elfsprin wrote: ↑Fri Nov 26, 2021 6:38 pm
The most I ever paid to see a concert was 80/ticket, to take my dad to see Fleetwood Mac. Going to the orchestra is around $40. Most other concerts I’ve been to are $20-50.
Hmm, not sure what the most I paid for a concert was. There have been some recitals, like Renee Flemming, Hilary Hahn, Kathleen Battle, and Martha Argerich come to mind that I think were in the $65 - $80 dollar range. I think I saw Denyce Graves in Samson y Delilah for about $80. Renee might have been more like $130 cuz I gambled that I would find a date but did not. I went with an old friend who I can't remember if she reimbursed me or not. Those classical events have tier pricing. I'd usually cap out around $70-$80 cuz that was about my max for what I'd pay to see a regular season basketball or hockey game. That price has since increased dramatically. I think I may have paid $160 for a Lakers ticket. Of which I got two, one for a very good friend as a bday gift. She bought me a ticket to see Shakira so I'm sure she was out the same.
Concerts are so expensive anymore. I remember about 15 years ago Shakira coming to town and tix were $140 but I just thought that was too much for seats on the side, half way back. If I was much closer, I may've considered it but not for average seats. I really screwed up a few weeks ago. I was just randomly driving and saw Julien Baker was playing. I like a couple of her songs. I had downloaded her latest album, liked it but didn't listen to it a whole lot. Not that I didn't care for it but I would mostly listen to the library on shuffle. Anyway, I saw some tix online for like $35 and I should have jumped at it. I thought I might be able to do better at the venue and not pay any service charge but they were sold out. When I went to grab the ticket online, I kept getting error messages until it too was gone. It may've been gone before I started to hem & haw over the smallest of margins but I hate I just didn't pull the trigger.
I can't remember what the last show I saw was...? I saw Dead Sara in 2018, which was really cool cuz I love them and it was on my bday. I have some friends who play in bands that I've seen since, even post pandemic, but these were bars. One, a decent sized venue, but no ticket required, so does that really count?
I can't remember when I saw Charlie Wilson, formerly of The Gap Band. There were some other old skool acts like Keith Sweat(?) and Johnny Gill on the bill. It was sometime in the last 3-4 years, I think. En Vogue and Tony! Toni! Tone! were playing together about a month ago. I had a some varied family commitments that I was going to have to work around but really I could have gone. It was another matter of basically me being cheap. There were some other acts on the bill but it was still, do I want to pay $80 for meh seats? I had never seen 3T so it was really tempting. I wasn't sure if En Vogue was going to be 3 members or 4. Not sure if that mattered. I was like, it's not 1993, do I really want to see them that bad??
I remember going to see concerts in middle school and high school and sorta the blessing/bane of the show would be later at night trying to go to sleep. My ears would just be riiiiinnggiiinggg! Wow! That would not go away. I'd also have that pot/cigarette smell stuck in my nostrils. In a way it prolonged the experience. I could relive opening chords and sights and key moments but it would not let me sleep and so loud in my ear. Later, in college, I started working for a company that did event services for a buncha stadiums and venues, so I'd go ushering a ticket taking at a lot of concerts and sporting events. Way cool! They always gave us foam ear plugs. They work so well. Not that it muffles the sound to where you can't hear as well but it cuts it down from dangerous levels. I always try to take some to shows. Many venues I go to sell them for like a buck. I will take them out when a group is playing one of my favorite songs but no more post-show buzzing is a godsend.
Madrigal wrote: ↑Mon Nov 29, 2021 1:18 am
I never really went to any concerts on purpose, usually they were a part of a political event.
Back in 2000, holy crap, has it really been that long?? Rage Against the Machine was going to do a free outdoor show around the Democratic National Convention. I was really considering going but Idk what happened but I wound up not going. It was no big deal until like 2003-2004 when they hadn't played live since and the talk was they weren't EVER going to play together again.
About 3-4 years after that, they did play another live show in LA. I can't remember what music festival it was a part of. I found out they were playing and wanted to go but then found out it was at the LA Coliseum, I was like nope! Not that that place is so bad in and of itself. I'd go to USC football games all the time. I think I saw the Rams play there too. Saw the raiders way back when they were playing there and that was like the yard at a maximum security prison. But I just didn't want to deal with an all day music festival when it could be 100 degrees out and packed with stoned and drunk mofos. All the time I bemoaned missing their last performance, then they were coming back and I was like, 'naw, I'm good, thanks.'
Rage wasn't one of my favorite bands either. What I did like was the thought of being able to say I saw their first performance, (I'm pretty sure it was first public performance, without too many caveats), and then saw their last. Which would be cool if they just broke up and not had some Lynard Skynard moment.