DOES ANYONE IN THIS BITCH LIKE CONCERTS?!?!?!

For instance, $250 could put me in the Middle East (Cambridge, MA) approximately 20 times. This INCLUDES the excessive service charges from Ticketmaster. (For instance, I paid $16.50 for a $10 ticket.) (The only reason I put up w/ those charges is that I have to drive 90 miles to get to Cambridge, and I want to make damn sure I don't get shut out of the show.)

So, for that $250, I'd get to see the Clientele & Dump, the Ex & Fat Day, Red Monkey, Retsin & K, Neil Hagerty, Calexico, the Dismemberment Plan, US Maple, the Locust & Arab-On-Radar, AND Bright Eyes w/ Simon Joyner. And I'd have enough money left over to pay for a couple tanks of gas, some grub, and a bottle or two of Cider Jack.

And, shit, Madonna doesn't even play an instrument!

Stupidest thing for a concert: take a bus into Cambridge for the very 1st time (circa 1997), go to a show, and wander the streets of Boston for 6 hours until the T opened up & I could take a bus home. The stupid part, though, was shopping for CDs after being up for 24+ hours. I ended up @ Tower Records. Paid $17 for a Nothing Painted Blue CD I could've bought for $5 less somewhere/anywhere else.

Also: if you're going to wander for 6+ hours, make sure your backpack isn't filled with a bunch of books. Unless you're a fan of lower back pain. In that case, I'd recommend War & Peace and Infinite Jest for the total traction workout.

But Madonna is SO RICH ALREADY! I went to see 'Truth or Dare' at the movies and afterwards I had this really wierd feeling like, I just gave her $8.

OK, that may seem like a muso sort of thing to say (see "chops" on the image thread) but it's not just semantics.

I don't like large venues. The largest hall I will willingly go to is Brixton Accademy or Roseland Ballroom. The largest gig I've ever been to, excepting festivals, was Blur at Wembley Arena, and that scared me half to death. It was, however, free. ;-)

It's not indie snobbery, really, I swear to god, it's not. And it's not even about the idea of seeing "five ants on a stage" because often, with giant TVs and things, you see better at a stadium.

This is going to sound horribly pretentious, but in a smaller venue, the dynamic is about the relationship between you and the performer, or between you and the music. When an audience becomes too large, it becomes the dynamic of the relationship between you and The Crowd. And I intensely dislike large, uncontrollable, crowd situations.

About the money... whew. I don't know. I've spent far more money than that *travelling* to get to shows in other countries and the like, but then again, for me, travelling is kind of an end in and of itself, the gig being only the icing on the cake.

I can't think of a band I would spend $250 to see. Unless Spacemen3 came back from the grave, but it seems unlikely, so thankfully I'll never have to know. ;-)

Bill

Yeah, there's still value in concerts. Whether there's $250 value in them is something you must decide for yourself. But if it makes a difference, _I_ think you're a yuppie.

I hardly ever go to concerts or gigs, mainly because I think I have burnt out from seeing so many in the past. And also because a lot of the good bands that happen to come to town play at a venue over an hour away with terrible acoustics. Not my idea of fun.

There are exceptions of course: I don't know if the Detroit Electronic Music Festival counts, because it wasn't a static experience of standing there watching acts, it was more about dancing, etc. There's also a local record shop that will put on concerts in the store of mainly new bands and experimental stuff, and that can be fun to do. But that's mainly it.

And I certainly do place the value of the tickets against the price of CD's and, a bad habit which is most likely an offshoot of fullprice/matinee/second-run approach to seeing films, I put the value of the show against the price I paid to get in as well. So Air may have to invite the Nuge to ride out Whiplash-Bash style on a buffalo and duet on "Drift Away" or something for me to feel I got my money's worth.

