
The Touring Fan Live
The Touring Fan Live, a show dedicated to the world of Music, Art and influential people. The show also includes interviews with leading artists, musicians, activists and so much more. Tune in to explore the magic of The Touring Fan.
The Touring Fan Live
Are We Being Priced Out of Live Music Forever?
What happens when billion-dollar executives decide concert tickets aren't expensive enough? The answer might explain why your favorite bands are disappearing from the road.
In this candid solo episode, I dive deep into the economics of concert tickets after Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino's controversial statement that tickets have been "underpriced for too long." Breaking down exactly where your money goes when you buy a $100 concert ticket reveals a shocking truth – artists often walk away with just $8 per ticket, while venues and ticketing services take the lion's share. This explains why bands like Garbage have announced they'll no longer tour extensively in the US, citing "unmanageable" economics.
Beyond the financial breakdown, I explore the different ways we experience live music – solo, with friends, or as an observer watching someone else connect with an artist for the first time. Each approach offers unique rewards, from the freedom of attending alone to the shared memories created with companions. There's something magical about standing in a room full of strangers who've come together through music, regardless of their differences.
The episode wraps with my summer 2025 playlist featuring standout tracks from Liam Finn, Paul Schalda, Viagra Boys, Wolf Alice, Nine Inch Nails, and Turnstile – artists who remind us why we fight to keep live music accessible despite rising costs.
Whether you're a casual concertgoer or a dedicated touring fan, this conversation tackles the hard questions about the future of live music in an industry that increasingly prioritizes profits over passion. How long before we're all priced out of the experiences that make us feel alive?
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And welcome to this wow, very long time since such a company's fucking chair today. Um, it's been a long time since I've just done a show by myself. Um, I started podcasting back in 2016 doing Tap Time Live with Anthony, and then iterations of different shows over the years lined up with um doing different things and led to the touring fan live, but I always was reliant or trying to do things with other people. I never thought I was good enough to do it myself, but I was like, man, how am I gonna know if I'm can do it or still do it if I don't just go back and try myself? So I'm back. This is the first episode of the Touring Fan Live, just the Touring Fan Live. My name is Anthony Krizwitz. Um, you can follow me on social medias at Anthony LiveNow. Um, this right here is a band that I found out about online. Uh I was gone down a rabbit hole of the gorillas recently, and I said if you like gorillas, check out Get Down Services, songs called Dog Dribble. Um I they're a fun band, they're a real fun band. Uh so give you check them out online. They're a I think they're out of Bristol. It's two guys. Good stuff. All right, I'm gonna turn that down. Well, you know, we this is interesting. So today we're gonna be talking about a few things. I think when I think of the Touring Fan Live and what the root cause of why I started the Touring Fan Live and where it came from, it was the idea of I was traveling a lot back in the early 2000s, 2010s to see music. And the touring fan live was based off the concept of going out there, seeing live music, what it meant to me, what it meant to people, what it meant to the artists that were touring, what it meant to the post artists, the artist, in general, everything that encapsulated being a fan that toured for live music and just being a fan of music and art in general. Um, and I feel as though we're in a really unique place right now with live music. I feel like there was a lot of great tours this past summer. I've seen a lot of great shows this past uh summer and past year, and uh, I'll talk a little bit about that later. And I mean, I'm traveling with my daughter in a few weeks to go to Portland to go see Wolf Alice and other artists we'll be talking about this evening. But I'm gonna get into a topic, you know, right off the bat. And I think it's making waves right now through most news platforms, and it's like the rising costs of concert tickets and what it kind of means for you and me. And then also we're gonna be talking about this topic of like going to shows by yourself or going with a friend or going with somebody else in general, and what does that mean and the psychology behind that, I guess. Um, and we'll kind of dig into that a little bit. But first, I want to get into this statement that was just re or I guess a quote that was just recently put out that's been all over online, which just kind of infuriated me. Um, and it was from the CEO of Live Nation, uh Michael Rapino, um, and where he basically said that uh he suggest well, he suggested that concert tickets should be priced higher. And with him having a net worth of almost a fucking billion dollars, it's pretty uh uh pretty interesting that he said that. But anyway, he said that concert tickets have been underpriced for too long. Too long. So let's break this down a little bit. Current ticket prices for major artists around the country are ranging anywhere from that$79 to$250 range, right? Now, there are some shows for smaller venues you can get in for$15 to$20, but we're mostly talking about your mainstream artists, right? So fans are usually spending anywhere between$100 to$500 for more. For instance, Bruno Mars tickets are at the premium of like$254, where you can go see like the Eagles or Blink 182 or uh Deftones for about$80 if you get tickets when they go on sale through Live Nation. Now, the resale market, of course, are gonna be extremely high and you're gonna be dealing with that. I mean, the the whole bot thing, which I thought by this point, 2025, would have been taken care of. But for the most part, what we're talking about now is when tickets go