Hey Doc, I've been "Bah Humbug!" on the overpriced ticket for a long time. The Ludlow Garage and smaller venues being an exception, I was spoiled many years ago.
On August 31, 1974 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, the gates were opened around 3pm and thousands of us streamed into it for, if not the best show most of us would ever attend, for certain the best bang for our buck. The stage was at the east end of the place in deep centerfield. For football fans, it was in the end zone where the old dawg pound used to be.
Right away, my friends and I got separated and didn't meet up again until the next morning. (A long story that would be no story but for a cell phone.) On this day, getting lost at the party felt more like an opportunity than a problem. Eventually I settled in with a friendly bunch at approximately the left hash mark of the 30 yard line. They had a blanket we sat on about 100 feet from the stage. It was a "love the one you're with" kind of day. Plus, they had weed.
The Youngbloods opened, setting a folky, "c'mon people, smile on your brother" tone. The Band (a favorite then and now) kicked it up a notch with their fine set. They were followed by Carlos Santana who did what he his band do best. They got the place jumping. Following them and playing both individually and collectively for the next couple of hours were headliners Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. They gave us way more than our money's worth. Oh yeah, money. We got all of that for a measly $10.
I don't underestimate the ability of the Stillers to beat the Bengals.
Taylor Swift has a remarkable career. Very driven from an early age. Grew up in the public eye. My niece, 37, has seen her multiple times. A thirty-something nurse friend in NKY is on the bandwagon too. He was wrangling the website for tickets. The love is real.
The only TS I have is a song on the soundtrack to Letters to Juliet movie. I need to watch that again. Mini vacation in Italy.
Still laughing over the Jesus/Hendrix comment. I agree completely. I have broken my pledge to not go to any concert that uses ticketmaster. But the Live Nation/Ticketmaster monopoly means No concerts. I restarted going to concerts also at the Ludlow Garage with Christone Kingfish Ingram. The proverbial 5 feet away from the next great American blues/rock giutarist. The tickets were $38. of which TM pocketed $18. Shameful. I commented to Joanne Thinwallet that we will not be able to afford seeing him again and if we could would be hundreds of feet away. Made a new pledge that I will pay the dough to see all my favs that are my age or older. Saw Uncle Bob at the Aranoff, The Who at the soccer barn, PPL at the Ludlow Garage and this past Sunday made the plunge to see the James Gang at Vetsaid in Columbus. Joe and the gang were AWESOME. Don't regret the almost $200 ticket with TM keeping $75, Show was 6 hours long and featured 4 bands with Ohio roots. Breeders, Black Keys, The Gang and Nine Inch Nails. Not a big NIN fan but there were alot of folks our age who came with their adult kids who were there for NIN. After they played Joe came on and played 4 of his classics. In the City, Turn to Stone, Life's Been Good, and closed with Rocky Mountain Way. Oh and I forgot to mention that Dave Grol. another Ohio guy, sat in with the Breeders for a song, A coupla tunes with James Gang including Funk 49 on drums and Rocky Mountain Way. Well worth the dough and the 4 hour drive time. Good chance some of these guys won't be around again or I won't be around to see them.
I was at VetsAid. Hell of a show! Being that I'm 38, Nine Inch Nails was right in my wheelhouse and I thought they blew the roof off the joint. It was great to see Joe Walsh/James Gang and the Breeders put on a pretty good set. I generally go to see local bands these days because the prices are affordable, the venue usually intimate and the talent commensurate with just about any major touring act.
My son is 38 and a Phishhead. He lives in Colorado and sent me a NIN playlist because I didn't know much about them. I enjoyed their set but their music is not in my wheelhouse. I saw James Gang back in the 70's and love their stuff. Joe Walsh is amazing for 74 years old. Glad you enjoyed the show. I know I did.
I don't wanna sound like a whiny fan, but Trey Hendrickson gets held...a LOT. I see so many replays where he's beaten his guy and the dude still has an arm around him keeping him from getting the QB. It's so egregious that I often wonder if the refs don't like him. I do see him complaining from time to time.
Bengals have to win this game. They squandered the "easy" portion of the schedule so now there isn't much margin for error. I hope we see continued success in the running game. If we do...there's no way they lose to Pittsburgh. The Steelers won't be able to stop both Joe's.
