OT: NIN tickets - Holy Cow!!

[moot]

So, I missed the bus - AGAIN! Tickets for Nine Inch Nails went on sale yesterday, promptly sold out and the best I could find online was a 4 seat block in the second balcony (nosebleeds) for $85 a pop.

 

When did this happen? When did ticket prices get so far out of control? I saw John Melloncamp last summer for $40 and it was a very long and entertaining show.

 

I love Trent Resnor. The man is a musical genious but $85. I don't think so. That's my rant.

[getz out]

Concert tickets are an economic anomaly; they sell them at face value at below what the market would support. I bet the tickets would have sold out at $100 each face value.

[erikmag]

I missed getting tickets for the show here in Davis. Im a pretty big fan, but stupidly forgot to check when tickets went on sale. They probably sold out in like ten minutes.

[Basshappi]

Got to agree with Mattulator here, concert prices are absurd, and have been for years. I realize that it takes a lot of $$ to put a show on the road these days but still, I think if tickets were reasonably priced, more people would go to concerts.I really wanted to see Rush the last two times they toured but at $65-85+ for the cheapest seats, sorry but I'll have to pass.

 

What is reasonably priced? Well that ishard to say. But consider this, I can purchase a DVD of just about any major band's concert for about $20(US). With that I get a better than front row seat,great sound, no crowd and (usually)extra features/interviews with the band. Most CDs can be purchased for $12-15(US). When I was a young man a concert ticket was the same or slightly higher priced as a record album.

 

So let's be generous, let's say "reasonable" is twice the price of the CD/DVD that puts it in the $25-40 price range. In my opinion that is reasonable. Sure, it would be okay to charge more for the premieum seats (front/center), but it is high time that some degree of sanity returned to the business. Maybe then these promoters would be able to stop lamenting the trend of falling ticket sales, a problem that in my estimation is one of their own creation!

[jeremy c]

Tickets for my next concert will be $2000 each.

 

But you will be on the guest list, Matt.

[ihategarybettman]

I'm kind of glad that most of my favorite bands "fly under the radar." There are very few bands I truly like that play the big barns and command the big bucks. In fact, this Saturday I'm going to see Social Distortion for a whopping $25. That sure beats laying out two C-notes to see somebody like the fuckin' Eagles or Celine Dion.

[Tom Capasso]

My daughter bought us Elvis Costello at the Beacon Theatre in NYC. Went on sale Sunday at 10. By 10:30, only balcony seats remained. $55 each. And it may turn out that we can't go!

 

I go to very very few concerts. Partly it's the money, partly the time, but mainly it's the hassle of buying tix!

Tom

[bottle12am]

It is possible to witness a great concert on a widow's mite, but it takes the patience of a Buddist...

 

I went see Kid Rock last Summer -- 4th row from stage. Paid $20 total for a trio of tickets with a total face value of $135.

 

How? I scoured eBay the day before the show, watching the poor little scalper bastards beg for any penny they could get for them.

 

Since eBay has welcomed any idiot with a credit card to be an automatic 'ticket broker', it has become a buyer's market. The secret is patience.

 

Wait until within 2 days of the event, log on, and get the scraps for cents on the dollar.

 

It's the only way I'll see a show now.

 

And it beats the hell of when I went see Skinny Puppy -- a $23.00 ticket that jumped to $37.00 once TicketMaster slapped a 'convenience charge', 'handling charge', AND 'delivery charge' (for me printing the ticket on my own computer, no less)... oh, and let's not forget the 'facility charge'.

 

Last minute buying = screwing the scalper AND Ticketmaster.

 

You'd be surprised how often it actually works. Trust me.

[dohhhhh6]

I saw Joe Satriani a few months ago at one of the snazziest bars in St Louis, The Pageant, for 35 bucks. I was sitting (nice seats too) less than 100 feet away from the man himself. That was an awesome 2 hour concert for 35 bucks. That concert was totally worth it.

[moot]

Tickets for my next concert will be $2000 each.

 

But you will be on the guest list, Matt.

- jeremy c

You're a prince among men Jeremy. Not only will I show up, I will sit on your side and root like a drunken hillbilly.

[jeremy c]

Well, I'm actually surprised that anyone goes to concerts anymore.

 

One year I went to see Sting. It cost $50 a ticket to sit on the lawn. So that's $100 for me and my wife, not including parking, gas, snacks, beverages. We got to sit on the grass about a quarter mile from the stage.

 

And the people around us talked all the way through the show. They wanted to fight when I told them to be quiet.

 

The time I went to see Steely Dan, we were about half a mile from the stage. The sound was incredible, though. And then it took two hours to get out of the parking lot because there is only one exit.

 

When I went to see Stevie Winwood, we couldn't hear the organ! And there was a rhythm guitarist/backup singer that we never heard one note from even though he was playing. There's a $1500/week salary down the drain.

 

 

Last week I bought the DVD for Boz Scaggs live at the Great American Music Hall. It cost $15 and the picture and sound was incredible.

