Can this be real??

“My rock concert days are long over, but I couldn't help being amazed at what I saw in today's paper in the "What's Happening" section..."Dream Rides Car and Motorcycle Show featuring Lynyrd Skynyrd, Jackyl, Molly Hatchet, Nazareth and Crimson Tide...tickets are $17-$38!???

Another one is Styx, Billy Squier and Bad Company for $25-$51.

I must be really out of it, but this seems too good to be true. Back when I was going to concerts, the tix were about $10-15. I still have the stub from when I saw Molly Hatchet for $10 back in the late 70's, early 80's. Are these groups just so "yesterday" now or what?”

“Blame Ticketmaster for high prices.
Can you say "monopoly"?”

“Yeah inflation has hit concert tickets with a vengence. It's a royal rip off, if you ask me. The "sucker is born every minute" attitude.

That aside, I don't care to listen to groups from the 70s because they're just not the same. The band members are now middle aged or older, with middle aged voices.

No matter how they try, they will never sound like they did in their heydays. I heard one of the Beatles (forget which one) a few years ago trying to belt out a 60s classic, and it was depressingly ridiculous. Sounded like some beer gutted, 50 y.o. slob singing in the shower.”

“Just to clarify, I LOVE 60s and 70s classic rock, just don't like to hear the original band members trying to sing it today.”

“Yea, they don't sound the same.

Of course when we were listening in the 70's both the band and the audience were stoned.

Now we are all responsible law-abiding adults and don't do that stuff anymore.”

“If you think the prices are bad try going to some of the "gentry" events like Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, or most indoor symphony concerts. Ticketmaster works the audience for about triple what your paying. And, people wonder why there is no support for the arts?

I like the 70's and 80's bands on the radio. But, all of the live performances I've been to have left my ears ringing.”

“Yer Flirtin' With Disaster if you don't see Molly Hatchet. And Nazareth...now you're messin with a som'bitch!

Saw Skynyrd a few weeks ago with Ted Nugent and Deep Purple. Leslie West and Mountain, and War a week ago. And partied with the drummer (Yonrico Scott) and bassist of the Derek Trucks Band tonight.

Live music is the sh!t! Go to the shows Ms.Muktuk...dagnabbit!”

“Maybe I'm wrong, since I'm the only one who took it this way. I was thinkg Muktuk meant this was a fairly cheap ticket to see ALL those groups at one time, what with inflation since the 70s and 80s!

She says, "I must be really out of it, but this seems too good to be true."

Also, making it sound this way, she says, "Are these groups just so "yestererday" now or what?" Which again sounds like a reference to the tickets being cheaper than she expected.

Am I alone in this interpretation?”

“New Kids on the Block, Tiffany and Menudo - $15.99 plus you get a New Kids collectors watch. Holy deals batman!



This post is not true. if you are a fan of any of the above bands, they are not touring, so please don't get all excited. The opinions expressed in this post are not that of Backpacker.com and Buddha Bear.”

“Mmmmmm...sorry dood...but they ARE touring!”

“Lizs-- You are exactly right...but Steve hiker and Gordon DO make good points. So maybe that's why the tix are so cheap (relatively speaking)”

“Not only are these band members older now, some of them are DEAD. The odds of finding a 70s band with all original members are long, let alone if they can still sing or play. For example, Lonesome Dave of Foghat died this past year of cancer, so if Foghat tours now it will be less than a shadow of its former self. There was a recent 70s band show near here with Badfinger on the bill. Of the quartet, two are dead, including the frontman, so who the heck is passing themselves off to the addled brains of boomers? Now Lynard Skynard, geez, don't forget the plane crash. Nice for little brother to pick up the pieces though.

As we learned in Spinal Tap, you can get away with replacing the drummer (even Led Zep and the Who have managed that) but the guys out front are a tougher sell.

BTW, does VH1 get a cut from all these revival shows in the wake of the various "Behind the Music" and "Where Are They Now?" episodes that have fueled the revivals? The 80s hairbands must light candles to VH1.”

“New Kids, on tour? really?”

“What a co-inky-dink...just read this news item:

"Rock concerts and live tours have seen a significant drop in ticket sales this year, as the top 50 acts sold two million fewer tickets and grossed just $508 million through June 30--a 12 percent drop from last year.

While it was once thought that concerts (much like the movies) were impervious to tough economic times, those times have apparently changed. Just ask anyone who forked over 80 bucks to see U2.

"The conventional wisdom was that concert tickets were immune to it," says Gary Bongiovanni, editor in chief of Pollstar. "Back in 1991, it was true. But the problem is that concert ticket prices have essentially doubled since 1991. And [concert tickets] are nonessential items that people have to buy out of their discretionary funds."

Not helping the situation is that concert ticket prices have also shot up over the past year, from $43.75 in 2000 to $46.69 in the first half of 2001. "Any way you look at it, it's not healthy," Bongiovanni says."

Hey, I still have my ticket stub from the Led Zeppelin show in the Kingdome, circa 1978...$12!!!”

“Wow! kleetn, you saw Zeppelin?!! I never did...saw the Honeydrippers about 1983 at Oakland Collesium, though.

Concerts are pretty much a rip, anyway, unless you are really into that scene. (which I'm not anymore). These days if I'm going to spend that kind of money I'd rather fork out the dough for a CD. Then I can enjoy the music for a long time.”

“MukTuk, yeah...what an experience. It was my first time in the Kingdome. The sound absolutely sucked. (To recreate the sound quality of the concert, just go get a large washtub, invert it, place some speakers under it and crank up the volume!)
But we were 19 and could have cared less.

Been a long time since I rock and rolled...”