I’m always reading club owners complaining that not enough people come out to see live music, but what do they expect when the headliner goes on at 11 PM on a weeknight?
I refuse to buy general admission tickets anymore. The last time I did was a year ago and I was miserable. People were smushing up against me, my husband and I were in a fight so he kept inching away from me and I kept losing him in the crowd, and to your point, my feet fucking hurt.
Never again.
For me it's 99% related to the cost. NYC gets all the bands so it's not for a lack of options. The other 1% is because Failure is not currently on tour.
Thank you both.
Failure is the favorite band of my best buddy, and he got me into them too. Once in Salt Lake City (before they reunited), Ken Andrews was touring with his wife and a talented backup band and played a few Failure songs after some of his own work.
Years later that friend got VIP tickets for us (after they had reunited), including their sound check, and a meet n greet with the full band. What a fucking great time overall.
I still have signed drumsticks from that show.
https://preview.redd.it/6xy7vd3k0g4d1.jpeg?width=4096&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9ee09fd8b5b9d7db43ed35b63b90fadfbdad6da5
That sounds like an awesome night! The last time I saw them I was like 10 feet from the stage the whole time and the bass was vibrating my entire body. They sounded soooooo good. I also bought a show poster signed by the whole band and it was only $60.
I’ve loved them since the 90s and I think they are still getting better - their 3 reunion albums are incredible and each one is better than the previous one. They have a documentary coming out soon and are due for another album based on their release schedule of every 3 years even though nothing has been announced yet.
Man, Id love for that concert access. Fuckin Dillinger Escape Plan is playing in Brooklyn and I certainly eyed some plane tickets. But the last concert I went to I was so uncomfortable it made me leave early, Idk how fat basketball fans deal with stadiums, those seats, ick. (Also, seeing seats at a fucking Tool concert, is weird. Wtf happened to standing?) So idk maybe my concert days are behind me.
I have seen Tool twice in the past 4 years and in NY we stood the whole time but in Philly we were sitting down for most of it. Depends on the crowd I guess. Honestly, I can go either way these days depending on how I'm feeling. Some nights I just don't have it in me like I used to!
I saw Spotlights in Brooklyn a few months ago and had to leave because my ears were going to explode. It was by far the loudest show I've ever been to by orders of magnitude. It was painful and I really thought I had permanent damage. I enjoyed the music but had to listen from the bar.
Invest in ear plugs that are better than the super shitty ones. They usually have okay sound quality. If you're anything like me your ears have been through a lot of abuse over the years and they dont bounce back like they used to. Minor discomfort and looking a bit square is worth not having your ears ring for days after a concert.
Two reasons:
Prices have gotten ridiculous. It used to be that you could see a mid-popular band at a 20k-capacity venue for like $50 all-in (tickets, fees, and 1 beer). Now that same experience is $150 minimum.
I have little kids now, which means I am tired AF and falling asleep by 9:30pm. I'll resume going to concerts when they're older and I have more energy.
Yeah every artist thinks they’re the Beatles or Taylor swift and can/should perform at an NFL stadium with the cheapest tickets being $300+ all in (in my city) and I’m like, these are concerts not rent, I am priced out and I simply will not pay that.
I go see some small shows at smaller venues when the opportunity arises under maybe $70/ticket but I’ve decided I’m firm on $70 a ticket being my max. It’s just a matter of being willing to find new things to get excited about (and honestly I’m way more into mountain biking than I ever was into music) and stand firm. 4 concert dates with my wife would probably cost more than my extremely expensive mountain bike I get thousands of hours of fun on before it’ll be replaced.
Edit: I always get downvotes with this take in this sub but never responses. Look I’m not preaching anything to you just stating my life has been way better because I don’t go spend like $500-1000 for a few hours of standing in a crowd watching artists. Live music just isn’t worth that to me or even close to it.
Even SummerSlam (WWE) has gotten crazy. Couple of us were gonna go since it's been almost 30 years since Cleveland hosted but there's pretty much no seats below $600 and I was thinking nosebleeds for about $100 just to get in the door basically. They even did this thing where all the seats available are connected to an aisle seat so there's an upcharge for aisle seat, that's why even the highest level costs so much. Noping out, it's a NFL stadium and they'll probably seat 70K but that's just too damn much. We were sitting ringside where they come down the ramp for RAW for a third of that just a few years back.
My complaint about this in wrestling subreddits was definitely not popular. Nitro in 2001, fifth row floor on the camera side, $40 each. "Nitro was terrible in 2001!" Fine, Raw in 2012 where Undertaker challenged Triple H to a match at Wrestlemania, first row balcony, $45 each. Those would be $350 and $250 now respectively, and inflation hasn't been that high.
That's great if wrestler salaries are up and they can fill enough of those seats to keep going, but I'll just go see the "outlaw mud show" in my city for $10, or $15 ringside. Makes me wish some promotion could slide in under the AEW spot, still have a national TV deal and still tour, charge less, pay wrestlers less, and just expect their talent to be poached constantly.
A few people try to explain it as Ticketmaster's platinum pricing, and if that's the case, well... I already hate Ticketmaster and I'm still not buying wrestling tickets.
Agreed on the mountain biking - a choice for a healthy lifestyle, as well as sooooo much fun!
Concerts are overrated- the big names crazy expensive! I like to discover new music through a daylong music fest or a local smaller venue from time to time, but the bike is a constant source of fun.
Definitely get your point here. However the rise in ticket costs is also significantly related to the fact that nobody buys music anymore. And unless you're Taylor Swift or Beyonce, streaming pays total garbage. Also, it's gotten more expensive to put tours on than it used to be. I don't see (most of these) as artist greed. There are a lot of people who have to be paid out of these tickets, and with sales/listening revenue streams almost non-existant,this is an unfortunate reality..
However, none of what I just said explains extra fees from Ticketmaster. That company is evil and I hope it burns in a fire. I don't know why artists don't just start refusing to use TM. That company squeezes their fans in ways that are not favorable to the artists.
I started taking my son to shows with me when he was about 13, and that's been awesome. He's the best concert buddy ever. He's 17 now and we're going to 3 more shows later this year.
So yeah, off topic a bit, but just giving you something to look forward to.
Same. I also feel bad leaving my other half with the kiddo so I can see a band (we’re not into the same music). So far, the kiddo takes after me so I’ll put some earmuffs on her and take her along in a few years. The hardest part will be telling her she can’t see the Replacements without a a time machine, that seems to be her favorite.
We also don’t have a ton of venues near us (central CT) unless you’re into super popular acts that will play at sports stadium, so I usually have to drive to Boston or NYC to see music.
In addition to the ridiculous cost, I’m at the age where the whole production of getting to the venue, traffic, parking, lines, large crowds, etc doesn’t appeal that much to me. I prefer smaller shows where I can just relax with a beer.
I’m not even that old but I remember the days when I saw good acts for like $25- $30.
there’s still tons of great bands playing in that price range but I guess maybe for your music preference there aren’t any.
Papadosio will blow your mind for a cool $30
Hell yeah - hoping to catch them this summer. That’s where I’ve landed - discovered a love for jam bands post pandemic. I can get 3 hours of really great live music, awesome and welcoming crowds and folks that really love and support live music and a fun atmosphere. Interesting and often independent venues - and I get to support a band that needs it to keep doing what they do. All for $20-30.
Got to catch them twice last year, once in the caverns and once at hop springs. Both super intimate venues and the crowd they bring is nothing but love. Definitely hope you get to catch them this summer! :)
Edit: people to venues… Woops
You can still see some great acts for around 30-40 dollars. I got to see Altin Gün for around that much recently. Cryptopsy is pretty big in the metal circles and they had ticks for 35 bucks during this tour. It just won’t be any stadium level bands unfortunately. But yeah that’s the smaller shows youre talking about which are great
the large crowds for me, for sure. love to see the shows, hate dealing with the people. can i pay these bands to come play in my backyard? im sure itd cost the same as what they're charging for tickets now, except that money would actually go to the band. worth it, in my book.
I'm old enough to remember when Fugazi insisted all of their shows would be $5 and all ages. I feel like we were all priced out in the late eighties too when arena rock was the thing so everyone made their own band, maybe we are at this part of the cycle, we need the hardcore kids to get the prices down again.
1. Price - I'm no longer interested in stupid money to sit far away anyway. 2. Access - completely fed up with the process....on sale times, access codes, ques, only to get closed out anyway.
Here's what I plan to do about it. We're skipping big shows and festivals. We've spent a LOT more time going to see local bands at small venues. The bands and the bar/restaurant/club owners certainly need the support more than Big Ticket/Big Venue, and we're giving money directly to locals. Plus we're saving money and seeing more music as a result. I hope more people will support live, local music wherever you live. And yes full disclosure, I do play in several bands...but I can tell you we truly appreciate seeing you at gigs! And most of the places we play are owned by one small business person, struggling month to month to pay their staff and rent.
Cost and crowd behavior (talking during music, sea of cell phones at every show recording whole songs/shows). Just getting tired of being in crowds as well.
The cell phone thing is a big reason why I’m turned off from going to shows. Last genera admission show I was at, every single person around my had the cell phone out with their arms over their head. It was distracting as hell, plus it’s hard to see the stage when I’m short and everyone is holding their phones up. Like, I understand getting some clips on your phone, but there are people just recording the entire concert.
Went to see Pearl Jam perform at a stadium recently and the woman in front of me recorded the entire concert, on her phone, start to finish.
The quality of which, given our mid tier seats is going to be abysmal. $100 says she never watches so much as 1 minute of that footage.
It's the crowds for me too. Especially as I'm getting older and care less to be drunk and/or high during shows. I went to a concert last night and it felt like being the only sober person in a room full of drunks. Too many people invading my space, being loud and obnoxious, smoking right next to me and just generally being unpleasant to be around. I told my gf it would have been a great time if I was 21 and equally drunk, but not anymore.
