Post by Jules on Jan 30, 2018 19:25:45 GMT
...First things first; for any fan who has been waiting almost ten years for his favourite band to play in his home country again, there shouldn't be a need to complain. For years I kept seeing announcements of TFF gigs in North America (including a huge tour with Hall & Oates last year), South America, South East Asia etc., having only the possibility of watching low-quality YouTube vids (how about a proper length live video...?) and envying the fans in those other parts of the world that got to see this amazing band playing their amazing songs. Under that pretext, I wish I wouldn't have to complain. But I do. Why?
The 2018 tour includes over ten concerts on the British Isles. Not that there's anything wrong with that, this is where TFF come from, where their oldest fans are. I have read numerous comments from British fans complaining that there haven't been any UK concerts since 2005. Now this has been rectified.
The problem is that the "rest" of Europe is underrepresented in comparison. Just try marking Amsterdam, Berlin, Hamburg, Paris, Antwerp and Milan on a map and then play "connect-the-dots". What do you get? A circle. And guess where I am? Right in the middle of that damn circle. This is frustrating.
And it's not as if there weren't any big cities around where I live (hence the facetious headline); Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Munich, Mainz, Wiesbaden, Nürnberg... all have great venues, where 'big names' have been playing. Germany doesn't only consist of a narrow stripe of land near the coast! And you could say the same about France. Even U2 will at least be playing one more German city besides the somehow compulsory (?!) Hamburg and Berlin, namely Cologne.
Of course, it could be worse. There is a TFF album called "Raoul and the Kings of Spain", there are Spanish and Portuguese fans (hello Raoul), but no Iberian dates. And the aforementioned "circle" isn't closed either; fans from Vienna, Budapest or other, more Eastern parts of Europe are out of luck.
I know there are dedicated fans who follow their favourite bands around the globe. But for others, this "lifestyle" just isn't feasible or attractive (long journeys tend to wear me out, which decreases my enjoyment of the show, not to mention travel and hotel costs). Somehow, the notion of a band being on the other side of the world is not as frustrating as knowing they come near (sort of), but not near enough. I have not bought any tickets so far because of all these internal struggles.
Another factor besides long journeys is demand. The Hamburg gig appears to be already sold out - if it isn't, then we have scalpers (re-sellers) interfering and trying to make a profit of TFF. Either way, I think somebody is underestimating the interest. I seriously doubt all German fans would fit into those two venues.
Of course I can understand why the band don't want to play a gruelling long tour. And I respect the need for free days and all that. But I just wish the gigs were more evenly spread across the continent. Is that being too demanding?
The 2018 tour includes over ten concerts on the British Isles. Not that there's anything wrong with that, this is where TFF come from, where their oldest fans are. I have read numerous comments from British fans complaining that there haven't been any UK concerts since 2005. Now this has been rectified.
The problem is that the "rest" of Europe is underrepresented in comparison. Just try marking Amsterdam, Berlin, Hamburg, Paris, Antwerp and Milan on a map and then play "connect-the-dots". What do you get? A circle. And guess where I am? Right in the middle of that damn circle. This is frustrating.
And it's not as if there weren't any big cities around where I live (hence the facetious headline); Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Munich, Mainz, Wiesbaden, Nürnberg... all have great venues, where 'big names' have been playing. Germany doesn't only consist of a narrow stripe of land near the coast! And you could say the same about France. Even U2 will at least be playing one more German city besides the somehow compulsory (?!) Hamburg and Berlin, namely Cologne.
Of course, it could be worse. There is a TFF album called "Raoul and the Kings of Spain", there are Spanish and Portuguese fans (hello Raoul), but no Iberian dates. And the aforementioned "circle" isn't closed either; fans from Vienna, Budapest or other, more Eastern parts of Europe are out of luck.
I know there are dedicated fans who follow their favourite bands around the globe. But for others, this "lifestyle" just isn't feasible or attractive (long journeys tend to wear me out, which decreases my enjoyment of the show, not to mention travel and hotel costs). Somehow, the notion of a band being on the other side of the world is not as frustrating as knowing they come near (sort of), but not near enough. I have not bought any tickets so far because of all these internal struggles.
Another factor besides long journeys is demand. The Hamburg gig appears to be already sold out - if it isn't, then we have scalpers (re-sellers) interfering and trying to make a profit of TFF. Either way, I think somebody is underestimating the interest. I seriously doubt all German fans would fit into those two venues.
Of course I can understand why the band don't want to play a gruelling long tour. And I respect the need for free days and all that. But I just wish the gigs were more evenly spread across the continent. Is that being too demanding?