Let it not be said that the covid-19 era hasn’t had some slight upticks in the way that live shows were handled. While nothing beats the excitement of a real concert, the painful fact is that most of the concerts that I would like to attend are thousands of dollars away from me, often in different countries. The web streaming gig has managed to make these shows accessible to those without the financial or practical ability to attend such gigs for nominal costs.
It was two and a half years ago when the tour wherein Midge Ure was playing a set with the full “Vienna” album and highlights of the “Visage” album; both from 1980 first manifested. At the time I held no hope for seeing the show. Hoping that a CD might be released of it, but when the tour got scuttled in March of 2020, before its conclusion at the end of its OZ leg, it looked like that was the end of that. Like everything else, the great disruptor of 2020 brought the curtain down.
But by the end of last year Midge Ure had started his Backstage Lockdown Club on Patreon, where for a modest monthly fee, fans got two live acoustic sessions of 10-12 song length, Q+A and direct feedback from the very hands-on Mr. Ure. Word has it that the technically hands-on Ure had set up a very slick webcast environment so that he could still have some semblance of performances happening with a certain sophistication during the weirdness. Fun for some fans, but I’m not into Midge Ure without a lot of electricity. So I passed.
But it’s not much of a stretch to see that serving up a real gig like the unfinished “1980 Tour” that would be jam-packed with all of the music I was most interested in hearing Ure perform, and in the manner which I wanted to hear it could happen. To that end he’s hooked up with the Stabal platform to present his final “1980 Tour” performance on Friday, May 14, at 8:00 p.m. BST.
A glance at the last setlist of this tour revealed a setlist filled with exactly the music that I want Midge Ure to play… and “If I Was!” He started the last leg with “Yellow Pearl” and I’d pay the full price just to hear “Western Promise” live and half as hot as the LP cut! So I am very much in the target audience for this gig! Being that I am in a time zone which means that the live show will begin at 1:00 a.m. EDT I’m glad it’s on a Friday. And now that we have finally taken the step to an [old/used/”dumb”] HDTV, I can stream the ‘cast to a bigger screen than the 21.5″ iMac. So…what’s it cost?
- Livestreamed gig – $23.00
- above +/30 day pass/encore performance/documentary – $30
- above +/long sleeves polo shirt – $60
- Livestreamed gig//30 day pass/encore performance/documentary/tour jacket – $65
The pricing is good for me. The clothing doesn’t do much for me, though, so my only question is whether I go for the live show or the deluxe show with playback for 30 days. It’s kind of irritating about the encore [“The Voice” and “Hymn” in the last leg of the tour] being in the “executive version” only, but the ability to perhaps share the show within the 30 day window during a much earlier time with my wife just might be the thing. I’ll ask her if she’d like to watch and that will guide my hand. If any of this speaks to you like it does to me, then by all means hit that button and sign up for the Midge mailing list, and you’ll get the links sent out to you.
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Post-Punk Monk 
I was lucky enough to attend one of the gigs on this tour. If you love Vienna and the first Visage album plus the likes of Yellow Pearl this is a must see. Not so sure about the clothing on offer though!
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For the money involved it should really include a digital download. A bit much for me, not as price gougey as that new Prince set that was announced this week but…..pass. Reluctant, VERY reluctant pass but…
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Tim – I’m glad I don’t have any interest in Blu-Ray on the Prince set, which is bundled with vinyl too, for a Multiple Redundancy Package® which makes it very easy for me to just get the CD. That they have a full album from The Vault that was conceived as such is a no-brainer for me. I’m glad I’m not tempted in the slightest by the $100 box. As for Midge, I’m happy to play $23-30 to see this show. My ticket to see him the first time was only $20 and I didn’t buy any merch so I’m somewhat indebted to the man.
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I want the concert more than the album. I’m a sucker for covers and it’s got a lot of them.
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Tim – You’re not joking! Prince singing “More Than This!?” Can’t say I’m not intrigued. But I’ll hold out for the RSD 2xCD down the line.
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There is a fan made video of that on YouTube and the cover choice and performance land my seal of approval.
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Tim – Well, color me intrigued! I thought, how could it be bad?
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Tim, maybe you’re lucky enough to pass up on a once in a lifetime event from midge ure.
But not me.
I’m game.
later
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negative1ne – THAT’S the spirit!
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Not to dump on Tim — because I am reasonably sure this will someday be released as a Blu-ray/DVD — but $23-30 with not one penny of that going to TicketMobster makes this a ridiculously cheap “concert” ticket, particularly the replay for a month option at $30. I can essentially guarantee the tour version would cost at least double for a seat (and that’s before the “service” charges).
I have lots of performer friends who are doing similar things with their stage shows/Fringe shows/concerts to try and keep themselves afloat during this past year, and it has generally worked out well for me (I’ve seen several shows I’ve enjoyed very much, but have no need of a permanent copy — theatre is like that, ya know?).
Of possible interest to this group, the MST3K gang are gearing up for another season, entirely self-produced this time. While a DVD box will be on offer at a later point, presently they are offering online premieres of the new episodes when produced, and up to 30-day on-demand, so it seems like that’s a “thing” now.
I’m almost afraid of how much a typical concert will cost once things get back to “normal” — I’m rather enjoying having disposable income to drop on these interesting creative projects!
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