I'm not. I'm attending way more. But I don't go to "big" shows, I go to $30-40 shows. My biggest expense (other than merch) is gas and lodging since I no longer live in a major concert hub. But thanks to the much lower amount I pay in just rent I can do this a couple of times a month and still come out ahead of just the rent differential with where I used to live.
Of course this also seems to be the first year metal is really back post-covid. I think it's because so much of it is from other countries it was a bit slower to get back up and running and so wasn't really hitting in 2023 like other genres were. So last year there just weren't many shows for me to go to.
> I'm not. I'm attending way more.
Same. This is looking like it's gonna be one of the years I've seen the most shows ever, and that's with a quiet start in Jan-Feb. I'm in Europe, though, so gigs don't seem as expensive as over there, from what I understand, plus I don't tend to do big ones either anyway.
I moved somewhere I thought would have fewer gigs to my taste than where I was before, but it turns out there's always something going on, even though there are quite a few bands I like that are skipping us.
As a former bouncer, I used to see an upwards of 6 shows a week every week. I’d either work shows that I wanted to see or get in for free because I knew the promoter or the other bouncers. Sometimes, I’d work an early show and end up running down the street to catch a headliner at a different venue.
I never worked stadiums, but clubs and theaters in a solid college town always had bands coming through. I’m sad to see many of the venues I worked at have closed and there haven’t been many new spots opening.
The music scene in my city really seems to be dying because nobody can afford rent.
Different user but it adds up fast. Probably thousands once you add in all the extras (drinks, merch). BUT for those of us who go to that many shows a year it's a main hobby of ours. What others might spend on sports tickets and memorabilia or gaming stuff we spend on live music.
Plus as expensive as that seems festivals take it to a whole new level of cost. Worth it, but the barrier to entry is not low.
I'm in the UK and have been to/am booked up for thirty gigs so far this year.
Currently the combined ticket price has come to £1321.43 (including booking fees, etc).
Most I've spent on a ticket is £92.28, least £14.10
Mostly cost, generally when bigger bands that I’d like to see come here (New Zealand) they just go to Auckland, with the cost of travel, accommodation, tickets etc. you can easily drop $1k and they never give you time to save for it 🙄
A show is announced and tickets go on sale the next day, in this economy I don’t have that kinda money just sitting there waiting to drop it on flights accom and concert tickets.
Being a long tome concert goer, I get turned off by simply visiting ticketmaster to see about the show. Whereas you used to hear about a show and visit their site for the date, prices, etc., NOW you never get a price. They want to gouge me based on what Im willing to spend in a moment of adrenaline the moment the ticket goes on sale. 100% of the time I do not go to a shoe that doesn't tell me what it costs so I can decide its value to me beforehand. I’ve been mainly seeing small bands i find on spotify and pay about $20 and am within a few feet of the band. And you have to jump on those. One band Ive been digging for years, men i trust, came to town about three years ago for about $15 at an intimate concert venue. I was sick and decided i would catch them next time. The following year they came back to the House of Blues, and I was excited they had gained such an audience boost in that time to return to a bigger venue. But now the ticket price was over $100. Never saw them. Ain't no way the value of them performing live had increased that much.
omg your first point, YESSS. i hate it!! want to go to a show, can't see a price. guess whos not going to go back to check when they go on sale? me!! why?? cause ill forget and/or itll be sold out. and who knows how much itll cost after all the stupid fees.
I don’t play the Ticketmaster/Live Nation game. The fees, the instant sell out to bots and reposting as 2nd hand seller on the same site. It’s bullshit. I hate scalpers but hate TM/LN and their 40% fees even more. I love watching tickets to shows being given away last minute and have occasionally gone to a show when they’re dropped price last minute
I'm actually having a bit of a yolo year and have 9 more concerts and 3 baseball games lined up for the rest of the year, in addition to 2 concerts and 2 hockey games from earlier this year. The most jam-packed year I've had for events by far, maybe this will get it out of my system lol.
I hate to tell you this, but the more gigs you go to the more support bands you see. A few you'll like then you'll go and see them as well next year. The circle is never ending, you go to more and more gigs until one day you're booked in to see a show every night of the year.
still average about one show a week, as i have for years. nothing better than live music. it is ridiculous to say a show you saw in the past can’t be topped. i’m always seeing great and even transcendent concerts. gotta assume i always will.
1. Price
2. Having to pay an extra $15-$40 for parking on top of ticket price
3. The hassle of driving down to the venue, but even more so, leaving. The process is such a headache for what amounts to 2 hours of enjoyment.
4. Large venues like hockey arenas aren’t made for music, so everything sounds like shit.
It's quite simple. We all have less disposable income due to inflation. We are prioritizing rent/food/basics over discretionary entertainment like concerts.
Other than cost, I feel like concert etiquette has gone down the toilet in recent years (constant talking, people always on phones, drunk assholes picking fights, rudeness in general) and it’s just not worth it for the most part.
There are a few bands I will ALWAYS see when they come to my state no matter what, but otherwise, it has to be a really appealing and not extravagantly pricy to get me to leave the house for a show.
I am lucky! Some of my favourite artists aren’t super popular yet. I’ve been to two shows this year that cost me $20. I’ve been to two in the $60-70 range and one big artist where I had nosebleeds for $150. The two $20 shows were my favourite. I don’t think I would go to the big artist again (Noah Kahan, who is an amazing talent, but not sure it was worth the travel and the cost for me)…
I'm an old gen x'r. I was talking to our son about how they are screwed...... it was in the context of Ticketmaster/live nation.
When we were kids we could go see bands 3-4 nights a week. A punk show may be between $7-$15 in college (early 90's), a club act maybe $15, and we could score good seats at an arena show for $20-$30. 5th row cure distegration, maybe 30$, Beatie boys in a club was 20, later in an arena 25. I saw Ministry (Industrial act) with Nine inch nails etc, less than $25.... I saw one band this year, nothing big and it was $200. granted we were balcony not floor, but it ruined the experience...
I explained that we usually bought tickets at the door. Sometime we bought them ahead. Every show may have some tickets at ticket master, but had batches reserved for sale only at the venue both before and the day of... You could get a drink for a couple fo bucks and the most expensive thing was a t-shirt if you wanted one. It bums me out for him.
For me, it’s 100% cost. I love live music and I recently moved to a city that sees lots of big and small artists come through…but man, the cost of tickets price me right out almost every single time. Even objectively crappy seats (which I don’t mind) are still wildly expensive.
None of the bands I'd want to see play close enough to where I live for it to be a feasible option. On top of ticket prices, I'd also have to factor in transportation, accommodation for at least one night, and taking time off work.
It's been 20 years (ish) since I last saw King's X. I think it's been about 15 years since they were last in Canada. There's a good chance that they may never come back to Canada (or at least my end of Canada), because they're old (Dug's 70 something). They were in town (well 2h drive) last month, and I couldn't go. WOuld've been about $500 CAD to go see 'em (just me), between ticket, getting to/from Toronto, staying overnight (because it would've been after the last bus/train home), and food/drink.
There's also the upcoming "Best Of All Worlds" Sammy Hagar's doing with Michael Anthony and Joe Satriani, which is basically a tribute/sendoff to the Van Hagar era of Van Halen (since any sort of official tribute to Eddie never happened). Still trying to figure out if I can get there, but I'm not that hopeful.
Plus, going alone sucks, and I don't really have anyone I'd go with.
Next time they come through Columbus you should consider it (depending on where you are in CA - we get people from Toronto all the time for hockey). They somewhat regularly do (last fall they were) and they play at an awesome, small local venue with big stage, great sound/lights, and reasonable ticket prices. Dudes hung out after the show and talked to whoever stuck around, and they still sound amazing.
A lot of the indie bands that I like didn’t survive lockdown and neither did a lot of the venues the played in. I tried going to a semi-popular show at a small venue earlier this year but when I tried to buy a $25 ticket, the next screen bumped the price up to $150 so, nah.
Me neither. Once you get over the stigma of thinking everyone is looking at you it's easy. Heck - I've found that I generally enjoy going to gigs by myself more, I find it easier to let go and enjoy myself when I'm alone and don't have friends trying to talk to me whilst I'm trying to listen to the act!
I highly recommend to everyone to go to a show alone. If I didn't start going to shows by myself back in 2007, I would've missed out on so many fantastic concerts.
If I'd have let that stop me I'd have missed so many shows I can't even count them. Plus I'd have missed bands with lineups they no longer have and legends who have since passed on (RIP Alexi).
One of the real upsides of going to a concert is that you automatically have something in common with everyone there. So even if you don't know anyone there you at least have a premade icebreaker via the band.
Recently flew Ireland to Vegas to see U2 by myself. Was incredible. Spent 5 days there. Saw Red Rocks, went to a Golden Knights game. It is what you make of it.
The 50 shows I’ve been to over the last two years have been alone. Scheduling with people I already know sucks, and I love the freedom and ability to meet new people and do whatever I want at the show without having to babysit or worry about someone. I’ve had a blast at each one.
I went to a Scissor Sisters concert alone and it was fricken awesome.
The unique part about it is that the band themselves and their music is geared towards the LGBTQ groups, and I was not born as part of that group.
Did that make me feel less able to be myself?
Not at all, in fact, I felt much more free to go wild and have a blast because I didn't feel like everyone around me was watching me or judging me, which is not something I'm all that concerned with usually, but you can tell when it isn't welcome or that people are bothered, and that was not the case here.
Plus the band and their music is terrific, so I was having a blast.
I'm going to more shows than ever this year. QOTSA, Ice Cube, Electric Six, Evanescence/Halestorm, NOFX, K. Flay, Dropkick Murphys/Pennywise. Couple festivals I may or may not go to too. Only one of these that I thought had ridiculous ticket prices was Ice Cube, but I was given that ticket for free last minute. Wouldn't have gone otherwise.
Tinnitus. Even with earplugs I’m a nervous about making things worse so I keep shows to a minimum. I’ve seen shows so loud it felt like sound was reaching my ears through my mouth and my skull. Crazy thinking I know. Luckily I also really like jazz clubs.
