Bruce Springsteen - Classic or Dud ?

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...

(Comb on up for the Risin')

(I'll see myself out.)

"Tenth Avenue Tease-Out"
"Baldlands"
"Hairy Darling"

By many accounts Bruce patched that problem up with a hair transplant.

roll down the window and let the wind blow off my hairs

Just curious, when did Bruce's baldspot really become noticeable at his shows? Tunnel of Love or Born in the USA tour?

xxxp man, if it wasn't for the internet, I'd be going to a lot less shows.

Countin On A Miracle Breakthrough In The Treatment Of Male Pattern Baldness

TBF someone did cut a six inch valley through the middle of his skull.

Wow - I always thought it was “…my soul”!

(v funny post, btw)

Meeting Of The Hair Club For Men Across The River

"State Toupee"

!

https://www.gannett-cdn.com/presto/2020/04/29/PAPP/f7d85c1e-02d7-4d5d-a054-b5a3da0cf1ec-Bruce_haircut.jpg?width=660&height=657&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp

Ticketmaster's claim: "In the wake of an ongoing furor over 'dynamic pricing' for Bruce Springsteen’s tour, Ticketmaster took the unusual step Sunday afternoon of releasing some statistics about costs and percentages for the dates that went on sale last week. Downplaying the number of controversial 'platinum' tickets with variable prices that reached as high as $5,000 apiece on the first day of on-sales, Ticketmaster says those represent only 11.2% of the overall tickets sold."

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/ticketmaster-says-most-bruce-springsteen-210902940.html

But then there's this:

"While there was speculation that the highest prices being disseminated were determined by an algorithm, sources say the dynamic pricing is not actually rooted in an algorithm but set by promoter pricing teams, which would explain some of the big differences in pricing for platinum tickets from city to city."

One of the least transparent corporate entities with a vertically integrated de facto monopoly that gives them control of supply, demand and distribution? Sure, I trust that excuse.

Spot on - but it'll be interesting to see if things do continue to improve as it would make that statement seem more plausible.

If things improve that means someone knows they fucked up.

Well, good, right? It will mean the uproar/pushback has been effective

We'll see! All I know is that when I look at Tulsa (my rando control) there are still lots of tickets available for between $85 and $200 or so, with the highest around $500. (Lots of those are already "verified resale.") Looking just now, cheapest/worst tix at a bigger rando market, Austin, are more like $250, with the most expensive/best around $1000. An even more premium stop, Boston, the cheapest/worst are more like $600 or so, and the best around $2000. I assume however in or out of line some of these prices are, the market will be pretty liquid come showtime and find a more stable floor and ceiling. Why TM would want to waste its and our time with this dumbness is kind of perplexing. It's kind of like starting the bidding at an auction super high then working the price down over the course of several months. "Do I hear $500? $500? How about $450? $350? ..." That's one way to subvert scalping, I suppose.

No ball, Bruce!

Seeing @theweeknd with @oldfilmsflicker and it’s the first time I’ve had seats down center and not been able to see a damn thing because a giant globe is blocking the stage. This is an obstructed view that uhhhh definitely wasn’t priced as that. pic.twitter.com/L2MOTkNID1

— Robert Daniels (@812filmreviews) July 25, 2022

Blinded by the Blinding Lights (...you'll won't be, thanks to the globe)

he has the whole world in his view

Part of Lefsetz take on ticket debacle.

since Bruce and Jon are not tech-savvy, they had no idea the algorithm could go out of control, they didn't even think of capping ticket prices. So, the ticket goes up a couple of hundred bucks, better we get the money than the scalpers. As for the ultimate multiple four figure prices? They didn't even contemplate this, they did not foresee this.

But he also says :

As for Ticketmaster taking all the heat... They screwed up with their algorithm, but they do nothing, NOTHING without Bruce and Jon's approval.

The fault lies at the feet of Bruce. ... Bruce just wants what he's entitled to.

I got waitlisted for Springsteen tickets but my wife qualified. She is trying this morning but quickly got a message that there are 1335 people ahead of her in line for DC show tickets

everyone says to stick it out.