Media built up UC Basketball like it was gonna be great this year...I'm really glad I didn't waste my money on paying for ESPN Plus yesterday. I turned on the radio and NKY scored 8 points...while UC scored 0. That was enough for me. Sure got spoiled by Bobby Huggins, didn't we??!!
Lol. I no longer predict victory for the Bengals. I root for them. I believe they will win. But I dare not say they'll win, or even think it. My thoughts of haughty certainty are the pins stuck into the Bengals voodoo doll. When they begin to eke their way into my brain I start singing a song (Groovin's a good one!) or initiate a deep conversation with one of the dogs. So I get it. Go Bengals! Please.
I’m an old school metal rocker and a tightwad. I paid $145 to see Judas Priest and Queensryche in October. I still love The Priest but this thin wallet is not paying more than $50 to see any concert. Someone would have to pay me $145 to watch a Taylor Swift concert. Even with that, I still probably wouldn’t want to go. The man win easy Sunday two touchdowns at a minimum.
Re Taylor, I am not going to argue taste but will vouch for her talent. She is quite different from any other pop star of the past 30 years except perhaps Madonna who had a similarly knack for marketing, reinvention, and staying relevant commercially. Taylor started out in country and gradually moved to pop. I became a huge fan with her "1989" album which referenced 1980's sounds. As a fan or New Wave and synth-pop, it resonated. Her next two albums were also pop, but in a different vein. She then did two indie-rock albums with Cincinnati's Aaron Dessner of The National. I love the music, I respect her lyrics, and am impressed by the way she has navigated fame. "All Too Well" is my favorite song of all time. I will be buying tickets on the secondary market to see her.
High prices are the norm for major acts. Artists realized how much scalpers were making so they started pricing accordingly so they could grab that revenue. Also, some artists are trying to make up for two years of lost touring revenues while never making anything significant on sales in the Spotify era. I paid $165/seat to see Chesney in June. I paid $200/seat to see Robert Plant and Alison Krauss at Red Rocks (albeit from a scalper) in August. Taylor Swift for anything under $350/seat is a bargain.
Ryan Adams did an entire album where he covered every song on 1989. It's actually really good.
As an aside, Ryan Adams is playing the Andrew Brady Music Center on December 2. I just did a quick price check on StubHub and a nosebleed seat for that show is $34. Everything you said about Taylor Swift is true, but for my money I'd rather go see Ryan Adams. Maybe I'll pony up Taylor Swift money and just get an entire row to myself.
I like that Ryan Adams album even if I cynically think he did it so he could date Taylor. I will still be out of town on 12/2. I have seen him three times in concert - he can be a bit of jerk to the audience. Maybe his travails the past few years have mellowed him. Meanwhile, I cannot keep up with all of his releases. He makes Prince seem like a slacker. Enjoy the show.
This Bengals team may be the reincarnation of the 1989 Bengals team. Started 4-1, finished 8-8, looked impressive quite a bit, looked like they couldn't get out of their own way quite a bit. Ickey got hurt, which didn't help matters much. I hope I'm wrong about this, but at 5-4, I may not be.
The reason these artists charge so freaking much now is they don't make hardly a thing off all the streaming, especially Spotify. Album sales or digital product doesn't sell nearly enough to make up for the lost revenue, so they charge a ton for the pleasure of seeing them in person.
If UC doesn't pull an Ohio State, and refuse to schedule NKU in the coming years -- like OSU has done with UC -- this has the makings of another great rivalry game in the Tri-State.
NKU reminds me much of how X was back in the 1980s ... right on the cusp, always a danger, good fundamental squad that's never to be underestimated. A good rivalry series with UC would be wonderful, but again, it boils down to whether UC wants to risk a loss to the folks down I-471 and have its ego bruised.
One thing I've learned in the roughly 41 years I've been following the Men, out of 45 on this earth -- I didn't care about sports until age 4 -- is that nothing can be taken for granted, especially when it comes to Stillers Week. They might be 3-6, but we also saw the 3-6 Browns obliterate the Men on Monday Night Football a couple of weeks back. It's much like OSU-Michigan ... toss out the records, the game is going to be a slobberknocker. I wouldn't be shocked to see Pittsburgh win, sad to say. But we'll see. That's why they play the game.
