You know the funny thing? Playing in your hometown has a few elements that can be MORE difficult than a regular road date.
First, you've kind of got that road mentality ingrained after awhile of being on tour. It's difficult to explain, but you kind of fall into a different personality that lets you handle the rigors of a tour. A defense mechanism, I guess. So suddenly, you're thrust temporarily back into the familiar, and yet... you're still on the road, so to speak. A strange dichotomy.
Second, in your hometown, you have all the more people who are close to you to deal with. Not that an artist on Stewart's level deals with all of this directly, but it's more backstage passes, more things to arrange and so on.
Finally, you have people you really WANT to see -- your wife, your kids, girlfriend, parents, whatever the case may be -- but you really don't have any more downtime than you would at any stop in any city. So it can be frustrating as well.
Despite all that, on a personal basis, I'd sure miss my little son if I was out on the road touring, and it'd be great to see him even for a short while. I'm sure type of thing that makes the homefront tour stop worthwhile.
Posted: 20 Jun 2007 16:03