on sale, if you have the ability to get tickets through Live Nation Ticketmaster or any of these massive platforms you can get tickets for, what the cost is and how it affects your bottom dollar, right? So, but it's not even just like the the ticket price, let's let's consider all factors, right? The average tick, let's let's talk about what it would take if one person went to a concert and they bought a t-shirt and parking, right? An average t-shirt at a show is anywhere between 40 to$55. And then you're gonna park, and then it's gonna be anywhere from what,$20 to$50. So if you're going to a show and you're just going to get a t-shirt, a single t-shirt, where if you've been to any concert recently, you know most artists, I mean, Ohana's going on right now. Eddie Vetter's got probably six or seven different t-shirts, two different style of posters, four or five different hats, lighters, this type of thing. So we're just talking about one person, one t-shirt worn parking spot to just get in the door before you even see the artist, you're spending anywhere between 150 to$350. And that's a lot of money. I mean, the majority of people in this world, I mean, I know most of us are struggling right now. I mean, the I mean, everything's at an all-time high. And this is not a political statement by any means. I'm just saying in general, it is what it is. The times are the times. We can't make change of what the cost of things are. So before you even get in the door, now this is not talking about gas or anything else, the food beforehand, none of this. This is talking about getting to your seat, get in the door, to get in the door, ticket price, get a t-shirt, get a ticket, and then to park. You're looking at 150 to 350 dollars. Now, that's just one person. Now let's talk about if you go with a family of four. You're looking at like 600 to God,$1,400 to see an artist. Now, I understand the cost of things have gone up, and this is affecting the venues and the artists, but if you're talking about raising prices for someone who's making$50,000,$60,000 a year, how are they affording that? I mean, honestly, how are you affording that if it to go to multiple shows? To go to one show, it's insane. And for someone to sit sit there in an interview and that's worth just about a billion dollars and make a bold statement of stating, oh, ticket prices are underpaid. Well, let's kind of break this down a little bit, right? Let's talk about a hundred dollar ticket and where it's actually going. Because here's the thing: I'm not mad at the artist. And after doing my homework on this and trying to understand where the money goes and how it affects people and how it affects the artist and the venue, this is when I kind of it was tricky on things. So let's delve into how a hundred dollar ticket, where the revenue goes into the artist's hand and where that affects them. Because here's the thing: realistically, the artist isn't making a lot of money, not making a lot of money. They're making their money on the merch sales and they're gonna make money on appearances. They're not making money on the actual concert when it comes to the actual ticket price. Let's break it down. So this comes from um looking at a Coldplay. This was a breakdown of a Coldplay concert ticket that I found online for a hundred dollar ticket. Now, this isn't their premium ticket. This isn't one of their GA tickets or lower floor tickets. This was just around the bowl in Nashville. A hundred dollar ticket, the ticketing and services fees was$22. The venue and production cost was$30. Right there is$52. The artist's initial share is$48. Now, the artist touring expenses is$40. The$40 goes into security that goes into the gas to get to the venue, that goes into the any of their crew, the handling crew, anything of that nature. The artist themselves walks away with final profit of roughly$8 a ticket. Now, yeah,$8 times how many, it's a good, it's a good chunk of change. But when you're talking about the overall$100 and where it's going, the majority of the cost of it is going to the venue. The ticketing and the service fees, more than half is going that way. Now, when digging deeper into what was said by this uh Michael Rapino from uh Live Nation and kind of digger digging deeper into it, he is really wanting more money from the ticket sales to go back to Live Nation. He talks in multiple interviews about marketing cost and the cost of venues and providing a better structure for fans. Now, let me let me understand this. So you want to raise the cost of things to give us a better, I don't know, experience. But he never explains to us what that experience is or how it entails is gonna benefit us to spend more money. And even if you raised it by 10%, so now we go to 110, right? Okay, it's only ten dollars. Now let's talk about how that affects everything else.$10 now goes into$40 for four tickets, and then it always seems like every couple years they're always raising prices. The average ticket sale has gone up to 32% in the last five years. What's crazy to me is when Pearl Jam came out of COVID and went on tour, the ticket prices went up to 39%. For an average, this is once again, these are the costs of tickets getting them when they go on sale. I remember back in 2006, you could get a ticket$50,$40,$60. And when you were getting into$70, you were getting great seats. Now I know this is 20 years ago, and I and I know that the world changes, but also you have to look at the circumstances around us. It just it makes no sense. And it's just so funny to me that someone worth a billion dollars can be like, yeah, you know, at one billion dollars leaves the fans should be paying more for live experiences. We're shrunken financially. And for someone like Rapino, the impact of these prices is is is is ridiculous. We're grappling with financial difficulties, raising ticket prices can lead to empty venues. Empty venues leads to less profit shell to the artist. It is insane to me. When I went and sort of Def Tones in um uh a couple weeks ago, I went to go see the opening act idols. The it was supposedly a sold-out show. Now, the other thing that we could that we can go by this is a lot of