Concert Ticket Prices

[ARM OF HAMER]

                        Well here goes...........my rant. One of my favorite guitarists Al Di Meola is playing here in Minnesota and he is performing along with his group at a great venue which back in the day I have seen may fine musicians at. I have seen Di Meola half a dozen times through the years way back when he was with Return To Forever when they were double billed with Weather Report. I was really looking forward to going but I was shocked at the prices for tickets. I was looking at taking my daughter along as she is also a music fan in general and she likes his music. For meet and greet tickets all in would be about $450.00 after taxes handling charges and what not..............that's not even including having dinner there so I'm guessing over $500.00 all said and done................not including gas up and back, I'm about 50 miles away. I know like everything else these days things are expensive.................everything, and the cost to go on the road with a touring band is certainly no exception ................,I want to go but being out of the loop for going to these things having seen just some great local bands I'm really surprised at the expense. All this being said I know of a guy [My Age 70 +] that spent 5k to see SIR Paul McCartney the last time he toured the states as he was never able to see the Beatles and was/IS a huge fan of their music and swore he was going to see both WINGS and Paul as a solo artist before he left the planet and he did both. I'm I just crying in my soup or should I just shut up and pay the money. I know what it worth, is what it is worth for me to see him. Thoughts?

Edited September 24, 2023 by ARM OF HAMER

[bry4321]

How much of a fan is your daughter? If she loves him the way your friend loves McCartney and you can afford it then do it. And if you have the chance to meet an idol, same. That’s what I would do anyway, without knowing your financial situation etc. Otherwise just get regular tickets and skip the meet/greet. 

[Dave Scepter]

Nope, that's why I stopped going... I want to go go see Geoff Tate, but after ticket seat prices + taxes, surcharges, parking, gas, food/drinks and having to deal with Asstards... I said fuck it, I'll wait for the dvd or catch it on YouTube 

[mathman]

General Admission tickets for the Extreme/Living Colour concert I went to in Aug, were $35,  then they offered seat upgrades from 100 to 150.  I don't go to a  lot of concerts anymore but I was happy to pay the $135 for this ticket since I have wanted to see Living Colour for a long time without luck.  And I wanted to sit down and not stand for the show.

Definitely won't be going to a lot of concerts anymore if I will be paying over $100 each time.  But the few I see, I am willing to pay. 

[specialk]

Last time I saw Di Meola was his Flesh on Flesh tour, I forget the year. It was at a casino, fairly small crowd & $10GA, all seats. All acoustic show except for the encore. He played Casino. 

[Steve Haynie]

2023 has been the year my friends have been looking at me funny because I have been missing so many concerts. 

Every year the amount paid for tickets gets totaled, but the total does not include the cost of travel.  It is rare that a hotel room is necessary.  Last year's total spent on tickets amazed me.  I could have bought a used Shishkov or a really nice Carr Super Bee amp.  My decision to not spend more than last year was made, and it meant having to give up some shows. 

Gene and Paul decreed, "Steve must outspend himself this year!"  And so it is.  Tickets for KISS bought in March not only killed off buying tickets for the rest of the year, it put me 60% over last year's spending.  This time around the plane tickets and hotel are included in the spending. 

When I miss a $15 club show or a $200 shed show my friends are telling me it will be OK.  Nope.  No Aerosmith final tour for me.  An opportunity to see a version of Queen?  My money has already been spent.  There were three Ted Nugent shows for me this year.  I had one trip planned, and the other two were coerced.  It does not take much twisting for me to see Ted, though.  Seeing Ace Frehley a second time was cheap, but every extra ticket adds up.  My friends keep going, and they are fine without me. 

Only one person ever asked what I spent on tickets last year.  The friends that go to shows with me did not want to know. 

I missed the last Rush tour.  I regret it, but I look at ticket location versus cost.  Things did not work for me.  Missing the final KIX show this year was based on sticking to principle over not spending more money on tickets.  The Rolling Stones have been out of my price range for years.  Metallica tickets are $300 in the side sections of an arena.  Ozzy's last tour had tickets that high priced.  McCartney tickets started around that in what are usually the cheap sections. 

This year KISS tickets are going to be the most expensive I have ever bought, and they were bought on presales.  Paying thousands of dollars to experience a two hour show makes no sense to me.  Add in the risk of being next to a jerk, drunk or sober, who ruins everything for you.  Spending hundreds is uncomfortable enough as it is. 

[BTMN]

No Aerosmith final tour for me. Concerts were always a great part of my life. Ticketbastard and it’s fees have killed it for me. 

[Biz Prof]

Gross oversimplification here, but this is the sole reason I rarely attend major venue concerts.  My most active period for concert-going was between 1987 and 1990, and during that time, I went to at least 12-20 shows per year.  Heavy metal was at its apex, but I went to see a wide range of artists.  Hell, I even saw Dylan mumble for 90 minutes back then. 