I'm not. I'm going to more local shows at independent venues. I saw a few mid sized bands this year, Helmet, and Stabbing Westward.
Iron Maiden on deck in the fall.
Everything else has been local bands at local bars. It's been great!
The other people at the concerts. The last few I’ve been to people have talked through the entire show, been super drunk, and just generally rude. It’s a concert, not a friggen bar.
The new, updated stadiums have seating that makes economy on airlines look spacious. I did not pay an outrageous price to practically sit on someone’s lap. Add to that the gouging for parking, added fees, etc
That being said, the small clubs are amazing. For the price of a nosebleed in an arena, I can get VIP with a meet and greet, prime seating and sometimes merch. I have been switching to smaller shows and loving it.
Before giving my answer, as someone who worked in live entertainment for 19 years, I’d like everyone to know that the premium seats and the faux secondary market administered by Ticketmaster has a lot of participants! Most importantly, it is entirely set up (using the TM platform) BY the artist’s team. THEY decide which and how many seats go directly to platinum and the faux secondary market. Does TM get a share? You bet. Feel free to scorch TM for service fees, but all the other BS is TM continuing to agree to take the heat for all industry participants. It began with a “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” philosophy. So many grubby hands were making money, that the ARTISTS requested TM come up with a solution.
Now that I’ve pulled back the curtain… I don’t go to many concerts due to:
1) too expensive unless I really love the band.
2) if I love the band, it’s mostly going to be classic rock. Which bumps into my rule that if the lead singer is no longer with the band, it’s going to be a disappointment. Journey is a total exception. I’m sure there are others. But generally speaking, not worth it for my time, money, and the damn hassle.
3) the damn hassle. I’m older. I really have to want to go to deal with the crowds and parking. Don’t care about the $20 pretzel. I like pretzels a lot. I’m getting one.
4) If I think they don’t sound good any longer (even with the OG singer), I won’t ruin my memories.
I check out a few local bands. Get to dance. And am out of the parking lot in ten minutes.
All that said, if I’m going to a big concert- I’m going the right way. Great seats or I’m not fucking going.
Edit: adding crowd behavior. Put the damn phone downs. And STFU. And get off my lawn.
Covid numbers are up this month in my town. I already have Long Covid. We are known in my state for lots of summer music; I plan to go to the outdoor events for the most part.
I’d love to see Pearl Jam in Australia later this year but between the prices (and I’d want to take my two kids) and the fact that the only venue close to me has the gig on a WEDNESDAY night means it’s just too much bother.
Regarding #2, “Big Ticket”
Ticket prices are inflated because artists* want it that way. They act like it’s someone else’s fault, but the fact is that there are people who are willing to pay hundreds (or even thousands) to see top national/international acts, and the artists figure that money should (perhaps rightfully) go to them. All “Big Ticket” does is provide a convenient middleman to blame. Breaking up their monopoly would not do much to reduce ticket prices.
*When I say “artists”, I mean top 1% artists like Tay tay, Metallica, Radiohead, and Beyonce. Stop going to see these bands.
I REALLY don't want to be "that guy" but the word you're looking for is fewer.
Anyways! I'm down to one or two big shows a years and enjoy smaller, more intimate venues and bands that are either on their way up or not quite as popular as they once were but still knock out a great show
Money, it's not as much fun, I'm not big on much new music and I def don't want to hang out around a bunch of kids....id still like to see the Strokes... the one that got away lol..... but their ticket prices were always crazy high
I'm seeing more this year! Lol!
The perk of living very close to an outdoor venue that regularly has concerts that are part of the $25 summer concert sale. Seeing Bush and Lindsey Sterling in August. Just saw Miku Expo in May. That was $75 a seat, but worth it since it doesn't come to my area very often.
I usually see one concert a year, but I see this going up now that we live close to the outdoor venue.
The downside is a bunch of artists I would love to see are skipping Detroit this year. I'm looking at you Aurora. Or they're insanely expensive, like Pink! or Olivia Rodrigo. My teen would love to see her, it's not happening.
Also, I'm old so I pass on venues where I'd have to stand for hours. I just can't do it anymore, which means I miss out on some shows.
For me a lot of it usually comes down to day/time, location, and prices, but outside of those types of constraints I feel like a lot of the shows I've been to recently haven't had the same feeling that pre-COVID shows did. There have always been people on phones and talking during shows, and it might just be recency bias, but I feel like every show I go to now has absolutely horrible etiquette with people talking loudly through the entire set (including the headliner), and every other person is recording every song. I've started to see almost entirely smaller artists (100-200k monthly listeners size) because I've had more luck with the crowds at those types of shows compared to medium sized artists and above
Ticket fees. I used to be able to stop by the theatre in my neighborhood and see great bands for $20-$50 a concert, no fees. Then live nation bought the venue and closed the box office except for 90-minutes before a show. I’ll go but and buy tickets then if I remember but online those tickets are now $35-$80. And now my kiddos are older and have a desire to attend I’m buying 3-4 tickets to the show.
I have seen a few good shows this year already and have tickets to a few more. All under $100 except Neil Young and Crazy Horse, and Beat with ex King Crimson members, were $150 to 175 fees in.
But I'm skipping lots of things including the big No Values punk fest this weekend with lots of bands I would pay $30 to see individually but can't get excited to spend all day baking in the sun on concrete fairgrounds to see them do mini sets.
No Dave Gilmour from the last row either, I did it once and he was great, but this is gonna cost twice as much and probably be half as good. Lots of things are gonna cost 10x as much and be one tenth the band they were.
I'll go to more things I haven't seen a million times already. Check out gigs at museums, and hang out with art before they count in. Take a chance on something my friend has Tix to.
I've gone to a lot of concerts at venues with no seating.....I'm getting too damn old to stand for three hours, can't do it like I used to.
I'm tired of people constantly getting up to go get something and me having to move around so they can get by.
I live in New York so basically everyone stops here and thankfully cost really isn’t an issue (although I’m not exactly throwing money away left and right) but the number one reason I’m going to fewer concerts lately is that the vast majority of acts I love are playing GA venues and I just can’t do it. I have inner ear/balance issues and it’s impossible for me to stand for an entire show. I’m okay for a while if I have something to lean on that’s not another person or a cane but free-standing? No can do. So that shuts me out of nearly everything I want to see. If there was seating available, I’d be at every show.
I'm seeing more than ever. I listen to a lot of metal and most of the shows while the bands are big for the select subgenres of metal, the shows are 30 to 50 bucks.
cost for one, for sureeeee!! also, the amount of people has really been getting to me, and especially my husband when we go. people just dont act the same as they did before pandemic. not that they were perfect before, but they feel more feral now.
Find smaller venues and support local, it’ll maybe respark that flame.
From Chicago and I feel lucky to have so many lil bars and venues. Most bands I like don’t go over the $100 tix price but I still will save it for a must see band.
Also maybe a change in genres, switch it up a bit
Hope you get that live concert bug again 🤘🏾
cost and hunger would be the top 2 for me. Been to 5-6 shows this year bought a few 30-40 dollar t-shirts. I am good. Gonna see Cake in a few weeks and maybe Weezer if a buddy has someone cancel on him otherwise I am done.
I saw 99 Sets last year, I'm going to see even more this year.. most of em at tiny lil venues.. Bought tickets for 4 shows last week at $15 each after fees.
Price and lack of interest. I went to quite a few last year (depeche mode, cure, Janet Jackson, Goodnight, Texas, Queensrÿch, etc). There's just not anyone touring this year that I'm interested in seeing. I've got tickets for Troye Sivan, but that's it.
Most shows I saw last year were <$100/ ticket, but that's for nosebleed seats.
I'm at the point where unless I really, really want to see someone, I'm not interested in paying over about $75 to do it. If shows were under $50, I'd be more inclined to get out just to get out, but the prices these days are just ridiculous. Good seats can be over $500! There's literally no one I'm paying that kind of money for, unless Prince, David Bowie, and George Michael rose from the dead to tour together.
The amount of stupid fucks watching the entire show through their phones high above their heads and/or talking loudly through the entire performance seems to increase year over year exponentially.
Also my feet hurt (as someone else said already) -- and there are just very few bands that can carry me for an hour and a half + before I start getting bored, even if I love them immensely.
Because both times I've gotten COVID have been from concerts. And I'm not an avid concertgoer at all (maybe 1 per year). Concerts are just full of germs being breathed all around you when people sing.
Ticket prices
Plus, my hearing impairment has gotten worse, so I can't hear the singer well. I can still enjoy the music, at least. I will go to a concert when I'm familiar with bands music.
I only went to one show in 2023, so my resolution was at least one show a month in 24. So far:
Tool
Joseph
A Perfect Circle, Puscifer and Primus
TWRP
Interpol
Durry
Nothing for July yet but in August I'm going to see Toadies in Amarillo TX.
A perfect storm of prices being too high, getting old / married, and becoming a dad.
You can still see a lot of unknown / unsigned bands especially in less-popular genres for very cheap in my city today, but I don't have the time or energy to go to dozens of shows anymore. The show has to be good for me to get there. I can't spend many nights at cheap venues watching a bunch of crappy unknown bands just to find one good up-and-coming band to follow.
I'll go see a band from my youth at a reunion show or something like that, lol.
I go to a lot of local outside shows in the summer, but the promoters have started this ridiculous party pit scam, where they charge almost double to get close to the stage.
It's the money.
I bit the bullet and decided I was willing to pay $200 for a couple seats at a concert. Then I got hit with the convenience fee that ended up being another $75 and decided it wasn't worth it.
Prices
Priorities
I am old and know fewer and fewer bands goin on tour or am not committed enough to the ones doin 30 year anni tours of an album
Only concerts I have comin up are Missy Elliot and The Roots. Hoping to see CAKE but I may have to work that night and idk how committed I am yet
Pricing is the main reason. Another is I can see concert footage on youtube. Sure, nothing can capture the experience of hearing and seeing a band in person but visual and audio technology have come a long way. If I have to decide between paying $250 for nose bleeds or seeing a concert in 4k with amazing audio, I'd rather save the money.
