Dedicated to the birthday week lovelies, Lady Wilder Smith and Young Lady Vivi Orzabal, plus dedications to the Curry family and Radio Bath who have been super supportive of the band and Travel Fans worldwide!
!!SO MUCH GRATITUDE!!
We got more than we asked for or expected from the band in the fourth quarter. The new music, more new merch, great notifications, email, reminders, tour schedule and the requested ticket options were incredible to say the least. These gifts were followed by a number of truly impactful and touching interviews with Roland and Curt. Big shout out to Gwen of TFF UK for often making sure we had those interviews as soon as we woke up. As far as the year goes, we had a ton of great gifts from the band’s families as well. Be sure to revisit their music and art noted in the Q2 & Q3 updates of this site. Shoutout to the Curry family for providing some great pieces from Raoul Orzabal’s artwork. Truly extraordinary! Also, big high fives to the families who bought their children tickets to the shows! There were lots of cool photos of kids getting their concert tickets for their birthdays and as holiday gifts. Proves how multigenerational the band is as we’ve noted for several years now.
The Second Single
Most of you have already heard it and play it often. For those that haven’t, it’s called ‘No Small Thing’ and as much as it has excited many, it has also flustered some. Thankfully, for most it was a “wow, they went there, good on them” moment. Not going to sit here and act like everyone embraced it immediately. After watching and reading comments for several days after it was released, here’s what several of us noticed. There were a number of men who said they didn’t “get it.” They questioned why the band did not (in their opinion) produce a “catchy pop song with a hook.” Dudes, since when have Tears for Fears produced music for superficial reasons? For some of us, we feel just producing pop for pop’s sake is a cheap distraction. Instead, the guys gave us a rich and bold song that acts as a mirror to look at ourselves – be we the problem or part of the solution (and or, may we dare say, the picked on – which in itself can make one think of how one can improve one’s situation). The song shows us who we are as a global community. This is what Tears for Fears have done so eloquently, in their way, for years.
It’s a very strong song and just like Darren Hull, moderator of the Tears for Fears Fan Forum says, (paraphrase) “get a good headset and have a listen – it makes all the difference.” And it does. The song is what you’d want in a strong smart global leader. If humans could embody this song, we’d be close to Utopia.
It came at a very auspicious time, as with The Tipping Point. The 3rd of December is a very tough day for a few fans. It’s the anniversary of family members’ passing, our condolences. The song thankfully comforted several of those individuals experiencing loss and we’re all just taking a moment to accept we’re in the middle of a world at a crossroads. We hope the band will include this song on the tour. We all need a moment of reflection as we enjoy our freedoms – or what’s left of them. *Several pieces of imagery in the song feature photos that coincidentally reflect recent laws that have caused major issues for some citizens or in some cases were created to protect the freedoms of others. The reactions that followed the song’s release revealed a lot about certain individuals – some of whom we may need to just stay away from because the root of their “anger” was inequality and that’s not the way of TFF or their music. Thankfully, as the weeks went on, posts emerged noting how people play the song daily, or in the morning and how it is the first song on their minds at the start of their day…and, by miracle, a lot of former critics said… “We get it now and we love it!” Thank goodness.
The Tickets & The 2022 Tour
We examined things that went well with the ticket buying process and things that may need to be addressed. The prices for the tickets ranged from the low $100s up to $495 before taxes and fees. The higher end tickets included some great incentives such as VIP entrance, lounges for some venues and the beloved soundcheck plus other gifts. This coincidentally matches a request made back in 2019. So that was a good thing. Many feel this offering will make up for the absence of meet and greets due to Covid. We can add this to what went right as we kind of got what we asked for two years ago. We got a presale code that allowed us to buy our tickets ahead of others. We did not have to fight with scalpers who often bought the tickets for $150 then drove the price up 300% on a third-party site. This also removed the need for those desperate to be able to see the band, from going bankrupt purchasing third party seats only to find out that some of them are not even valid tickets. It also eliminated the pain of sitting in a Ticketmaster waiting room one hour early only to still find that premium seats were completely gone. So we got a deal this year, gifts and great seats all for one price. Now let’s pray Covid and all its complicated restrictions are removed by then so we can go to the shows with ease and little to no anxiety.
So, what went wrong? Some fans reported they didn’t get the code until late at night. We don’t know why and we should really investigate what happened. Some thought they could only use the code once which meant they bought one ticket with the code and then fandangled a way to get tickets to other shows when they should have been using the same code for every venue. Many of us were online trying to explain to others and hopping on calls throughout the day to show other fans they can use the code and go to more than one show.
But overall, that code saved us! Would really appreciate that becoming a standard with the band and the ticket distributor.
A lot of us bought a lot of extra tickets because some just weren’t able to get tickets at that moment. We do recognise there was some sticker shock for some. Looking back at prices, $400 is the highest we’ve ever paid for a show in the past and that was 2017 when the guys tagged along with H&O (Shaky Knees $1000 each tickets were the exception as that was a 3 day festival with free beer all day). Knowing this, we have, as mentioned, purchased extra tickets. We distributed some already to those we knew needed a few more days. Here’s what tickets are left that we know of. They are all for face value, no one is selling for higher than they paid.
