Bruce Springsteen - Classic or Dud ?

xtreme capitalism has already ruined network news --> politics --> democracy so that we all (or exactly half of us, or as close to half as their algorithms can estimate) huddle around our tvs hoping they through the "other" side in jail while meanwhile the earth melts. this is a failed system. why not music too? you can't fight it. bruce springsteen is not the avengers.

through --> throw

i saw springsteen for $7.50 in the cw post dome, which is presumably the experience all the people paying $4000 are trying to recreate, and it was super but i'd take the $4000.

Yeah, nothing is worth that much money. Hell, it's cheaper to get a ticket to see him in Europe and pay for a flight and place to stay!

Honestly, what is also being overlooked by some is that Springsteen is 72. It will have been 7 years between tours, and even then, the days of 3 1/2 epics are long gone. His voice isn't what it once was, his guitar playing isn't really what it once was, his eyes often remained glued to a teleprompter, he doesn't tell stories. Are these dealbreakers? Of course not, he's still a great performer *despite* all these things that happen to any performer as they age. He was good on his last tour, and Broadway was almost nothing *but* stories. But Bruce in 2023 is not worth $4000. Or $400, really. No one is, unless you have rich person rock star seats.

Or good connections. I've been extremely catching a few high-demand events simply because I knew someone who was a client or an employee for a company that owned a suite at a stadium or ballpark.

*extremely lucky

probably goes without saying, but I didn't have to pay for those shows, I was just invited along as a guest.

I dunno if this’ll happen with Bruce, but on the recent Stones and Who tours decent tickets could be found for under $100 (sometimes way under) on Stubhub days (and sometimes weeks) before the shows.

But what the fuck with Bruce charging $400 face value? I’m not saying he could afford to rent every tour venue for the night, charge $50 a ticket, and come away from the tour with a massive loss, but…he probably could, and still be left with seven figures in the bank.

(Of course, I know even an artist as big as Springsteen can’t just rent out Dipshit Loans & Yogurt Arena for a night; I’m sure all those venues are shackled to LiveBastard contracts or something.)

https://variety.com/2022/music/news/bruce-springteen-ticketmaster-ticket-prices-rise-thousands-dynamic-pricing-1235321657/

Yet it wasn’t a downer day for all Springsteen fans. Some of those who made their way through the queue when the doors opened, and before prices skyrocketed, were pleased with the initial ticket costs. The original base price for the tickets was reported to be a not-so-out-of-line $299-399 for floor seats and a reasonable $60 for the most distant sections; indeed, some satisfied fans who purchased upper-level seats early in the day reported being able to get out the door for less than $100, even including fees.

So what percentage of the seats are these dynamically-priced "Platinum Tickets"?

(That’s an amount that included $3,819 in face value plus $569.50 in fees.)

Adding insult to injury, they don't even cap their service fees. Like there's $570 worth of processing for an electronic ticket sale.

xp
I got the impression they all were, but if you happened to buy right when they went on sale the algorithm hadn't had time to gauge the demand.

How much demand is there for Crowded House tickets?

Well, it's hard to say in the States, but they are playing a 3600 seat venue here. If anything, dynamic pricing would be even more destructive for any band in a small venue, where capacity is innately limited.

xxp That’s kind of what I thought too… but does that mean every seat in the house is a “platinum ticket”? Or just those being sold through this specific presale? (Has the word “platinum” lost all meaning??)

OKAY ASSHOLES

I'm blasting Tunnel of Love. Shut up.

Solid record.

Best album, probably. It's ironic that as good as Springsteen is, "Tunnel" and "Nebraska," his two outliers, may be his best.

Anyway, "platinum ticket" is apparently whatever TM wants to call platinum tickets. As the Variety piece writes, they "may be placed anywhere in the arena, from the front section to the back rows."

"Darkness" for the trifecta.

xp I've thought the same thing. He does need the E Street Band, and yet his two best albums could very well be those two.

I'd buy a platinum ticket for those prices if it came with a 1 oz. pure platinum bar.

Make that an 8 oz. bar. Or a brick.

A platinum ticket

it's a platinum day

to think, after all this time, a Dud

With a Wonka bar

4,000 steps up and 2 steps back

As the Variety piece writes, they "may be placed anywhere in the arena, from the front section to the back rows."

Exactly – which reads to me like it’s a selection of seats, not every seat.

(And my question is if there’s a way to opt out of this dynamic pricing system, and get a regular, non-platinum seat)

I don't know about opting out entirely, but if you get there early enough to any pre-sale or general sale launch moment and you seem to get non-platinum standard pricing.