I think the most I ever spent on concert tickets was $95 apiece, just this past summer, to take my wife to see Garth Brooks at The Stadium Formerly Known as Paul Brown. Nice seats, too, in the lower bowl level. Next would be Frankie Valli at Music Hall, and those were about $60 apiece. I will admit, though, that is about as high as I will go. I've refused to go see Elton John, AC/DC, and others -- legends, mind you -- because of the cost of tix being in the $200-$300 price range.
So, $500 per ticket for Taylor Swift? If I spent that on her show, put me in a jacket and take me off to the padded room. I've done lost my mind.
NKU is now what coaches call "an unacceptable loss.'' If you're a high-major, the benefits of a win are far outweighed by the ramifications of a loss. Boosters, alums wanna know how it could possibly have happened, recruits look at you funny. X was an unacceptable loss all the way into the Gillen Years.
Kudos to UC for scheduling the game and playing at NKU. As a Wright State grad it reminds me of the cowardice of the University of Dayton for dodging the Raiders since 1995. The Gem City Jam was a short-lived series between the schools which UD ended, but only after they took the lead, 5-3. The atmosphere was always electric but the fear of elevating the Wright State program in the eyes of the locals was just too much for the old-time UD fans.
I am ashamed to admit to some of the cash I have spent on concerts, especially Paul McCartney. My wife is a diehard Beatle fan (aren't we all) and we have seen him several times over the years. The thing is, after the show, you never thought about the price of the tickets because he delivered every, single, time. We saw him the last time here at US Bank, he was mid-70s and losing his range. Still an excellent show, but the last time for us. I remember Willie Mays dropping two fly balls in his last World Series game and retiring. I wish he had hung it up earlier.
Bruce is always a bargain. Just divide the cost of the ticket by how many hours he plays? $50 an hour for Bruce?? No question :-) A friend scored a ticket for me in Atlanta this February. I think it was $180, which I consider half-off since my wife isn't coming.
The only time I felt fleeced was by The Police on their last reunion tour. I doubt they played two hours. I believe the setlist was 16 songs. Sting spent the entire night leaning on the speaker bank while Stewart Copeland did ALL the talking. You could tell Sting preferred to be anywhere else, which after about five minutes, was exactly how I also felt. I can barely stand to listen to them on the radio now.
I've seen McCartney a bunch too. The last time I saw him, I scalped tickets outside Nationwide Arena in 2015.
I saw him at the old Riverfront Stadium ( I think it was still called that in '93). The Enquirer had a sidebar infographic listing the ticket prices for everytime McCartney had played in Cincinnati. If I recall correctly, that 1993 show was the fifth time he'd played in Cincy and those tickets were $36.50. The two times he came through with the Beatles I believe they were $5.50 and $6.50.
I've always been of the opinion that a singer should have a good voice. Taylor Swift was born into a rich family and is a perfect example of mass marketing, nothing more. Our program director used to say he'd rather hear cats screw than Taylor Swift sing.
Another good article to read and I usually agree with you. I believe a large part of the growth and success is owed to John Brannen who got screwed at UC. Fortunately, he came out ok even after the damage was done!
Swift is not my taste, but she does seem to push her boundaries working with bands like Cincinnati's finest sad dad band, the National, which is cool I guess. The ticket debacle falls on Ticketmaster and their awful business practices. Dynamic pricing, their bonkers service fees, and that they own the Stubhub allowing for scalpers to drive up prices to ridiculous costs helps me enjoy that Ticketmaster is facing some scrutiny again. They're a damn joke.
We all have stories about the time I saw so-and-so for a pittance of money, but outrageously high ticket prices come with the territory for acts that fall into that legendary/extremely popular category. I know I am priced out of seeing Bruce Springsteen or U2 (who I did see in the 80's for a pittance of money.)
Hey Doc, I've been "Bah Humbug!" on the overpriced ticket for a long time. The Ludlow Garage and smaller venues being an exception, I was spoiled many years ago.
On August 31, 1974 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, the gates were opened around 3pm and thousands of us streamed into it for, if not the best show most of us would ever attend, for certain the best bang for our buck. The stage was at the east end of the place in deep centerfield. For football fans, it was in the end zone where the old dawg pound used to be.
