Phil O'Keefe Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 Too much. Not all of them, but some of them... I got a email from House of Blues today with their upcoming shows. The Blind Melon show is $17.50. A couple of other bands were in the $15 - $17.50 range. Not bad at all, but other than B.M., I hadn't heard of any of them before... But on the same email "flyer", they had one that left me scratching my head. Foreigner - $57.50. Nearly $60 for FOREIGNER? Same venue, nearly 4X the price? For a washed up band that hasn't had a hit in decades? One that I didn't really LIKE, even when they were popular? Whoever determines prices on some of these shows really needs to reconsider... I don't mind paying $50 for tix to see someone I really like. I think I dropped that on Aimee Mann tickets at HoB, but it was a great show, with a great artist, backed up with a KILLER band. Well worth it. But I wouldn't have tossed $200 on that show... and had it been someone of even greater fame and notoriety, it would have / could have been much more... And don't get me started on Ticketmaster... Sorry for the rant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members boosh Posted October 21, 2008 Members Share Posted October 21, 2008 If your really don't like foreigners why do you talk to me sometimes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted October 21, 2008 Author Share Posted October 21, 2008 I like foreigners, just not the band. You're my buddy Boosh - I don't let nationality get in the way of friendship. :phil: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members boosh Posted October 21, 2008 Members Share Posted October 21, 2008 I was just foolin' man I can't stand Foreigner ,..the band,.. Not my kind of music. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members blue2blue Posted October 21, 2008 Members Share Posted October 21, 2008 When I was sitting in the balcony at the local symphony, I was seeing 60 -80 or more (Carmina Burana with 300+ singers, for instance) highly trained musicians playing their little black-clad hearts out for less than $20 a show. Amortized on a per-head basis that was... When I was a kid (by cracky) a national band was $2.50 - $3.50 for best seats plus 50 cents a ticket for the agency. The Newport '69 Pop Festival (where I saw Jimi, and about a jillion other top artists -- it was the west coast Woodstock) was $15 for three days [no camping, though].) Adjusted for inflation, $3.50 in 1968 is roughly equivalent to $22.00 today in buying power. (Per the CPI.) I think it was about $5 (maybe a couple bucks more but no more than $8) to get in to see Elvis Costello at the Whiskey in '77, his first time around. Not a bad little show. I was about 12, maybe 15 feet away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members John S. Shinal Posted October 21, 2008 Members Share Posted October 21, 2008 Some bands "get it." This summer we saw Cheap Trick, Heart and Journey (headliner) on a very reasonably priced ticket. Far from being an "oldies" snoozer, they all worked their asses off for our dollar. I think the good pricing was a big factor in that venue being JAM PACKED with people. They made a lot of coin on that evening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tim_7string Posted October 21, 2008 Members Share Posted October 21, 2008 I saw ZZ Top for $20 in 1991 in Bismarck, ND. Extreme was the opening band and to be honest, they were actually the draw for me. I had a great time sticking around for ZZ's show though. It was General Admission, so I was able to push to the front of the stage and get a close-up look. I was in front of Nuno and Billy during both shows. ZZ Top recently came through North Dakota again but performed at a much smaller venue, the Chester Fritz Auditorium. Regular tickets were $47.50 and meet-and-greet/front row/VIP tickets were $500!!!! I like ZZ Top, but I balked even at the nearly $50 price. I'm glad I didn't pay the $500 though. My buddy won tickets from a radio station and he said the meet-and-greet was basically just the band sitting down signing stuff as people were herded through quickly like cattle. That would have been disappointing to me. I suppose in this day and age of declining album sales, they have to make money somewhere. I just wish there were a happy medium (decent ticket prices, decent prices for music). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members blue2blue Posted October 21, 2008 Members Share Posted October 21, 2008 If your really don't like foreigners why do you talk to me sometimes? Cause you're hot blooded and he's cold as ice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jimbroni Posted October 21, 2008 Members Share Posted October 21, 2008 I haven't been to a concert all year. Well I've been to plenty of local shows, no national acts. Wanted to see the RTF reunion, it was like $40, too expensive but I would have paid if not for family obligations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Guitzilla Posted October 21, 2008 Members Share Posted October 21, 2008 I saw KD Lang last Friday at the Chicago theater. I paid $65 a ticket (which is the most I've ever spent.) Her voice was amazing and she had a stellar band. Parking was $20. So maybe the concert was a bargain. I wish concerts were a little cheaper. I would go to many more if they were. I go to 2-3 concerts a year currently. Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mr. Botch Posted October 21, 2008 Members Share Posted October 21, 2008 I'm wondering when (a) the general state of the economy, and (b) the fact that everyone has a 52" HD LCD screen and surround sound, will catch up with this situation. I'm predicting it'll happen soon... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Billster Posted October 21, 2008 Members Share Posted October 21, 2008 Have you noticed that the larger the venue, the more the tickets cost? What up with that? They sell 12,000 seats at a hockey rink to listen to an acoustic disaster, but a proper theater with maybe 3500 capacity is less expensive per ticket. Of course the acts I like to see don't play 12,000 seat venues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jeff da Weasel Posted October 21, 2008 Members Share Posted October 21, 2008 Have you noticed that the larger the venue, the more the tickets cost? What up with that? Um... people are stupid, or something? No, I'm kidding. People aren't stupid. The larger venues hold the larger acts for whom the promoters and ticket resellers feel will justify a larger ticket price. I've only bought into this once in the last 10 years or so, and that was to see the Police. In an arena. And I paid out the ass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Billster Posted October 21, 2008 Members Share Posted October 21, 2008 Um... people are stupid, or something? No, I'm kidding. People aren't stupid. The larger venues hold the larger acts for whom the promoters and ticket resellers feel will justify a larger ticket price. I've only bought into this once in the last 10 years or so, and that was to see the Police. In an arena. And I paid out the ass. How's that old saying go?...Why are our prices so low? VOLUME, VOLUME, VOLUME!!!! So, both metaphorically and realistically there's something wrong with the equation. Sure, lots of people want to see "major" acts like a Police reunion so you need a larger venue. Larger venue = higher production costs (bigger lighting rig and sound system, transport for all that gear, more personnel, etc.). BUT, at some point the ticket price has to balance with the number of tickets to make a fair deal for everyone. Greed taketh over, so maybe those people shelling out $225 to sit 200 yards from the stage are stupid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members blue2blue Posted October 21, 2008 Members Share Posted October 21, 2008 Have you noticed that the larger the venue, the more the tickets cost? What up with that? They sell 12,000 seats at a hockey rink to listen to an acoustic disaster, but a proper theater with maybe 3500 capacity is less expensive per ticket. Of course the acts I like to see don't play 12,000 seat venues. I was thinking that just earlier, myself. I saw Elvis C at the Whisky without about 500 of my closest friends for $8 or under. A year or so later when I wanted to see him again at the Santa Monica Auditorium, it was like $18 bucks. (It was New Years.) And that was 3000 people. I actually got tix for the Elvis show at Millikan High in Long Beach where his "Live at Hollywood High" EP was recorded -- that was a few weeks before the SMC NY show. Millikan had a bitchen acoustically designed concert auditorium which is why the location trucks were there an not at the Hollywood High show. I asked everyone I knew but only three of us wanted to go. (!) Then one of my idiot friends (guitar player in my band, who'd seen EC with me the year before at the Whisky and knew how great it was gonna be) who told me he didn't want to go -- so I didn't get him a ticket -- just cried and cried about how now he really wanted to go and I was stupid enough to give up my ticket, 'cause I knew I was going to see him at the SM Civic. Dumb ass me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted October 21, 2008 Author Share Posted October 21, 2008 Cause you're hot blooded and he's cold as ice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gearmike Posted October 22, 2008 Members Share Posted October 22, 2008 Keep in mind the production cost for an arena show are dramatically higher, almost exponentially higher. I've done theater shows where the entire production fit in a trailer behind the bus. Compare that with three or four semis and several busses for all the crew... