Tours compromise music quality for themes and money

There was one thing that seemed to dominate the 1998 summer concert season: festivals with a message. The powers that be, a.k.a. record companies, managers and promoters, seemed to think that putting tons of the same types of artists on a bill would increase the draw with a lot less risk.

Unfortunately, for the most part their planning was right. It seemed like these festivals were focused less on music and more on profit margins forcing fans to hear there favorite artists play shorter sets, while being blitzed by a plethora of corporate sponsorship.

Courtesy of Epic and Epitaph Rancid participated in one of the summer's most popular music festivals, the Vans Warped Tour. The tour has been criticized for limiting performance time of its headliners.

The Lilith Fair and the Warped Tour were both aimed at certain market demographics: Lilith Fair targeted 18-30 year-old females, while Warped was aimed at both sexes between ages 12-21. Both succeeded in appealing to these audiences, with a few extras on the side such as parents at the Warped Tour or the occasional unwilling boyfriend at Lilith.

Both shows had certain themes in which they used catch phrases such as a "celebration of women in music" and "Screw the System." What the two shows also had in common was that the events contradicted these ideals.

From the minute one entered the Lilith Fair gates, it was obvious that what the appeal was dresses and necklaces on sale everywhere, as well as free Biore pore strips. Then, if one waited in line for the Levi's tent, one could get a poster of Sarah McLachlan looking far from her best. Furthermore, the major fashion statement in the crowd seemed to be the Sarah hairdo complete with multiple bobby pins.

The music itself at the Lilith fair was fabulously executed by the three headliners, which varied from show to show. The Indigo Girls, Natalie Merchant, and McLachlan, for instance, all gave solid sets in the short time allotted. The only complaint that many concertgoers had about the music itself was that the headliners sets were too short, approximately 50 minutes each making it less like a stadium concert and more like a band showcase.

Ironically, the major contradiction of Lilith Fair was that there were almost twice as many male musicians in the bands as females. While the festival has done a lot for women artists, the lack of female road musicians supports the idea that the industry is still prone to choose males over females when it comes to the music's back bone - a problem that doesn't look like it will be soon eradicated.

While the Lilith Fair seemed to be more about music, the Vans Warped Tour seemed to be all about cash. The amount of corporate sponsors was overwhelming. No matter how hard one tried between one couldn't get away from the free tapes, copies of Rolling Stone and blow up "BASEket Balls."

The fan base at these shows was a mix of people from skaters and frat boys to fans of each genre such as punks, hard-core kids, rudies, skins and swingers. The major fashion statement seemed to be mohawks, piercing and shaved heads as well as chains, bondage pants and black T-shirts.

Musically, this festival seemed to completely hurt the bands. The headliners such as Bad Religion, The Specials and Rancid, all who have loyal followings and a significant catalog of music, played only 30-minute sets - ridiculously short. It seemed almost like a step down for groups who by themselves could fill large concert halls.

The only advantage seemed to be for the lesser known groups on both the main and second stages who they were given equal time along side the headliners.

The biggest contradiction of the day was the fact that many of the bands on the tour preached a gospel of defiance, non-conformity and rebelling against the system. With the corporate control of the music festival, much of this integrity was lost.

The implications of these festivals, as well as all others of modern music, could be leading down a spiral of mediocrity. Instead of giving bands a chance to prove themselves in live shows, they are forced to give shorter less spontaneous sets. As a result, fans are forced to concede more money for less music - a major contradiction indeed.

09-09-98