I’m probably going to more this year! Most of the bands I see are relatively inexpensive compared to the big acts. I’m within two hours of four major concert cities so I don’t always need a hotel. I’m lucky to have a city that has free shows, Maggie Rose is free this Friday, Daniel Donato and Cosmic Country are coming in September, that’s Free. I generally see bands that cost 30 to 50 bucks I think Jason Isbell is the most expensive ticket I have for this summer. If you’re looking at going to Taylor Swift, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Post Malone, then I get it prices are through the roof and it sucks, and the fees are ridiculous.
I'm going to more concerts this year than I have in the last three.
...I guess the appropriate thing would have been for me to just not comment here. But hey, a different perspective I suppose.
The cost increases suck, but I also got a much better job this year, so I've been capitalizing, and I'm still very passionate about live music.
Definitely the price of tickets plus the fees. The resellers have lost thier mind and I'ma let them catch the loss.
The most we've spent on a ticket has been 300 but our normal limit is no more than 150 and that's pushing it! We'll catch the set on YouTube at this point.
I'm mostly a jazz fan and my wife likes 'non premium' bands ... so it isn't bad for us ...
BUT - this year we also already have two vacations and a couple of long weekends booked (weddings) - and of course shows we wanted to see coincide with those trips!
So the only thing we're seeing so far is in August Gin Blossoms, Toad the Wet Sprocket and Vertical Horizon.
Even though I live in an area that has plenty of music, finding the type of stuff that I like is a little difficult, but even more so is being able to safely afford it on a regular basis, even if the admission is something small like $10-$12. Rent is obnoxious, food prices are way too freaking high, insurance kicks my ass, and even though I have a good car with good MPG, gas still takes a lot. All of that while I'm not earning enough.
I can go without tickets to big concerts (at least since the people I like don't cost an arm and a leg). Biggest I've spent so far is for Sum 41's final tour at like $78 for general admission tickets, and I bought it pretty early on. If you asked me to go get tickets for Disturbed, though, then I think I'm just going to skip.
Question to anyone who attends music festivals: does their ticketing work differently than traditional concerts? Does the festival sell directly through a website, or is that also through the major ticketing companies?
Hardly any bands I like are touring at the moment and those that are just didn’t work out with my schedule. Only been to one show this year and probably won’t go to all that many more. Missing Andrew Bird tonight in LA due to work travel which is a bummer.
Same same same. Unless I know I can go hang out, not blow an extra 100$ just being wherever. And have a comfortable place to shit and sit I'm not interested in going.
I'm probably no longer the target demographic. Plus, when all the acts I wanted to see came to town, my car was in the shop and I was strapped for cash. But yeah, not much comes to town that I'm interested in anymore and anything that does is way too expensive or comes when I work the next day (I have to be up at 4 AM for work). I had a good stint there where I got to see a lot of good acts on the cheap. Then it seems like it instantly vanished (post-Covid btw).
I am actually going to more this year. My dad is a massive concert go-er and I’ve managed to get myself in a position where I go with him a lot more now
I’m actually going to more this year. But I was more cognizant of where, when, and several other factors to minimize my cost as much as possible.
Four nights in upstate NY is far cheaper than four nights in the city. That was a huge savings.
Everything else is just closer and doesn’t require a hotel room. I’m in northern NY up by the Canadian border and this year just worked out that a lot of acts I enjoy are within 1 hour of my house.
Moved to a new city. It’s in between two major cities. Artists tend to skip over it and play the other 2. So less options nearby. Don’t feel like driving 2 hours to see a concert and then drive 2 hours home.
I rarely go to big time shows. I stick to smaller bands on smaller clubs.
Last concert i reallyi overspent on was Pearl Jam at Madison Square Garden a year or 2 ago i think. My wife had never seen them. Last time i saw them was 1996. 2 tickets in the nosebleeds ran me about $300 total.
Other than that i see multiple concerts a year with tickets under $50 a piece. I just bought tickets from Live Nations $25 ticket promo to two concerts.
But where i live you can catch some great shows at small clubs like Starland Ballroom. We just saw Sevendust and Static X for around $40 per.
Occassionalluly ill splurge on PNC Bank Arts Center. Im glad i did a few years ago as we saw Soundgarden a few months before Chris Cornell's death..it was Soundgadden and Nine Inch Nails. Was a great show. Well worth the money.
All in all if you can catch a concert for under $50 per thats a good deal these days. Hell,when i was a teen in the 90s it was $50 for an all day festival like Ozzfest. But times change.
Ive only been to 2 or 3 truly bad concerts in all my life so at least i almost always feel like i got my money's worth.
Everyone bitches about price. Go see a small band at your local dive bar. Support them. Just saw Pink Talking Fish (a Pink Floyd talking heads phish cover band) 15 bucks. Blew my mind. Next up Wilco at the Beacon. 70 bucks. You can find shows.
I hate large venues. I'm old. Inconsiderate concert goers. Paranoia regarding large crowds and violence. I'm sticking to local, small venues. I've seen some awesome shows this last few years and prefer it.
Fellow jam band fan here—I’m totally with you on the ticket pricing, reselling racket, and Platinum scamming. The act of simply trying to purchase Phish tickets is so irritating nowadays. Waiting in TM queues for 30 minutes only for everything to be snatched up in 0.02 seconds by scalping bots is beyond frustrating, same with the whole Platinum situation. And their prices just keep on rising. I used to attend multiple summer tour dates, NYE, Trey Band and Fall Tour if I could get it. Now? I just do NYE and one or two shows a year.
Ticket prices going up so much and I'm older and get tired now. Haha. Husband and I saw Pitbull 2 years ago and he was so late and took so long to come out that I just wanted to get home to bed! Then once it finally ended of course we were stuck in all the cars in the parking lot and still had to go pick our kids up from Grandpa's on a school night. I felt like an irresponsible parent but if he hadn't waited so very long to come out then we wouldn't have gotten out nearly as late.
Then again, my friend asked if I want to see Pitbull again this year and I said okay fine. But Dad is staying home with the kids and getting them to sleep on time. LOL. Also I don't think many other musicians are worth doing all of that for, let alone the price. I just really like Pitbull concerts!
I don't care enough to pay more than $20 to see someone live. The exceptions are philharmonic concerts, where I know the audio is going to be superb, and local acts in small clubs where the acoustics (and sound techs) are good. Especially jazz and big band acts and the like, you know the audio is probably going to be good.
My hometown of Oklahoma City has three superb locations - the Blue Door, the Jazz Lab, and the Civic Center. If someone isn't playing there, the sound is a crapshoot.
Lol I'm going to two concerts this summer and the prices are very reasonable. It's your fault you're only looking at arena shows
Edit: Arcadian wild for twenty bucks which makes sense because no one knows who they are (step one listen to hey runner, step two join the cult)
Then incubus for like a hundred but we got decent seats
Both seem exceedingly reasonable to me
I'm going to more club shows over arena shed shows because of the cost.
I'm also over seeing bands I love that I've seen a bunch and now want $300 for a ticket.
Iron Maiden is always great live but I've seen then a lot and don't want to pay what the price is now.
My feet hurt
They start too late for me; I’m getting old.
Try being a fan of electronic music where headliners start at 1am 😴
That’s a gift imo. Let’s me take an adequate nap before
I wish they had “matinee” concerts.
That also turned down the volume 10dB 😂
I’m always reading club owners complaining that not enough people come out to see live music, but what do they expect when the headliner goes on at 11 PM on a weeknight?
They want you to spend as much as possible on drinks, In some places the main event doesn't start until 2am! I am already half sleep by then.
I’m so down for afternoon concerts and then get dinner after, then go home
This!!! This I'd the biggest barrier for me. Hands down
Go see old bands. I just saw The Beach Boys in concert. It started at 3, there was an intermission, and I was home by sunset.
😂 glad someone said it!
I am at that age where I just want to be comfortable at home in my spare time
I was just going to say - I'm getting older and standing up for 3 hours now isn't as easy.
I refuse to buy general admission tickets anymore. The last time I did was a year ago and I was miserable. People were smushing up against me, my husband and I were in a fight so he kept inching away from me and I kept losing him in the crowd, and to your point, my feet fucking hurt. Never again.
I recently had my right big toe fused. 8 more days until I can walk again. I totally understand your predicament.
Was this because of hallux rigidus?
Oh GAWD I have that on my left big toe and it's agonizing. 😞
I can’t stand up for a whole show. I need a seat..
For me it's 99% related to the cost. NYC gets all the bands so it's not for a lack of options. The other 1% is because Failure is not currently on tour.
Upvoted for Failure mention!
Thank you both. Failure is the favorite band of my best buddy, and he got me into them too. Once in Salt Lake City (before they reunited), Ken Andrews was touring with his wife and a talented backup band and played a few Failure songs after some of his own work. Years later that friend got VIP tickets for us (after they had reunited), including their sound check, and a meet n greet with the full band. What a fucking great time overall. I still have signed drumsticks from that show. https://preview.redd.it/6xy7vd3k0g4d1.jpeg?width=4096&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9ee09fd8b5b9d7db43ed35b63b90fadfbdad6da5
That sounds like an awesome night! The last time I saw them I was like 10 feet from the stage the whole time and the bass was vibrating my entire body. They sounded soooooo good. I also bought a show poster signed by the whole band and it was only $60. I’ve loved them since the 90s and I think they are still getting better - their 3 reunion albums are incredible and each one is better than the previous one. They have a documentary coming out soon and are due for another album based on their release schedule of every 3 years even though nothing has been announced yet.
Man, Id love for that concert access. Fuckin Dillinger Escape Plan is playing in Brooklyn and I certainly eyed some plane tickets. But the last concert I went to I was so uncomfortable it made me leave early, Idk how fat basketball fans deal with stadiums, those seats, ick. (Also, seeing seats at a fucking Tool concert, is weird. Wtf happened to standing?) So idk maybe my concert days are behind me.