"Early" is relative, afaict, and not at all transparent. I'm tempted to sit out the sale next week entirely rather than get pressured by an invisible price clock that would force me into paying well above (theoretical) face value. Another grody aspect of this all is that TM allows immediate reselling on its site, too, which means (no surprise) that there are *already* hundreds of tickets being resold via Ticketmaster, typically well below the inflated "dynamic" price. And these are for shows in *8 months*. I figure they want to play the extreme capitalism game, fine, I will just wait and watch the prices sink as the demand shifts from fans trying to buy tickets to scalpers and brokers trying to sell their tickets. Looking at Tulsa (for example) right now, there are plenty are tickets below $100. Even GA tix are going for a mere $550 or so, which is not cheap but seems comparatively in line with other acts, and certainly more reasonable compared to the "dynamic" equivalents going for ten times that amount.

I got a presale confirmation for a Long Island show which is a bit of a hike. Tickets there are generally a shade cheaper, but the train ride's more expensive (and driving means a ridiculous parking charge at UBS), so if the prices are way up there, I may just sit out and see where things go with the Barclays or MSG tickets the week of the show.

fwiw, Barclays apparently does not use Ticketmaster! But I assume anything in the NY/Philly/NJ area will be insane regardless. Cheapest resale tix for Albany, for example, are currently around $300. Still cheaper than dynamic, but not cheap!

Yeah, I think this area may be the toughest place to be if you want a deal. I actually signed up for a lot of venues, and I'm guessing the demand around here was too insane for me to get more than one presale. I really regret not going to the 2016 shows at Barclays - IIRC floor seats were like $150, and of course they did "Purple Rain" in tribute to Prince

We got "Take It Easy" in tribute to Glenn Frey, lol.

As someone said above; for shows this big, and especially for multi date runs - just wait until close to the show - there are always people dropping out and reselling in desperation close to the time. The recent pearl jam shows in london had been pretty much sold out since they went on sale in 2019/2020. I think face value for standing was £80 - I got 2 for £70 a few days beforehand - probably would have gone cheaper if i'd waited till the day before.

Twickets is a good UK option for cheaper than face value resale!

Cheapest resale tix for Albany, for example, are currently around $300. Still cheaper than dynamic, but not cheap!

Only sub-$300 tickets I was able to find there are behind the stage (presumably -- the layout apparently isn't finalized yet?).

I only saw Springsteen once before, in that arena's nosebleed seats off to the side. Visually it actually wasn't too bad, but the sound wasn't great. It's also one of the smaller arenas, certainly significantly smaller than MSG, Barclays, or TD Garden, probably the same size as Mohegan Sun. If I go -- and it's a massive "if" given prices -- I'll try to get nosebleed seats with a decent view.

I hear behind the stage is actually a fun place to be! At least seems like it could be, based on the shows I've seen. One of the many insults to injury aspects of this debacle is that Springsteen resolutely does not have a light show or anything akin to production values, not like the Stones, not like McCartney, not like U2, Roger Waters, etc. So you're paying for the people on the stage and really nothing more. But that also means standing in the back gives you a great view of the band, and the band makes an effort to play to those particular cheap(er) seats.

I saw Springsteen on the Tunnel of Love tour behind the stage. I still got a pretty good show--he's such a superb entertainer--and a really good view of his bald spot.

Bald In The U.S.A.
Combover Me
Born To Rug
The Price Toupee

I must say, "Combover Me" makes the song title sound even dirtier than it is.

I say this a million times and will say it again, if you are going to pony up $$ for a big venue show that is pure showmanship & music, Bruce is your guy. He’s so good at bringing an audience in and making you feel like like it’s a club or a VFW hall. Like you might be in the nosebleeds and he’s the size of an ant but it feels like you’re in the first 10 rows the whole time.

The only other artist I have ever seen who has that kind of oldschool stagecraft, that combo of precision & intimacy, was Prince.

I'm glad I got a ticket to see him in Hamburg before all this dynamic pricing nonsense started. I'll still try for one in Seattle, but it's nice to go in knowing I'll get to see him regardless and there's no huge pressure to pay outrageous prices.

a really good view of his bald spot

Bald in the USA

Given the long discussion of ticket prices plus baldness I really should have a "scalpers" joke here somewhere.

Wait for it...

Hmmm....

Got it!

PATTI SCALPYA

Not worthy

suggest ban

Perhaps caution

No, Veg is right. I shalk preemptively FP myself

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/ff/Bannedintheusa.jpg/220px-Bannedintheusa.jpg

I got Saturday detention for skipping school to wait in like for 'Tunnel of Love' tickets and then it sold out before I got any at the Hoosier Dome.

Ain't that America for you and me...