Someone put a sign up here at work which says they are selling four tickets for the Billy Joel/Elton John tour. The tickets are $250 a pop.
I’ve become numb to high ticket prices over the years because I don’t go to “big” shows anymore. It’s like hearing numbers about the federal deficit: on a certain level it registers that it’s a lot of money but it doesn’t affect my daily life. I have been obsessed with music since about 7th grade but $1,000 for four seats in a baseball stadium struck me as pretty outrageous, and I can’t think of anyone that I would pay that kind of money to see. I suspect that there is an inversely proportional relationship between the level of rock snobbery and the amount one is willing to pay for a show.
So the question is this: What is the most you would pay to see a show and who would you pay to see?
A couple of qualifications:
- It has to be a possibility (No “Clash in ‘79” or “Who at the Marquee” answers).
- We just talking about the price that you pay for admittance. You can’t factor in transportation, beer, concert tees, etc.
Me? I might go as high as $100 for a Replacements reunion tour depending on the venue, or a Tom Waits show if he had Marc Ribot with him. But I might not.
I paid $110 per seat for Billy & Elton. May have done $150 for floor seats. Great show, but I think my limit is $100 for just about anyone.
Did pay $275 per seat to take my wife to see The Rolling Stones – so $525 total…yikes! (she had never seen them) and we had the seats where the stage moved so for 5 songs we were in the front row.
AC/DC and Van Halen last year for $100 a pop…worth it
Three Springsteen shows in 12 months at $100 a pop…also worth it (for GA floor seats)
What I will NOT do is pay scalpers. $500 for a $25 seat makes me ill.
It’s so rare that I go to concerts let alone BIG SHOWS. In fact, I can’t recall the last arena/stadium show I saw – maybe McCartney at Veterans Stadium in 1989.
I can imagine some kind of “intimate,” classy show by a favorite artist that I’d consider. I *almost* went to see Dylan at The Troc in Philly about 8 to 10 years ago. It’s an oldtime burlesque house that holds maybe 800 people standing and in the balcony seats. I can’t recall the price of the tickets, but they were probably nearing my limit. I would have gone had I not assumed that Dylan would suck.
If – IF – Elvis Costello & the Attractions – with Bruce Thomas on bass – did a show at an intimate club like that I’d pay $150, even knowing that Costello hasn’t been that great half the times I’ve seen him. Similarly, I’d got $100 for Pere Ubu only if they had Scott Kraus and Tony Maimone back as the rhythm section and Allen Ravenstine on that weird synth. I was tempted to see Van Morrison (for the first time since I saw a great show by him in the mid-80s at an outdoor venue) at an Atlantic City casino. I was expecting to pay $100-$125 ticket, but it turns out the tickets were for $225. No way I’d pay that much to see that miserable fat fuck who’s been known to storm off the stage over god knows what.
So that’s about that: a band that I’ve had special experiences with, that’s playing in a 1000-seat or less place, and a price range of $100-$125. There are so few bands who might meet those qualifications. I mean, the Stones did that small venue tour a couple of years ago, and I thought I’d check out the ticket prices, but as soon as I saw it would cost $500, there was no chance. There’s no way they could be that good again if they played in my living room.
I’d pay $150 to see an XTC show, I think. otherwise, I’m all about cheap entertainment these days — and generally waiting for current cheapo paves to visit my home town. I know Supagroup will make it here soon enough, and I can’t wait. Not likely to cost more than $15, I should think.
I guess I’d pay $50 to see the Zeez, whom I’ve never seen live, and need to, before they kick the bucket.
My latest fret is: I know an old friend who’s got the major hookup for tix at a huge concert venue in CT. I would never ask him for free passes, but I bet he could get me a line on some kick-ass seats to see Jeff Beck on his current tour. I’m told Jeff, who’s finally re-married, is finally happy and playing his mo-f*ckin’ ASS off. For me, it’s not the $50 or so for the tix. It’s — well, should I drive 10 hours round-trip to see the guy?
I paid $40 to see Levon Helm tomorrow night. But that was just because he was GREAT when I saw him a while back.
Another cool thing, he’s playing at the Electric Factory, just a couple of blocks away from Silk City where a band I was in opened for a rootsy band that he was drumming for a few years ago. Very nice to see him back on top and enjoying every minute of it.
Prince played a club at the Rio Hotel in Vegas every weekend for a year. They even had that symbol down the whole side of the hotel. I’d pay $250 to see that, and I should have. Then again I paid $125 to see The Beatles Love Cirque de Soleil thing..
I’m ashamed! I, too, am numb to high ticket prices. They’re so commonly high that I have to reckon that I must see said artist, but none are worth the price tag. Plus, I usually have to travel to see anyone, therefore making the concert a vacation of sorts.
