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When you think that next bass is "too expensive"...

#121
Templar said:
Wow. :greedy:

And to think I (reluctantly) passed on seeing McCartney at the Denver Pepsi Center back in the day 'cos I couldn't see paying $300+ @ for decent seats. That's peanuts nowadays.

In a way, I'm almost glad there are no big music venues where I live now...:meh:
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McCartney @ Red Square was something less than fifty bucks... can't remember exactly but I have the ticket stubs in a box somewhere. James Brown at the Kremlin Palace theatre was something like twenty bucks. (we saw Chuck Berry there too!)... Since I got back to North America, the only stadium show I've bothered to see was Ringo & his All-Starr band. Seen quite a few awesome shows at the Iridium, though - good value at that venue! :woot:
 
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#122
I don't see shows like this at all. Can't fathom it. When I saw Jeff Beck with the Jan Hammer Group (the show on the album) I paid like six bucks for the ticket. Having seen stuff like that in its heyday for those prices, I'm gonna spend megabucks to see bands that, to be generous, are past their prime?

Not a chance.
 
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#123
coyote1 said:
I don't see shows like this at all. Can't fathom it. When I saw Jeff Beck with the Jan Hammer Group (the show on the album) I paid like six bucks for the ticket. Having seen stuff like that in its heyday for those prices, I'm gonna spend megabucks to see bands that, to be generous, are past their prime?

Not a chance.
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Same here. I stopped going to live shows in the mid to late 70s. But mid-60s to mid-70s shows in NYC were peak experience.
 
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#124
This may have already been said.
While I would say that's ridiculous, particularly for the band that tried to keep the price of tickets down back in their heyday, the reality is that back in the 70's-90's live tours were virtually an advertisement to help sell the latest album. These days, live tours are one of the few ways for musicians to make money as their recorded music makes very little on streaming services.
 
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#125
marchone said:
Same here. I stopped going to live shows in the mid to late 70s. But mid-60s to mid-70s shows in NYC were peak experience.
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Filmore East? My mother went to all of those shows and kept a lot of the booklets. The number of incredible bands she saw and the comparatively low price she paid compared to tickets nowadays...

I had a concert month in October of 2019 and a buddy and I went to about 8 shows. By the end of the month, we were tired of waiting in lines.
 
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#127
ticketmaster/Live Nation is an awful, terrible, evil monopoly. I do not understand how they get away with what they do. I personally think the government should get involved; launch an investigation and put an end these horrific business practices of theirs
 
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#128
ComesATime said:
Filmore East? My mother went to all of those shows and kept a lot of the booklets. The number of incredible bands she saw and the comparatively low price she paid compared to tickets nowadays...

I had a concert month in October of 2019 and a buddy and I went to about 8 shows. By the end of the month, we were tired of waiting in lines.
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The Fillmore, The Schaefer shows in Central Park, Randall's Island, the Singer Bowl, Steve Paul's Scene, the Palladium, the Cafe Au Go Go … and on and on.

I saw everyone that came through town. From the Beatles to Hendrix.
 
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#134
Smooth_bass88 said:
ticketmaster/Live Nation is an awful, terrible, evil monopoly. I do not understand how they get away with what they do. I personally think the government should get involved; launch an investigation and put an end these horrific business practices of theirs
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Without getting too political, IF we're gonna regulate prices or market practices via govt there are more pressing needs than such discretionary spending as concerts. Understand I'm saying that as a total non-fan of that particular monopoly.
 
#136
Rabidhamster said:
Next time you think that bass you want is "too expensive", just put it in perspective. 1 (one) standing room-only orchestra pit ticket to Pearl Jam is $2800.00 before tax, fees and parking. Hope you didn't have a date!
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I have a co worker who plays horns/sax/tuba etc ...

I'll never complain about the price of an electric bass again... ;)
 
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#138
I don't go to stadium shows any more. I haven't for many years. Apart from the high ticket prices, you need binoculars to actually be able to tell if the act on stage is really who you paid to see and the sound that eventually reaches your ears has been bounced around a gigantic concrete structure and turned into a reverberated jumbled mess. The last one I saw was Prince at the Sydney Entertainment Centre with my wife and our two young daughters. The kids were big fans as much as their parents but the sound was atrocious and the seat locations were worse.
The music has become a support act to the spectacle of pyrotechnics and giant video screens and that's not what interests me.
Much more to my taste was the Neville Brothers in a large pub auditorium. Now that was so much more worth the ticket price which was not too high.
I'm not buying a new bass anytime soon either. I have what I want.
 
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#139
What anyone paid for a ticket 50 years ago is irrelevant. Even if you adjust for inflation, consider this…production costs have grown exponentially over the decades. PA systems have become enormous, plus expanded lighting, effects, giant video, bigger crews, communication systems for that crew, then there are roadies/crew just for the acts themselves, with expertise concerning tech that didn't exist 25 years ago, all of which gets written into the ticket price.

The days of reasonably big bands that show up with just a 25 ft box truck containing all their gear(with three or four guys to handle it)and performing by just standing there (maybe hopping around a little)are pretty much over. People expect spectacle, and a flawless 'just like the record' experience. That's why so many you see on stage now aren't really playing. Then there are the pop acts with dancers/backup vocalists.

Add to that the operational and legal costs for the venues. The tragedy of The Who concert in Cincinnati,'79, changed everything. The Great White pyro disaster, even though in a small club, added to that further. Insurance premiums, tour underwriting, an increasingly heavy upgrade in security after 9/11(and in spite of that, the EODM incident occured, although in Paris)…all those sorts of things have become a significant portion of the ticket price, in spite of corporate sponsorship buy-ins. It ain't a groovy time at the Fillmore anymore.
 
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#140
All I know is, I paid $435 for two tickets for this, an old fart nostalgia experience of a different kind…
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Last year's line-up was much better, but this will still do. Granted, I was ready when the tix went online pre-sale, but this is still a great per-unit cost breakdown, if you will, even with the bands I don't care about. Plus, I might discover something I like among the newer, bottom of the bill outfits, you never know.
 
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