Cat Stevens cancels New York show, blames scalpers

Associated Press ^ | Sep 24, 2014 8:36 PM EDT

[Olog-hai]

Cat Stevens is canceling his New York performance just weeks after announcing a six-city tour.

Stevens said on his Facebook page Wednesday that he would not keep the New York engagement because its requirement for paper tickets has led to exorbitant resale prices. …

[KarlInOhio]

The only problems I have with scalpers is when I have to pay more than I want for an event :-) and when the venue or ticket agency colludes with the scalpers to keep most tickets from ever being sold at list price. Other than that it is just the free market's way of saying that the actual value of a ticket is above the list price. Similarly empty seats say that the asking price was too much.

That being said, I still get a kick out of scalpers getting stuck with a whole pile of tickets when they overestimate the desirability of their event.

[Flycatcher]

As part of his acceptance speech, he said he was surprised to receive the award because “he doesn’t drink, smoke and only sleeps with his wife.”

I assume she's had her genitals mutilated and removed, otherwise this is patently unnacceptible.

[kjam22]

I heard the OU Sooners weren't going to play this saturday because scalpers were selling tickets outside the stadium????

Good grief Cat Stevens. Its a Wild World...

[GSWarrior]

Who does he think his is? Morrissey?

[Robert DeLong]

So the people who paid the scalpers are the losers. Makes a lot of sense there whatever you call yourself now. I call you POS. Good riddance.

[Still Thinking]

Stevens said on his Facebook page Wednesday that he would not keep the New York engagement because its requirement for paper tickets has led to exorbitant resale prices.

Which is any of his business because.....

[pepsionice]

He was big stuff for maybe eighteen months. All kinds of tunes that I can remember and were popular. Then, he was wrapped up and finished. Kinda like Little River Band, Air Supply, Leo Sayer, Jackson Browne, etc. One great five-star albumn, and then finished.

I went back and was listening to Supertramp the other day...Breakfast in America, and just have to admit almost every tune on it was a “hit”. That hasn’t been the case with any singer or group....since like the late 80s.

[MeshugeMikey]

ahahaha

no,... but it should be!

[SMARTY]

What an imperialist, Capitalist pig!

[stop_fascism]

Is anyone actually buying tickets?

[laplata]

His terrorist partners told him about a schedule conflict with this date.... they’re planning an attack on NYC for that week.

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My thoughts, too. He’s scared of being in NYC.

[jmacusa]

“Moon Shadow’’ is about all I remember of Stevens. I was a Dead Head, Allman Bros. New Riders, etc. type back in the day. (used to be a drummer).

[Buckeye McFrog]

If you’re a Muslim scalper, you’re aiming too high...

[verga]

The only people who might want to attend a concert....are folks in their mid-50’s, who remember this guy’s tunes.

Hey I resemble that remark. Just about fell over when I heard he went full muzzie.

[Yaelle]

I thought we wiped this guy out in a drone strike years ago?

---

ROFL

[pepsionice]

“Wild World”, “Morning has Broken”, “Hard Headed Woman”, “Oh Very Young”, “Father and Son”, and “Peace Train”.

Course, two years later....he was gone and never heard of again except for his Muslim religion deal. I was watching some German TV show in late 1990s, and they dragged him out for some late-1970s tunes. He still sells some albumns but I doubt if he’s done more than three or four concerts in the past five years in Europe. No interest in a guy who hasn’t written a hit in decades.

[Jane Long]

LOL....All Aboard the Piece Train.

[tapatio]

I will say

on that excuse

[wardaddy]

Most ticket scalpers in Nashville are black

[C. Edmund Wright]

and when the venue or ticket agency colludes with the scalpers to keep most tickets from ever being sold at list price.

And to clarify, THAT is not scalping per se. THAT is collusion, corruption, acting in bad faith. In that case, the scalp is merely a tactic by which to exercise a criminal strategy.