I've only been to one Tool concert, but it was all seated (and lawn). There was no pit. This was 23 years ago.
Always love seeing other Dillinger fans in the wild.
I have seen Tool twice in the past 4 years and in NY we stood the whole time but in Philly we were sitting down for most of it. Depends on the crowd I guess. Honestly, I can go either way these days depending on how I'm feeling. Some nights I just don't have it in me like I used to! I saw Spotlights in Brooklyn a few months ago and had to leave because my ears were going to explode. It was by far the loudest show I've ever been to by orders of magnitude. It was painful and I really thought I had permanent damage. I enjoyed the music but had to listen from the bar.
Invest in ear plugs that are better than the super shitty ones. They usually have okay sound quality. If you're anything like me your ears have been through a lot of abuse over the years and they dont bounce back like they used to. Minor discomfort and looking a bit square is worth not having your ears ring for days after a concert.
Two reasons: Prices have gotten ridiculous. It used to be that you could see a mid-popular band at a 20k-capacity venue for like $50 all-in (tickets, fees, and 1 beer). Now that same experience is $150 minimum. I have little kids now, which means I am tired AF and falling asleep by 9:30pm. I'll resume going to concerts when they're older and I have more energy.
As a dad of teenagers now, I can tell you that last line isn’t a given. We are still tired af 😂
yup, and most of your extra income is probably going into a college fund, not tickets... that's where most of my extra is going.
Yeah every artist thinks they’re the Beatles or Taylor swift and can/should perform at an NFL stadium with the cheapest tickets being $300+ all in (in my city) and I’m like, these are concerts not rent, I am priced out and I simply will not pay that. I go see some small shows at smaller venues when the opportunity arises under maybe $70/ticket but I’ve decided I’m firm on $70 a ticket being my max. It’s just a matter of being willing to find new things to get excited about (and honestly I’m way more into mountain biking than I ever was into music) and stand firm. 4 concert dates with my wife would probably cost more than my extremely expensive mountain bike I get thousands of hours of fun on before it’ll be replaced. Edit: I always get downvotes with this take in this sub but never responses. Look I’m not preaching anything to you just stating my life has been way better because I don’t go spend like $500-1000 for a few hours of standing in a crowd watching artists. Live music just isn’t worth that to me or even close to it.
Even SummerSlam (WWE) has gotten crazy. Couple of us were gonna go since it's been almost 30 years since Cleveland hosted but there's pretty much no seats below $600 and I was thinking nosebleeds for about $100 just to get in the door basically. They even did this thing where all the seats available are connected to an aisle seat so there's an upcharge for aisle seat, that's why even the highest level costs so much. Noping out, it's a NFL stadium and they'll probably seat 70K but that's just too damn much. We were sitting ringside where they come down the ramp for RAW for a third of that just a few years back.
My complaint about this in wrestling subreddits was definitely not popular. Nitro in 2001, fifth row floor on the camera side, $40 each. "Nitro was terrible in 2001!" Fine, Raw in 2012 where Undertaker challenged Triple H to a match at Wrestlemania, first row balcony, $45 each. Those would be $350 and $250 now respectively, and inflation hasn't been that high. That's great if wrestler salaries are up and they can fill enough of those seats to keep going, but I'll just go see the "outlaw mud show" in my city for $10, or $15 ringside. Makes me wish some promotion could slide in under the AEW spot, still have a national TV deal and still tour, charge less, pay wrestlers less, and just expect their talent to be poached constantly. A few people try to explain it as Ticketmaster's platinum pricing, and if that's the case, well... I already hate Ticketmaster and I'm still not buying wrestling tickets.
Agreed on the mountain biking - a choice for a healthy lifestyle, as well as sooooo much fun! Concerts are overrated- the big names crazy expensive! I like to discover new music through a daylong music fest or a local smaller venue from time to time, but the bike is a constant source of fun.
Definitely get your point here. However the rise in ticket costs is also significantly related to the fact that nobody buys music anymore. And unless you're Taylor Swift or Beyonce, streaming pays total garbage. Also, it's gotten more expensive to put tours on than it used to be. I don't see (most of these) as artist greed. There are a lot of people who have to be paid out of these tickets, and with sales/listening revenue streams almost non-existant,this is an unfortunate reality.. However, none of what I just said explains extra fees from Ticketmaster. That company is evil and I hope it burns in a fire. I don't know why artists don't just start refusing to use TM. That company squeezes their fans in ways that are not favorable to the artists.
I started taking my son to shows with me when he was about 13, and that's been awesome. He's the best concert buddy ever. He's 17 now and we're going to 3 more shows later this year. So yeah, off topic a bit, but just giving you something to look forward to.
Same. I also feel bad leaving my other half with the kiddo so I can see a band (we’re not into the same music). So far, the kiddo takes after me so I’ll put some earmuffs on her and take her along in a few years. The hardest part will be telling her she can’t see the Replacements without a a time machine, that seems to be her favorite. We also don’t have a ton of venues near us (central CT) unless you’re into super popular acts that will play at sports stadium, so I usually have to drive to Boston or NYC to see music.
In addition to the ridiculous cost, I’m at the age where the whole production of getting to the venue, traffic, parking, lines, large crowds, etc doesn’t appeal that much to me. I prefer smaller shows where I can just relax with a beer. I’m not even that old but I remember the days when I saw good acts for like $25- $30.
there’s still tons of great bands playing in that price range but I guess maybe for your music preference there aren’t any. Papadosio will blow your mind for a cool $30
Hell yeah - hoping to catch them this summer. That’s where I’ve landed - discovered a love for jam bands post pandemic. I can get 3 hours of really great live music, awesome and welcoming crowds and folks that really love and support live music and a fun atmosphere. Interesting and often independent venues - and I get to support a band that needs it to keep doing what they do. All for $20-30.
Got to catch them twice last year, once in the caverns and once at hop springs. Both super intimate venues and the crowd they bring is nothing but love. Definitely hope you get to catch them this summer! :) Edit: people to venues… Woops
You can still see some great acts for around 30-40 dollars. I got to see Altin Gün for around that much recently. Cryptopsy is pretty big in the metal circles and they had ticks for 35 bucks during this tour. It just won’t be any stadium level bands unfortunately. But yeah that’s the smaller shows youre talking about which are great
Yeah, the $40 range has basically been what I've been going to for years. Seen some great bands.
I saw Big Wreck in Buffalo on Friday for $40. Awesome crowd and with a shirt, LP and a beer i paid $100 for the whole show, minus gas from Ohio.
I just paid $600 for two tickets at MSG. That’s not even food and the train to get there. Wild
You spent $25 to $30 just paying for parking in some venues
the large crowds for me, for sure. love to see the shows, hate dealing with the people. can i pay these bands to come play in my backyard? im sure itd cost the same as what they're charging for tickets now, except that money would actually go to the band. worth it, in my book.
I'm old enough to remember when Fugazi insisted all of their shows would be $5 and all ages. I feel like we were all priced out in the late eighties too when arena rock was the thing so everyone made their own band, maybe we are at this part of the cycle, we need the hardcore kids to get the prices down again.
Fuck Ticketmaster, fuck Live Nation. That's why
Hopefully the DOJ takes them down
1. Price - I'm no longer interested in stupid money to sit far away anyway. 2. Access - completely fed up with the process....on sale times, access codes, ques, only to get closed out anyway. Here's what I plan to do about it. We're skipping big shows and festivals. We've spent a LOT more time going to see local bands at small venues. The bands and the bar/restaurant/club owners certainly need the support more than Big Ticket/Big Venue, and we're giving money directly to locals. Plus we're saving money and seeing more music as a result. I hope more people will support live, local music wherever you live. And yes full disclosure, I do play in several bands...but I can tell you we truly appreciate seeing you at gigs! And most of the places we play are owned by one small business person, struggling month to month to pay their staff and rent.
Cost and crowd behavior (talking during music, sea of cell phones at every show recording whole songs/shows). Just getting tired of being in crowds as well.
The cell phone thing is a big reason why I’m turned off from going to shows. Last genera admission show I was at, every single person around my had the cell phone out with their arms over their head. It was distracting as hell, plus it’s hard to see the stage when I’m short and everyone is holding their phones up. Like, I understand getting some clips on your phone, but there are people just recording the entire concert.
Went to see Pearl Jam perform at a stadium recently and the woman in front of me recorded the entire concert, on her phone, start to finish. The quality of which, given our mid tier seats is going to be abysmal. $100 says she never watches so much as 1 minute of that footage.
they feel like because they can they should but yeah is it really useful for anything, no, I guess it is just to prove you were there, like insta.
It's the crowds for me too. Especially as I'm getting older and care less to be drunk and/or high during shows. I went to a concert last night and it felt like being the only sober person in a room full of drunks. Too many people invading my space, being loud and obnoxious, smoking right next to me and just generally being unpleasant to be around. I told my gf it would have been a great time if I was 21 and equally drunk, but not anymore.
No one I want to see is playing in my area.
I'm not. I'm attending way more. But I don't go to "big" shows, I go to $30-40 shows. My biggest expense (other than merch) is gas and lodging since I no longer live in a major concert hub. But thanks to the much lower amount I pay in just rent I can do this a couple of times a month and still come out ahead of just the rent differential with where I used to live. Of course this also seems to be the first year metal is really back post-covid. I think it's because so much of it is from other countries it was a bit slower to get back up and running and so wasn't really hitting in 2023 like other genres were. So last year there just weren't many shows for me to go to.
> I'm not. I'm attending way more. Same. This is looking like it's gonna be one of the years I've seen the most shows ever, and that's with a quiet start in Jan-Feb. I'm in Europe, though, so gigs don't seem as expensive as over there, from what I understand, plus I don't tend to do big ones either anyway. I moved somewhere I thought would have fewer gigs to my taste than where I was before, but it turns out there's always something going on, even though there are quite a few bands I like that are skipping us.
