Two major rock star deaths have marked the life of new promoter Viva Events.
In December, the company booked former Stone Temple Pilots singer Scott Weiland for what would be his final show, at Adelaide Hall, on December 1. Two days later he was found dead on his tour bus from a drug overdose.
Just over a month later, a relatively new project by David Bowie collaborators Tony Visconti and Woody Woodsmansey, Holy Holy, was scheduled to play the Opera House on January 12. When the pop icon passed away from cancer, the show turned into a memorial tribute and a second date was added. Both shows sold out.
The bookings are part of Viva promoter Dante Brando‘s plan to bring “legacy” acts who have not played Toronto in years to town for special gigs.
“I had a vision six months ago. I turned 45 and I was like, ‘You know what? I’m going to go after what I want to do in life,'” he tells NOW. “I want to bring back the legendary acts.”
Brando, who spent 15 years booking indie bands under the banner Music City, launched the music promotion company in October with the backing of five investors from Montreal and Vancouver.
His plan is to book 30 to 40 shows a year across Canada. Up next are two dates (Toronto and Montreal) with German punk icon Nina Hagen in February, three in March with disco and dub queen Grace Jones – whose last performance in Toronto was at the Art Gallery of Ontario in 1998 – and three in May with new-waver Gary Numan.
“I call [my approach to booking] the jaw-drop factor,” says Brando. “I love that, because at the end of the day I couldn’t give a shit about money, and everybody will laugh when I say that.
“Am I the only person dying to see Grace Jones in Canada? I don’t know. Am I that different, or am I really tapping into something a lot of people are interested in?”
For many, the prospect of seeing Grace Jones live in Toronto in 2016 seems too good to be true. And it might be.
Historically, Toronto is a tough market when it comes to flying in legacy artists for one-off gigs. To succeed, Brando must persuade audiences that the rarity factor is worth pricey tickets. Many of the acts on Brando’s bucket list, like Siouxsie Sioux, Adam Ant and Marianne Faithfull, are based in Europe, in their 50s and 60s and only sporadically play live, meaning a promoter must make the trip worthwhile.
Hagen, a punk and new wave cult act, is flying in from Germany with a five-piece band to play the Opera House on February 5. It will be her first concert in Toronto since 2004 and, given her age (60), potentially her last. Brando is hoping fans will cough up $75 per ticket.
“I’m getting a lot of pushback on ticket prices,” he admits, adding that he hopes to offset future prices through sponsorships and meet-and-greet VIP packages.
Since he did five dates with 80s synth-pop act Howard Jones last fall, his strategy has been to book multiple cities so ticket prices are lower and the artist, agent and manager get more money. “It’s just mathematics, really,” Brando says.
For Collective Concerts owner Jeff Cohen, the math around bringing an older cult act to town for a special event doesn’t add up. He calls Viva’s the “festival model” because festivals get grants and sponsorships that cover expensive artist guarantees.
“Any venue or promoter that has specifically marketed to an older audience with a higher ticket price, it has not worked,” he says. “But maybe this will be the change. If it works, more power to the people doing it.”
Money aside, there are other reasons why a promoter might not want to gamble on a musician with an infamous history.
Take the Weiland show. The 48-year-old was found dead on his tour bus in Bloomington, Minnesota, two days after playing Adelaide Hall. In addition to a litany of medical disorders, the medical examiner determined that the cause of death was an accidental overdose.
Brando says he has rebuffed interview requests and collectors interested in buying leftover tickets and posters from the final gig, which he is considering giving to CAMH and MusiCares to auction off. He adds that the show was a bust. About 146 people turned up at the 475-person-capacity Adelaide Hall, and Brando says Viva lost more than $10,000.
“Frankly, it’s been a nightmare,” he says. “It’s just disgusting to try and cash in on any of that. I’ve seen people who were there that night trying to cash in, and it’s disgusting.”
A risky business model isn’t the only issue. After NOW published an online version of this story last week, commenters on nowtoronto.com claimed Brando failed to pay bands booked to open Viva shows last fall and at a new music showcase in July. Of the half-dozen people we reached out to for comment, no one was willing to speak on the record.
In a follow-up interview, Brando denied the allegations.
“I’ve never ripped anybody off and I never intend to,” he says. “I’ve cancelled shows where artists have gone on and done the show and still expect to be paid after I’ve cancelled.
“A lot of stuff has gone on – shady practices on venues’, agents’ and bands’ parts,” he adds. “I need to defend myself, but if I do I end up burning bridges – which I’m fine doing.”
Ticket information for Jones’s shows in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal has not been released. And Numan posted a statement on Facebook clarifying that his three May dates announced by Viva had not been “confirmed as yet,” but added he was “working on it, though.”
Brando explains that he creates teaser posters on social media to gauge fan interest before finalizing with booking agents – a practice he admits is unorthodox.
“They’re all agent-approved,” he says, adding that there is enough interest in Jones but he couldn’t say when tickets would go on sale.
What about Numan? “The agent hasn’t cancelled with me. All wheels are in motion.”
kevinr@nowtoronto.com | @kevinritchie