I vividly recall the average ticket price (with fees) being between $22 and $32.  I was young and didn't have a lot of money, so these shows represented a fair percentage of my disposable income.  So, if you use the BLS inflation calculator, you'll find that an average $27 out-the-door ticket price from 1988 would equal roughly $70 in August 2023, adjusted for inflation. 

I fully realize that how artists derive income from their work is a bit different in 2023, but for the legacy acts, the fact that most are still earning mailbox money whilst touring with only one or two original members and charging $300+ for tickets is a bridge too far.

[cynic]

My wife used to humor me and attend shows with me when prices were less.  Our entertainment budget now goes more for theater tickets.  They're not always less money, but my wife enjoys it more than most of the concerts I dragged her to.  I miss live music but at my age I strongly prefer the mostly subdued theater crowds over the drunken concert crowds.

[cmatthes]

I still go to several dozen concerts a year.  Since things opened up post-pandemic, prices have gotten ridiculous for most big name shows, and I’ve simply turned them down.  
I’m attending the same amount of shows that I’ve averaged over the last couple of decades, but I’m far more likely to go to the 9:30 Club, Anthem, etc. v. a stadium show where nosebleeds will set me back over $500.  No thanks.

I’ve seen KIX, The Pretenders, The Lemonheads  and The Struts in the last month, and no ticket was over $50 including fees.  The Struts and Pretenders shows, I was front row in a 400-seater, and the other two shows I was either front row or roamed around in two 1,200 seaters.  I passed on Aerosmith and Springsteen, both of which I’ve seen many times and both cancelled their shows anyway.

I thought about seeing one of the final KISS shows, but after watching YouTube clips of recent shows, I passed.

I’ve had a lot more fun seeing local club bands lately, and there’s a cool place two miles from my house that has top notch talent 7 nights a week, including some national/international artists. I’m somewhat fortunate to live in an area that gets pretty much all major touring acts as well as quality secondary/smaller tier bands regularly, and can usually find a good show within a 30-minute drive.  Maybe the competition helps keep some ticket prices down, but in general, it’s gotten ridiculous, and I don’t think it’s mostly the artists driving this.  Everybody has a hand out, and Ticketmaster/LiveNation have a lock on the industry.  Time for a good old-fashioned monopoly busting!

[princeofdarkness56]

Yup. It pisses me off but I’m old and a lot of things piss me off these days. $100 dollar tickets, $20 to park a car,  $12-$15 beverages, $50 t- shirts, drunks and idiots and I’m pissed off and in full get off my lawn mode before the opening band comes on. It’s a rare circumstance where I even contemplate attending a concert. Thank god for YouTube. 

[cynic]

I mostly feel for the kids.  It took me three hours of minimum wage (at most) work as a teen to buy a ticket to a show.  Another half dozen hours covered my shirt.  I could easily take my girlfriend to a show on a weeks worth of part-time pay.

[scottcald]

4 hours ago, princeofdarkness56 said:

Yup. It pisses me off but I’m old and a lot Thank god for YouTube. 

Unless you’re next to the guy who wants to record the whole show. 

[JGale]

Saratoga Performing Arts Center upstate NY. I don't remember ticket prices but they could  not have been high. None of us had any money. First class acts though!

 

The bands, not da yoots.

[atomicwash]

I have front-row balcony tickets for Brian Setzer's Rockabilly Riot at $79 each. Not bad for the seating. I am super stoked for that one!

I saw Marshall Crenshaw in August at a 400-capacity bar, $25 tickets and it wasn't a 1/3 full. Where were the peeps? I also caught the Old 97's at a downtown theater (almost sold out) at $25 a ticket. There are reasonable shows still coming through!

[cmatthes]

Ha!  Just snagged my Marshall Crenshaw tix for $35 on October 1st at the Birchmere.  We caught him a year ago ago this week (with same band) at City Winery NYC for double that.  
Just saw The Old 97s too - they’re always on the road, but still pack houses!

[bruce919]

I am done with seeing shows at big venues, for the price of those ticket you cant enjoy the shows. Yes I sound old, I am.

It has to be a smaller theater with some reasonable prices. I've seem most of the artist I've wanted to see in my life time.  I did splurge for the Al DiMeola show in November. Very good seat for the price as well. 

 

[alantig]

Arena shows have gotten to the point that I really have to want to go.  My buddy is a huge Aerosmith fan, and when I told him what the prices were, he said, "I've seen them enough.  I'm not paying that."  Same for Clapton.

We tend to stick to smaller venues.  At one of our favorite venues, we usually pay the extra price for the opera box seats because it pretty much eliminates the chance of people talking around us.