So, the shame…Being such a young lad, my idols are not getting younger. So, if I am to see The Who, Macca, or anyone I love, I must pay he high price to go to the show. I have paid big bucks to see The Who (twice), Macca (twice), and Simon & Garfunkel. I also paid a little bit for The Police. Mind you, these aren’t front row seats. They aren’t nose-bleed either. I have enjoyed these shows. But I know that I have rationalized the high cost because I know these folks aren’t getting younger.
All that said, I know I will not see Macca again unless someone gave me tickets. I would likely go see The Who because of my love affair for Pete. I’ve seen Dylan so much that it’s not funny, but I will see him any time he comes around here (and he actually does play here in Jackson on occasion). Dylan tix aren’t too bad depending on where he’s playing.
To answer the question, though, I would defintitely go see “Led Zeppelin” if they were to tour. I didn’t care enough to catch the Plant/Page tours. Another show that I would have paid handsomely for will never happen now: Pink Floyd with Roger. I never cared enough to see the Gilmour Floyd. I would pay in the 200 dollar range for these shows (one of which will never happen and the other is very unlikely).
I have never seen The Stones, so I might try to catch them should they tour again (and they will).
Those are what I consider “big shows”.
TB
The most I’ve paid for The Stones is 160 bucks, and that put me in the sixth row, right in front of Keith, and Elvis Costello opened. That was well worth it. The last time I saw them it was 80 bucks and we had those onstage “seats” and that was really a fun experience. No way I’d pay more than that. The thing is, with The Stones the way to get tix is to wait until the day of the show, and go down there and offer someone twenty bucks for their ticket. There will be literally hundreds of fans that shelled out big bucks and have a friend that when push came to shoe, decided that 400 bucks was way more than he could afford. The look on the guy’s face is sad, but it’s twenty bucks more than he’ll get anywhere else. I’ve seen people just give them away, too. I’m sure it’s like that for the Elton/Billy shows, too but I wouldn’t pay fifteen bucks for that mainly because I don’t like those big shows.
The Stones are the only ones I’ll get really high for. I saw Kings of Leon while they were touring with U2, and they did a stop in Cleveland and played The Beachland, which is my favorite place to see a show. That was thirty bucks, no handling fees or bullshit and Pabst Tall Boys were the usual three bucks. That was AWESOME! I didn’t have to leave a U2 show or sit with 50,000 people, either.
I skip shows at the House of Blues because they’re too much usually. I did see Paul Westerberg there, and I paid extra for a seat because my wife was going. I think that was thirty bucks each plus at least that much in rape fees. Beers were steep, too. I usually have more fun at the ten dollar shows anyway. I think The Dirtbombs were 12 bucks, and I have rarely had my ass rocked as hard as I did that night.
I did happen to catch Joel/John a few years ago. A friend of mine had tickets and just wanted someone to go along for the trip. I enjoyed, but I wouldn’t pay big bucks to go.
TB
PS–I NEVER EVER go to the restroom during these shows (the high ticket price being the main cause; “I paid over a hundred bucks to see Pete do some windmills, I can go pee anytime…”). I took “Crocodile Rock” as a perfect chance to relieve myself. I smiled as I heard the crowd singing along…
This is a tricky subject for me. I’ve shelled out quite a few dineros for plenty of shows in the past 10 years. I’m in the Big Easy and for some reason, we ain’t a major marketplace. We get only a handful of major shows per year. But, it is nice to have Jazz Fest, which has increased in $$ but still a good price considering.
TB can attest to it that he and I have seen a few steeply priced shows recently (The Who, S&G, The Police) and some nicely priced shows (EC at the Hi-Tone in Memphis & 2x at the HOB NO).
My wallet is getting thinner. Last week Colplay at the Arena went on sale and it became a $95 adventure considering I had 4th row at the Saenger only 5 yrs ago for $35.
So.. I’ll go see anyone I really like and pay a decent price. But.. who would I really pay TOP DOLLAR for…
Well.. I always say that I will get on an airplane and pay virtually any price for either a Smiths reunion tour or a Led Zep reunion tour if neither come to my town.
But.. I guess I’ll just go see Bob Dylan again for an 11th time because I’m dreaming about the other two..
Welcome aboard, mickavory! A friend of TB (I presume) is a friend of the Hall.
I have a total allergy anymore to these kinds of shows. The sheer size is just dispiriting to me. And the money? Aside from not having enough of it, I think it’s bogus. Almost everything involved at an über venue, from price, to distance, to mobs, is anathema to fun. And I guess I’ll go with the current current here and not freak out that anybody on RTH could go to Billy Joel – Billy Frickin’ Joel, and Elton John, in the 21st century, without a major caveat about having to do it for sex, marital harmony, or as a stipulation in some peculiar clause in an uncle’s will or what not.
