I'm not one to complain but...
Recently. I was interested to hear Van Morrison was coming to town. It's worth noting I was 'interested' he was coming to town, not 'excited' or in frothing at the concert-going mouth.
Still, it's summertime, and would continue to be so whence the aging rocker performed. What a pleasant way to spend a summer evening: kicking back, maybe a cold one in hand (okay, I don't drink beer but it fits the imagery - I might even grasp a bottle to have something other than a lighter with which to sway to the classic tunes), tapping my sandals and dancing in that awkward public way a forty year-old white guy can pull off at a classic rock concert?
So I ventured to both Ticketmaster and Live Nation, entities both selling tickets to the show and thought, "Okay. I work hard. I'll treat us to a nice summer evening of nostalgic music and even celebrate that we'd likely be among the youngest concert-goers in the crowd. And what the hell? We could splurge. We don't go to a lot of concerts. Let's avoid the nose-bleeds and see the show up close. How much could good seats to a nearly geriatric rocker be?
Two hundred and seventy-six dollars. Each. Five hundred and...hell, I can't even readily do the math for the pair.
This is not a diatribe against outrageous fees. For the record, I paid $2.75 per ticket as a facility charge, which one would have thought would simply be based into the cost of hosting the concert, and $15.00 per ticket as a convenience charge, though for what convenience I'm paying other than providing a convenient means for Ticketmaster to conveniently move money from my wallet to its coffers, is not clear. But plenty has been written about that near monopoly organization and the fees it is able to pay by virtue of a general lack of competition.
My shock comes from the base ticket price itself. Van Morrison was not the top grossing concert touring act in the past year - he wasn't even in the top ten. Yes, I know supply and demand is at play. Obviously, Morrison believes a senior citizen rocker can attract the kind of client willing to part with that kind of cash to see him or he wouldn't charge that kind of money.
But it's just another highlight of how live music, at least of big name acts, is increasingly becoming a pastime for the wealthy.
See you in the nosebleeds.