the tickets are scooped up by scalpers. We know this. This is just something that's been going on for years. So realistically, the price of the tickets already been covered. Like it's done. If it's sold out, it's sold out. But I will tell you there's a lot of empty seats in there. When the floor was supposed to be sold out, there was a ton of room in the back end. So then that made me start thinking. So let's say that scalpers continue to buy up all the tickets, right? And the resale value, they're not selling them. Well, then I started doing some research. So I kept an eye out the other day at Starlight Theater, uh, Nathaniel Ratcliffe um in the night sweats, I believe it was. There was a total of 611 tickets still for sale one hour before showtime at the Starlight Theater here in Kansas City. Now, three days prior to that, there was roughly about 800. And then they they went from being about$60 a ticket to$18 a ticket. 30 minutes before the show the doors uh was show started, they had tickets for$8 a piece. Before the cutoff of being able to sell tickets last minute, they still were at that low price, but they were still not being sold. So that makes me think then, is it gonna get to a point where the scalpers are not gonna buy up the tickets? Because here's the thing I saw a picture from that show and there was a lot of empty seats of that show as well. But we can get to a point where the scalpers are buying up so much of the tickets that the money is going to the artist and the empty venues are empty, and then the scalpers realize, hey, we're not making money because we're buying up these tickets and then they're going in the red. Now, in the grand scheme of things, if they're buying tickets at$40 a piece for, for instance, or let's say$100 a piece to keep it that$100 number, and they're reselling them for$300 a piece, right? And they're making a$200 profit. And let's say they buy a thousand of them and they sell$600 of them. I guess in theory, if you do the math, which I'm it's I'm not mathing right now, I guess you're still making a profit, even though you're eating the rest of them. But at what point do you realize, like, hey, we're still in the red, we're not selling everything. So let's say at some point scalpers back off, and then ticket prices increase, right? And yeah, I guess it could you could say there's more mark, there'll be more tickets for the fans. But if you're still selling tickets at a at a at a high premium, and that's just for regular seats, not the lower level, which I which drives me nuts when you look at Ticketmaster, how they turn around and they do premium seating, where basically they find areas that are a hot seller, grab a couple of seats, and then mark those up themselves to sell out, which is absolutely crazy. At what point do we just say enough is enough? There's going to be empty stadiums at some point. It's just it's just bound to happen. It's gonna collapse. And then if if tickets are not selling and artists are not making money, they're not gonna tour. There's gotta be a fine line of how to make this all work. And I'm not sure what the answer of that. I have no idea of it. But what the thing that aggravates me the fucking most about all of this, and it just drives me insane, is that somebody can sit in their ivory tower high up worth almost a billion dollars, look down on the people that are are basically he's making the profit from and say you're not paying enough. If that's not greed at its max, I don't know what is. I mean, it it it it's just so insane to me to think that artists are now looking at this and saying, I mean, you know, why are we doing this? I'm gonna let me see if I can pull up the stats on that. Because it just it was just a quote the other day that also made me realize like maybe I should see um maybe I should see him before this is like the la if this is the last you know US tour, like maybe maybe this is something to say. Um, let's see here. Uh Shirley Manson. Oh, here we go. Got it. Shirley Manson explains why garbage will never tour in the U.S. again. Blains the thievery of Hmong record industries. Last month before uh kicking off their happy endance for garbage announces will likely be the last be the band's last US turn. We haven't played an extensive headline tour like this one in the States for almost a decade. They wrote in a band's uh shared statement on Instagram. If the truth be told, it's unlikely we will be we will play many of the cities on this tour again. We're going out in style and we're hoping you would join us. That's life, my friends. Nothing stays the same forever. Everything must change, all but fill things come to an end. We love you. Uh let's see. We as a band, uh let's see. Uh why then recently asked in DC why they forgore uh will go forego future headline tourings. We have a band has this uh have decided that due to the basic economics of the music industry, that we have to circulate uh curl it curtail curtail. I can't fucking read our headline touring business. She said, uh, it has, thanks to thievery of record industries, made touring very, very difficult. We're not complaining. We've had a fucking great run. I bring this up only because my concern, of course, is for young musicians who go out there and tour. They're holding down jobs, they take two weeks off of work, they go out in the country, sometimes they're sleeping in their van, sometimes they're staying in really, really dodgy so-called motels, and it's dangerous and it's really unacceptable, and it really has to stop. Whatever's going on, it really has to stop. It's unsafe and it's unacceptable. So we have to decide. The economics have become unmanageable. So this is kind of the last time we've decided we're going to get on a bus and just tour all over North America. It's a fantastic privilege, and it's so beautiful and exciting and amazing, and all the more so because I doubt that we'll do a tour of this size ever again. She also went on saying, We all feel that we've been so immensely privileged and we've enjoyed unbelievable support from our fans from you. At times in the music industry, they've told us we're old, we're over, nobody's interested, no one gives a