The fees are ridiculous, though.  A couple bucks to print tix, a couple more to stuff them in an envelope, and a few more to ship?  I can live with that.  But when I bought my tix for Extreme, they added a bit over 30% in fees, IIRC.  And for that 30% they...did nothing.  No ticket, nothing to ship, and I get to print them myself.  And that's not even Ticketmaster, where you get the pleasure of paying extra for an aisle seat.  Seriously - $20 more for the "convenience" of having to get up every five minutes because somebody needs their 10th beer.  And "Official Platinum Pricing" - yes, we know this is a $75 seat, but because tickets are selling half-decently, today it's only $275.  Just for fun, I took a look at Eagles tix again - only the platinum were available, and the cheapest was $575 for a ticket with a face value under $300.

And I still remember my parents buying the second-tier price tickets for Johnny Cash (my first show) because, as my dad said at the time,  "There's no need to pay more than five bucks for this."

[beezerboy]

I don't have to worry about it.... nobody worth crap comes to Alaska. by the time a "name" makes it up here they are pretty much spawned out.

[Jimbilly]

'meet and greet' is going to cost you.  I have no interest in going to a big venue anymore, there's plenty of smaller venues at affordable prices. We're going to see the Cult in a few weeks at a casino, GA is around $50, our friends are staying in their RV at the casino, so we can pre-function with them.  I got invited to see Big Wreck with a friend, I should do that, 'everybody says' that they're very good. I've posted a few times about the jazz place in Seattle that we go to (Dimitrious jazz alley), they get artists that I wouldn't see otherwise, and there's often opportunity for meet&greet after.  

[alantig]

I've done a couple of the meet & greets.  Nita Strauss was one.  I think the most expensive was $50.  I'd have loved to do the Ace Frehley one, but it was pricier than I was willing to go.  The one that cracked me up the most was Ted Nugent's - I think it was $300, you got a picture with him, but it was not guaranteed to be an individual picture.  Yeah, no thanks.

[ZR]

Jimbilly, Go see Big Wreck! I saw them open up in ATL for ( I believe) Kings x years ago. I just saw that they played here a couple months back, but I didn't even hear about it! This is at the Suhr get together in 2015. I wasn't there.

https://youtu.be/83j6OYrPtRw?si=OM4lvXX__u5THyNv

 

Edited September 26, 2023 by ZR
Trying to figure out how to post a vid where you can see the vid pic instead of text

[RobB]

Like this: hi-light the URL in the browser and copy. Paste in the post like so:

 

[ZR]

Thanks for the help! I thought that's what I did. Well actually I pressed share under the vid in YouTube and that pulls up several options and the one I picked was Copy Link. Then I pasted into the post. Then I tried a few other ways but always the same result. Oh well.

 

[currypowder]

Don't we all sound like a bunch of old codgers! As I get older, I'm much more willing to use my funds for experiences I love, and live shows tops the list. But I, too, remember the $1.02 radio station tickets to some of the best classic rock shows I've ever seen.

We still go to a lot of shows, though I tend to avoid the bigger shows and festivals, not because of the cost so much, I just don't enjoy myself as much at those. I do make exceptions, though. KISS came through town a couple of years ago on the End of the World tour and I vowed I wouldn't go, until @Steve Haynie rang me up to go with him on some tix he had won. To my surprise, I had a fantastic time at that show. The great seats and HFC company helped for sure. We're flying to LA for a ling weekend and plan to see them for the last time at the Hollywood Bowl, but that's more to get together with a group of friends, the show is just a bonus.

Meet & Greets don't really interest me, they never have. But I will pay up some for the good seats for certain bands. We just saw Squeeze last weekend, a band that I loved in the day but never saw. Was able to grab some last minute Pit seats and glad I did. They were about $120 each, but was well worth it for me. I also have Pit seats for Brian Setzer next week in Cincy that I paid up for. I've been such a huge fan since the early 80s and lucky enough to see him in small and large venues. I want to be close for that one, too. Each tour may be the last.

If you really want to pay up for live music, go on a music cruise, I guarantee there is one that focuses on whatever genre you like. We have been on 2 Outlaw Country cruises in early 2020 and late 2022. Don't let the name fool you, it's more roots rock/country with a ton of fantastic artists. As a rule, we are not cruise fans. But we have had more fun on these 2 cruises than almost anything we've done. Every show is a small venue, some packed to the rafters, others enough room to spread out. Every attendee is a music lover and everyone is in a great mood. Here's the kind of cool shit that happens:

Chip Kinman from Rank & File joining the Long Ryders

Wayne Kramer joining the Long Ryders

Mojo Nixon with The Beat Farmers who would have been blowing to roof off had there been one.