The Beat: A concept for concerts: performing whole albums

The Decemberists did it at The National a couple of weeks ago.

Aerosmith ripped through it last weekend at Nissan Pavilion and will repeat the stunt July 5 at Virginia Beach Amphitheater.

Even Van Morrison and Motley Crue are jumping on the trend.

You want a little something different at your concerts this summer? You're getting it from these bands -- and a few more -- who are incorporating the performance of an entire album, start to finish, into their live sets.

For The Decemberists, playing their current album, "The Hazards of Love," note for note, with no breaks to chat or even breathe, is the perfect solution. Concept albums become scattered and silly when taken out of context -- try telling that to the iTunes generation -- so by playing "Hazards" exactly as on record, its lush, layered songs and vivid characters can unfold theatrically.

Green Day employed the same practice prior to the release of last month's "21st Century Breakdown," another passion play set to music. In April, the trio played a string of club dates in California to introduce the new music to fans, unrolling the thematic and dramatic "21st Century" songs as a whole.

But while Green Day and The Decemberists are presenting new music in a format that makes sense artistically, classic acts such as Aerosmith, Motley Crue, Van Morrison, Steely Dan and even Judas Priest are reaching into the vault to find a new way to entice fans to see them live.

While Aerosmith's show at Nissan Pavilion didn't ignore other hits -- "Love in an Elevator," "Dream On" and "Jaded" made early appearances -- the bulk of the set was a run-through of its seminal 1975 release, "Toys in the Attic."

Sure, that's the album with two of the band's most beloved staples -- "Walk This Way" and "Sweet Emotion" -- but how many people are clamoring to hear "Uncle Salty" or "No More No More"?

It's understandable that, especially in an enervated economy, bands will need more than their veteran status to lure concertgoers.

Motley Crue is likely thinking that a fan who paid $75 to see them reunite for last summer's Crue Fest might balk at shelling out for Crue Fest 2, figuring the set list can't be that much different.

But the Crue -- whose fest comes to Virginia Beach Aug. 21 and Nissan Pavilion Aug. 22 -- is throwing the curveball of celebrating the 20th anniversary of its most consistent album, "Dr. Feelgood," by performing the entire record.

Maybe you heard them rip up "Kickstart My Heart" last summer, but will the promise to hear "Without You," "Same Ol' Situation" and the rest of that album be enough of a novelty to attract you?

Gary Bongiovanni, editor of concert industry publication Pollstar, said it really depends on the artist as to whether or not this trend will be successful.

"I don't know that it's a trend you're going to see a tremendous amount, but for artists who tour a lot and want to present their fans with an entirely different wrinkle, it might be a way to stand out in a crowded field," he said.

Or, in the case of Van Morrison, knowing that he's going to play his landmark 1968 album, "Astral Weeks," in its entirety -- as he's been doing the past few months and will do Aug. 6-7 at Constitution Hall in D.C. -- might be exactly the reassurance a fan needs.

"In Van's case, he's such an eclectic [artist] that when you go see him in concert, you've never sure what you're going to see," Bongiovanni said. "But the fact that he might play [that] album might be something a lot of his fans might think would be cool, versus the potluck they might get just by showing up to see him."

It wouldn't be surprising to soon see heritage acts who are also veteran road warriors -- Elton John, Billy Joel, The Rolling Stones, maybe even Bon Jovi and Def Leppard -- start to include an entire classic release into their live shows.

But while it might attract the diehards, could the practice also backfire and deter the casual fan who couldn't care less about hearing track nine from John's "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" album?

Perhaps certain tour grosses by summer's end will be a good indicator.

Contact Melissa Ruggieri at (804) 649-6120 or .