Screw the outdoor sheds. I wish Rush would play arena's only. Stick with the A/C and a seat of your own. Lower the ticket price by 10-12.00 and you will see a big difference. Also, take the vice grip off that Clear Channel has and make auditorium testing a thing of the past.
I know some in here are going to come to the defense of the band's decision to play outdoors but I for one do not like the idea of treating people like cattle. Besides...you can fit 3,000 alone in an arena on the floor and another 10,000 in the lower and mid-level bowls. If they want to do ticket specials if they are not selling well...then start upper level seats at 18.50 each when tickets go on sale...instead of 35.75 plus 10.00 service charge.
I saw Kiss/Poison...great show!
Seriously. Aerosmith tix are running like $100-$225 depending on the seating. When I was a kid I paid $12 to see Deep Purple, Golden Earring and ELO in one show. Of course, that was during the last Ice Age...
Josh Groban has sold out his whole tour. I am going to see him next month--can't wait!!!
I read something similar in the Gainesville (FL) Sun last weekend. I live in Orlando and I remember that the 80's and 90's were full of top name artists performing in Gainesville. Now, barely anyone is booked into the University venues because of the same reason - The agents want too high of an up-front guarantee. Normally cash-strapped students would be hard-pressed to shell out premium dollars for a concert (i.e.: $50 to $85.00 per ticket).
Eventually the law of supply and demand will kick in and the artists/agents/promoters will HAVE to lower their rates or just not tour at all. There comes a point where people start saying "Gee, There's a lot of other things I could use that $60.00 ($120.00/couple) for."
One big, huge, sloppy "DUH!"
Loser, has-been, retread 80's acts are charging $40 or $50 at some of the Casino's and other venues around Minneapolis. I'm sorry, I'm cheap. With three kids and a painful mortgage, I pretty much only go to free concerts anymore. I saw Cheap Trick last summer up in Stillwater (still sound great), and that was the last show I've been to.
I'm going to catch the BoDeans this Friday. Free, of course.
Well, there was a good turnout at the Mann Center in Philly a few weeks ago for Linda Ronstadt - wife, daughter and some friends went and said it was a great concert until Ronstadt started her first, and as it turned out, last encore - she announced she was dedicating it to a great movie she had just seen - Fahrenheit 911 - after some applause, she got a good round of boo's - she sang her song, left the stage, and never returned - "I went to a concert, not a political rally" said one of wife's friends - maybe some of the problem this summer is that folks are just a bit tired of the shenanigans of the show business types......
http://www.soundadviceamp.com/index.php
Check this out. All shows $10. This friday only. Kiss,Rush,Ozzfest, Linkin Park, Korn, Cure, Sting, Chicago
"I HATE OUTDOOR SHEDS."
Me also, which is one reason why I skipped Rush when they came to Dallas Smirnoff Center recently (I've seen them twice before, Signals and Presto, both at Reunion arena).
And with the Rush in Rio DVD out, why bother? Concert DVD's are so good now that $20-$30 will get you the best seat in the house. Plus, some concerts only happen in Europe, like Kylie Minogue's FEVER tour. That is hands down the best live DVD concert I have ever seen. Everything was well done. (Don't laugh.)
I've seen Rush several times, way back in the days of Fly By Night, 2112, Farewell to Kings, etc.
We're fortunate to have a small venue club ,(1,500 max capacity), in the Norfolk area
The Norva.
Tickets are usually in the 12.50-25.00 range. There isn't a bad "seat" in the house.
Nowadays, I see mainly bluegrass style groups. I saw Del McCoury there a few months back. 2+ hours of music and you can actually get close enough to speak to the band on stage. IMHO, The "warehouse/stadium" rock show venue blows for the folks that want a decent show.
The reason seems pretty clear to me - 99 percent of the current touring acts are complete crap. Add to that venues that treat paying customers like cattle, security people who act like little Hitlers every time they put on their "EVENT STAFF" T-shirt, and stratospheric ticket prices.
No thanks - I'll just pop in a DVD at home and be comfortable.
I think it's more than just ticket prices (which are outrageous) -- it's been a wet summer, so that's going to hurt outdoor venue sales. Plus, a significant number of these acts have members who don't know when to shut up, which may be driving away potential audiences.
Prince just blew the lid of the Garden in three sold out concerts here. I saw him Tuesday and he put on a great show.
Here is a typical concert experience...
Arrive three hours before the show so that you can actually get to your seat in time - after fighting all the traffic, jockeying for a $20 parking space and getting through the lines at the gates, etc.
You have to pack food and drinks in a cooler so that you can tailgate and not have to buy the $6 cheeseburgers and $7 beers at the concessions (even a bottle of water will cost you $3.50).
Unless you won a radio contest or have connections somehow to the performing acts, you will have nosebleed seats and will have to settle for seeing the performers on the huge screens (might as well have stayed home and watched it on DVD). Or you could rent binoculars ($15 per event - leave your credit card or driver's license as collateral). But remember, if you leave your driver's license as collateral - you can't buy beer because even if you look like Keith Richards, they will still card you.
During the concert, you must constantly get up to let by the constant stream of fellow concert-goers who can't go more than 10 minutes without having to get up to buy food at the concessions or use the bathroom.
During the concert, the people sitting next to you will likely be on their cellphones yakking to their friends on how they are "at the concert" and they will periodically hold the cellphone in front of them so as to prove to the person they are speaking with that yes, they are indeed at the big concert.
If you light up a cigarette, you are immediately thrown out. But somehow the smell of marijuana is everywhere. How does that happen?
The loudspeakers at the concert are always TOO LOUD.
Whenever the performer sings a slow song, people feel obligated to light cigarette lighters. Why?
When you stand up so that you can see, the people behind you tell you to sit down. When you sit down, you can't see because the people in front of you are standing.
The performing artists seem to have a compelling need to patronize their audience by changing the lyrics in some of their songs to reflect the town they are in. Then they will always tell their audience that this is the "best darn audience we've ever played for! Hell yeah!"
After the concert is over, everybody starts running for the exits, pushing and shoving. Then the main performer comes out for an encore and everybody is pushing and shoving back to their seats (when will they ever learn?)
After the final encore, everybody is pushing and shoving back to the parking lots where they proceed to wait for hours and hours while pimply-faced teenagers try to direct traffic by waving flashlights in a random, haphazard manner. During all of this, the concert-goers have a need to play full-blast in their car stereos (with the windows down) a CD of the artist they just got done listening to live.
You finally get home bleary-eyed at 2AM and wonder what the heck you just paid $300 for.
I've been watching Jamboree in the Hills FREE on my set with the rabbit ears, I can pick up the Steubenville channel which has been broadcasting each day of the festival. I've seen Buddy Jewell, Tracy Byrd, Lonestar, Chris Ledoux, Dee Dee Messina. Kenny Rogers just did his set.