What happens when bands go broke? Reunion!

Whether we like it or not, most of our favorite bands seldom achieve Rolling Stones-esque longevity, touring and recording music until the only rocking they're doing is in a chair. Whether it's due to wanting to go out on top, egos ballooning to the point where band members loathe each others' guts, or the infamous "creative differences," most bands come to an end at some point. This leaves music labels to milk the cash cow by releasing countless compilations, and history to decide the bands’ ultimate fate and relevance in music history. But on occasion — whether it be solo careers not going as planned, money running out of bank accounts, or public outcry — bands will occasionally reunite to perform at a concert, go on tour to reload their wallets, or even attempt to record new material and become a full-fledged band again. However, in these past couple of years — especially this past summer — more bands than ever have been putting aside their creative personal differences and have been hitting the road, performing their greatest hits to an audience clamoring to hear them in person. And in the end, it's all about the moolah.

Now I know most of them will try and tell you differently. They'll say that they're putting old grudges aside to add proper endings to their histories — to give their fans proper curtain calls before they wrap things up for good. Or that they feel like the time is just right to bring their old songs back from the dead and give them new life. Or that they want to go back into the studios again to see if they can still make music together and if that chemistry is still there. But more often than not, most of these reunions smack of greed, especially at a time when the music industry is struggling to make money in a peer-to-peer world. And a reunion tour is one of the few certain things in today's music world.

Take, for instance, the reunion of legendary (and infamously volatile) classic-rock group Cream. It was no secret that bassist Jack Bruce and drummer Ginger Baker were struggling — achieving nowhere near the success that guitarist Eric Clapton had. But once their subsequent reunion shows in London and New York City were announced, a tremendous amount of hype built up in the press, and people paid top dollar to see these shows, and then bought the subsequent DVD and CD releases of the shows afterward. And all three were rewarded for putting their differences aside with big ego boosts and fuller pocketbooks. The same can be said for The Who and the Eagles; once the well started to run dry, and the offers were too good to refuse, these bands hit the road as an instant and surefire way to replenish their bank accounts. In fact, both bands have even recorded new albums as a way to make more money off of fans and have another reason to tour.

And the irony of it all is that the alternative rock community — a community that once prided itself in being anti-establishment and D.I.Y. — seems to be hit the hardest by the reunion bug. In the band’s day, the Pixies were an underground band with a cult-following, but thanks to the band’s legacy since it split, the members have since been able to sell out theaters across the country on the last reunion tour. And Dinosaur Jr. — whose bassist, Lou Barlow, has recently stated that all communication between him and guitarist J. Mascis has to go through Mascis' manager — have put their grudges aside long enough to play several highly-acclaimed tours and record an album that features some of their best music yet. Other bands don't even let a crucial member's absence get in the way. The remaining members of influential rock act The Jam have gone out on tour, despite the glaring absence of songwriter/guitarist/signer Paul Weller. Alice in Chains have also reunited for several tours, despite the fact that lead singer Layne Stayley died of a heroin overdose five years ago, and Blind Melon (of "No Rain" fame) have also announced a tour despite the death of singer Shannon Hoon. INXS went so far as to let an American TV audience decide who their replacement for singer Michael Hutchence would be.

Even though reunions can make big bucks for a band, it can have a devastating effect on their legacy. Take The Stooges, who reunited and have played shows that many have said recreate the sound of the band’s classic proto-punk albums. But this past spring the band released an album that, for many critics (and myself), is one of the worst of the year. Really, Iggy Pop was never a poet laureate, but when a band’s lyrics now involve hanging around an ATM and your dick turning into a tree, it should be a clear signal that it's time to hang things up.

Yet, from the many major reunion tours that are taking place this year, many bands fail to let a good thing die. Take the Smashing Pumpkins, for example. After the Pumpkins-on-Prozac sounds of Zwan and a solo album that sounded like second-rate Depeche Mode, Billy Corgan was inching close to Creed-like levels of irrelevancy. So what did he do? He took out a full-page ad to declare his intent to "get his band back," recorded an album with Jimmy Chamberlin that sounds like classic Pumpkins circa Mellon Collie, released four different versions of it (each with an "exclusive promo track" you can only get at said store), and booked a tour with James Iha and D'Arcy look alikes. And what happens? The album places No. 2 on the Billboard album chart, and the tour is a sell-out across the country.

Zach de la Rocha was also fading into obscurity just as fast, with a solo career that resulted in 0 albums after 7 years, making Axl Rose seem like metal's Ryan Adams by comparison. The rest of his old band, however, was having chart-topping success, with Chris Cornell in the band Audioslave (though rifts were starting to show during the release of their last album, Revelations). Suddenly, once that band met its demise, Rage announced their reunion show at Coachella, saying that their music was more relevant than ever with the Bush administration's Iraq fiasco, and that their reunion would deliver a "knock-out punch." They have since played a select number of shows, and though I'd like to believe that politics is the sole reason for their reunion, time will tell.

Less likely I believe, however, is David Lee Roth. During the press conference for Van Halen's reunion tour, Roth stated that this reincarnation is not a reunion, but a "whole new band that will continue to grow and evolve." But only a year ago, Roth was calling Eddie Van Halen "Eddie Van Heineken," and Van Halen was threatening to kick Roth's ass the next time he saw him. I guess that's what happens when your solo, radio, and paramedic careers sink like the Titanic.

Out of all the reunions, the biggest by far is that of The Police. So far, this is the only one I've attended so far, mostly because this is one of the few tours that transcends mere "concert" status and becomes an "event." In all honestly, The Police were one of my favorite rock bands growing up, and the fact that they were reuniting to perform some of my favorite songs in concert was a once in a lifetime event that I couldn't refuse. They put on a great show; they sounded great; Sting was in fine voice; and the band actually looked like they were having a good time onstage. But after paying $55 for a ticket, $35 for a T-shirt and $25 for a program (not to mention $6.50 for a hamburger and soda), I left with the feeling that there was more to it than just tying up loose ends, and that, if Sting's solo career was at the same level it was in the ’80s, this wouldn't have even happened.

So in the end, very few reunion tours feel genuine, as the Pink Floyd reunion at Live 8 did. Here, they would only play once to support a noble cause. There usually always seems to be some sort of ulterior motive that bands never let the public in on, but it hardly matters, as the public bites anyway. And yet as I'm typing this last paragraph, I read that the holy grail of band reunions, Led Zeppelin, has scheduled a press conference, supposedly to announce a one-off reunion gig in London in honor of late Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun. Now this is definitely an admirable gig, paying tribute to the man who made Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin. But a part of me feels that, if this show goes well enough and there's an offer on the table, a bank account-filling tour will soon follow.

— Jason Shoff