Farewell Tours?

I don't know about you, but I often find my mind wandering to odd thoughts during the day. Yesterday I was leaving work when the thought of Aerosmith doing a farewell tour crossed my mind. I swear - this is no exaggeration - I teared up a little. I truly worked myself into a tizzy over the thought of Aerosmith calling it quits. Then, I found myself wondering how many of the shows I'd attend on the farewell tour. As I (narrowly) avoided hitting a gaggle of geese in the company parking lot, I ran over the emotions I'd feel: excitement, sadness and longing.

Yeah, I'm nuts.

After I'd made it safely out of the lot (give me a break -- I work at a giant company so we have a huge parking area)  I started thinking about actual farewell tours. The ones that come to mind off the top of my head are Cher (who didn't actually retire), KISS (who didn't actually retire) and the Eagles (who didn't actually retire).

2008 brings a host of farewell tours. Some of the biggest goodbyes are for President Bush (yea!), George Michael (I'll be there!) and Paul McCartney (I'm skeptical this is his last go' round). Apparently AC/DC are planning a lavish farewell jaunt that will take them to all ends of the globe. When - and if - that happens, count me in!

I think farewell tours are more marketing gimmick than actual goodbye. Think about it: fans buy tickets for a "last chance" to see musical heroes rehash old tunes. I'm not so certain legacy acts, like Van Halen, Aerosmith or the Rolling Stones need farewell tours. They've been around for so long, true fans have likely had plenty of chances to catch them live. Since none of us knows when we're checking out, I suppose we should approach each day like our own personal farewell tour. Thoughts?

Here's Kiss performing "Beth" on their 2000 farewell tour.