Right away, my friends and I got separated and didn't meet up again until the next morning. (A long story that would be no story but for a cell phone.) On this day, getting lost at the party felt more like an opportunity than a problem. Eventually I settled in with a friendly bunch at approximately the left hash mark of the 30 yard line. They had a blanket we sat on about 100 feet from the stage. It was a "love the one you're with" kind of day. Plus, they had weed.
The Youngbloods opened, setting a folky, "c'mon people, smile on your brother" tone. The Band (a favorite then and now) kicked it up a notch with their fine set. They were followed by Carlos Santana who did what he his band do best. They got the place jumping. Following them and playing both individually and collectively for the next couple of hours were headliners Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. They gave us way more than our money's worth. Oh yeah, money. We got all of that for a measly $10.
Go Norse! Happy alum here.
I don't underestimate the ability of the Stillers to beat the Bengals.
Taylor Swift has a remarkable career. Very driven from an early age. Grew up in the public eye. My niece, 37, has seen her multiple times. A thirty-something nurse friend in NKY is on the bandwagon too. He was wrangling the website for tickets. The love is real.
The only TS I have is a song on the soundtrack to Letters to Juliet movie. I need to watch that again. Mini vacation in Italy.
Still laughing over the Jesus/Hendrix comment. I agree completely. I have broken my pledge to not go to any concert that uses ticketmaster. But the Live Nation/Ticketmaster monopoly means No concerts. I restarted going to concerts also at the Ludlow Garage with Christone Kingfish Ingram. The proverbial 5 feet away from the next great American blues/rock giutarist. The tickets were $38. of which TM pocketed $18. Shameful. I commented to Joanne Thinwallet that we will not be able to afford seeing him again and if we could would be hundreds of feet away. Made a new pledge that I will pay the dough to see all my favs that are my age or older. Saw Uncle Bob at the Aranoff, The Who at the soccer barn, PPL at the Ludlow Garage and this past Sunday made the plunge to see the James Gang at Vetsaid in Columbus. Joe and the gang were AWESOME. Don't regret the almost $200 ticket with TM keeping $75, Show was 6 hours long and featured 4 bands with Ohio roots. Breeders, Black Keys, The Gang and Nine Inch Nails. Not a big NIN fan but there were alot of folks our age who came with their adult kids who were there for NIN. After they played Joe came on and played 4 of his classics. In the City, Turn to Stone, Life's Been Good, and closed with Rocky Mountain Way. Oh and I forgot to mention that Dave Grol. another Ohio guy, sat in with the Breeders for a song, A coupla tunes with James Gang including Funk 49 on drums and Rocky Mountain Way. Well worth the dough and the 4 hour drive time. Good chance some of these guys won't be around again or I won't be around to see them.
I was at VetsAid. Hell of a show! Being that I'm 38, Nine Inch Nails was right in my wheelhouse and I thought they blew the roof off the joint. It was great to see Joe Walsh/James Gang and the Breeders put on a pretty good set. I generally go to see local bands these days because the prices are affordable, the venue usually intimate and the talent commensurate with just about any major touring act.
John,
My son is 38 and a Phishhead. He lives in Colorado and sent me a NIN playlist because I didn't know much about them. I enjoyed their set but their music is not in my wheelhouse. I saw James Gang back in the 70's and love their stuff. Joe Walsh is amazing for 74 years old. Glad you enjoyed the show. I know I did.
I’m Fresh Out!!
I don't wanna sound like a whiny fan, but Trey Hendrickson gets held...a LOT. I see so many replays where he's beaten his guy and the dude still has an arm around him keeping him from getting the QB. It's so egregious that I often wonder if the refs don't like him. I do see him complaining from time to time.
Bengals have to win this game. They squandered the "easy" portion of the schedule so now there isn't much margin for error. I hope we see continued success in the running game. If we do...there's no way they lose to Pittsburgh. The Steelers won't be able to stop both Joe's.
Media built up UC Basketball like it was gonna be great this year...I'm really glad I didn't waste my money on paying for ESPN Plus yesterday. I turned on the radio and NKY scored 8 points...while UC scored 0. That was enough for me. Sure got spoiled by Bobby Huggins, didn't we??!!