fuck. Nobody wants to play us on the radio, nobody wants to interview us. And then you all came along. You were like, get behind us, Satan, and we won't forget it. So you know, once again, they're not making enough money on the road. And I know people are gonna be like, Oh, that's ridiculous. They they they've made so much money and this and that, and they're a successful band. But realistically, artists are now just saying, Enough, I can't do it anymore. Some bands that were playing huge venues 10 years ago are playing smaller ones because they can't fill up those large venues like they did 10 years ago. Black Keys a couple years ago had to cancel a bunch of shows because they couldn't fill up arenas anymore. The tickets were too expensive. Now they're playing smaller arenas at a cheaper to at a cheaper price point, which you know, there's benefits that as well. Hey, I get to see them in a smaller concert into the minute arena. But the sh size of tours of small are getting smaller. Some of the smaller cities not getting shows anymore because there's just not enough money to be made. So to Michael Rapino who thinks that, hey, let's raise ticket prices, yeah, that sounds great. You're a fucking idiot. Explain to me how raising the prices while majority of America is just getting by makes any sense. Explain to me how artists who are selling out arenas are not making enough money to make it economically beneficial for them to continue doing this. Explain to me why artists that were selling out massive arenas 10 years ago that still have a massive following now are not playing large arenas anymore and playing small ones because fans can't afford those tickets. But yet they're underpaid. No, what the problem is that you're a greedy son of a bitch that all he cares about is lining his fucking pockets. You're the problem. Has been and always will be. The problem with it is you and you alone. You can't get enough. You are a hoarder of money, and that's all you care about. And until someone stands up and does something like garbage is doing and stuff like that, and realistically, here it is. It's one band, right? Uh, we're we're just not gonna tour over here anymore. We're not gonna headline. Maybe they'll do festivals. They ain't gonna do they're they're not gonna go. You wanna know why? Because people like you make it hard for them to do that, and it sucks. It really does suck. It really does. All right, let's let's shift to something else here. Now, I think one thing that over the years as a fan, I've gone to a lot of shows with large groups of people, me and a friend, and just by myself. And I think there's benefits to all of that. And I've always wondered like, what is the best way to go to a show? Is it alone? Is it with another person? Is it with a group? So let's kind of look at that, shall we? So I for one like the ability of sometimes going to a show by myself. I like the fact that it could be a last-minute just pickup. There's been plenty of concerts that have come through Kansas City that of artists that I've kind of followed ticket prices, and if ticket prices drop down, and maybe I just like a few songs, it's easy for me to jump in, go there. And the things that I see when I go to shows by myself is like, hey, you get to not only just enjoy the uh the music, but then you get to like just kind of be free willed. You want to be up front, be up front. You don't have to worry about like appeasing somebody else, you don't have to worry about things. You can kind of just be free-willed, which is nice. You also get the ability of having either a just enjoying it by yourself, shutting down and enjoying the music, or b like opening up to a community you probably don't even know about. You know, one thing that I've learned from a friend of mine that I've gone to a lot of shows with is like his ability to be in a line of people that neither one of us know. And by the end of the show, he's talking to people like he's known him for 10 years because he likes to get wrapped up in that community and that sense of music. And it's kind of infectious. But I will say this there's plenty of times where I'm just like, I don't want to talk to nobody. I just want to enjoy this moment. Music means things to different people, and sometimes to experience it in different ways is unique to that person that's listening to it. So going to show solo has been enjoyable. I've gone to quite a few here in Kansas City where, like I said, I've gone last minute, gone to the venue, walked in, got a t-shirt, maybe didn't get a t-shirt, got a beer, maybe didn't get a beer, walked down, listened to the music, and left. Last two uh last week I went and I went to the Deftone show and I went to Sir Idols. Idols is a band that I have wholeheartedly fallen in love with over the last year. They're very fun, politically driven, hardcore music that they are putting out that they believe in and that they take a stance on is infectious and enjoyable. I've been wanting to see them, and then I saw they were opening up for Deftones, a band that I'm not real familiar with, and I know I'll get shit about this because I've been getting shit about it on my social media when I said I left after three songs. Um, but I went to go see Idols. I went by myself, garbage ticket a few hours before the show, the door hit. I got uh the last like the last seat right before uh the band walks out on side stage. And um, when idols came out, it was just me. And if you've ever been to a show with me, or you know anybody's ever been a show with me or heard anything, I am just I'm a moving machine. Like I, when if it's a song I know and love, I'm gonna bounce up and down, I'm gonna jump, I'm gonna move. Like, I just like music just does that to me. It's almost like I get possessed by the music and I do whatever, and I love it because it just makes me free. The one thing I've said multiple times is and I what I love about music and being in an environment where you can just be yourself is that the room's full of different people, full of different people of different ethnic and ethnicities, different religions, different backgrounds, different political stances, but everyone's there to