Headache in a Suitcase said:
durring the fall leg of the tour the band spent off days in canada... to save money on taxes or something like that.
don't know if they'll do the same this time around, but i'd assume so
Oh - you know - that does make sense.
I just read an article that explained why the band do 'runners.'
A runner is when the band finishes a show, immediately leaves the arena, gets on their plane and goes to the next location. I always thought the reason why they did this was basically to save time and get the stage down and to the next location. Also I thought they did this so the band can relax in a hotel overnight in the city where the next show is.
Actually the band gets taxed (at least in the states) every day they are in a certain state. So it makes sense for them to want to get the hell out of states (such as New York) with high tax rates.
The writer (I think it was Wired magazine) stated that Vertigo Air had to be off the ground before midnight so the band would not be taxed another day in the state they were in.
When you think about it - if the show ends around 11:00 or so it gives the band VERY little time to get from the stage to the plane and into the air. That is typically why they have a police escort from the arena to the airport. This is why it is called a 'runner.'
Now imagine being Principle Management and having to schedule all the logistical stuff to be able to do runners in each city. I can only imagine how difficult it is to secure the police in a city like New York to be able to provide an unobstructed escort between MSG and the airport.
The whole thing is crazy - there are so many factors involved in a tour like this that we never see, it is amazing it ever happens at all.