Lol. I no longer predict victory for the Bengals. I root for them. I believe they will win. But I dare not say they'll win, or even think it. My thoughts of haughty certainty are the pins stuck into the Bengals voodoo doll. When they begin to eke their way into my brain I start singing a song (Groovin's a good one!) or initiate a deep conversation with one of the dogs. So I get it. Go Bengals! Please.
P. S. Way to go, Norsemen!!!
I’m an old school metal rocker and a tightwad. I paid $145 to see Judas Priest and Queensryche in October. I still love The Priest but this thin wallet is not paying more than $50 to see any concert. Someone would have to pay me $145 to watch a Taylor Swift concert. Even with that, I still probably wouldn’t want to go. The man win easy Sunday two touchdowns at a minimum.
Re Taylor, I am not going to argue taste but will vouch for her talent. She is quite different from any other pop star of the past 30 years except perhaps Madonna who had a similarly knack for marketing, reinvention, and staying relevant commercially. Taylor started out in country and gradually moved to pop. I became a huge fan with her "1989" album which referenced 1980's sounds. As a fan or New Wave and synth-pop, it resonated. Her next two albums were also pop, but in a different vein. She then did two indie-rock albums with Cincinnati's Aaron Dessner of The National. I love the music, I respect her lyrics, and am impressed by the way she has navigated fame. "All Too Well" is my favorite song of all time. I will be buying tickets on the secondary market to see her.
High prices are the norm for major acts. Artists realized how much scalpers were making so they started pricing accordingly so they could grab that revenue. Also, some artists are trying to make up for two years of lost touring revenues while never making anything significant on sales in the Spotify era. I paid $165/seat to see Chesney in June. I paid $200/seat to see Robert Plant and Alison Krauss at Red Rocks (albeit from a scalper) in August. Taylor Swift for anything under $350/seat is a bargain.
Ryan Adams did an entire album where he covered every song on 1989. It's actually really good.
As an aside, Ryan Adams is playing the Andrew Brady Music Center on December 2. I just did a quick price check on StubHub and a nosebleed seat for that show is $34. Everything you said about Taylor Swift is true, but for my money I'd rather go see Ryan Adams. Maybe I'll pony up Taylor Swift money and just get an entire row to myself.
I like that Ryan Adams album even if I cynically think he did it so he could date Taylor. I will still be out of town on 12/2. I have seen him three times in concert - he can be a bit of jerk to the audience. Maybe his travails the past few years have mellowed him. Meanwhile, I cannot keep up with all of his releases. He makes Prince seem like a slacker. Enjoy the show.
This Bengals team may be the reincarnation of the 1989 Bengals team. Started 4-1, finished 8-8, looked impressive quite a bit, looked like they couldn't get out of their own way quite a bit. Ickey got hurt, which didn't help matters much. I hope I'm wrong about this, but at 5-4, I may not be.
The reason these artists charge so freaking much now is they don't make hardly a thing off all the streaming, especially Spotify. Album sales or digital product doesn't sell nearly enough to make up for the lost revenue, so they charge a ton for the pleasure of seeing them in person.
If UC doesn't pull an Ohio State, and refuse to schedule NKU in the coming years -- like OSU has done with UC -- this has the makings of another great rivalry game in the Tri-State.
NKU reminds me much of how X was back in the 1980s ... right on the cusp, always a danger, good fundamental squad that's never to be underestimated. A good rivalry series with UC would be wonderful, but again, it boils down to whether UC wants to risk a loss to the folks down I-471 and have its ego bruised.
One thing I've learned in the roughly 41 years I've been following the Men, out of 45 on this earth -- I didn't care about sports until age 4 -- is that nothing can be taken for granted, especially when it comes to Stillers Week. They might be 3-6, but we also saw the 3-6 Browns obliterate the Men on Monday Night Football a couple of weeks back. It's much like OSU-Michigan ... toss out the records, the game is going to be a slobberknocker. I wouldn't be shocked to see Pittsburgh win, sad to say. But we'll see. That's why they play the game.