see the band, and that and that's what's fun about it. And I just feel free in that moment. So during idols, I'm I'm jumping up and down, I'm in the moment, I'm loving it. The band it was amazing. It was such a religious experience in the sense of being open and free and just not caring. And it was awesome. Now the other side of going to shows alone is I've made and that that show, by the way, I didn't talk to nobody. I literally went to dinner, I went to the show, I got a t-shirt, I went sat in my seat, listened to idols, listened to three Deftone songs, and I left. And it was a perfect evening for me. Couldn't have loved it anymore. Now I'm gonna bring you back to a moment that I to this day am just so grateful for. April 2020 of 2016, I went and saw Pearl Gym in Hampton, Virginia, went by myself, and this was the first time I've ever camped out to get rail for a show. And when I camped out to get rail for the show, um I had a tent, we pulled up to the Hampton Coliseum, which is this amazing venue, and I got put in between a gentleman from Georgia and a gentleman from South Carolina. And did I and in this moment we became friendly, a lot of things happened, we joked, got to know each other. Um, we all got a moment of kind of being upset because they had canceled the next day's show, which was in North Carolina. So a lot of us jumped on going to see South Carolina. And I love this moment of all of us camping out, waking up, enjoying the moment, being there, being part of like getting in a merch, enjoying what Pearl Jam was, enjoying the community, really being out open, talking to people. It was great. Two days later, I go to South Carolina. I'm like, I'm gonna camp out for this show as well. And then I ended up being between these two people again. And those two people were Darrell, who I've now traveled and seen Pearl Jam with many of times. He knows my family. He's become like an uncle to them. Um, and then to my other side was a gentleman named Ricky and Scott. And those two gentlemen I've been to multiple shows with. Um, in that South Carolina show, that evening we were camping out, we went to Mellow Mushroom, ended up winning a contest together that ended up paying for our beers and pizza. Um, and I've made so many great memories with these people. And it was because I went to a show and I did something different, I was just opened and up. And I got to know the community and I got to make friends, and it was a cool experience. It was something totally different. But that was the cool side of like going by yourself because there was no planning. It was just like, hey, it is what it is. I can either be open or it can be closed down. And I've been able to enjoy both of those sides of that. So I think that's kind of cool in its own sense. Now, going with a group of friends has its ability of being positive as well. I've gone to shows where I've gone with, I don't know, four or five different people. We went sore a band went down into the GA together, danced together, arms over each other, enjoying the moment, understanding that we all have this community communicate community and feeling and emotion towards the music that's being played to us, and it's enjoyable for us. And we get to experience that together. And that's a whole total different experience as well. So there's always these different sides of things of how that could be done. Now, there's also negatives to all sides of this, right? When you go in with a larger group, you know, there's always gonna be the one person that wants to be in control, there's gonna be the one person who disagrees sometimes, and sometimes it's not like this, but for the most part, it typically you're having different personalities, and sometimes that can be unenjoyable. And then, you know, sometimes plans don't go as well because you have so many hands in the cookie jar and everyone's trying to, you know, maybe get that cookie. So there's that. But then there's also the memories you're gonna have for the rest of your life. So it's always that difference. Now, also going with a group, you can split a hotel, which also brings a cost down, which is always enjoyable. You know, going out, getting food, sometimes spitting the bill and getting something charitable bring costs down, which is, you know, in this market and day and age, definitely helps. I think with mental health too, having people around you, especially in a moment where if you can't handle being by yourself, going to a show together and enjoying something that is something you love and the people you're with love, I think that's good for your mental health too. I mean, if you think about it, like there is people out there that maybe don't have live in an area that, you know, I guess you maybe don't there's not people that like a band that you like. So maybe finding people that you can travel with to go to a show and then enjoy that moment with them can be beneficial. And I think that is that's good for your mental health. I mean, I think that's smart and it's really good in a way that you just feel relaxed and you don't have to be stressed out because some people can't do a show by themselves. Now, I will say there's another way of going to a show that I highly recommend, and that is being not connected to the show. And let me explain. Being 40 years old, I've been to hundreds, if not a thousand shows in my life, and I'm always in thralled by the artist and the band and the environment around it. But how many shows have we gone to where you've gone with somebody that you're not attached to the band and the artist? I've gone to a lot of shows with my daughter where I've picked the artist that we're going to see because it's a female-driven artist, and I want her to be a part of that so she can see another female artist performing in a way that makes her want to do what that artist is doing. My daughter plays drums and sings, and I want her to be able to see other female artists do that so it gets them connected in a way. I feel I'm always about energy, and I feel as though if you put them in a position where they can feel comfortable in that, it opens them up to. That um and I got to see I'll never forget it was