot in our line up on Saturday night. They went on to say that some of their big names clients wouldn't consider taking the last spot on closing night, for us the spot the Elders held on Sunday this year. That this is considered the worst spot. Why? Because by that time on Sunday, the long weekend of sun, beer, and walking have taken their toll and people are tired and tend to head home early. And even if they don't, they're not going to stick around long to buy CDs and other swag, so that last band loses out on that income.
I know what you're thinking: "But listen Regan, you brick-headed moron. There were 12,000 screaming people watching the Elders Sunday night. So your idiotic theory doesn't hold water". Okay, first, there's no reason for name calling. And second, there's a wild card at play here. The Elders are our local lads, our hometown heroes. Their fans would have stayed all night. They are the exception, not the rule. They are the only top level band we had on our schedule, great as all the others were, that could have kept that size crowd here on Sunday night. The Elders, as Tim so correctly pointed out in his review, very nearly own Irish Fest in Kansas City.
I spoke to Patrick Murphy of Gaelic Storm about this on Sunday afternoon just before the GS set and he confirmed that his band normally will refuse the last spot of a festival weekend for exactly the reasons I mentioned before. He was very pleased to have that second to the last spot instead. Our early schedule did in fact have GS playing last. The Elders, good fellas that they are, did Murphy and his crew, and us a huge favor by swapping. In fact, Ian Byrne first suggested the switch to Shocko and I some months ago when we ran into him, in a pub of all places.
The moral of our long-winded story here being that "playing last" and "headlining" are not necessarily the same thing when it comes to closing night of a 3 day festival.
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6 comments:
I was talking to Steve of GS on Sunday night, laughing about our hometown band The Elders. He quickly added that The Elders are now, "not our hometown band" and that they are a national force on the Irish Festival circut. He also added, while looking at the crowd that he would hate to have to follow them.
Can you please link the Finn review in your blog?
I tried. It wasn't available on line this morning. It was a good review. Tim's a good writer. I'll link it as soon as I can find it.
Thanks for the info on headlining at fests. Makes sense, but not something I was aware of.
And thanks for mentioning the article.
Honestly, it hadn't occured to me either until the Pittsburgh conference, Ellen. You learn a lot in this business!
For some reason the Star's online pages don't reflect the story. But it is available at Tim Finn's blog(http://backtorockville.typepad.com/)
Here's a copy of what it said:
God, Church and the Elders
The Kansas City Irish Fest, Sept. 1& 2
The Elders don't own this festival, not officially anyway. But it's theirs in spirit.
Saturday night they played the first of two headling shows for this annual throwdown, which celebrates many things Irish: dance, comedy, food, dark ales and Celtic music.
The rock/blues/soul band Hothouse Flowers played the main stage on Friday and the second stage on Saturday. They seemed better suited to the smaller stage. Friday night they drew a few thousdand people, and for the first 45 minutes or so, they entertained.
But they started losing their audience during the last part of their set, when they jammed like they were at Wakarusa (for one brief moment it sounded like the Allmans or Widespread Panic were up on stage). They also turned one of their best-known songs (and the one I most wanted to hear), “Don’t Go,” into an island/calypso tune that was decidedly un-Celtic. The next evening, at the more intimate pub stage, their show was designed more for the nightclub environment.
As they did last year, the Elders drew a huge crowd that filled the terrace seats and bleachers (and the small plot of open floor in front of the stage) and spilled well out into the grass beyond — close to 6,000 people, I’d guess.
And few, it seemed, were there by chance; most showed an affection and familiarity for the band’s oldest or best-known tunes. And during a breakneck set that lasted almost two hours, they played most of those: “Packy Go Home,” “Cousin Charlie,” “Haverty Boys,” “American Wake,” “Buzz Jig” “Men of Erin” (with some help from Enter the Hagis), “Story of a Fish.” Twice, the band’s lead singer, percussionist and ace showman, Ian Byrne, brought out a young Irish step dancer who was also one of his own clan, first his daughter then his niece (who danced so furiously her tiara popped off her pretty noggin).
As usual, they ended this show with a finale befitting a conation: “Moore St. Girls,” which included some wild and hearty audience participation; “Fire in the Hole,” “Devil’s Tongue” and “Ten Pound Ear Hole.” They inflamed that one with a boys vs. girls vocal battle (boys won, unofficially) that ended the show and left most people standing pleading for more. That would come, but not until Sunday night. If you missed that, there’s always next year.
| Timothy Finn, The Star
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