I’d be curious to get a translation to 2009 dollars of what it would cost me now for my $8 seat or whatever to yon triple-header shows back in the 70s. I mean, that can’t equate to more than 50 or 60 dollars, could it? Blue Oyster Cult’s laser show, when there was still smoke enough to bounce it off of, was worth that much, let alone ZZ Top headlining with live bison and longhorns and what not! You could pay full price, and not see great and STILL not mind watching Ted Nugent believe his own hype in a loin cloth atop a mountain of empty amplifier stacks.
i saw an ad in an old newspaper from 1978 in someone’s basement for Black Sabbath at the Spectrum with Van Halen opening for $8.
That’s what I’m talkin about!
I saw White Stripes, who are not a HUGE band at the Susquehanna Bank Center in the winter with the outdoor portion closed off, making it not a HUGE venue.
that show sucked. the band was just great, but the corporate venue vibe of the whole thing just made it no fun.
Now I just heard the other day that Boz Scaggs and Michael McDonald are gonna be at the Mann Music Center. It looks like the cheapest seats for this show are $118.
I AM going to this show.
I’m NOT paying that money.
I’ll figure something out.
Man, I feel like I’ve been exposed as either a cheapskate or a hater, but I can’t imagine spending a hundred dollars to see anyone, especially not in a stadium or arena. I don’t think I could suck one hundred dollars of pleasure out on any live act.
Most of my very favorite acts I’ve seen in smaller rooms for way less money, I’d get more out of seeing the Arkestra for twenty dollars in a bar than seeing Led Zeppelin in a place where I could drop dead and they wouldn’t even know it till the next morning.
I think I’ve always been more of a record listener than a show goer any way, there are probably records I would spend a hundred dollars on.
Slokie: according to an inflation calculator I found, what cost $8 in 1976(the year of ZZ Top’s “Worldwide Texas Tour” would cost $28.84 in 2007.
I suggest that when you add how comparatively poor you must have been in your teens to this calculation, that show must have been pretty dear.
And phooey on you for having seen the Zeez on that tour. I can’t think of a more awesome show to have seen from that era. Seriously, 1976? Name a better show. Maybe the Ramones at CBGBs or something… naaah.
I’m surprised none of us nerds have said we won’t pay $100 to see (insert mega-rock star here) at (insert mega-venue here) because THE SOUND AT THESE VENUES IS SO F*CKING GOD-AWFUL! *That’s* the main reason I won’t go to these jive-ass events. I saw Macca at the Verizon Center in DeeCee, and nearly walked out, the sound was so awful.
Mind you, I saw Prince in the same hall and the show was awesome. Wonder what accounts for the difference? Macca was in the front of the hall, and Prince was doing his act in the middle of the floor. Maybe that had something to do with it. I had better seats for the Prince show, too. Hmm.
I’m certainly not going to pay a fortune for any kind of general admission thing. If it’s going to be expensive, I’d have to have a seat where I can see the stage, so I guess we’re talking about a theater. And as others have said most of these expensive shows are in arenas.
I’m old enough to remember when concerts were $2 or $3, and $5 was considered expensive, and I’m talking about something like Jethro Tull with Mott the Hoople opening, which I was recalling last night while listening to my recently acquired Mott best-of. Those were the days, but they were days when people lost money touring in order to generate record sales, which is where the money was. Nowadays the situation is reversed, though I think artists that are gouging, like CS&N and Billy Joel, are using the fact that they’re not selling records (I wonder why) as their excuse.
When Tom Waits played a theater in St. Louis last year I considered it. I don’t know how much that was (a lot but not $200), but I didn’t have anyone to go with, and there was some work-related reason that made it difficult to impossible to make the drive.
The long-rumored original Kinks reunion is something that comes to mind that I would consider paying a lot and even traveling for.
The only appeal of a Kinks reunion show would be to see if Ray and Dave came to blows!
The Kinks are one of my all time favorite bands. They were also the band I saw at my first ever rock concert (to belatedly contribute to a recent thread) headlining at the Spectrum in November 1971 with Good God and Edgar Winter also on the bill. Still, I have yet to hear a live Kinks or Ray recording that wasn’t totally spoiled for me by Ray’s antics (for lack of a better word). Songs that don’t really finish, stupid sing-a-longs, and that Banana Boat Song nonsense.
Nope, give me studio Kinks every time.
As an added thought, I’ve got to think there isn’t much market for a Kinks reunion. Ray, from his recent interviews, would certainly seem to be for it. Dave seems to be the holdup and yet it is Dave who has been reduced to selling his guitars. I’ve got to think if there was a really lucrative offer on the table Dave could overcome his resentments. My conclusion: promoters don’t think a Kinks reunion tour is worth that much.
Uhhh… Didn’t Dave Davies suffer a stroke several years ago? I would imagine that is also a big factor in the possibility of a Kinks reunion.
