I began writing yet another sexy-ish post today and stopped myself because readers might begin to suspect my integrity, but I'm beginning to think that the name of this blog should be changed to The Insatiable Mrs. Brown!
I knew that hubs and I were chafing at the time wasted on pelvic rest, but geez we're acting like a couple of lustful teenagers. Looks like we'll have to start stocking up on the Vitamin E. (wink!)
So enough of my sexy shenanigans because I'm guessing that there are only two people on this planet who give a rip about our sex life. Instead, I want to bitch about music - concerts, to be specific.
Ages ago it was discovered that both my husband and I like Eric Clapton, but it's interesting that neither of us have ever attended one of his concerts. We decided that we'd totally go the next time he plays in our area. All my recent musical exploration revealed that he's playing in our area in a month from now. I nearly peed myself at the awesome timing of finding out before the concert!
I checked out the ticket prices and, uh, I can swallow some pretty high prices, but don't think I can take $123 for a nosebleed seat. You read that right. It would cost $246 just for two seats! Perhaps I'm old-fashioned or just cheap, but $246 seems like a lot of money for the privilege of listening to a musician for around ninety-minutes. I hope a kiss is included in the price of admission because I already feel f*cked.
I shook my tiny fist of impotent rage at the computer and kvetched about it on Facebook. My brother-in-law had a very interesting comment that I agree with wholeheartedly. His feelings are that these exorbitant ticket prices serve to keep kids out of shows and only allows your more well-heeled or mature audience to attend. He's right.
Then he added that wasn't what rock & roll is about. And it really isn't. Rock is for the youth, but even at $8+ minimum wage, the young kids today would likely find it tough to pony up $123 per ticket. Want to help expose some young people to this fantastic music? Try lowering the ticket prices! I understand that they'll only charge what audiences are willing to pay, but DAMN!
What music would be played at a Clapton concert? A lot of hits that were recorded well over 20-years ago. Songs that were written for the enjoyment of young people. . .young people who grew up to be the only people who would probably be willing to spend $123 for a Clapton concert ticket. I don't want to spend that kind of money and I don't want to miss the show either. Crap!
Anyway, I came across this fun clip today. . .how many of you remember listening to vinyl??? I still have a fairly respectable record collection. All of the albums from The Eagles (still have an ancient The Long Run T-shirt somewhere), Zeppelin IV, and many others that I can't think of off the top of my head. Those were just my favorites. Yeah, I told you all that I was born twenty-years too late.
In closing, rock out with your cock out. Oh, sh*t! I had to go back to sex, huh?
From my brother-in-law:
ReplyDelete"I can't begin to express my despair at what has happened to ticket prices of late, though as you note in your blog, I did try earlier :-)
It seems to me that the music industry has decided that seeing as people don't want to buy recordings s...o much these days, they'll adopt a kind of "swings and roundabouts" philosophy and try to fleece said punters over the price of a ticket to see whoever.
It also probably explains why so many old bands and artists come out of retirement and start touring the globe like they're 22 years of age again. There's a kind of marketing message for these gigs that you owe it to yourself to see these artists, usually because the word gets around it might be the "farewell" tour. Well experience tends to suggest there ain't no such thing, geriatric tendencies apparently being no barrier to the mighty dollar/pound/yen.
I've seen a good majority of all the big rock acts, from Zep downwards, and the scary thing is the total cost of admission I paid for all of those gigs is probably somewhere South (in pounds) of what the Honda Centre (I assume?) wants to charge you guys for peering through the clouds at what the jumbo video screen vaguely suggests is Eric Clapton.
The most staggering thing of all is that people actually pay these ridiculous amounts. I can't help thinking it's some kind of modern day status symbol which, at the risk of repeating myself, is definitely not what I call rock and roll.
By the time I was about 18, I'd seen Black Sabbath, Van Halen, Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Thin Lizzy, Yes, Motorhead, you name it. Imagine doing that now. Short of being Paris Hilton or one of the Trump kids, you wouldn't stand a chance of being able to pay the total asking price. I reckon I had change from £25 for seeing all of those bands...
Live music is primarily for young people, in my view. It helps to define who they are, exposes them to brilliant artistry and musicianship and, most importantly, gives them priceless memories that last a lifetime.
If all this weren't enough, the promoters usually want you to pay for the ticket about a year in advance... That is the ultimate blasphemy in this sorry situation. Excuse me, but I have absolutely no idea what my schedule is in two months time, so why should I pony up, as you describe it, $100+ on something I might not be able to attend due to unknown commitments?
In my youth, tours were usually announced no more than 6-8 weeks in advance. Enough time for you to know what you were likely to be doing and close enough to get really excited by it.
There was a lot of press this summer that gigs over here were not being filled. How not surprising is that...
I seriously wonder if I will ever see another live concert. Actually that's probably acceptable - I have the T-shirts.
What worries me more is the experiences our boys are going to miss, unless our ship comes in."
Screw talking about concert tickets and let's talk about sex or the like. Lmao
ReplyDeleteWord. I keep thinking that I'm acting like a bitch in heat. It's like I've been in a desert and I finally have been given water, but my thirst is nowhere near to being quenched! I'll probably start backing into my husband next. Ha!
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