BOC: Stale setlist

[John A Swartz]

Steve writes:

>Frankly, I'm guessing that at this stage in their lives and careers,
their family lives are more important to them than the continued
"progress" of the band, and I'll be damned if I'll blame them for
that...  I'm not saying that they don't want to do new tunes or put
out that new album, but that there are obvious limits on their desire
to do so, and other matters that clearly take greater precedence.

Well, that makes sense . . . BUT:

At this point in BOC's career, they need to do something to ensure
themselves some sort of future, assuming that they intend to do this
bit for the foreseable future.  Their fan base is probably still
shrinking, to the point where I suspect that most of the folks at
their current shows have seen the band many times in the past.  How
much longer are these fans going to want to go to future BOC shows if
the setlist will be identical to the one they heard last fall, and
last spring, and the year before that ... o.k. you get the point.  The
hardcore on-line fans are screaming for new stuff, or bringing back old
stuff that hasn't been done in years (check out one of the AOL chats,
and discussions on the AOL BOC boards).  I'm sure the hardcore fans
that aren't on-line probably feel the same way.  And while there is a
small contingent of "new" fans (perhaps that just showed up at the bar
the night BOC played there, hoping to hear the next Alice in Chains or
something) that don't realize they're hearing what we've all heard for
years, I suspect that is a very small minority.

If BOC hopes to do more than play shows for another few years to even
smaller crowds than they currently do (possibly being the opening act
on some of these "classic rock" multi-act package tours), then IMHO
they need to do more than just tread water.  They need to generate
interest from new fans, and start catering a bit more to their current
(and ever-decreasing numbers of) fans.

As I say in the FAQ, "We watch . . . and wait . . . and pray . . ."

John