I think the most I ever spent on concert tickets was $95 apiece, just this past summer, to take my wife to see Garth Brooks at The Stadium Formerly Known as Paul Brown. Nice seats, too, in the lower bowl level. Next would be Frankie Valli at Music Hall, and those were about $60 apiece. I will admit, though, that is about as high as I will go. I've refused to go see Elton John, AC/DC, and others -- legends, mind you -- because of the cost of tix being in the $200-$300 price range.
So, $500 per ticket for Taylor Swift? If I spent that on her show, put me in a jacket and take me off to the padded room. I've done lost my mind.
NKU is now what coaches call "an unacceptable loss.'' If you're a high-major, the benefits of a win are far outweighed by the ramifications of a loss. Boosters, alums wanna know how it could possibly have happened, recruits look at you funny. X was an unacceptable loss all the way into the Gillen Years.
“Quad 4 Loss” or something like that
Yup
My late father was famous for saying to us “I wouldn’t pay that to see the Pope!”
Always enjoy my lunch break reading TML! Glad you resurrected it Paul.
Kudos to UC for scheduling the game and playing at NKU. As a Wright State grad it reminds me of the cowardice of the University of Dayton for dodging the Raiders since 1995. The Gem City Jam was a short-lived series between the schools which UD ended, but only after they took the lead, 5-3. The atmosphere was always electric but the fear of elevating the Wright State program in the eyes of the locals was just too much for the old-time UD fans.
I am ashamed to admit to some of the cash I have spent on concerts, especially Paul McCartney. My wife is a diehard Beatle fan (aren't we all) and we have seen him several times over the years. The thing is, after the show, you never thought about the price of the tickets because he delivered every, single, time. We saw him the last time here at US Bank, he was mid-70s and losing his range. Still an excellent show, but the last time for us. I remember Willie Mays dropping two fly balls in his last World Series game and retiring. I wish he had hung it up earlier.
Bruce is always a bargain. Just divide the cost of the ticket by how many hours he plays? $50 an hour for Bruce?? No question :-) A friend scored a ticket for me in Atlanta this February. I think it was $180, which I consider half-off since my wife isn't coming.
The only time I felt fleeced was by The Police on their last reunion tour. I doubt they played two hours. I believe the setlist was 16 songs. Sting spent the entire night leaning on the speaker bank while Stewart Copeland did ALL the talking. You could tell Sting preferred to be anywhere else, which after about five minutes, was exactly how I also felt. I can barely stand to listen to them on the radio now.
I've seen McCartney a bunch too. The last time I saw him, I scalped tickets outside Nationwide Arena in 2015.
I saw him at the old Riverfront Stadium ( I think it was still called that in '93). The Enquirer had a sidebar infographic listing the ticket prices for everytime McCartney had played in Cincinnati. If I recall correctly, that 1993 show was the fifth time he'd played in Cincy and those tickets were $36.50. The two times he came through with the Beatles I believe they were $5.50 and $6.50.
We were there! My BIL in C-Bus has season tix to the Blue Jackets and gets dibs on any concerts scheduled there. That was a good show.
I read that U.C. was obligated to play there as part of the contract they signed to make that their home court while there's was being remodeled.
Actually, McCartney as a solo act has never interested me. Of all the Beatles, Harrison had by far the best solo career.
I've always been of the opinion that a singer should have a good voice. Taylor Swift was born into a rich family and is a perfect example of mass marketing, nothing more. Our program director used to say he'd rather hear cats screw than Taylor Swift sing.
Happy Thanksgiving Doc!
When I mentioned John Brannen about growth and success I referred to the great things he did at Northern Kentucky University
Another good article to read and I usually agree with you. I believe a large part of the growth and success is owed to John Brannen who got screwed at UC. Fortunately, he came out ok even after the damage was done!
Swift is not my taste, but she does seem to push her boundaries working with bands like Cincinnati's finest sad dad band, the National, which is cool I guess. The ticket debacle falls on Ticketmaster and their awful business practices. Dynamic pricing, their bonkers service fees, and that they own the Stubhub allowing for scalpers to drive up prices to ridiculous costs helps me enjoy that Ticketmaster is facing some scrutiny again. They're a damn joke.
We all have stories about the time I saw so-and-so for a pittance of money, but outrageously high ticket prices come with the territory for acts that fall into that legendary/extremely popular category. I know I am priced out of seeing Bruce Springsteen or U2 (who I did see in the 80's for a pittance of money.)