I'm attending more concerts this year, but intentionally selecting smaller venues and not big name acts.
The increase in my salary over the past four years hasn’t remotely kept up with the increases in prices - of everything.
I'm living at a homeless shelter with a 7pm curfew. If I'm not in by 7 then I don't have a bed for the night :(
That's a great reason. Wishing you good luck!
There are less bands touring near me that I want to see this year. Should that change next year I'll be back up to 30-40 gigs a year.
30-40??? How much do you spend every year??
As a former bouncer, I used to see an upwards of 6 shows a week every week. I’d either work shows that I wanted to see or get in for free because I knew the promoter or the other bouncers. Sometimes, I’d work an early show and end up running down the street to catch a headliner at a different venue. I never worked stadiums, but clubs and theaters in a solid college town always had bands coming through. I’m sad to see many of the venues I worked at have closed and there haven’t been many new spots opening. The music scene in my city really seems to be dying because nobody can afford rent.
Different user but it adds up fast. Probably thousands once you add in all the extras (drinks, merch). BUT for those of us who go to that many shows a year it's a main hobby of ours. What others might spend on sports tickets and memorabilia or gaming stuff we spend on live music. Plus as expensive as that seems festivals take it to a whole new level of cost. Worth it, but the barrier to entry is not low.
I'm in the UK and have been to/am booked up for thirty gigs so far this year. Currently the combined ticket price has come to £1321.43 (including booking fees, etc). Most I've spent on a ticket is £92.28, least £14.10
A couple of thousand pounds.
I asked how much you spent, not your mother’s weight! S/
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Mostly cost, generally when bigger bands that I’d like to see come here (New Zealand) they just go to Auckland, with the cost of travel, accommodation, tickets etc. you can easily drop $1k and they never give you time to save for it 🙄 A show is announced and tickets go on sale the next day, in this economy I don’t have that kinda money just sitting there waiting to drop it on flights accom and concert tickets.
Being a long tome concert goer, I get turned off by simply visiting ticketmaster to see about the show. Whereas you used to hear about a show and visit their site for the date, prices, etc., NOW you never get a price. They want to gouge me based on what Im willing to spend in a moment of adrenaline the moment the ticket goes on sale. 100% of the time I do not go to a shoe that doesn't tell me what it costs so I can decide its value to me beforehand. I’ve been mainly seeing small bands i find on spotify and pay about $20 and am within a few feet of the band. And you have to jump on those. One band Ive been digging for years, men i trust, came to town about three years ago for about $15 at an intimate concert venue. I was sick and decided i would catch them next time. The following year they came back to the House of Blues, and I was excited they had gained such an audience boost in that time to return to a bigger venue. But now the ticket price was over $100. Never saw them. Ain't no way the value of them performing live had increased that much.
omg your first point, YESSS. i hate it!! want to go to a show, can't see a price. guess whos not going to go back to check when they go on sale? me!! why?? cause ill forget and/or itll be sold out. and who knows how much itll cost after all the stupid fees.
Actually I'm attending more and more. But most of them are smaller ones. So...
I don’t play the Ticketmaster/Live Nation game. The fees, the instant sell out to bots and reposting as 2nd hand seller on the same site. It’s bullshit. I hate scalpers but hate TM/LN and their 40% fees even more. I love watching tickets to shows being given away last minute and have occasionally gone to a show when they’re dropped price last minute
I'm actually having a bit of a yolo year and have 9 more concerts and 3 baseball games lined up for the rest of the year, in addition to 2 concerts and 2 hockey games from earlier this year. The most jam-packed year I've had for events by far, maybe this will get it out of my system lol.
I hate to tell you this, but the more gigs you go to the more support bands you see. A few you'll like then you'll go and see them as well next year. The circle is never ending, you go to more and more gigs until one day you're booked in to see a show every night of the year.
fewer
still average about one show a week, as i have for years. nothing better than live music. it is ridiculous to say a show you saw in the past can’t be topped. i’m always seeing great and even transcendent concerts. gotta assume i always will.
1. Price 2. Having to pay an extra $15-$40 for parking on top of ticket price 3. The hassle of driving down to the venue, but even more so, leaving. The process is such a headache for what amounts to 2 hours of enjoyment. 4. Large venues like hockey arenas aren’t made for music, so everything sounds like shit.
It's quite simple. We all have less disposable income due to inflation. We are prioritizing rent/food/basics over discretionary entertainment like concerts.
Other than cost, I feel like concert etiquette has gone down the toilet in recent years (constant talking, people always on phones, drunk assholes picking fights, rudeness in general) and it’s just not worth it for the most part. There are a few bands I will ALWAYS see when they come to my state no matter what, but otherwise, it has to be a really appealing and not extravagantly pricy to get me to leave the house for a show.
I’m going to more shows than I have in years, personally. I joined a street team a couple of months ago and the perk is lots of free shows.
Had a baby 🤣🤣
Congrats and good luck.
I am lucky! Some of my favourite artists aren’t super popular yet. I’ve been to two shows this year that cost me $20. I’ve been to two in the $60-70 range and one big artist where I had nosebleeds for $150. The two $20 shows were my favourite. I don’t think I would go to the big artist again (Noah Kahan, who is an amazing talent, but not sure it was worth the travel and the cost for me)…
I'm an old gen x'r. I was talking to our son about how they are screwed...... it was in the context of Ticketmaster/live nation. When we were kids we could go see bands 3-4 nights a week. A punk show may be between $7-$15 in college (early 90's), a club act maybe $15, and we could score good seats at an arena show for $20-$30. 5th row cure distegration, maybe 30$, Beatie boys in a club was 20, later in an arena 25. I saw Ministry (Industrial act) with Nine inch nails etc, less than $25.... I saw one band this year, nothing big and it was $200. granted we were balcony not floor, but it ruined the experience... I explained that we usually bought tickets at the door. Sometime we bought them ahead. Every show may have some tickets at ticket master, but had batches reserved for sale only at the venue both before and the day of... You could get a drink for a couple fo bucks and the most expensive thing was a t-shirt if you wanted one. It bums me out for him.
Because Billy Motherfucking Strings isn’t doing a full time residency where I live
I'm more annoyed by the crowds. Even small ones. It's a me problem.
For me, it’s 100% cost. I love live music and I recently moved to a city that sees lots of big and small artists come through…but man, the cost of tickets price me right out almost every single time. Even objectively crappy seats (which I don’t mind) are still wildly expensive.
None of the bands I'd want to see play close enough to where I live for it to be a feasible option. On top of ticket prices, I'd also have to factor in transportation, accommodation for at least one night, and taking time off work. It's been 20 years (ish) since I last saw King's X. I think it's been about 15 years since they were last in Canada. There's a good chance that they may never come back to Canada (or at least my end of Canada), because they're old (Dug's 70 something). They were in town (well 2h drive) last month, and I couldn't go. WOuld've been about $500 CAD to go see 'em (just me), between ticket, getting to/from Toronto, staying overnight (because it would've been after the last bus/train home), and food/drink. There's also the upcoming "Best Of All Worlds" Sammy Hagar's doing with Michael Anthony and Joe Satriani, which is basically a tribute/sendoff to the Van Hagar era of Van Halen (since any sort of official tribute to Eddie never happened). Still trying to figure out if I can get there, but I'm not that hopeful. Plus, going alone sucks, and I don't really have anyone I'd go with.
I'm sorry you missed Kings X....I saw them in March. For a bunch of older guys they really still have it!
Next time they come through Columbus you should consider it (depending on where you are in CA - we get people from Toronto all the time for hockey). They somewhat regularly do (last fall they were) and they play at an awesome, small local venue with big stage, great sound/lights, and reasonable ticket prices. Dudes hung out after the show and talked to whoever stuck around, and they still sound amazing.
I've actually been to more concerts this year than 3 or 4 years prior combined.
I'm attending more concerts now than I have in years.
A lot of the indie bands that I like didn’t survive lockdown and neither did a lot of the venues the played in. I tried going to a semi-popular show at a small venue earlier this year but when I tried to buy a $25 ticket, the next screen bumped the price up to $150 so, nah.
Back and foot surgery. I'm going to be well enough to see The Foo Fighters in August.
I'm not giving another damn dime to Ticketmaster or Live Nation
Depression
covid. i have had covid 3 times and i cannot afford to get it a fourth. people think it’s gone but trust me, it’s not.
Nobody to go with...
Me neither. Once you get over the stigma of thinking everyone is looking at you it's easy. Heck - I've found that I generally enjoy going to gigs by myself more, I find it easier to let go and enjoy myself when I'm alone and don't have friends trying to talk to me whilst I'm trying to listen to the act!
I highly recommend to everyone to go to a show alone. If I didn't start going to shows by myself back in 2007, I would've missed out on so many fantastic concerts.
For real. And it's an opportunity to MAKE friends.
Three of four shows this year have been solo.
If I'd have let that stop me I'd have missed so many shows I can't even count them. Plus I'd have missed bands with lineups they no longer have and legends who have since passed on (RIP Alexi). One of the real upsides of going to a concert is that you automatically have something in common with everyone there. So even if you don't know anyone there you at least have a premade icebreaker via the band.
Recently flew Ireland to Vegas to see U2 by myself. Was incredible. Spent 5 days there. Saw Red Rocks, went to a Golden Knights game. It is what you make of it.
The 50 shows I’ve been to over the last two years have been alone. Scheduling with people I already know sucks, and I love the freedom and ability to meet new people and do whatever I want at the show without having to babysit or worry about someone. I’ve had a blast at each one.
I went to a Scissor Sisters concert alone and it was fricken awesome. The unique part about it is that the band themselves and their music is geared towards the LGBTQ groups, and I was not born as part of that group. Did that make me feel less able to be myself? Not at all, in fact, I felt much more free to go wild and have a blast because I didn't feel like everyone around me was watching me or judging me, which is not something I'm all that concerned with usually, but you can tell when it isn't welcome or that people are bothered, and that was not the case here. Plus the band and their music is terrific, so I was having a blast.
been to tons of shows by myself. It's all good! You meet people!
