The Song Fight Bulletin Board

Wow, it's been almost a week since the last DRC.

So. Here's something that's been grinding my gears.



A pair of $19 tickets cost us $48. What kind of crazy math is that? Delivery fee? What delivery? We picked up the tickets at will call!

Question of the Day: What was the last concert you attended, and how much did it cost you?

Second-to-last concert we went to was Coldplay, about a month ago. My father-in-law picked up the tab for this, (it was primarily a gift to my daughter), so I don't know the exact cost -- but I do know that they advertised a four-pack of tickets for around $100... and then they added some amount (not sure how much, exactly) per ticket as a parking fee. This venue had always charged (per car) for parking when you arrived, which sucks but makes sense. But now we ended up paying a fee for each person, although all four came in one vehicle.

I think I decided that I've given up on such large-scale shows. About a week later we caught the Meat Puppets in a little rinky-dink club (formerly a church, capacity ~650) and I thought it was way more fun (at about half the total $$ per capita).

Yeah, I don't remember the last time I went to see a show at a venue whose capacity exceeded, say, 600.

$25 bucks a head for a staduim concert is actually quite reasonable, even after unreasonable parking fees. Last stadium concert I considered going to was a double-bill of The Police and Elvis Costello, and that would have set me back around $90.

Weather permitting we're seeing Dr. Dog on Saturday in Prospect Park for free. I like that price. Also trying to see Steely Dan doing the entire Aja album in a small-ish venue.

Last concert...a jug band (sans jugs) at my favorite place, Barbes, Brooklyn.

I saw Green Day in Central Park NYC a few weeks ago.

It was free.

It was also at 7am. It was a bit weird. Only a few hundred people there though. It was good.

qotd: The elton john concert set me back 90 bucks, I think. Then I'm going to Prog Nation in a month or so for 70 bucks and Sonata Arctica for 40. Pricey stuff.

Reïst wrote:qotd: The elton john concert set me back 90 bucks, I think. Then I'm going to Prog Nation in a month or so for 70 bucks and Sonata Arctica for 40. Pricey stuff.

When I was in middle school, my whole family went to see Elton with Billy Joel. Tickets were supposed to be around $90 per, or something, but Ticketmaster's online program made an error, which they refused to correct, which led to the tickets being over $150 each, but the seats were improved to match. Oops. Great seats, though. Oh man.

I just remembered the last stadium show I saw... it was Bob Dylan at the OSU arena, with Elvis Costello (solo) opening. Cost me $50 plus whatever my share of the parking fee turned out to be. Dylan was... well, let's just say he's not aging well.

Eric Y. wrote:Second-to-last concert we went to was Coldplay

Well there's your problem right there.

qotd: Bird and the Bee. Cost like $15 even with the stupid "service fees" (not from Ticketmaster) which were like $3.

Although I did see Cinematic Titanic Live which was tickets-by-Ticketmaster and that was insane, like $35 for the ticket and $15 for the "service" fees. Asstards.

When I saw Cinematic Titanic, I was fortunate enough that they performed at a venue whose box office was accessible during business hours, so I bought direct from the box office. That's one way around "service fees."

I also generally avoid large, expensive shows.

The last show I went to was either free or very expensive, depending on how you look at it. Last week, I saw The Church perform a free invite-only show for KEXP donors. The show was free, but donating enough to get on the invite list wasn't.

I haven't been to many concerts lately, but July and August are looking very promising. After I get back from SF Live, there's at least one show a week I plan on attending for about 5 or 6 weeks.

Generic wrote:When I was in middle school, my whole family went to see Elton with Billy Joel. Tickets were supposed to be around $90 per, or something, but Ticketmaster's online program made an error, which they refused to correct, which led to the tickets being over $150 each, but the seats were improved to match. Oops. Great seats, though. Oh man.

A friend of mine, T-Bone Wolk, played bass for Billy Joel on that tour. He gave me tickets for the Meadowlands show. We'd talk about our tomato plants (we were neighbors) and he asked if we wanted to go, since people usually hound him about it and we never did. Elton's band sounded so thin, and Billy was really drunk.

Yeah, Billy's kind of a train wreck.

