At the Winsin Y Yandel concert at Summerstage last week, I hated em on sight. Why? They kept me waiting an hour and a half between sets. By the time they came on stage I was ready to rip their lungs out.
It is not that I am impatient -quite. I was once in line for 7 hours to see Bowie at Roseland and I was fine with it because I knew what time they were meant to open but the second they were one minute late, I thought I was gonna kill em.
I don't mind waiting but I don't like waiting past the time when they say they will be there.
In Keith Richard's Life he writes that fans don't mind waiting if a band is late on stage. He's wrong. We mind very much. It is his responsibility not to waste our time. If he says he is going to be on stage at 830p, he should not waste my life but be on stage at 830p.
Beyonce went on stage at 10p the other day for 7p door. What the hell is that? Why not a 9p door? Why not WARN US??? Really, if you're selling an SRO for over a hundred bucks why am I standing for hours waiting for you? A band has a responsibility to be where the hell they say they are… it makes me wanna puke when I KNOW I HAVE WORK THE NEXT DAY and the fuckers won't get on stage and do their job.
Yes, it's a job. I wish I could get away with showing up whenever the hell I feel like. But I can't. I have to be where I say I am going to be. I get paid lots of money to be a pro, to be where I am told to be. Why doesn't Keith Richard do the same???
It is not "rock and roll" or 'esprit de corp" or any such bullshit not to do your job. Beyonce is not Jesus, and I am not paying tons of bucks to twiddle my thumbs. And Wisin And Yandel? People were leaving early because they were fucked over by bad timing. They thought, how can a concert LAST SIX HOURS. Instead they missed half of it..
Start your bloody concert when you say you are.