But the subtle nuances of the live performance, the audience interaction, the performer's energry level/amount of "being into it" can change so dramatically so much from night to night, from tour to tour. I don't care what anyone says- a tour is never the same night after night, even if it is the same set repeated. And if it *is* exactly the same night after night (ie lip-synched and choreographed) then you're not getting your moneys worth.

Those are the few reasons left that will still keep me going to gigs, even when my back hurts and it's smokey and the audience is filled with drunken arses who keep jumping up and down on my shoes.

Exactly. The kind of yuppie chuckleheads who will bring a cell phone to said concert and hold it up in the air for their friends to hear.

These are the people for whom the death penalty should have been created.

But on the whole, I agree with the dedication vs. yuppiedom thing.

Anyhow, shortly after I wrote that question, it was revealed that Madonna, the bitch that she is, was going to do a lottery so I actually didn't go over there til like 5:30 and I only went that early because my friend kept calling me asking me to come keep him company, the crackhead (hello, you didn't have to still be in line). We got $50 tickets, which were actually amazingly good considering the "TOP" tickets were $250!!! The shows are all sold out now.

I justified the possibility of spending $250 in my mind as such: I've never seen Madonna, despite being her biggest fan for like 20 years now (like, nearly literally). I don't go to concerts that often and I haven't bought a CD in at least like three weeks, so my music expenditure is low. I really don't care much about money anymore anyhow. I like telling people I spent $250 on concert tix, because it raises eyebrows. So with all that in mind I was pretty ready for it but then we were like, floor seats, pff, fucking floor seats. Those are the worst unless you're in the first couple rows.

The most I've ever spent on concert tickets was for Tom Waits, and that was about $40 Canadian (more like $30 US I guess), and this is from a man who hasn't toured in YEARS. Some of the artists I've seen tickets for lately have been charging insane amounts (though not as insane as Madonna), and they tour regularly. I'm trying to remember when tickets started costing this much, and I have a feeling it traces back to the Eagles reunion shows, when promoters realized they could actually get away with ticket prices that were that ridiculous. Of course, I like to blame Don Henley for a lot of what's wrong with music these days.

What annoys me most about this thread is that instead of focusing on what I actually asked, ie what do you think about live performances and if you enjoy them what is the weirdest thing/most you've done to see one, and instead use it as an excuse to rage against concert ticket prices.

Now, in real life, the people who've been most offended by the $250 price have been people I know are heavily into CD burning. Can anyone say cheap ass muthafuckas? Not that I'm implying this about the people in this thread, mind you, because I have no clue about any of your habits. But I have found this to be a curious phenomenon in real life - the most vehement ones, ie the ones who thought the $50 was unreasonable, were two people who I know no longer purchase CDs at all in favor of burning. I just found this curious, what do you lot make of it?

Buying $250-a-pop concert tickets is the kind of thing yuppies legendarily do but I don't know any yuppies so I don't know if that's true or not.

I've never done anything stupid to get concert tickets cause my reaction to the news "[artist] is touring" is generally "Oh thats nice" rather than "I MUST HAVE TICKETS".

I've paid some outrageous prices for tickets (although nothing above $100) because live shows can be great, especially Big Outdoor Rock Festivals on nice hot summer days. I think you have to weigh the value, though. I'll pay $60 to see Ornette Coleman because with him, the show is going to be an experience I'd not be able to have at home with the record. I would never pay big bucks to see Dr. Dre, though, because I know he's just going to rap over a backing DAT with three other guys and make dumb postures at the crowd, and say "Oklahoma WHAT!!" with a big spliff on the digital display behind him.

See, I don't care about such things. I am down with the theory that the amount of money you pay for a concert should be in proportion to the amount of spectacle/"experience" you get. I have no problem paying $50 to see Madonna, whose shows are legendary for being complete circuses and hugely entertaining. I balked at the idea of paying $50 to see D'Angelo, who basically stands on stage with musicians and sings. I'd pay $50 to see Spiritualized, who have light shows and fantastic arrangements. I'd not pay $50 to see the Manics, who are my favorite band, because they do the Oasis thing these days of standing and staring straight ahead.