 

If my wife and I had gone to the concert it would have cost at least three times that much, we would have had to drive through SF traffic and try to find a parking space in a part of town that has very few of them. Then we would have had to sit in very cramped seats with poor sightlines, wait an hour or two for the show to start, and then MAYBE the sound would have been ok where we were sitting.

[getz out]

I don't go to outdoor venues.

 

I don't go to anything bigger than Irving Plaza or Roseland Ballroom in New York.

[73 P Bass]

I'm with Maury, sort of. I prefer shows at clubs, and small theaters. Fortunatly for me most of the musician's I've wanted to see have preformed at these smaller venues.

I did make an exception last year: Prince at the Hartford Civic Center. Spent a bundle, the bass sound sucked, but everything else sounded good, and it was a hell of a good show.

[Connie Z]

Originally posted by mattulator:

So, I missed the bus - AGAIN! Tickets for Nine Inch Nails went on sale yesterday, promptly sold out and the best I could find online was a 4 seat block in the second balcony (nosebleeds) for $85 a pop.

 

When did this happen? When did ticket prices get so far out of control?

It seems that the 'nail' has been hit on the head (excuse the pun! )

 

I think that when a concert sells out that quickly and the prices are already that high, the producers have total freedom to sell them as high as they can. Which does make sense, in a way.

 

I have a feeling that the concerts which do not feature sky-high ticket prices are only because someone in authority in the band says, "I know we can get $90 a seat, but then too many of our dedicated fans will not be able to attend. Let's keep the prices down."

 

I was able to see Sting in concert here in the beautiful Saenger theatre, and the tickets were $93 apiece. I attended as a guest. I would not have paid that high of a price, but I absolutely enjoyed the performance. So... maybe one day I will actually pay that price. I hate it though!

 

It was sold out. And sadly, that $93 price probably did include about $25 worth of 'fees.'

 

Sting must have had $250,000 worth of lighting equipment and a slew of great musicians with him, so I hope he made a lot to pay for all of that.

 

If the theatre seats about 2200, and if Sting gets $10 per head out of the ticket price, then he would receive $22,000 to pay himself and the band. I wonder what the cut actually is?

 

But I will admit that nowadays I will not go to a large concert in an arena, due to all of the tragic episodes that have cropped up lately, with fires, and stampedes, and shootings, etc. I just don't trust a large crowd. Some people act really stupid nowadays.

 

... connie z

[ihategarybettman]

Okay Connie, I see your point when you're talking about a 2,200-seat venue, but what about somebody like U2 charging $100 a ticket at HSBC Arena in Buffalo, which has a concert seating capacity of 19,500, or somebody charging a comparable price at Rich Stadium (home of the Buffalo Bills), which seats over 80,000?

[Tenstrum]

The last concert I saw was the Tantric/12 Stones show at a local club. Tickets were $20 for that. I thought that was a little pricey, but I really wanted to see Tantric.

I wanted to go to Ozzfest and Summer Sanitarium (sp?), but I refused to pay the money, even if there were a boat load of bands to see. Tickets are getting outrageous. I believe that most promoters know they can get away with charging the price. Let's face it. They are in it for the money, not the quality of the show.

 

I will sit on your side and root like a drunken hillbilly

You can do that only if you've been drinking moonshine!

[Mark Zeger]

When you miss out on concert tickets after they first go on sale...

 

If you're going with friends, consider buying single tickets. Yes, I know this kills the social aspect of concert going, and it's totally out of the question when going with a spouse and significant other. But, you can hang together before and after the show. The day before the concert last July, I bought a single 12th row ticket ($90) to see Prince at Madison Square Garden. If you're going because you just want to hear the music, sometimes it's worth going it alone.

 

"House tickets" are often reserved for the band, promoter, record label, etc. When these tickets won't be used, sometimes these seats go on sale at the 11th hour. I wanted to see the Pat Metheny Group in Buffalo last Thursday. When I heard about the concert weeks ago, all the best seats were gone (even single seats). After 5pm the night before the concert, I tried Ticketmaster and, to my complete surprise, bought two 7th row center orchestra seats. BTW, that concert was WELL worth the $50/ticket.

[Connie Z]

Originally posted by ihategarybettman:

Okay Connie, I see your point when you're talking about a 2,200-seat venue, but what about somebody like U2 charging $100 a ticket at HSBC Arena in Buffalo, which has a concert seating capacity of 19,500, or somebody charging a comparable price at Rich Stadium (home of the Buffalo Bills), which seats over 80,000?

That is truly a tough question, because since it is a business... and the artists only have 'so many' years to perform... they need to make all of the money that they can, while they can.

 

Of course, it would be so horrible to find out that the artists aren't making much, but the promotors are making a killing, while charging such high ticket prices.

