Claiming to have got the idea long before the pandemic, the 'Hello It's Me' singer stresses that he can offer work to even more musicians and crew workers by keeping concert experience in one place.
- Mar 2, 2021
AceShowbiz - Todd Rundgren dreamt up with the idea for his virtual Clearly Human tour in a bid to help combat climate
While countless stars have joined the virtual bandwagon due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which has prevented them from playing in-person gigs, Rundgren told Forbes that he actually formed the concept for his tour long before the first strains of coronavirus caused havoc around the world.
"One of the principal reasons why I started getting these ideas was actually climate change - and how it was effecting everybody’s ability to travel," he explained. "What happens if there’s like a polar vortex splintering, or whatever that is now, and there’s ice storms all across the southeastern United States, and you had a tour planned? What do you do now? Because you can’t get there. I had been thinking about it in the back of my mind. It was like, “What is your backup for this?” Because climate change is affecting everything. California was on fire all summer. Half of Texas is under water. You can’t think in the usual terms and expect to be able to deliver a product everywhere. So that was the first time I got that idea.
"But I thought, 'OK. The audiences - the local people - they can manage to get to the venue. So we’ll narrowcast to a venue somewhere...' Because most places have video now. So the fans could have the same experience that they normally would. They get out of the house, maybe go have dinner and go to the show. The only difference is we’re not physically there. We’re doing a show for them - but we’re not physically there. Then of course the pandemic happened and now the audience can’t get to the gig either! So that’s how this concept got fully developed."
The Hello It's Me star added that having a virtual tour also means he can offer work to even more musicians and crew workers, because everything for the unique concert experience stays in one place.
"One of the advantages of not traveling is that you can have a bigger band," he added. "And there’s not only the people that are standing on the stage. Look at all of the support and infrastructure that goes with all of that. Imagine having to tear that video wall down and all of this stuff to load it into a truck and drive to another town to set it up again. It’s about as high-res as they come. So the whole idea is to create an entire complete space that looks like a real gig."
For tickets to Rundgren's Clearly Human virtual tour, visit: https://nocapshows.com/artist?name=toddrundgren.