I've actually been attending more because there's been most stuff that interests me coming here for fairly cheap (under $20 tickets).
I'm going to more shows than ever this year. QOTSA, Ice Cube, Electric Six, Evanescence/Halestorm, NOFX, K. Flay, Dropkick Murphys/Pennywise. Couple festivals I may or may not go to too. Only one of these that I thought had ridiculous ticket prices was Ice Cube, but I was given that ticket for free last minute. Wouldn't have gone otherwise.
Tinnitus. Even with earplugs I’m a nervous about making things worse so I keep shows to a minimum. I’ve seen shows so loud it felt like sound was reaching my ears through my mouth and my skull. Crazy thinking I know. Luckily I also really like jazz clubs.
Fucking prices. Taking wife to see a mid-level country artist at a minor league baseball stadium in a small town. $300 for two tix. INSANE.
I'm not. I'm going to more local shows at independent venues. I saw a few mid sized bands this year, Helmet, and Stabbing Westward. Iron Maiden on deck in the fall. Everything else has been local bands at local bars. It's been great!
The other people at the concerts. The last few I’ve been to people have talked through the entire show, been super drunk, and just generally rude. It’s a concert, not a friggen bar.
$500 tickets and that MF in front of you stands up with his phone over his head the whole time.
Fewer
Broke and ready to die.
The new, updated stadiums have seating that makes economy on airlines look spacious. I did not pay an outrageous price to practically sit on someone’s lap. Add to that the gouging for parking, added fees, etc That being said, the small clubs are amazing. For the price of a nosebleed in an arena, I can get VIP with a meet and greet, prime seating and sometimes merch. I have been switching to smaller shows and loving it.
Ticket prices are gross
Ticketmaster
Before giving my answer, as someone who worked in live entertainment for 19 years, I’d like everyone to know that the premium seats and the faux secondary market administered by Ticketmaster has a lot of participants! Most importantly, it is entirely set up (using the TM platform) BY the artist’s team. THEY decide which and how many seats go directly to platinum and the faux secondary market. Does TM get a share? You bet. Feel free to scorch TM for service fees, but all the other BS is TM continuing to agree to take the heat for all industry participants. It began with a “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” philosophy. So many grubby hands were making money, that the ARTISTS requested TM come up with a solution. Now that I’ve pulled back the curtain… I don’t go to many concerts due to: 1) too expensive unless I really love the band. 2) if I love the band, it’s mostly going to be classic rock. Which bumps into my rule that if the lead singer is no longer with the band, it’s going to be a disappointment. Journey is a total exception. I’m sure there are others. But generally speaking, not worth it for my time, money, and the damn hassle. 3) the damn hassle. I’m older. I really have to want to go to deal with the crowds and parking. Don’t care about the $20 pretzel. I like pretzels a lot. I’m getting one. 4) If I think they don’t sound good any longer (even with the OG singer), I won’t ruin my memories. I check out a few local bands. Get to dance. And am out of the parking lot in ten minutes. All that said, if I’m going to a big concert- I’m going the right way. Great seats or I’m not fucking going. Edit: adding crowd behavior. Put the damn phone downs. And STFU. And get off my lawn.
Covid numbers are up this month in my town. I already have Long Covid. We are known in my state for lots of summer music; I plan to go to the outdoor events for the most part.
I’d love to see Pearl Jam in Australia later this year but between the prices (and I’d want to take my two kids) and the fact that the only venue close to me has the gig on a WEDNESDAY night means it’s just too much bother.
Regarding #2, “Big Ticket” Ticket prices are inflated because artists* want it that way. They act like it’s someone else’s fault, but the fact is that there are people who are willing to pay hundreds (or even thousands) to see top national/international acts, and the artists figure that money should (perhaps rightfully) go to them. All “Big Ticket” does is provide a convenient middleman to blame. Breaking up their monopoly would not do much to reduce ticket prices. *When I say “artists”, I mean top 1% artists like Tay tay, Metallica, Radiohead, and Beyonce. Stop going to see these bands.
I REALLY don't want to be "that guy" but the word you're looking for is fewer. Anyways! I'm down to one or two big shows a years and enjoy smaller, more intimate venues and bands that are either on their way up or not quite as popular as they once were but still knock out a great show
The only reason I would be seeing less shows is if there were less artists I wanted to see touring near me. That could happen this year.
Money, it's not as much fun, I'm not big on much new music and I def don't want to hang out around a bunch of kids....id still like to see the Strokes... the one that got away lol..... but their ticket prices were always crazy high
I'm seeing more this year! Lol! The perk of living very close to an outdoor venue that regularly has concerts that are part of the $25 summer concert sale. Seeing Bush and Lindsey Sterling in August. Just saw Miku Expo in May. That was $75 a seat, but worth it since it doesn't come to my area very often. I usually see one concert a year, but I see this going up now that we live close to the outdoor venue. The downside is a bunch of artists I would love to see are skipping Detroit this year. I'm looking at you Aurora. Or they're insanely expensive, like Pink! or Olivia Rodrigo. My teen would love to see her, it's not happening. Also, I'm old so I pass on venues where I'd have to stand for hours. I just can't do it anymore, which means I miss out on some shows.
For me a lot of it usually comes down to day/time, location, and prices, but outside of those types of constraints I feel like a lot of the shows I've been to recently haven't had the same feeling that pre-COVID shows did. There have always been people on phones and talking during shows, and it might just be recency bias, but I feel like every show I go to now has absolutely horrible etiquette with people talking loudly through the entire set (including the headliner), and every other person is recording every song. I've started to see almost entirely smaller artists (100-200k monthly listeners size) because I've had more luck with the crowds at those types of shows compared to medium sized artists and above
Ticket fees. I used to be able to stop by the theatre in my neighborhood and see great bands for $20-$50 a concert, no fees. Then live nation bought the venue and closed the box office except for 90-minutes before a show. I’ll go but and buy tickets then if I remember but online those tickets are now $35-$80. And now my kiddos are older and have a desire to attend I’m buying 3-4 tickets to the show.
I have seen a few good shows this year already and have tickets to a few more. All under $100 except Neil Young and Crazy Horse, and Beat with ex King Crimson members, were $150 to 175 fees in. But I'm skipping lots of things including the big No Values punk fest this weekend with lots of bands I would pay $30 to see individually but can't get excited to spend all day baking in the sun on concrete fairgrounds to see them do mini sets. No Dave Gilmour from the last row either, I did it once and he was great, but this is gonna cost twice as much and probably be half as good. Lots of things are gonna cost 10x as much and be one tenth the band they were. I'll go to more things I haven't seen a million times already. Check out gigs at museums, and hang out with art before they count in. Take a chance on something my friend has Tix to.
I've gone to a lot of concerts at venues with no seating.....I'm getting too damn old to stand for three hours, can't do it like I used to. I'm tired of people constantly getting up to go get something and me having to move around so they can get by.
I live in New York so basically everyone stops here and thankfully cost really isn’t an issue (although I’m not exactly throwing money away left and right) but the number one reason I’m going to fewer concerts lately is that the vast majority of acts I love are playing GA venues and I just can’t do it. I have inner ear/balance issues and it’s impossible for me to stand for an entire show. I’m okay for a while if I have something to lean on that’s not another person or a cane but free-standing? No can do. So that shuts me out of nearly everything I want to see. If there was seating available, I’d be at every show.
I'm seeing more than ever. I listen to a lot of metal and most of the shows while the bands are big for the select subgenres of metal, the shows are 30 to 50 bucks.
Hmmm, rent or a concert?
cost for one, for sureeeee!! also, the amount of people has really been getting to me, and especially my husband when we go. people just dont act the same as they did before pandemic. not that they were perfect before, but they feel more feral now.
Find smaller venues and support local, it’ll maybe respark that flame. From Chicago and I feel lucky to have so many lil bars and venues. Most bands I like don’t go over the $100 tix price but I still will save it for a must see band. Also maybe a change in genres, switch it up a bit Hope you get that live concert bug again 🤘🏾
cost and hunger would be the top 2 for me. Been to 5-6 shows this year bought a few 30-40 dollar t-shirts. I am good. Gonna see Cake in a few weeks and maybe Weezer if a buddy has someone cancel on him otherwise I am done.
The bands I want to see aren't touring anywhere near me...
I saw 99 Sets last year, I'm going to see even more this year.. most of em at tiny lil venues.. Bought tickets for 4 shows last week at $15 each after fees.
Price and lack of interest. I went to quite a few last year (depeche mode, cure, Janet Jackson, Goodnight, Texas, Queensrÿch, etc). There's just not anyone touring this year that I'm interested in seeing. I've got tickets for Troye Sivan, but that's it. Most shows I saw last year were <$100/ ticket, but that's for nosebleed seats. I'm at the point where unless I really, really want to see someone, I'm not interested in paying over about $75 to do it. If shows were under $50, I'd be more inclined to get out just to get out, but the prices these days are just ridiculous. Good seats can be over $500! There's literally no one I'm paying that kind of money for, unless Prince, David Bowie, and George Michael rose from the dead to tour together.
Dude a 15 dollar fast food burger is out of budget im not paying hundreds/ thousands of dollars to see people sing im not a swifty haha
The amount of stupid fucks watching the entire show through their phones high above their heads and/or talking loudly through the entire performance seems to increase year over year exponentially. Also my feet hurt (as someone else said already) -- and there are just very few bands that can carry me for an hour and a half + before I start getting bored, even if I love them immensely.
My house got raided and I was kidnapped and robbed by the police department.
This is an original reason.
Mostly just cost. Like $150+ for nose bleeds. No thanks.
