the concerts i went too (all at harpos and were death metal) were packed houses
This year the only reserved seating shows I went to were Brian Wilson and Paul Anka, Glenn Campbell, and Monica Mancini (all 3 of these shows with my parents at an old opera house in Galveston).
Everything else I went to was at small clubs (I think that the Brian Wilson show may have been the only Clear Channel show I went to of ANY size).
I went to a 3 day festival in Las Vegas (small promoter) at a hotel/casino and the SXSW festival.
I see a lot of music. I just don't pay a lot for it.
I will admit to having paid around $100 for Rolling Stones tickets in the past but I didn't even go to the most recent tour (at the Reliant Stadium). I hear the sound was awful in there.
At a club I can get right up to the stage. I see quite a few road acts and probably see live music on average 2 nights a week.
I listen to new rock and roll but have no false hopes that what I listen to will ever get on commercial radio.
Here in Houston, we are now down to ONE station that plays SOME new rock releases (and a lot of 10+ year old songs). And they have the nerve to call the rock they play "alternative"? If it is on the charts, it is ESTABLISHMENT music (especially when the bands get Grammy nods and have been on the charts 5-10 years). Alternative to what? Oh yeah, GOOD music.