To me, it's in the extras, not just in how much I like the music, because quite frankly I generally think the live versions of songs I like are much worse than the album versions. I like the whole shebang, so to speak, and if I think I am going to get it, I'll pay for it.

So here's a question that's been forming in my head: what's the difference between paying $100+ for one single concert/sporting event that you really, really, really want to see every few months or once a year, and paying $100+ to see many concerts/sporting events but sit in crap seats or they're stuff you don't really badly want to see? It's the same amount of money in the end, correct? If you believe that by buying $250 tickets to the Madonna show will make you happy, and you skip the Air, Cinerama, Dandy Warhols, Outkast and D'Angelo shows to see it (which actually comes out to more money than Madonna) because you're not raging to see those 5 bands, why is that a bad thing?

Forgive me, Blake dearest, for agreeing with you.

Which is alright because the concert was last night anyhow, so I couldn't have answered when you asked ;)

The concert was utterly fantastic, an hour and a half of nonstop pure power and excitement. It was easily the best show I've ever seen, and by show I don't just mean concert, I mean theatre events too. The setting and choreography was excellent, and Madonna sounded better than ever. The mark of a good live show is that you can even hear songs you dislike on album and they suddenly become songs you like - and that was what was occuring at this gig. I suddenly find myself interested in "Nobody's Perfect" (which was really dramatic and wonderful in concert, a skit really) and "Don't Tell Me" and even "Mer Girl".

I really actually think it would've been worth the $250 to get better tickets. Our seats were excellent nonetheless, if a bit high. We had plenty of room to sing and dance and that's what's important.

Yesterday - The Raveonettes
Today - Pavement/Phoenix feat Daft Punk/Hot Chip...
Tomorrow - Lou Reed
Monday - Paul McCartney
Tuesday - Michael Rohter and Steve Shelley playing Neu!
Sunday - Ornette Coleman

Best 10 days of concerts ever in my city

Funny to see people talking about "yuppies" in 2001. Glad that (almost) disappeared with the 90s...

Jesus, that is an awesome run of shows!

There's exactly one person on that list I'd like to see (and I've seen him three times already).

yuppies killed my family

Ornette 3 times Unperson?

Yep, twice as a headliner and once as a special guest at Sonny Rollins' 80th birthday show.

What a weird thread.

1.

Jesus. I mean, this weekend I spent $400 to stay in a hotel room that was a block from my house, just so that we'd have someplace new to smoke cigarettes and drink, and one of the nights I didn't even STAY there cos I was so pissed off at someone.

Way weirder than spending $250 to see Madonna, more should have been made of this.

2.

It's far stupider to pay $20 but sit in the nosebleeds than it is to pay a lot but sit where you can see the action up close. My company has tons of floor seats for Knicks games, but it's because they see no point in going if you're going to sit far - the whole point of going in person is to experience, not just watch.

feel like Ally misses the point of live sports here, which is to be surrounded by thousands of people cheering for your team. If you want to see the action really well, you're never gonna beat the TV broadcast.

3.

Funny to see people talking about "yuppies" in 2001. Glad that (almost) disappeared with the 90s...

Maybe people don't fret as intensely about whether they are or aren't yuppies, but the word is hardly gone, I think it's established itself firmly as a social category and I heard people described as such constantly.

"and change into pajamas that I think will be the most modest to strip out of while in Tower Records"

i'm still trying to figure out why ally waa stripping in tower records. maybe that's a requirement when you buy madonna tickets?

Oh yeah, I remember this concert and her stans were whining on the news about how the concert was sold out and how expensive it was.
This was around the time I stopped caring about Madonna. I listened to the Music album years later and there's absolutely nothing to rave about except maybe 'Don't Tell Me'. Most of her 00s albums were all rehashes of Ray of Light. Well, not Hard Candy, that was more like Bedtime Stories Redux.