 

... connie z

[bottle12am]

Originally posted by ihategarybettman:

Okay Connie, I see your point when you're talking about a 2,200-seat venue, but what about somebody like U2 charging $100 a ticket at HSBC Arena in Buffalo, which has a concert seating capacity of 19,500, or somebody charging a comparable price at Rich Stadium (home of the Buffalo Bills), which seats over 80,000?

------------------------------------------------------------------------

I saw the Rolling Stones in 1989 at the Superdome for $25, plus $2.50 TicketMaster service charge.

 

... Funny, I remember both the Stones and TM raking in millions per year back then

[Connie Z]

Originally posted by bottle12am:

Originally posted by ihategarybettman:

Okay Connie, I see your point when you're talking about a 2,200-seat venue, but what about somebody like U2 charging $100 a ticket at HSBC Arena in Buffalo, which has a concert seating capacity of 19,500, or somebody charging a comparable price at Rich Stadium (home of the Buffalo Bills), which seats over 80,000?

------------------------------------------------------------------------

I saw the Rolling Stones in 1989 at the Superdome for $25, plus $2.50 TicketMaster service charge.

 

... Funny, I remember both the Stones and TM raking in millions per year back then

I totally don't understand the whole ticketmasters thing. Why in the world would the artists and promoters pay them so much money? It really seems like a super unfair monopoly.

 

I would love to start a service to sell tickets and give them some competition!

 

Was it a good concert??? I've never yet attended a music concert in the dome.

 

... connie z

[silver32012]

I believe Pearl Jam had a bit of a scuffle with ticketmaster a few years ago. The reason was tickmasters inflated ticket prices. I'm not sure how Pearl Jam concerts are handled now, but I believe ticketmaster does not handle the tickets. Somebody can correct me if I'm mistaken.

[deanmass]

I have not been to a large scale show in a long, long time. My bad taste goes WAAAAAAY Back to the Police' last tour. I was third in line, and they had upper bowl. I did not buy tix. I pulled out of the parking lot at 10 mph, and got clipped buy an old man wearing double hearing aids who was doing at least 40. I got a ticket ( in Lincoln Park, MI, btw) because the cop said "kid, if I give him a ticket he will lose his licens, and someone has to be at fault).

 

I bought from newspaper ads or alternate methods ever since. After seeing Van Halen (5150..man do I feel old) and having the sound suck SO bad that I did not finish the show. I just bailed. the only exception since then was the Kiss Reunion tour. It was awesome, worth every penny from show-child hood music gods perpective, but NO BAND has gottne me to pony up. I pretty ,much stick to the Ark in Ann Arbor, and the smaller venues in Detroit. Tix prices are silly, and the 'goodies' suck. If I thought the T shirt that was $35 bucks would not be a total POS, I MIGHT buy it, but other wise, I MIGHT get a program. I digress from digression...

 

I'd love to see NIN, but won't even look cause I knwo the tix will be nutty. I'll catch him when he comes on his 20th reunion tour.

[E Locrian]

Over the Summer an ampitheater we have in the SF Bay Area had a one-day sale for all Summer shows: $20 for lawn "seats" (behind the proper seating is a huge lawn). So I got to see Rush for $20. But the best part was that we were upgraded to the actual seats (which were supposed to sell for $80 or so) since they had room. That was simply awesome.

[Basshappi]

The last show I went to was Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. $25!

 

A couple of years ago I saw Kings X, Galactic Cowboys, and two local bands for $20.

 

Both times the show was at a small theater downtown. Probably 1000 people, great sound, excellent stage view.That's the kinda show I like!

[bottle12am]

I would love to start a service to sell tickets and give them some competition!

Tell that to Pearl Jam... after complaining to congress years ago that TicketMaster was a monopoly, lawmakers did nothing about it.

 

With all the infrastructure TM has, congress would almost have to divvy it up, AT&T-style.

 

And now that Satan's own... oops, I mean Clear Channel ... has exclusive promoter rights with many arenas, tis yet another monopoly whose investors' pockets we must line to support the bands we want to see

 

Was it a good concert??? I've never yet attended a music concert in the dome.

The Rolling Stones in the Superdome in 1989 were excellent. it was stadium-rock done right. Extra baffles were hung from the ceiling to control the echoes, the stage was large and exotic enough to keep those of us in the nosebleeds interested, and every bloke in the band allowed their larger-than-life personality to transmit to all attendees.

 

It beats the hell out of the George Strait Fest that I went to about 6-7 years ago in the dome. Might as well have been manicans in a shoe box I was looking at... the stage was so not meant for a large audience.

 

The highlight was when Faith Hill came out for her set and forgot the words to three different songs (no lie, no exaggeration).

 

Oh, and Connie, if you're wondering about the sound quality for that 'Country Fest' show, just follow these instructions:

 

1) take a boom box;

2) turn it full blast;

3) remove all bass from the unit while turning the treble to 11;

4) place the box upside-down in a mudpile;

5) Move 10 feet away and stick your head in a metal trash can

 

Only then can you absorb the full aural experince that I did that dreaded day