Simple Minds is touring the US, and I've concluded that whoever booked the tour is absolutely delusional.
I like the band. I saw them on the Sparkle in the Rain tour -- 1983ish? -- and later, post-Don't You Forget About Me, probably 1986 or so. I should be the exact demo they are targeting with this tour.
Here in Phoenix they are playing the big shipty outdoor amphitheater. It's way too big for them, and every time I have gone there I have vowed never to return.
In Los Angeles they are playing the Forum. The biggest place they've ever played there is the Greek.
In Seattle they are playing the Climate Pledge Arena, the home of the Kraken. Capacity is 18,300. The largest place they have ever played in Seattle is the Paramount Theater, capacity 3,000.
The best seats at the different venues are around $350 and up.
Tickets have been on sale for a week. That Seattle arena is going to be absolutely empty. Sales look terrible.
What the hell are they thinking? Simple Minds had been a non-entity in the US for 40 years. I'm not even sure most of their recent albums were even released here. So now they are booking a tour and trying to place places that are literally five times bigger than where they played at their commercial peak?
Just bizarre.