Attended my 50th show this year last night. Insane year.

1349 w/ Origin and Abysmal Dawn -Orpheum, Tampa: Caught Steve Asheim smoking weed, he freaked out thinking I was a narc

YOB w/ Witch Mountain - Big Earl, Atlanta GA: had a fiasco getting up there, one of the best shows I saw this year.

Master - Orpheum, Tampa: barely remember anything about it. not cos I was drunk (I wasn't), but wasn't a great show

Contortionist w/ Fallujah and Revocation (2x)- Orpheum, Tampa, and Back Booth, Orlando: Skipped Contortionist both times.

Cannibal Corpse w/ Behemoth and Tribulation - Jannus Live, St Pete: Missed Tribulation due to work and the traffic jam of a century.

Anvil w/Lord Dying (2x)- West End Trading Company, Sanford, and State Theatre, St Pete: saw the second one in the same night as the Contortionist show in Orpheum...left one, went to the other

Cryptopsy - West End Trading, Sanford: sick show, first time seeing them since 2001

Deicide - West End Trading, Sanford: Went to this show after performing in a breast cancer benefit. Kind of an odd doubleheader.

Rush (2x) - Lakewood Ampitheatre, Atlanta GA, and Nationwide Arena, Columbus OH - what else can be said...Rush, yo. Rush!

Obituary (2x) - West End Trading, Sanford and Brass Mug, Tampa - Growing tired of seeing them live now.

Slayer at Welcome to Rockville, Jacksonville - had a blast of a time in rainy weather, even if the setlist was predictable.

Torche at Back Booth, Orlando - fun but wish I'd known more of their music going in

Vital Remains (2x) at The Haven, Winter Park, and Orpheum, Tampa - the infamous "cross" incident at the Haven happened on night #1

1349 w/ Vattnet Viskar at The Haven, Winter Park - Vattnet were the better band

Napalm Death w/ Ringworm, Voivod, Iron Reagan, and Exhumed - STate Theater, St Pete - Great lineup, crazy night, got very drunk, and a
friend got in a fight

Ringworm - Jacksonville - The show that made me a fan of theirs

Primitive Man and Celeste - Tampa, FL: did not enjoy this show. the venue was too primitive even for me, and I don't get the love for PM at all.

Goatwhore w/ Ringworm and Black Breath - The Earl, Atlanta GA: Loved Black Breath and Ringworm. realizing Goatwhore are boring live.

Black Tusk - Will's Pub, Orlando: Not a great band, third-tier at best, but an entertaining show with a great crowd

Maruta - Will's Pub, Orlando: Met a new friend at this show, Maruta was good but I was exhausted by the time I came on

Ginko Balboa (4x) - Various venues: Check my friends out - they're a solid act who have just been getting sharper over time

Slayer w/ King Diamond at Rockstar Mayhem, Aaron's Ampitheater, Atl GA - Probably the show of the year for me. The KING!

Faith No More w/ Refused at Masquerade, Atlanta GA: So glad I finally got to see FNM.

Terrorizer at West End Trading, Sanford: Caught Pete's drumstick

Fear Factory at Venue 578, Orlando: First time I've enjoyed them live. it just worked!

BTBAM at Venue 578, Orlando: Aggravating night at the venue, but BTBAM destroyed it

Gruesome at The Haven, Winter park: One of my fav retro bands of the year

Toxic Holocaust, The Haven, Winter Park: One of my fav shows of the year. pulled a great time out of me on a night when I didn't have much in the tank.

Nocturnus AD (2x) - Brass Mug, Tampa, Hourglass Brewing, Longwood: First show was my 2nd favorite show of the year. Got a little tipsy, hugged a metalhead in the mosh pit. Love these guys.

Motorhead w/ Anthrax - House of Blues, Orlando: Loud as hell. Way too crowded. Anthrax was ruined by the asshole people pushing by me every 2 seconds. Motorhead played a short set but it was loud and raucous.