Based on my t-shirt, it looks like you saw them mere days after I did. That was before he gave himself a black eye with the mic stand, right? Was he still making out with random women in the front row?

...Man.

inevitableguy wrote:I also generally avoid large, expensive shows.

The last show I went to was either free or very expensive, depending on how you look at it. Last week, I saw The Church perform a free invite-only show for KEXP donors. The show was free, but donating enough to get on the invite list wasn't.

I haven't been to many concerts lately, but July and August are looking very promising. After I get back from SF Live, there's at least one show a week I plan on attending for about 5 or 6 weeks.

Is that The Church as in Steve Kilbey's The Church? Are they still getting around?!?

I paid about $150 dollar a ticket recently for Womad. But that went for 3 days. And that is NZ$, so $150NZD= about $2.50 US.

roymond wrote:Weather permitting we're seeing Dr. Dog on Saturday in Prospect Park for free. I like that price.

I saw a free show at Prospect Park recently too. I can't remember what it was....Frankie Big Something-or-other and his Ukulele Showband, or something. All I remember was that there was some guy limping around with lots of cheese.

Generic wrote:Yeah, Billy's kind of a train wreck.

Based on my t-shirt, it looks like you saw them mere days after I did. That was before he gave himself a black eye with the mic stand, right? Was he still making out with random women in the front row?

Don't remember the black eye incident. Tom said they had a fight and Sir Elton almost canceled the tour after that show as Billy promised in his contract not to be drunk for shows. He forgot most of his lyrics and acted like a fool, but his piano playing rocked. I wouldn't have gone without knowing Tom but glad I saw it.

roymond wrote:trying to see Steely Dan doing the entire Aja album in a small-ish venue.

Heard about that (as well as other performances of other albums). Sounds cool.
Although my wife (Asya) hates them -- particularly that record -- and particularly that song -- for personal reasons.
Her dad's a big fan, though. Heh.

Interestingly, she doesn't despise the band (or the continent) Asia though. Although she wasn't named after either of those.

roymond wrote:

Generic wrote:Yeah, Billy's kind of a train wreck.

Based on my t-shirt, it looks like you saw them mere days after I did. That was before he gave himself a black eye with the mic stand, right? Was he still making out with random women in the front row?

Don't remember the black eye incident. Tom said they had a fight and Sir Elton almost canceled the tour after that show as Billy promised in his contract not to be drunk for shows. He forgot most of his lyrics and acted like a fool, but his piano playing rocked. I wouldn't have gone without knowing Tom but glad I saw it.

Well, when I saw him, he was in the habit of tossing his mic stand fifteen or twenty feet overhead during the instrumental break in "Still Rock'n'Roll to Me," and then catching it on the way down. Couple this with the fact that he was often drunk and/or high during shows on that tour, and you've got a recipe for disaster. Not long after I saw him (and I suppose, even sooner after you saw him), he did a show where the mix stand pegged him right in the eye on the way down.

I don't think he's done that mic stand trick since.

What's the difference between a concert and a show? Price? Audience size to venue capacity ratio?

Whatever the definition is, I played the last one I attended, heh.

Caravan Ray wrote: Is that The Church as in Steve Kilbey's The Church? Are they still getting around?!?

Yep. That's them. 29 years together and they still sound great. In fact, they just released a new album a few months ago...

inevitableguy wrote:

Caravan Ray wrote: Is that The Church as in Steve Kilbey's The Church? Are they still getting around?!?

Yep. That's them. 29 years together and they still sound great. In fact, they just released a new album a few months ago...

Wow, that brings back memories. Back in the deep, dark days of the mid to late 80's, The Church we one of the very few good bands I would ever get to see in my home town. They even inspired me to wear paisley occasionally. (I got over that). Getting drunk and messy at The Church, Hunters & Collectors or Hoodoo Gurus shows played a very important part in my formative teenage years

Rabid Garfunkel wrote: Whatever the definition is, I played the last one I attended, heh.

Hey, that's me too!
Yes, I saw The Church about ...er ... maybe 8 years ago. Ouch! Good show. Oh yeah, that was before I met my wife. For some reason I was thinking it was more recent than that.
-bill