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted October 22, 2008 Author Share Posted October 22, 2008 Keep in mind the production cost for an arena show are dramatically higher, almost exponentially higher.I've done theater shows where the entire production fit in a trailer behind the bus. Compare that with three or four semis and several busses for all the crew... Very true Mike. There's a lot of overhead costs involved with a big arena tour. But there shouldn't be enough difference at a HoB show to justify a quadrupling of the price IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members scud133 Posted October 22, 2008 Members Share Posted October 22, 2008 i saw Foreigner over the summer. Their new song is actually not that bad.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gearmike Posted October 22, 2008 Members Share Posted October 22, 2008 But there shouldn't be enough difference at a HoB show to justify a quadrupling of the price IMO. No, the production cost are pretty much fixed at a HoB show...the difference in price is going to the artists... Last year when I saw The Twilight Singers I actually paid to see a show for the first time in years. It was at the HoB Sunset and tickets were $25...I was ok paying that much to see my favorite artist in a small club. $35 would be about as much as I would want to pay to see a show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Krypter Posted October 22, 2008 Members Share Posted October 22, 2008 My girlfriend, (god love her) paid $150.00 a PIECE for us to see Aerosmith and Motley Crue. For our anniversary. Talk about blowing MY gift out of the water.... Anyway, i wanted to give her a piece of my mind for spending so much, but i know she did it because she knows how important those two bands are to me. Trouble is, it was a terrible show. Vince lost his voice (raise your hand if you are suprised) and Aerosmith, though totally awesome (Tyler and Perry are rock gods) only played about 4 of their really awesome songs and a ton of stuff off the new album. But didnt play an encore, and the whole show totalled about 3 hours. What a rip. On the other hand we paid 25 bucks a ticket to see Green Day, who rocked for about 2 hours THEMSELVES and truely put on one hell of a rock show spectacle. Still one of the best shows ive seen. We also paid $60/ticket to see Testament, Motorhead, Heaven and Hell, and Judas Priest a few months ago, and what did we get? Complete {censored} sound. I paid a $5 cover to see Nil8 a few months ago and still talk about how much fun that was. Goes to show, money doesnt equal good much of the time. Although the $60/ticket for Vai was well worth the cost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Magpel Posted October 22, 2008 Members Share Posted October 22, 2008 For me, the most valuable ticket, monetarily, is a big name in a small theater, e.g., Tom Waits at the Beacon. Festivals would be next, though I am easily fatigued by live music, so I am not a frequenter at festivals. But I do recognize the value. I'm not sure where the value lies in hockey arena shows, like the Chili Peppers at the Pepsi Arena in Albany with The Mars Volta. The boys worked very hard to enetertain. John Frusciante moves more and more dramatically than any swooping rockstar I've ever seen. But the sound was absolute garbage. The sound sounded as if it were coming from an arena nextdoor, you know? Cavernous, indistinct and yet still bluntly, punishingly loud. The value, I guess, lies solely in collecting live shows, not in the sensual experience of the show itself. You ever notice how every show is great? I guess it is so, 'cause everyone got high and got to be in a room with their heroes, who do a good job of acting the part. Nothing wrong with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Guitzilla Posted October 22, 2008 Members Share Posted October 22, 2008 Although the $60/ticket for Vai was well worth the cost. I've never been dissapointed in Vai's shows. Did you see him at the HOB Chicago on the Sound Theories tour? That show was really worth the money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bbach Posted October 22, 2008 Members Share Posted October 22, 2008 I saw ZZ Top for $20 in 1991 in Bismarck, ND. Well dang it, if you'd a picked up another ticked I'd have gone with ya. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sailorman Posted October 22, 2008 Members Share Posted October 22, 2008 I have an ticket stub from around 1970. $3.50 to see the Allman Bros. (opening act..!), Van Morrison and Savoy Brown. Put on by the local community college. Like to see a community college field ANY major act now. What ticks me off is this whole internet ticket business where all the tickets get bought up and sold for ridiculous prices. I bought tickets to see McCartney couple years ago. $150 each. Knew I was being ripped but wanted to see one of the guys that got me playing guitar in 64. Tickets arrive with $55 printed on them, from Ticketron. So McCartney is only seeing his portion of the $55, the online 'vendor' is getting $100/per. How can that be legal???? Oh, I forgot, greed. Now, if I took my tickets and stood out front and sold them, I'd get arrested for scalping. Oh, that's right, they can't collect taxes on me, but they can from the online ticket vendor. I begin to understand. rant, rant, rant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.