a sh the band called Slaybells. Um I found them online, I showed them to my daughters a couple years ago, and we went to the show. I spent more time people watching and seeing how this music made them feel in a way, and how it made my daughter feel, and her interaction with the music and her interaction with the artist on stage and everything, and and how it made people feel. That was infectious. And I don't do that often, it's not something that I'm just like, hey, I'm gonna go to a show that I don't know anything about, and it's not something that like I do often, but when I do it with my daughter, it's amazing. And we did Olivia Rodrigo last year, and that was something special. Like, I'm not an Olivia Rodrigo fan by any means. I enjoy her music because my daughter enjoys her music, and I've really started enjoying like in the process of watching her like become her own person, pick her own music, and want to go see them live. Going to Olivia Rodrigo and seeing this crowd of anything from seven years old to 40 years old, being so excited about seeing this artist and like their interaction with this artist and like the love and the way they just like showed it and their dancing and the way they interacted. That's a whole different like way of seeing a show. Like not going solo, not going with a group, but just kind of going to go. And just being like I guess like connected to it in a different way. That was unique in its own sense too. Like, I thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed that. And now we're just so different. There's no right or wrong way to go to a concert. Like, I think there's music in in Texas or you know, just drives us in so many different ways. There is no wrong or right way. But I you know, no matter what, just go to the show. If you can afford it, which I think is a big topic of today, go to it. Music is so like good for the soul and the heart, and it makes you feel something, and it makes you feel alive, and it brings you together with people that you probably would never get together with. And I'm not saying make friends with the person to the left and right of you, I'm just saying in general. Being around people you probably wouldn't afford. Once again, you're in a room. Thirty thousand people. Most of those people are in that moment. That's what's important. So I think that's pretty awesome. I think the next topic will bring up is like traveling for an order. I think that's the next one. Next episode we'll talk about traveling for the goods and the bad. But for this episode, I think that I think I think for this topic that clears it up. I think that makes sense for everything. I think that does it. So yeah, so there's no right or wrong way to go see a band. I I think, you know, we're all gonna have our different opinions on what makes the most sense for it and stuff, but I've I've done it all, I've seen it by myself, I've seen it with people, I've gone to a show that I had no connection with, and I've enjoyed it all. So Alright, now let's get into the last topic of the show, which is the summer is behind us, the fall is in front of us, even though we're like we're still wearing shorts and short-sleeved shirts. Like the weather has not changed, which drives me insane. I am all about wearing a hoodie and shorts. I want a ban hoodie on and a pair of shorts, and I'm living my life. And I'm it's still too hot out to put a fucking hoodie on. I swe I'm sweating my ass off. Um, but this past summer, I went through, I listened to Spotify. It's how I listen to my music, I enjoy the platform, I really enjoy the way they're the it's easy to navigate. I like the I just like the way it looks, I like the AI features on it, I enjoy it. I know that talking about artists and getting money, I know that listening to music digitally isn't the most beneficial for artists, but for me, this is the easiest way for me to listen to music. So I went to Spotify and I found the six most played songs that I listened to this past summer from artists that came out with that music in 2025. And here are the six songs that I think you should listen to based off the listening that I did this past summer. So let's play the first song. So this is an artist that um real familiar with on the show we've talked about in the past. This is Liam Finn, the and this song is called The Howl. Um, came off his single, The Howl. Um, you might know Liam Finn as a son of Neil Finn's uh Crowded House. Um he also tours with Crowded House, um, but he's he's been making a name for himself ever since he really opened solo with Eddie Vedder back in the early 2000, uh 2008-2009 on the solo tour. His ability to be a one-man show on stage is just something amazing. And the howl of the must-listen, it's all about feelings and longing and self-refle uh uh reflection. Um, and I really feel like Liam's lyrics hit hard. His vocals are very angelic, and they have this way of like making you just feel I don't know, it's very it's all angelic and it sticks with you, you know? Um, and it's a mix of like modern and classic vibes with the way it's being played and echoey, and it's this dreamy atmosphere. And if you hadn't heard it before, you need to edit to the playlist. And if you've never heard Liam Finn before, two things. One, go deep. Dig deep in his discography. Discography, absolutely just great music for so many years. He's a great one-man band, but he's also a great just like artist in general. He's so talented on so many different levels of playing different instruments and vocally range and his vocal range. He just makes music that makes you feel something, and that's what I love. He's been a part. Oh, actually, no, jumped ahead. Actually, no, we'll go with this. Um, been on the show before. Um, he was originally Paul in the tall trees. Um Paul, I always butcher his last name. Uh it is Scadala? Scala Scalada? It's S-C H A-L-D-A. Um, originally from New York City, uh, lives down in Texas now, and he went from Paul in the tall trees to just being a solo artist, and I just love his music. Let's play his music. Paul used to be a backup singer for Charles Bradley, Rest in Peace. Um, he's got vocals of an artist coming out of the 70s.
