Concert tickets: a rant
News of the Death Cab album got me to looking at tickets for their Birmingham, UK gig in July.
Tickets are £15. Except they’re not. They’re £17.60 (with booking fee). Except they’re not. They’re £22.40 (with transaction fee). Now, if I can dig deep for £15, I can dig deep for an extra seven quid ($14), but something about the whole system bugs the hell out of me. So much so that I can’t bring myself to cup the balls of these ticket pimps. Alas for Pearl Jam’s failed crusade.
May 15, 2008 in Live Shows |
What if you purchase them directly from the box office?
Comment by meems — May 15, 2008 @ 11:40 am
My wife and I recently went to see Eddie Izzard and we ended up paying about $20 in extra fees. Super annoying, especially since you don’t find out about them until you’ve already decided to attend and are in the process of buying the ticket.
Tickets for the upcoming Tom Waits show are about to go on sale, but I can’t afford $85 for a ticket, let alone the slew of extra fees.
Comment by Brian V — May 15, 2008 @ 11:51 am
If you were a true fan you’d pay any price, man. Suck it up! I plan on taking out an extra mortgage to see Radiohead.
Comment by Supergenius — May 15, 2008 @ 11:56 am
I rarely pay more than $20 to see a show. I just refuse to go see shows that cost more than that. Which means most of the bigger venues are out for me, because they all use Ticketmaster.
Made an exception for Megadeth, which is coming up soon, for my son’s birthday. Plus, High on Fire is opening.
Comment by Susan M — May 15, 2008 @ 1:39 pm
I don’t usually pay big prices either, but Eddie Izzard was on my rather short “must-see” list. Tom Waits is too (he’s at the top of it, actually), but I just can’t afford what he’s charging.
Comment by Brian V — May 15, 2008 @ 1:50 pm
It’s not the price, it’s the $14 worth of fees that get my goat.
Comment by The Brit — May 15, 2008 @ 2:12 pm
I plan on taking out an extra mortgage to see Radiohead.
Just out of curiosity, how long are Radiohead’s sets?
Comment by kwk — May 15, 2008 @ 3:54 pm
Brian V, I’m a huge Eddie Izzard fan. Wondering if you have watched him on the The Riches? If so, what do you think about it?
Comment by Abby — May 15, 2008 @ 3:58 pm
Two weeks ago:
R.E.M. Ticket 29.00
Convenience Charge 8.80
Building Facility Charge 6.00
Order Processing Charge 5.15
Total 48.95
Comment by Eric Russell — May 15, 2008 @ 7:50 pm
Brian V, I’m a huge Eddie Izzard fan. Wondering if you have watched him on the The Riches? If so, what do you think about it?
I watched the first 4 or 5 episodes but couldn’t get into it. I thought his performance was fine, the show just wasn’t very good IMO. Seems like kind of a decent premise for a movie or mini-series but not really sustainable as a series.
Did it get better after I stopped?
Comment by Brian V — May 15, 2008 @ 8:21 pm
Eric, thats actually pretty cheap for REM on this tour.
Comment by MCQ — May 15, 2008 @ 8:28 pm
I did the same thing. Watched the first season, and due to either the lack of advertising or my general unawareness, didn’t know when the 2nd season started and what I finally watched a couple of shows from the 2nd season, the show had gone too serious and dark and I’d lost interest in the characters.
Comment by Abby — May 15, 2008 @ 9:04 pm
Last comment was in response to Brian V.
Comment by Abby — May 15, 2008 @ 9:07 pm
Spoken like a true Pearl Jam fan
Comment by Brock — May 16, 2008 @ 1:10 am