What has happened to concert tickets?

I am a very avid concert goer who loves nothing more than a enjoying live music with friends and frosty beverages.  I have been going to live shows since  I can remember.   I was lucky enough to have my parents take me a little kid and have had the love ever since.  One of my favorite memories is saving up for months to go to my first big show with friends.  I was 13 and Aerosmith was coming to the Memorial Auditorium in downtown Buffalo.  It was their Get A Grip Tour and I wanted to make sure I was there. Tickets cost $35 and I had to mow extra lawns to make sure I had enough money when tickets went on sale.  There were no online ticket outlets back then it was camping in line and waiting to get your hands on actual tickets.  Presales did not exists and it was first come first serve the best seats went to the most dedicated fans willing to brave the elements sometimes for days.  Since I was only 13 I did not get to wait in line over night but as soon as school was out  my friend Tom and I hopped on our bikes rode 10 miles to the closest ticket outlet and bought the best seats that were left.  We ended up sitting half way around the Aud about 50 rows up in the blue section.  The feeling we got from knowing that we scored tickets to the biggest show that year was incredible.  I know that had this been in today's ticket markets we would not have had tickets and would have lost out on an amazing show.

Now a days we have to worry about presale after presale after presale.  They have artist presale venue presales credit card presales and radio station presales.  You also have to worry about ticket agents like Stub Hub and Ticket Retriever getting their hand on tickets.  The last show I bought tickets for this year was Keith Urban, tickets went on sale to the general public at 10am Friday morning.  I was at a computer and on my phone and tablet at 9:55 ready to buy.  I must have refreshed the site 100 times until 10 just in case.  When the tickets went live at 10am the best seats left were section 400 out of the 5 sections not including lawn seats.  How in the world can there not be any seats left in the first 3 sections at the exact time tickets were available.


The next thing that is getting out of control is the prices. We are now paying sometimes over $100 a ticket not including the enormous fees they charge.  I have spent almost $1000 on tickets this year and not all the concerts are on sale yet.  It is seriously disturbing knowing that I will have to chose between a car payment or 2 concerts tickets.  Seven years ago I spent $25 a ticket to see Taylor Swift and James Otto at the Erie County Fair and now this year to see Lady Antebellum at the same location tickets are $80 plus $30 in fees.  Are you kidding me $110 to see a concert at a fair no way.  This is getting ridiculous when will it stop.  I know that my daughter and her friends won't be able to see their favorites without us as parents helping them pay for them.  I feel bad telling her that we have to chose between some of her favorites singers and can;t see all of them.

I am a sucker I mean fan so I will continue to pay these extremely high prices for terrible seats.  I just wish I could let my daughter share in the joy of scoring first row seats.  Or even having be able to buy her own ticket without spending all her money on one show.  I love songs about hard work and tough times,  but how can we believe them anymore because obviously they forgot how hard it is to make money in the real world.  I know Ticket agencies like Tickets.com and Ticketmaster are to blame as well. and the venues themselves are evil as well.  Someone needs to get this back in control.  What happened to tickets.com not charging fees?  I think we need to stop all the presales except fan club ones, also we need to make sure that decent seats are still available at the time of public sale.

 