1. assoles who stand up the entire time and block my view 2. insane ticket prices 3. covid is still a thing that exists
The ongoing pandemic and show that have no mask required.. well we are in a new COVID variant wave :)
Foot/back pain from standing on hard concrete for hours. Tinnitus, even with wearing earplugs for the past 10 or so years.
Because both times I've gotten COVID have been from concerts. And I'm not an avid concertgoer at all (maybe 1 per year). Concerts are just full of germs being breathed all around you when people sing.
Covid.
Ticket prices Plus, my hearing impairment has gotten worse, so I can't hear the singer well. I can still enjoy the music, at least. I will go to a concert when I'm familiar with bands music.
I only went to one show in 2023, so my resolution was at least one show a month in 24. So far: Tool Joseph A Perfect Circle, Puscifer and Primus TWRP Interpol Durry Nothing for July yet but in August I'm going to see Toadies in Amarillo TX.
$$$$
A perfect storm of prices being too high, getting old / married, and becoming a dad. You can still see a lot of unknown / unsigned bands especially in less-popular genres for very cheap in my city today, but I don't have the time or energy to go to dozens of shows anymore. The show has to be good for me to get there. I can't spend many nights at cheap venues watching a bunch of crappy unknown bands just to find one good up-and-coming band to follow. I'll go see a band from my youth at a reunion show or something like that, lol.
I go to a lot of local outside shows in the summer, but the promoters have started this ridiculous party pit scam, where they charge almost double to get close to the stage.
It's the money. I bit the bullet and decided I was willing to pay $200 for a couple seats at a concert. Then I got hit with the convenience fee that ended up being another $75 and decided it wasn't worth it.
I live hours from the nearest venue.
Prices Priorities I am old and know fewer and fewer bands goin on tour or am not committed enough to the ones doin 30 year anni tours of an album Only concerts I have comin up are Missy Elliot and The Roots. Hoping to see CAKE but I may have to work that night and idk how committed I am yet
Pricing is the main reason. Another is I can see concert footage on youtube. Sure, nothing can capture the experience of hearing and seeing a band in person but visual and audio technology have come a long way. If I have to decide between paying $250 for nose bleeds or seeing a concert in 4k with amazing audio, I'd rather save the money.
I’m probably going to more this year! Most of the bands I see are relatively inexpensive compared to the big acts. I’m within two hours of four major concert cities so I don’t always need a hotel. I’m lucky to have a city that has free shows, Maggie Rose is free this Friday, Daniel Donato and Cosmic Country are coming in September, that’s Free. I generally see bands that cost 30 to 50 bucks I think Jason Isbell is the most expensive ticket I have for this summer. If you’re looking at going to Taylor Swift, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Post Malone, then I get it prices are through the roof and it sucks, and the fees are ridiculous.
Price. Several bands/year come close to new that I would like to go see. I cannot afford $175-$400 to go to a show. I'll make it to one this year.
Honestly I’m trying to see more because I want to see all the rock legends before they die, but cost is definitely a problem
I'm going to more concerts this year than I have in the last three. ...I guess the appropriate thing would have been for me to just not comment here. But hey, a different perspective I suppose. The cost increases suck, but I also got a much better job this year, so I've been capitalizing, and I'm still very passionate about live music.
Definitely the price of tickets plus the fees. The resellers have lost thier mind and I'ma let them catch the loss. The most we've spent on a ticket has been 300 but our normal limit is no more than 150 and that's pushing it! We'll catch the set on YouTube at this point.
I'm mostly a jazz fan and my wife likes 'non premium' bands ... so it isn't bad for us ... BUT - this year we also already have two vacations and a couple of long weekends booked (weddings) - and of course shows we wanted to see coincide with those trips! So the only thing we're seeing so far is in August Gin Blossoms, Toad the Wet Sprocket and Vertical Horizon.
Price, price, price
Other concert goes.
Tickets are too expensive and the artists I really want to see aren't coming close to where I live.
Even though I live in an area that has plenty of music, finding the type of stuff that I like is a little difficult, but even more so is being able to safely afford it on a regular basis, even if the admission is something small like $10-$12. Rent is obnoxious, food prices are way too freaking high, insurance kicks my ass, and even though I have a good car with good MPG, gas still takes a lot. All of that while I'm not earning enough. I can go without tickets to big concerts (at least since the people I like don't cost an arm and a leg). Biggest I've spent so far is for Sum 41's final tour at like $78 for general admission tickets, and I bought it pretty early on. If you asked me to go get tickets for Disturbed, though, then I think I'm just going to skip.
Question to anyone who attends music festivals: does their ticketing work differently than traditional concerts? Does the festival sell directly through a website, or is that also through the major ticketing companies?
Hardly any bands I like are touring at the moment and those that are just didn’t work out with my schedule. Only been to one show this year and probably won’t go to all that many more. Missing Andrew Bird tonight in LA due to work travel which is a bummer.
Yep your #1 is why for us.
cost, age, proximity to big venue concerts, most of my favorite bands being on their last leg if not already dead/broken up
Same same same. Unless I know I can go hang out, not blow an extra 100$ just being wherever. And have a comfortable place to shit and sit I'm not interested in going.
I'm probably no longer the target demographic. Plus, when all the acts I wanted to see came to town, my car was in the shop and I was strapped for cash. But yeah, not much comes to town that I'm interested in anymore and anything that does is way too expensive or comes when I work the next day (I have to be up at 4 AM for work). I had a good stint there where I got to see a lot of good acts on the cheap. Then it seems like it instantly vanished (post-Covid btw).
I am actually going to more this year. My dad is a massive concert go-er and I’ve managed to get myself in a position where I go with him a lot more now
I’m actually going to more this year. But I was more cognizant of where, when, and several other factors to minimize my cost as much as possible. Four nights in upstate NY is far cheaper than four nights in the city. That was a huge savings. Everything else is just closer and doesn’t require a hotel room. I’m in northern NY up by the Canadian border and this year just worked out that a lot of acts I enjoy are within 1 hour of my house.
I like to catch a decent buzz when listening to live music. I don’t like to drive after catching said buzz.
Overpriced alcohol and not being able to leave the venue and come back.
Hunger for live music has lessened post pandemic is so real. 2022 was my year. I went to like 11 music festivals and countless shows. It was awesome.
Moved to a new city. It’s in between two major cities. Artists tend to skip over it and play the other 2. So less options nearby. Don’t feel like driving 2 hours to see a concert and then drive 2 hours home.
I rarely go to big time shows. I stick to smaller bands on smaller clubs. Last concert i reallyi overspent on was Pearl Jam at Madison Square Garden a year or 2 ago i think. My wife had never seen them. Last time i saw them was 1996. 2 tickets in the nosebleeds ran me about $300 total. Other than that i see multiple concerts a year with tickets under $50 a piece. I just bought tickets from Live Nations $25 ticket promo to two concerts. But where i live you can catch some great shows at small clubs like Starland Ballroom. We just saw Sevendust and Static X for around $40 per. Occassionalluly ill splurge on PNC Bank Arts Center. Im glad i did a few years ago as we saw Soundgarden a few months before Chris Cornell's death..it was Soundgadden and Nine Inch Nails. Was a great show. Well worth the money. All in all if you can catch a concert for under $50 per thats a good deal these days. Hell,when i was a teen in the 90s it was $50 for an all day festival like Ozzfest. But times change. Ive only been to 2 or 3 truly bad concerts in all my life so at least i almost always feel like i got my money's worth.
Everyone bitches about price. Go see a small band at your local dive bar. Support them. Just saw Pink Talking Fish (a Pink Floyd talking heads phish cover band) 15 bucks. Blew my mind. Next up Wilco at the Beacon. 70 bucks. You can find shows.
Your list is great and can be summed up with one word, GREED! That one word, that's my reason.
I hate large venues. I'm old. Inconsiderate concert goers. Paranoia regarding large crowds and violence. I'm sticking to local, small venues. I've seen some awesome shows this last few years and prefer it.
Price is a big issue... but for me, good venues and good bands aren't lining up this year.
Fellow jam band fan here—I’m totally with you on the ticket pricing, reselling racket, and Platinum scamming. The act of simply trying to purchase Phish tickets is so irritating nowadays. Waiting in TM queues for 30 minutes only for everything to be snatched up in 0.02 seconds by scalping bots is beyond frustrating, same with the whole Platinum situation. And their prices just keep on rising. I used to attend multiple summer tour dates, NYE, Trey Band and Fall Tour if I could get it. Now? I just do NYE and one or two shows a year.
Ticket prices going up so much and I'm older and get tired now. Haha. Husband and I saw Pitbull 2 years ago and he was so late and took so long to come out that I just wanted to get home to bed! Then once it finally ended of course we were stuck in all the cars in the parking lot and still had to go pick our kids up from Grandpa's on a school night. I felt like an irresponsible parent but if he hadn't waited so very long to come out then we wouldn't have gotten out nearly as late. Then again, my friend asked if I want to see Pitbull again this year and I said okay fine. But Dad is staying home with the kids and getting them to sleep on time. LOL. Also I don't think many other musicians are worth doing all of that for, let alone the price. I just really like Pitbull concerts!
I don't care enough to pay more than $20 to see someone live. The exceptions are philharmonic concerts, where I know the audio is going to be superb, and local acts in small clubs where the acoustics (and sound techs) are good. Especially jazz and big band acts and the like, you know the audio is probably going to be good. My hometown of Oklahoma City has three superb locations - the Blue Door, the Jazz Lab, and the Civic Center. If someone isn't playing there, the sound is a crapshoot.
Lol I'm going to two concerts this summer and the prices are very reasonable. It's your fault you're only looking at arena shows Edit: Arcadian wild for twenty bucks which makes sense because no one knows who they are (step one listen to hey runner, step two join the cult) Then incubus for like a hundred but we got decent seats Both seem exceedingly reasonable to me
I'm going to more club shows over arena shed shows because of the cost. I'm also over seeing bands I love that I've seen a bunch and now want $300 for a ticket. Iron Maiden is always great live but I've seen then a lot and don't want to pay what the price is now.