Author: Aaron Martinez, Editor-in-chief
Lisa Frank. Platform sneakers. Wet ‘n Wild eyeliner. Scrunchies. Lip Smackers. The Spice Girls. These were a few of my favorite things. . . in middle school. I’ve grown out of the eighth-grade makeup and neon color scheme, but for one night last year, I was able to relive it all. The Spice Girls reunion tour was announced June 21, 2007, and like other girls who had grown up telling people what they want, what they really, really want, I was ecstatic.
At $90 a ticket for nosebleed seats, my friends and I had our doubts about the first Los Angeles performance at the Staples Center, but the preteens within us prevailed. Besides, this was a once-in-a-lifetime event. The combination of fog machines, laser lights and flashy high-booted costumes hinted at ’90s theatrics without coming off as too cheesy. But let’s face it: the cheesiness was half the fun of the Spice Girls anyway.
All the hype surrounding the success of the Spice Girls reunion has encouraged interest in boy/girl bands reuniting, though not all have made successful returns to the business. Pop predecessors New Kids on the Block have been hinting at a comeback on their website nkotb.com, asking fans “Are you ready?” Meanwhile, last year’s Unbreakable, the last album released by the Backstreet Boys, burned out before anyone noticed. Britney Spears’ comeback at last year’s MTV Video Music Awards and her subsequent tabloid-magnet lifestyle took a beating in the media; perhaps if she had waited nine years to start a new tour like the Spice Girls, fans would be old enough to feel nostalgic enough to go to her show.
Pop music isn’t the only genre bringing back old favorites. Political rockers Rage Against the Machine preceded the Spice reunion by playing together at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival last year as the first of several performances on the festival circuit. Van Halen’s reunion in September was so well-received that it was extended into this year.Van Halen’s current ticket prices reflect the dedication of fans, with general seating at Madison Square Garden in New York going for $100.40 and “Official Platinum Seats” going for $1,500.03 at ticketmaster.com.Other old favorites who made a return this past year were Led Zeppelin, the Police and the on-again, off-again Stone Temple Pilots.
Perhaps the most unique comeback performance will be that of the Grateful Dead, who are slated to reunite and play in support of Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama at a rally preceding the primaries on February 5. It is a bold political statement on the part of the band and it is more than great news for its following of loyal “Deadheads.”
As the reunion trend continues into 2008 with bands from our generation and that of our parents reliving their former glory, it is important to note that the hype surrounding the notions of a reunion mean more than the music that the band plays. Reunions are about the memories, good or bad, that the bands evoke. A reunion tour guarantees a little childhood transcendence, bringing fans back to a place and time thought long gone. Reunion tours are a once-in-a-lifetime chance to get a glimpse at a younger version of one’s self and, because of that, they mean so much more than just the music.
It’s true much of the aspects that made the Spice Girls great have changed from their last concert together in 1998, which came at the height of their career. The experience at the Staples Center solidified in my mind that going to the concert was the right thing to do; it was the only chance we would probably ever get to see the Spice Girls perform live. Honestly, does anyone see the Spice Girls having another reunion tour nine years down the road? They would be in their 40s and I would be 30 . . . but I’d probably still go to the show and I would probably still dress like Ginger Spice.
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