True Fan?

Are you not a true fan if you like to hear your favorite band play their hits during a live show? Last night during Eddie Trunk Live, Eddie was chatting with Cinderella frontman Tom Keifer. Tom was talking about liking to play more obscure tunes once in awhile. Eddie then said… “I’m a true fan. I don’t like when bands play the hits.”

I about puked.

Seriously? Just because I like to hear the hits during a concert doesn’t make me any less of a fan. I’ll tell you one thing: I'd love for Motley Crue to play “Danger” but I know it won’t happen. By common economic principles, they need to play songs that charted, and that’s o.k. I’d be pissed if Motley decided to skip “Dr. Feelgood” or “Girls, Girls, Girls.” There’s a reason why those type of songs typically became hits in the first place: it’s because they’re damn good.

That said, I do love it when bands play an obscure track or two during live sets. It’s fun to see “die hard” fans go crazy, but I’ll admit these lesser known songs typically take a toll on crowd energy. Van Halen is a good example of this. Everyone and her sister knows “Runnin’ With the Devil” and a Van Halen concert wouldn’t be the same without the track. I can’t say the same for “Atomic Punk.” Yes, both tracks are on the same 1978 debut release, but one is played constantly on classic rock radio and the other…not so much. I saw Van Halen twice on their 2007/2008 reunion tour and both times, the fans went bonkers during the famous bass beginning of “Runnin.’” Not exactly the same scenario for “Atomic Punk.”

Does this mean those fans who were a little less interested in “Atomic Punk” were not true blue to Van Halen? Absolutely not. The next time you go to a show, look around. There will inevitably be someone who can sing every lyric of every song regardless of popularity. All the same, there will be someone who doesn’t know many songs at all. Each person still paid price of admission.

What do you think? Are you not a "true fan" if you like to hear the hits live?