SPEAKER_04:You know, a woman's down.
SPEAKER_01:The song's called Let Me Be. It was a soul, it was a single that came out this past summer.
unknown:You know, baby I'll let be around.
SPEAKER_01:And I mean, it just has this gentle melody, and his voice just wraps you up in warmth, right? If that makes sense. And I find the lyrics are all about finding yourself and and being true to who you are. I mean, and listen to this, I mean this way.
SPEAKER_04:You know we'll never be apart. So when you feel in love, feel in love, double it gone, double it gone, double-beep, baby. Slippy bee.
SPEAKER_01:I've said this about his music in the past, if you've listened to the show before, that I feel as though he was made to be an almost a movie score. His music and his melodies and his like almost like vocal interpretation of things and the way he sings, it just hits you in a way that almost makes you visualize stuff, in a way that almost, like I've always said, I feel as though his music's made to be in a Quentin Tarantino film. I don't know how we make that happen, but it deserves that. He is so talented, his there's just not many artists out there that have a vocal range like him, and it's a lost art.
unknown:Don't go.
SPEAKER_01:I feel like this song is like almost a self-worth anthem. Um, it's an intimate, like making it like be yourself, and I love that about him. So if you've never heard this, check him out online. Um, we also have if you search Spotify, the Touring Fan Live Summer 2025, all these songs will be on there. So give him a listen and then also go down a rabbit hole. Listen to uh Paul and the Tall Trees, which I've said in the past is absolutely amazing. We'll go from there. Um now let's go into something totally different. The band I'm gonna play next is um very much like a hardcore band um called the Viger Boys. Uh the song's called Man uh Made of Meat. And this is called this off the album Vagger Var Viger of Boys. So it's a Vagger Boys just with the A move to Boys. Um this band's from Stockholm. They've been they're a post punk, uh they've been playing since 2015, and their music is electrical. Uh this is such a fun track. The title along grabs your attention, right? I mean, fucking cold man-made of meat. And it's just making fun of masculinity and her like tech-obsessed world. Um, the lyrics are like a balance of humor and serious topics, and the rhythm, it's so infectious and it's a fun workout song. Um, and it will get stuck in your head for sure. So uh give it a listen.
SPEAKER_03:I have a job in that to be a man that's made up.
SPEAKER_01:I got to see Viger Boys open up for Queens of Stone Age a few years ago, and that's how I found out about them. And ever since I saw them live, I've been just addicted to their music and they're almost like playful, rebellious, you know, post-punk music that is just not around as much anymore, but I feel as though it has been rising more and more, and you're seeing more of these bands come out of the woodwork and become more popular to, you know, the younger generation, because in the grand scheme of things, the bands have to appeal to a younger generation for them to kind of have longevity. It just makes sense because that's just how bands grow in their own sense. So, and a lot of times for the last probably 10-15 years, it just hasn't happened. But I feel like Viagra Boys is one of those bands that are just grabbing the attention of a younger generation, and it's just really good. So if you haven't heard of them, uh check out Viagra Boys. This is again once uh Man Made of Meat, and this song is just so much fun. Great workout song, a lot of upbeat and um just kind of just different, right? Now, the next song is from an artist I'm actually gonna be traveling to go see here in a few weeks. Uh, the artist is called Wolfallis. I've I've seen the band uh many of uh many of times. Well, I say many of times, twice. Um, and this song is awesome. This is the single off of the uh new album. The lead singer Ellie's voice is uh is mesmerizing. It's it's hard to find artists that would be able to hit the vocal range she does on every song. I feel like the lyrics are taking on a personal journey about like love and self-discovery, and the production's on point. Like it just sounds so good, but just listen to our vocals change here, ready? With them touring the United States right now, if they're coming into a town close to you, I would 100% recommend going to see them. Um I feel like every time I've heard a new album, I'm just waiting for them to just blow up. They're they are an amazing band live, they are so well connected. The the new album has so many great new songs on it. Um, I'm addicted to another song called White Horses. Uh there's another song called The Couch that's really good. But this song, Bloom Baby Bloom, is just so much fun. I've worked out to the song a bunch of times, and it's just so infectious. Her vocal range, and I've said this already, but it's just amazing how she can go so high to like so low and just hit it in different ways. Wolf Alice is a force not to fuck with, and I really believe that this is just a must-listen. Now, the next song is uh off a soundtrack. Um Nine and Snails I got to see this past summer in Portland um on the PL back tour, and it is, in my opinion, one of their best tours that I've seen them on in a long time. I've seen most of their major uh US tours uh going back to the 90s when I went first saw them on my first concert. Um, Nine and Snails is just they are just the epitome of what live music should be. I mean, you're talking about an artist in his 60s that looks in much better shape than I am and just has just the balls of just fucking going out there and doing it. So recently uh Tron 2 is coming out, or Tron 3, or however you want to put it, but it's the new Tron movie is coming out in October, and Nine Channels was given the task of doing the uh soundtrack for it. Just like uh Daft Punk did the soundtrack to the last one, which was amazing. Nine Channels is this. So they put out a single this summer uh called As Alive as You Need Me to Be, and this is a banger. It feels like you're in an arcade in the 80s playing Tron. It definitely has classic Nine and Shnels vibes with it, but it feels futuristic like Tron should be with synth, the synths and everything. This is Nine and Snails.
unknown:The way it makes me feel infection, it's almost like a tone on the back of her.
