The White Collar Concert Tour
One of the great things about music is how universal it is. Regardless of sex, race, religion and class we can enjoy music. The rich and poor, black and white, Christian and Muslim can sit and enjoy the sounds from bands that range from Bob Dylan to Metallica. Concerts however are making a turn for the worse, no longer are they a place where high school kids can go to let loose. Concert prices have become absurd, Bon Jovi is charging an upwards of close to $400 seats for one of his seven or so shows in New Jersey, and even the "cheap" seats aren't exactly cheap. Keep in mind this is Bon Jovi, not exactly your Rolling Stones or Paul McCartney. Sure he helped keep the legitimacy of men in leather tights and made strides to make it alright for guys to spend more time on their hair than women, but he isn't quite a staple on the rich history of rock.With each concert I attend I see more and more people dressed as if they were going to a formal dinner than to a rock concert. I do realize that many people go straight from work but most concerts I attend are on a weekend. Rock concerts are a place to lose your voice, lose your hearing, and to lose sweat. Instead the only thing being lost is the rock concert itself. When I'm rocking out to Rush's "Tom Sawyer" the last thing I want to hear is some petty man in business attire yelling at me to sit down because I'm blocking his view.
What happened to the days of the truly deserving getting the front row? Now it's whoever wants to cough up a kidney to some idiot on Ebay. The purity of a rock concert is dying. I don't care how big and extravagant a Stones concert is, there is no need to charge that much for a show. Bands are raking in ridiculous amounts of money from these tours, they have no right destroying what's great about rock.
posted by Jeff at 10:17 AM
7 Comments:
I'm with you 100%. I don't even go to big shows anymore. I bet I can count on one hand how many shows I've paid more than $20 for in the last ten years (barring all-day festivals). I just won't feed the machine that's killing rock n roll. A good rule of thumb to me is that if a teenager can't afford to go to two concerts a month and buy a t-shirt there, then the price is too high. Rock n roll is for kids, not adults. I'm 36, but I still think of myself as a kid and that's why I still buy records and wear t-shirts everyday. Even though I can now afford to pay more, the price should be set for kids. I shouldn't get a better seat just because I'm out of school and have a career. I think the nastiest thing I ever say about a band is that they've become adult. I'm done with any band that goes there and the ticket prices are for adults. It's not just the bands either, because promoters and venues are making a ton too. For a lot of bands, they can't even keep the price down if they wanted to. It sucks.
Jeff, I agree with you. I just posted a similar rant at my website about concert prices, fees and quality. After seeing hundreds of shows in the last 22 years, I'm considering giving up going to concerts. The prices are too high and the fees make them even higher, then you get a three band bill where the headliner plays just over an hour. I'd rather spend my money on CDs and vinyl instead.
Bob - I agree, Rock is a genre that should be oriented more to youth than adults. I'm pretty willing to pay big money for concerts, granted if I really like them. However, it was what I was brought up with, I don't remember a time of cheap prices and when I couldn't buy tickets online. Well, the first concert I ever bought tickets for I purchased over the phone (Aerosmith.) There are a lot of classic rock bands who are charging ridiculous amounts that I have never seen yet so I guess my only chance is to pay the big bucks. It's unfortunate.
RhodeIslandRock - I don't even want to think about how much money I've spent on concerts over the past few years, I could have probably bought myself a decent car or something. And speaking of 3 band bills, when I'm going to see Rage along with a bunch of other rap groups in July, the only band I want to see is Rage, so it's like paying $90 to see one band...
Jeff - And they wonder why people steal music from the internet right?
Peace,
- Neo
Well said. What saddesn me is the cheapening of the experience with rote encores and corporate control. That reminds me of the words from Rush's "The Spirit of Radio:"
One likes to believe in the freedom of music
But glittering prizes
And endless compromises
Shatter the illusion of integrity
-- david
Love this topic. Bob and I were grumbling about The Police raping their fans on this reunion tour. I absolutely love The Police and still squeeze their CDs into my playlists with regularity. When the announcement came of this tour, I actually considered on going, until a friend of mine and I pulled those tickets online. He makes a shitload of money and was originally going to offer to take us both, but even HE got squeamish at those prices, regardless of his income.
I can honestly say the last three big venue concerts I've been to were free, two using my journalist perks, Korn and Sounds of the Underground, and my ex-boss sent us to Rush as a gift. I think the last one I paid for in a big venue is Blue Man Group and it wasn't an outrageous price, and it was a hell of a good show. Then again, I guess you can consider the Nokia Theater in NYC a kinda big venue, which I covered Anthrax and Skinny Puppy there...I say big venue because the ticket prices there are more than other places, which I'm sure New Yorkers aren't so happy about. It's a beautiful venue, though, and the acoustics are top-notch.
If you want to save on money, support the underground and attend club shows. Depending on where you're at and how greedy the venue promoter is, the tickets are normally reasonable since they'd rather have spend money on beer. I've seen so many shows because of what I do part-time, but even when I choose to go to shows where I'm paying for the ticket, it's usually at clubs where the prices are much more reasonable. Besides, who doesn't want that closer intimacy where, as you say, the deserving people who can make it to the front actually make it instead of having to pay for the right?
Neo - Yup, another thing to add to the list of why people steal music.
David - Speak of the devil, I'm listening to Rush right now, not "The Spirit of the Radio" though, right now "The Trees" are on.
Ray - I rarely go to shows at small venues, most of the music I like doesn't seem to have much of an underground following. And about Nokia, I would agree with you, it is a great venue.
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