And has anybody seen how much the ticket prices are for the “Paul-N-Ringo Show” at Radiocity Music Hall on Aprill 11th? I’ve no idea, but I think I would go as high as $500. Bettye Lavette, Sheryl Crow, Moby & Eddie Vedder are also performing, and it is a benefit for the David Lynch foundation. I would think it would be damn near impossible to get tix for this show unless you’ve got connections.
Maybe Paul & Ringo will decide to go on tour after this show. One can dream right?
P.S. On this forum, I’m a little afraid to cop to how much I paid for a certain show.
Come on, Jeangray, Out with it! People have already fessed up to plunking down money to see Billy Joel. Surely it can’t be more embarrassing than that…
Jeangray, thanks for chiming in and PLEASE don’t be afraid to share any relevant rock experience. As you’ve probably seen, there are a lot of high-minded, judgmental tightasses in the Halls of Rock, but the only way we learn to open our minds and relax our sphincters sometimes is to hear a different experience from a fellow Townsperson. Believe me, it really helps us.
Just in this thread jungleland2 kicked things off by sharing the heretofore “disgraceful” fact that he took someone up on free tix to Billy Joel and Elton John. Had this concept been discussed first without having been attached to the good name of a Townsperson, people would have been tossing virtual rotten fruit at their monitors. Instead, we took a hard look in the mirror and confronted our own slightly embarrassing rock moments. I’ve sensed a lot of growth in just the last couple of days. So come on, tell us how much you paid and for what show! Thanks:)
BTW, I had no idea there was a Paul and Ringo show coming up at Radio City Music Hall on 4/11. Just for the novelty of it I’d consider paying $200. I’ll never pay to see McCartney in a stadium again – of that I’m sure. I may be in NYC that day, so I’ll be sure to prepare for major traffic jams and/or people trying to dump 4 tickets at the last second.
Mod: “I had no idea there was a Paul and Ringo show coming up at Radio City Music Hall on 4/11”
One day RTH will be able to afford to send a reporter there to file the story. Will Macko be able to adjust his banter for the occasion? Inquiring minds need to know…
We’ll never be able to keep an RTH NYC office in this economic climate. I’ve already heard rumors that we’re going to have to combine the Last Man Standing and Battle Royale threads in FY’10 if we’re going to stay in business.
Are Ringo and Paul playing together, or just on the same bill? If it’s Paul and his band playing a set, and then Ringo and an All Starr Band playing a set, I could see things getting awkward if Paul and his guys wander backstage and run into Hamish Stuart with the All-Starr band. Would Paul have to make awkward conversation with Hamish, or does he have a guy to run interference for him post Neil Aspinall? I could also see some uncomfortable moments between Hamish Stuart and whichever of those guys in McCartney’s current band replaced him.
First time I’ve heard the sobriquet “Macko.” Excellent!
Yeah, Ringo’s band features Hamish, Robbie McCintosh, Denny Laine…
Seriously, though, was there a falling out between Hamish and Paul or did Macca just dump him like he did all his other past band members?
TB
If reports are accurate the Macca-Stuart fall-out was nasty:
https://www.rocktownhall.com/blogs/index.php/2007/02/27/pick_up_the_pieces_hamish_stuart_levels_
Is it possible that Ringo is slowly but surely trying to steal away all of McCartney’s former supporters, and that ‘Wix’ Wickens is the only veteran McCartney loyalist still holding out?
This could be Ringo’s first step towards attempting a Surviving Beatle coup. We’ll know for sure when Ringo launches a campaign to have the writing credits for “Flying” and “Dig It” adjusted to “Starr/Lennon/McCartney/Harrison” and “What Goes On” switched to “Starr/Lennon/McCartney”.
I’m kinda with db on this one. It’d have to be something REALLY special & not in an arena, for me to shell out more than $100 for. I think the most I’ve paid was $65 to see Waits again in ’99, I think. Beacon Theater, NYC, 4th row balcony. It was great, & he doesn’t need Ribot with him either, because I saw him on the Frank’s Wild Years tour 10 years earlier w/ Ribot, & while that band was great, the gtr player at the Beacon Show was just as good at making the same type of noises Ribot makes (I think it was Smokey Hormel). Anyway, whoever it was, it would have to be a theater show or smaller for me to shell out the triple digit bucks, & forget about anything above, say, $250.00. And for that I’d want a free t-shirt, tour poster & DVD of the show!
With money too tight to mention, I find it hard to get out and boojie woojie much at all lately. I did shell out two point five hunnered for a pair of ducats to see Donald and Walter and and the Chainsaw Gang at the Auditorium – still the best place to see a show in Chi. I had never caught one of their infrequent tours and to my ears worth every penny.
I do remember seeing them in the Palmer/Skunk Baxter era live on the ‘Lloyd Thaxton Show’.
Interesing to note the I just picked up 2/3 of a PA system for the same price…