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.
With no kids and plenty of disposable cash I still refuse to pay the prices they're asking. All that money and I get the privilege of being treated like a pig in a slaughter house. No thanks.
Like you, the last show I went to was free, and that was G3. Yngwie was drunk off his @ss. It became a comedy show after the initial disbelief wore off. I'm glad I didn't have to pay for that travesty (although Vai was spectacular).