Thursday, May 2, 2013

Crazy idea: Pop stars should offer matinee performances

At 50, I’m still a fan of popular music. But I’m not so thrilled about staying out late at concerts.
Earlier this week, I saw Rihanna in concert at Verizon Center in Washington, D.C., and didn’t get home until 12:30 a.m. If it had been a club show, I would have been out much later.
That got me thinking. Broadway shows have matinees. Why couldn’t pop music performers?
It wouldn’t even have to be the full-on show. These could be scaled-down productions, without dancers, fancy lighting, video backdrops and sets. It could be just the singer and her band or the singer and acoustic accompaniment. (Remember “MTV Unplugged”?)
These shows could be targeted at younger fans, parents and older fans. They could be advertised as clean shows without explicit lyrics. The performers would do the radio versions of their hits, just like they would for broadcast television. That would make parents happy. These stripped-down matinees could be sold as “family-friendly shows.”
Instead of a 90-minute production, it could be a 60-minute show with the performer doing hit songs as well as deep cuts from their albums. They would be low-key events, with the singer in casual clothes and sitting on a stool, possibly engaging in conversation with fans.
The matinees could be held in a smaller venue, something more exclusive, for which a premium could be charged.
They wouldn’t have an opening act. Maybe a DJ spinning tracks. Or a local radio station could host them.
I think they’d be very popular.

Photos: Sexy shots of Rihanna from GQ magazine

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