But what about those acts who acknowledge they have dedicated fans who see them over and over and over again and play accordingly. Springsteen does this. There are always people there to see him for the first time, but he plays to those people who know everything he’s done and will embrace the deep tracks.
Unfortunately, Prince thought people still needed to see him in high heels. If he’d switched to Reeboks, he might still be alive. But he wasn’t as misguided with his set list. He often liked to play as if he was in his own living room. He would pull old songs out of the mothballs and play them. He would switch up every concert and just choose songs to perform spontaneously and he would expect his band to follow along and to know all of them
How do you finally transform into that performer? When you’ve been around for 40 years and you have sold a record-breaking number of albums, why do you keep playing for those who are seeing you for the first time. You’re almost 80 years old. Stop creating your set list for new people.
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