Christ on a bike! You know, I really do not enjoy pooping on the band that I once loved more than anything on earth, but geez they make it hard for me not to do so.
The latest gripe I have is this out and out money-grab. Yes! I am aware now that touring is expensive. But much like with everything else that is now dictated by the consumerist way society runs – it is those least able to comply with it that are the ones that feel the brunt of it.
Funny how it was during the tour of Once Upon a Time that Mr Kerr found himself on ‘Open To Questions’ in 1986 and having to bat off questions about the prices of tickets to see Simple Minds – and here we are, nearly 40 years later, having that same argument. What in blazes? Pretty sure Mr “Find another hobby” will spout the same answer as he did 40 years ago. A real shame.
I am trying to understand what these VIP tickets really actually offer “real fans” (as much as a hate that term) any more. For as you can see from the VIP details below that there is no meet and greet and seemingly no soundcheck either. So this extortionate ticket price offers you: A guaranteed first-three-rows seat (how pissed would you be, paying that much to end up in the third row?), a lanyard, a(nother!) copy of OUAT, and some “guided tour” of the venue that most people probably have zero interest in seeing.
I get the tiered pricing structure for the seats, I do. So…why not just stick to those standard tiered tickets? Why have these inflated VIP pieces of BS? I really feel for the North American fans, I really do.
I just can’t abide by this. I can’t. As I say, I know touring is expensive, but it’s ultimately the fans that pay. “The promotor/artist says you gotta pay pay pay, and you pay – still you pay” – to paraphrase someone’s lyrics.
I looked up the prices for the gig at Concord, CA – as it is closest to where my friend near San Francisco is – it was just for shits and giggles, you know. Just to see what ticket prices were like. Holy hell! The CHEAPEST ticket I could find was $158! I repeat, that’s THE CHEAPEST ticket I could find in the pre-sales. Maybe there’ll be cheaper ones when tickets go on general sale? I don’t know. But if that is THE CHEAPEST?! Then….have a word with yourself! Forking heck!
Anyway, that’s my rant.
Good luck with selling out these venues at such short notice (in real terms) Simple Minds!
Just to end with Mr Kerr’s 1986 suggestion to “find another hobby.” Erm, nope. I haven’t found another hobby, I’ve just found music and artists that I can go and enjoy and support that don’t require me to sell a kidney to go and see them and support them. Artists that feel like they are still actually about the music and not the revenue that can be accrued from being in “the music BIZ.”
Adios!