Monstrosity - West End, Sanford: Last minute decision to go, and I'm glad I did. Realizing now I really like their classic 90s stuff, and they were taut as hell live. Wonder if this means Terrorizer is done, as Sam and Lee are both back in the reformed Monstrosity.

Cannibal Corpse w/ Cattle Decapitation - Crazy Horse, Jacksonville: I am sporting a knee injury and a hangover but I regret nothing. so much fun.

Ghost - Beacham, Orlando: Fantastic setlist, cracking loud guitars, great stage show.

Danzig w/ Witch Mountain, Hard Rock Live - Orlando: was feeling low and moody due to stress and this show cured it. Witch Mountain and Danzig had fantastic sets.

Overkill w/ Symphony X, Orpheum, Tampa: Thanks to getting out of work late, I missed 90% of Symphony X's set. Overkill were fantastic live, but this was my 4th show in 6 days and I was too gassed to really let loose.

Nocturnus AD, Brass Mug, Tampa: Finally getting tired of seeing them live, lol

Deicide, West End, Sanford: Bruises still haven't healed yet.

Cannibal Corpse w/ Cattle Decapitation (again) - Venue 578, Orlando: This was loud and sick as fuck. I was sore and hungover the next day.

Suffocation, West End, Sanford: Wasn't about to let a nasty eye infection stop me. Band sounded amazing and ran through a shitload of classics - much better time at this show than I had the previous one

Macabre, Brass Mug, Tampa: I can make the "I was too drunk" excuse, but I'm gonna come out and say I am more of a fan of Gloom-era Macabre and not as much the stuff Dahmer and ongoing. Not that it's bad, but it's not interesting live.

King Diamond - Masquerade, ATL: This was well worth the miles traveled. Got very drunk but he was in prime shape. went nuts during the opening two songs from Abigail.

Hate Eternal, West End Trading Company, Sanford FL: Not a huge fan of theirs, but I like them and they sounded really good!

Upcoming...

Mayhem w/ Watain, Venue 578 Orlando - Peeked at the setlist and HOLY FUCK is this gonna rule. (11/27/2015)
Blind Guardian, The Plaza, Orlando: Weird thing is how early these went on sale - I bought the tix like 4 months ago. (11/28/2015)
Deicide, Jacksonville FL: Will make three times this year (12/2/2015)
High on Fire w/ Crowbar: holy hell (12/7/2015)

Love the 2001 threads. They're so weird.