SPEAKER_01:Trunk Trent's vocals have gotta be something studied because I don't know if there's been much change since 1989 off their first album to 2025 with the new song As Alive as You Need Me to Be. It's crazy that he's still able to be able to sing with this emotion and just raw intensity that he does now.
SPEAKER_00:And this live, 10 out of 10. 10 out of 10.
SPEAKER_01:I mean, this just is a powerful piece that showcases the artistic vision that Trent Reznor always has when it comes to his music. It gives you visuals in your head, it makes you feel something, it's and it just makes you feel as alive as you need to be, I guess, right? So definitely another just amazing track by Nine Inch Nails and another great song to listen to. Now, as someone that grew up in the early like in the 90s, and then also lived through the early 2000s when hardcore was at its peak, when it was the transition from emo to hardcore, and there was like all these hardcore bands out there, it kind of died off for a while. And it was it was heartbreaking because some of the best live shows I've ever been to were hardcore bands. There's just something amazing about being in a mosh pit with a bunch of people and having this emotion to it. But I feel as though there was this shift in music in 2007, 2008, where a lot of younger generations kind of went to more of the EDM or even the hip-hop or the rap side of things, which is fine. We all have growth in different music and that's fine. But hardcore definitely took a backseat to uh a generational shift in music listening. And I I just haven't seen a new band come through, you know, that has been amazing live, had that hardcore push. And then this past summer I was turned on to a band turn uh called Turnstyle. And I have been like addicted to watching the live videos that people have been posting of seeing them live, and the energy that this band puts out, and the energy from the crowd, and just seeing people jumping off stage and the mosh pits and the and and the stage diving, and just it is something I haven't seen in a very long time. And there is a song out there called Birds, and if you have not seen Turnstyles Birds Live, just go on TikTok and look at this band and what they are doing with a live audience right now. And I am this is just they're atop my list right now of bands I need to see live, but this is just showing that there are artists out there creating and doing things and getting people to be kind of wanting to be a part of that scene that I haven't seen in a long time. Scene, scene. This band is amazing, and this band, I feel as though, is starting almost a music revolution. The best thing with hardcore bands is is the brakes and how it changes and listen to what they're able to do. This is I've been listening to Turnstyle on like repeat for weeks, months, and I am just addicted. And what drives me nuts is I'm literally traveling out to Portland to go see Wolf Alice, and on the same day Wolf Alice is playing in Portland, Turnstyle is playing in Portland, so I don't know when I'll get to see them, but I'm very much looking forward to what they're able to do and see them live. But this song in general is a fantastic example of blending punk energy with catchy melodies, and this is a nail in the head for that, and just a transition to what hardcore music's about. It's a feel-good vibe that just makes you want to move. I mean, that's uh just kind of what I'm doing. I mean, you know. Um so definitely give them a give him a listen too. So, once again, you can check out all these songs on the Touring Fan Live Summer Playlist 2025. Uh the Touring Fan Live Summer 2025 playlist. You can check it out on Spotify, and it was the Howl by Liam Finn, um, Vagaboy is made of meat, um, Paul Let Me Be, Wolf Alice, Bloom Baby Bloom, Nine Inch Nails as Live as You Need Me To Be, and Turnstiles Birds. So that is that. That is a wrap. And then also I did start the show off uh talking about many topics. Like I said, the next uh episode we will dig into uh, you know, traveling. And you know, traveling to see a show, traveling with a band, and other topics in general, hopefully maybe more positive ones, instead of this negativity of trying to raise ticket prices, which you know aggravate all of us and make us re-uh think about going to see an artist live, which we shouldn't be. We should be supporting music because if it makes us feel good and it keeps us sane, which I feel like music does, and as an outlet for us to just be free and be our own selves and be around people with like-minded ideas, um, it's a good thing for us mentally and uh and physically. So, with that being said, I am gonna say uh thank you so much for t tuning in to the Touring Fan Live. My name is Anthony. You can follow me on all social medias at uh Anthony Live now. And this once again is Get Down Service Dog Dribble.
SPEAKER_02:On the up and then escape my proof is reality blur, and I'm skipping on the truth, push away, I'm supposed to be close to even the moving cords with the scan.