Does anyone know what going on tour is like?

Question

I'm supposed to go on tour in a couple weeks and I was just curious what it would be like...

Answer 1

Depends on the scale of a tour - just under a dozen of gigs or full 2 months on a road?.. Also depends on the nature of your creative activity. Theatrical performance is easier to bear but becomes boring fairly quickly. Touring with dancing company is physically demanding. Pop- and rock-projects are, daresay, the best & the worst at the same time.

Expect tiredness and growing stress: even if you can control yourself quite well others can show weaker endurance and thus worse sides of their personalities. Add (almost inevitable) drinking and other "methods of relaxation" - it IS fun but can be unpredictable.
There is another important factor of... how should I put it?.. emotional level. (Again, if we're talking pop-rock-stage). See, while doing gig you have to be over-emotional, sometimes freakish, etc. And off the stage you're supposedly back to your normal self. Such swings can put a lot of personal pressure too.

On the other hand, touring is great fun. You see places, you - c'mon, let's be honest! - do nothing except for your stage duties while somebody else is taking care 'bout the rest of your existence. If the folks you're on the road with are not complete morons, then there will be an avalanche of laughs, pranks, etc. Add media attention... ;)

All in all, consider it a well-paid holiday - I only wish you have a good company.

Answer 2

Touring can be very rewarding but you may have to find the rewards somewhere other than your paycheck. I toured for 11 months with the Wizard of Oz and got very little pay; however, I was able to send a little back and be able to buy a used car when I was through. On the other hand, I've now been in 45 out of the 48 continental states and Canda twice and Mexico twice. (The only three states I've not been in now are Maine, Delaware, and Utah). I've seen the Grand Canyon, Old Faithful, the Mighty Mississippi, White Sands, and Niagra Falls. I've also gone rock climbing in Wyoming and Montana, down a part of the Snake River with the river patrol in Idaho and Washington. I was in Boston for Easter, Omaha for Memorial Day, Seattle for July 4, San Antonio Labor Day, and Nashville for Thanksgiving. We made side trips to Vegas, NYC, and New Orleans. I've also seen the Corn Palace, the House on the Rock, and the Salem Witch Trial Museum. I saw an experimental theatre version of Baby With the Bathwater, a professional 1-woman show called A Woman of Independent Means, the Toronto company of Cats, and an out-of-town version of Year #! of Forbidden Broadway. I remember singing with a big band, partying with a rock band, and getting in free at a club because they thought we were "with the band." I've stayed in a high rise hotel in Toronto and in a Mom and Pop's motel in Bonner's Ferry, Idaho (complete with redwood paneling, down comforters, and a cold-as-@#^* mountain strean 10 feet in front of our door)

You know the old joke -- "What's the difference between a steel-belted radial and 365 used condoms? One is a Goodyear and the other one is a great year" Touring was a ******* great year!

Answer 3

If you're anything like me, you will get sick of it pretty quick. Sleeping on hotels, eating junk food, alot of boredom during the days.. living out of a suitcase..... all these things did not end up being much fun. But some people love the road life... bring books to read for the boring times! I hope you have a wonderful time!

Answer 4

depends on whos paying. if its a diy tour its long days of travelling in a van for no money and exhausting. but you get free beer.