2015 shows that I can remember:
A Great Night in Harlem (Alex Blake, Antoine Roney, Benny Golson, Billy Harper, Buster Williams, Davell Crawfod Gospel Choir, Donald Fagen, George Cables, Jack deJohnette, James Carter, Jimmy Heath, Keb Mo, Keith Richards and His X-Pensive Winos featuring Lisa Fischer and Bernard Fowler, Melissa Aldana, Randy Brecker, Randy Weston, Ravi Coltrane, Ray Parker Jr, Renee Fleming, remarks by Sonny Rollins and Danny Glover, Valerie Simpson, more)
Alison Brown, Sierra Hull, et al Johnny Cash tribute
Alvin Youngblood Hart
Arturo O'Farrill and his Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra
Asleep at the Wheel
Belle and Sebastian, Real Estate
Berliner Philharmoniker
Bobby Rush
Bombino
Brain Cloud (upcoming)
Chop and Quench, Underground System
Chris Potter Underground Orchestra
Courtney Barnett
Daniel Romano
Dave and Phil Alvin
Dead & Company x2
Dr. John
Don Byron Quartet (I think)
Dumpstaphunk, Spin Doctors
eighth blackbird with Will Oldham, Sam Amidon
Eleanor Friedberger
Ensemble Signal
Esperanza Spalding
Evgeny Kissin
Fare Thee Well x2
George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic
Global Citizen Festival (Pearl Jam, Beyonce)
Greensky Bluegrass
Groove Collective
Hal Ketchum
Henry Butler
Jessie's Girl
John Prine
Kacey Musgraves
Kasey Chambers
kinski
Kiran Ahluwahlia
L7
Lucinda Williams
Lyle Lovett and His Large Band
Maria Schneider Orchestra
Metropolitan Opera Summer Recital?
The MET Orchestra
Miranda Lambert, Ashley Monroe
Myra Melford
NEA Jazz Masters Awards (Carla Bley, Cecile McLorin Salvant, Charles Lloyd, George Coleman, Ira Sullivan, Jimmy Cobb, Jimmy Heath, Lou Donaldson, Ray Drummond, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Stu Katz, more)
Nellie McKay (upcoming)
New York Philharmonic x3+
New York String Orchestra (upcoming)
Nigunim Trio (Frank London, Uri Caine, Lorin Sklamberg) (upcoming)
On the Town on Broadway (excerpts)
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
Phil Lesh & Friends
Phish (upcoming)
Ralph Stanley and His Clinch Mountain Boys
Randy Newman
Reverend Horton Heat with Robert Gordon
Rosie Flores
San Francisco Symphony, Nina Stemme
Sierra Leone Refugee All-Stars, Jeffrey Broussard and his Creole Cowboys
Sleater-Kinney
Soulive w/ Aaron Neville (and I think some other Krasno thing)
Soul Rebels Brass Band, Lettuce
Stevie Wonder
Sun Ra Arkestra
Tedeschi Trucks Band with Sharon Jones
Terrance Simien & the Zydeco Experience
Terry Waldo
Tune-Yards
Vieux Farka Toure, Tamikrest
The Who
Willie Nelson
The Word (and Luther Dickinson solo)
Yefim Bronfman
Yo La Tengo

About 75 so far, will probably get to or over 80 for the year.

hit 53 last year....this year I'm already at

Nile
Defeated Sanity (This sucked)
1349 (also sucked)
Black Sabbath (godhead)
Torche
Florida Metal Fest (including Obituary, Deicide, CoC, and Trouble) - amazing
Cradle of Filth (heh)
At the Gates (twice)
Cannibal Corpse/Obituary/Cryptopsy (got too drunk and can't remember shit - still pissed but going again on 3/19)
Enforcer/Exmortus/Warbringer (fun!)
Voivod (hell yes)
Iron Maiden (omg)

Upcoming...

Slayer, Testament, and Carcass - Fillmore, Charlotte NC (Are you kidding me? I don’t care how far away it is)
Maryland Death Fest - Sorry Fringe, Maryland gets me second weekend.

I think I'm growing sick of them atm to where I need a break for a while.

sometimes it's just more fun to pop on my headphones.

Been to a few good ones lately. Local bands carrying the flame of garagey guitar rock - TV Ugly, Swim Team, TV Ugly and others I forget. I'm going to see Wreckless Eric tomorrow.

I never go to concerts-if I go out, my evenings are spent seeing repertory film screenings (celluloid ONLY)

topped out at 55 this year. Meshuggah's was the best, followed by Iron Maiden and then proooooobably Slayer/Death Angel/Anthrax

Does anyone know of a website covering at least Europe where I can enter artists & cities and as a result I get a list of all of the corresponding concerts in the next couple of months?

Sadly, not so much anymore now that c*nts can't generally seem to stfu or leave their fucking smartphones be.

https://www.bandsintown.com/

thanks, that is not really what i look for. firstly there are only a couple of cities. secondly i have to search for each band and location separately. if i have a hundred bands and five cities that would make 500 searches. which i then would have to consolidate somehow. i would just like to input the bands, the cities and maybe the period and then get the results.

i think at eventim i could subscribe to bands and they would then send me new concerts by e-mail. that is the closest to what i am looking for that i have found yet. but i do not want to give them my e-mail...

There is also Songkick but I don't think that really fits your (rather strict) criteria either.