Reach out to us on Facebook if you need one of these. We’ll get you in touch with the original purchaser.
2 Orchestra seats for Atlanta
2 VIP for Cincinnati
1 extra non-VIP for Cincinnati
2 VIP for Cuy OH
1 extra non-VIP for Cuy OH
2 left side orchestra non-VIP San Diego (on hold)
2 center for Los Angeles
1 right center Los Angeles
2 VIP Irvine TX (Dallas)
2 extra Irvine
2 VIP Tampa
RSVP to the Show
Right now when you search Tears for Fears + city of the show you plan to attend on Facebook, it should produce an event page where you can note you’re attending. The purpose of the event pages are to help fans connect and travel together if they wish. These are fan generated event pages meant for fan generated fun.
Annual Holiday Song
Curt’s WamU video in Psych 3: This is Gus is the holiday song this year and it was so damn good, people took cold showers to calm down after watching it. That ice cream though… If you haven’t seen the new Psych movie featuring Curt and all his pals, you need to go watch it. It’s funny and you’ll be rewatching the ending if not the whole movie at least three times. It’s delicious! Here’s some behind the scenes chatter on it – minus Curt though, damnit – where is he in this!? And who is serving ice cream sandwiches?
More Music:
TFF Alumni member, Oleta Adams, had a great start to winter. She was featured in a holiday parade and also performed with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and IN UNISON choir. It was absolutely beautiful! Be sure to catch her on tour in spring 2022.
Michael Wainwright also has a new holiday song called ‘Don’t It Feel Like Christmas‘ and we’re super thrilled! Be sure to get your copy of that!
Libre Stone released a beautiful enriched black vinyl of their latest album Mark of Cain. It’s a real beauty. Like a black stallion horse, it’s got power and is an awesome album for a road trip. We’ll definitely be playing it as we get around town.
TFF for a Good Cause
The UK’s largest independent music therapy charity, Nordoff Robbins uses music to enrich the lives of people with life-limiting illnesses, disabilities and feelings of isolation. They are currently partnered with the band on this marvelous piece of art. It’s the audio from EWTRTW. The music therapist within the travel fan team, Deb, would be able to better explain how powerful music therapy is for patients. This is another amazing way to salute the band all while participating in a wonderful cause. It looks like all are signed and you can also choose framing depending on which option you pick. Be sure to have a look.
Next Steps:
So now, we count down to the 25th of February, an auspicious date. This is the day that the new album is released (and coincidentally the same date that the band’s SFTBC album was released in ’85). The Tipping Point will be available in full and our merch will be released from SandBoxLLC. If you haven’t purchased it, please do not hesitate because the album and merch might all be sold out by that time. Go ahead and grab your tour couture and garb now!
Also take time to listen to the interviews. There are many and they are so important to understanding the roots of the band if you have, for some odd reason, never done that deep dive. You will love them more and feel closer to your fellow fans as we surge forward in support of the band’s extremely healing work. Here are a few of the ones that really stood out:
Consequence of Sound – a second one
#474 Greatest Music of All Time Podcast
SDE – on how Tipping Point unlocked the whole album
Ken Bruce – BBC2 (all week featured Curt Smith from 2-7 Jan, 2022
Fans’ Reality
We have to understand we have a bit of a threat on our hands. While many are so eager to get the vaccine and said they’ll get as many vaccines as necessary, some people can’t do that. For medical reasons and more, some just aren’t physically able to take the current Covid vaccine. There’s also questions about the health and safety of vaccines and how many are too many. Therefore, a lot of Covid testing has to take place if current venue rules stay in place. Prior to the show, those without the vaccine(s) have to be tested and if they are positive they are mandated to rush away and isolate. What a heart crushing and horrible thing to endure. If you are for whatever reason testing positive (Vaccinated or not) you can’t enter most venues as of now – we hope that as this virus goes away the rules will change. Because, here’s the deal, you spend all that money on a great seat, you’ve got your tour couture on and all of the sudden you can’t even enter and are sent away like an outcast? We get it…health and safety first. We want everyone to be able to get to the show and actually get in. So, for now, consider isolating and testing two weeks to a month prior to the show. Make sure you’re in best health (take your vitamins, exercise, sweat in a sauna, eat more veggies, etc.) and ensure that you are travelling with healthy people. If you have to take a flight, be sure to wear a mask or maybe rent a car, disinfect it and drive to the venue yourself. Our goal is to get to the shows and actually enter, Covid free and spend the summer together.
Meanwhile, please know that we’ve got some great moderators out there in a few groups. Shoutout to the fan forum for providing a free ticket opportunity recently. The Travel Fans were approached by Live Nation for a ticket giveaway but as with all things we get band permission first before conducting giveaways in their name. We’ll let you know how that goes. Right now, interacting with fellow fans on Facebook and Twitter is enjoyable. Yes, sometimes there’s a lot of repeat information and often the same songs and photos show up but the moderators have been great about deleting things that were previously posted. The Travel Fan team and the TFF Fan Forum will continue with the Tears for Fears Tuesdays #TFFTuesdays. We’re chatting and happily highlighting cool things from the band. Be sure to join in and interact with other fans!
Be good to yourself, be good to each other! Thanks for reading! Have a great new year!
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