Looking Forward to Summer Concerts

Seeing how I live in Buffalo, New York and the weather is only warm and sunny for a few months out of the year it makes it tough to have outdoor concerts. We get a few arena shows over the winter months but I am not a big fan of the acoustics of First Niagara Center. I have seen many incredible acts there and must say it the arena does not do them justice. We all look forward to summer shows 8 hour tailgate parties and ice cold beers. Here in Western New York the summer concert series is kicked off with TASTE OF COUNTRY at our minor league ball park and is hosted by WYRK 106.5fm a great station and usually a rowdy show. Everyone lets out there pent up party energy and some get a bit out of hand. I will say I have had to leave the show early a couple times myself. I have been known to face plant and take amazingly funny pictures at this show. Over the past few years the ticket prices have gone through the roof and it is getting very tough to justify spending the money to see the show. I would rather spend the $65 plus fees to see someone like Keith Urban instead of the usual suspects. I have fun when I go but not enough lately to make the trip downtown. This years line up is Tyler Farr, Montgomery Gentry, and Jake Owen. I decided to pass on this line up and instead spend the money to see Dierks Bentley in Canandaigua, NY its a longer drive but a better line up, it also helps when I can score front row and not have to stand for 5 hours. Last summer the taste line up was a mix of country and 90's pop stars. I went because I was given free tickets and really wanted to Rodney Atkins for the 15th time(he is a personal Favorite of mine. Tee headliners were Sheryl Crow and Darius Rucker wow what a show if this had been 1996. The atmosphere is more like a bar on the field than a big show which makes it fun and enjoyable but until the prices drop or the acts justify the price I will be staying away. Darien Lake Performing Arts Center is the main venue for summer shows around here. It is a great place to have fun and see concerts but a terrible place to park and leave from. PAC has gotten so bad after the shows that we have had people drowned and hit by cars and killed. Unless you have purchased the VIP parking be prepared to leave before the encore or wait up to 4 hours to get out of the lot. I have so many great memories of this place it will always hold a special place in my life. I have been on stage for the opening of a Toby Keith show looking out in the crowd of 30,000 people was amazing. I have been able to meet Alan Jackson, Eric Church, Sean Patrick McGraw,and Toby here over the years. The line up this summer is much better than usual we are getting our yearly show from Brad Paisley and Rascal Flatts, Jason Aldean is making his 3rd straight summer show stop and also added to the list this summer are Blake Shelton, Luke Bryan, Keith Urban, and Miranda Lambert. Every year they offer a Mega Ticket and every year I saw I am going to buy it but never do. I am normally trying to score tickets with pre sale codes and using 3 different devices. I have normally been lucky with seats this year however besides Brad I am in the back sections, not happy about it but it will have to do. I have heard disturbing news about the Luke Bryan show it is being said that Stub Hub had bought all the non mega ticket tickets and there was never a on sale date announced. This seems to be a trend lately with PAC and some how all the pit and 100 section tickets are gone even before presales. The trend is upsetting knowing that if I want my daughter to experience the thrill of front row I will have to shell out $1000's. I know money drives the industry but at whose expense the fans like always. First it was high fees that seem to grow every year then it was 1 presale which has turned into 5-6 for each show. Can't we go back to first come first serve it was such a better life back then. Rant is over! I am looking forward to spending the many hours playing Kan Jam Beer Pong and Flip Cup in a grassy parking lot surrounded by country music fans. July 4th weekend brings us our local multi day country music festival Jam in the Valley. It is a great weekend capped of with the largest fireworks display I have ever seen. The 2 day fest has turned in to 3 and the camping situation is party haven. The camp sites are varied and go from family friendly to straight up Frat houses on wheels. Every year the line up seems to switch between traditional country and popish country, this year we get all in one weekend. Thursday night is Chris Janson and Dustin Lynch. Thursday is generally set up camp site day and the show is usually filled with campers and a few 3 day pass holders. Friday has the best line up I have seen in a long time. It kicks off with LoCash Cowboys, if you have not seen these 2 guys you are missing out on a great night they are up beat funny guys who go out of their way to please the fans. The headliner this year is non other than Hank Williams Jr. I am lucky enough to have won Backstage passes for the weekend so I get to spend my 4th of July with these men. What is more American than Independance Day and Hank Jr. Saturday is normally the most crowded of the days because it is the fireworks show night. I am seeing a younger crowd headed out this year with Danielle Bradbery, Colt Ford, and Brantley Gilbert all taking the stage. I am pumped about meeting Colt Ford I have always liked his music and his ability to collaborate with amazing artists. This will be a great 3 days of music food friends and drinks. The situation i am facing this year and I am sure others are as well is the fact that after 3 days of partying and music I have to drive 90 minutes home on Sunday to pick up my daughter drop off my camping gear and then drive the hour to Darien Lake to see Brad Paisley on Sunday the 6th should be a great show to end a hectic weekend. For the first time I am going to be making my way out to Canandaigua, NY and CMAC. There are generally good shows out there but I either never have a concert buddy or I am out of town for them. This year I made it a point to be home for them and to have a road tripper with me. My daughter insisted that we go see Tim McGraw because she wanted to see Cassadee Pope again. Tim will be there on May 30th a great way to start my summer series. I will then be back out there for Dierks Bentley on June 20th. I have not seen Dierks in a few years so I am excited about this show. I am still looking for someone to go with but I am sure I will find someone. I am going to be spending the night out there because on the 21st Willie Nelson and Allison Krauss will be there. I am going to see them twice this year. My last show of the summer will also be at CMAC Lady A with guests Billy Currington, and Joe Nichols. All in all it will be a great summer stayed tuned for reviews updates and pictures. Also follow me on Twitter @scottbutts80 for my latest news. I know I will be adding shows in to my already busy summer but why not when it will be snowing again in October. I am going to try and hit up shows in Pennsylvania and Ohio this year and hopefully I can catch a show when I am in Disney with the family in Sept and Oct. If you have any shows I should see or any ideas of where to see them let me know I am always looking for new places and acts.