Springsteen announces 2014 tour dates (partial)

[bennyboy]

Bruce Springsteen U.S. Tour Dates

http://www.jambands.com/news/2014/02.../#.Uvj3OrRcISF

April 8 Cincinnati, OH—U.S. Bank Arena
April 12 Virginia Beach, VA—Farm Bureau Live
April 15 Columbus, OH—Nationwide Arena
April 17 Nashville, TN—Bridgestone Arena
April 19 Charlotte, NC—Time Warner Cable Arena
April 22 Pittsburgh, PA—Consol Energy Center
April 24 Raleigh, NC—PNC Arena
April 26 Atlanta, GA—Aaron Amphitheatre at LAkewood
April 29 Sunrise, FL—BB&T Center
May 1 Tampa, FL—MidFlorida Credit Union Apmhitheatre
May 3 New Orleans, LA—Jazz Fest
May 6 Houston, TX—Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
May 13 Albany, NY—Tines Union Center
May 14 Hershey, PA—Hersheypark Stadium
May 17 Uncasville, CT—Mohegan Sun
May 18 Uncasville, CT—Mohegan Sun

[Lit]

Nice to see CT get spoiled with two shows, but I'm bummed he's playing the casino instead of the Hartford Civic Center (XL Center now). The Civic Center is an outdated old shed, but he has consistently played great shows there for as long as I can remember, and he seems to have a genuine affinity for the place that brings his shows there up another level.

[McGregor]

Bruce getting his AC/DC fix in last week

[Lit]

Yowza, just glanced a ticket prices. $115 to $135!!! For an arena show! Prince was even more at the same venue, but he's a lot more of a rarity.

One thing for sure, prices like this make ponying up for the Grand Marshal in 2012 look like a smarter value all the time. And it confirms that Fest itself remains one of the greatest values in live music.

[Apostrophe (')]

Yowza, just glanced a ticket prices. $115 to $135!!! For an arena show! Prince was even more at the same venue, but he's a lot more of a rarity.

One thing for sure, prices like this make ponying up for the Grand Marshal in 2012 look like a smarter value all the time. And it confirms that Fest itself remains one of the greatest values in live music.

totally agree. that was my thinking about this year as well. Phish is obviously the draw for me, but i'm equally excited to see Santana and Clapton. while i would guess that most of their fans have seen them many times over, i'm a little younger than a lot of their demographic and have never wanted to pay the kinds of prices their regular tour stops commanded. combined with night show prices rising rapidly over the last two years, a very appealing first weekend lineup makes this seem like the year to put most of my eggs into fest's BNA basket.


Santana at Ruth Eckerd Hall on 4/29/14:
$200*, $165, $135, $89.

Clapton at Mud Island Amphitheater on 4/30/14:
$141.54 - $78.48 (after fees)

[bennyboy]

totally agree. that was my thinking about this year as well. Phish is obviously the draw for me, but i'm equally excited to see Santana and Clapton. while i would guess that most of their fans have seen them many times over, i'm a little younger than a lot of their demographic and have never wanted to pay the kinds of prices their regular tour stops commanded. combined with night show prices rising rapidly over the last two years, a very appealing first weekend lineup makes this seem like the year to put most of my eggs into fest's BNA basket.


Santana at Ruth Eckerd Hall on 4/29/14:
$200*, $165, $135, $89.

Clapton at Mud Island Amphitheater on 4/30/14:
$141.54 - $78.48 (after fees)

Ridiculous. I don't get it. If Panic, DMB, SCI, FURTHUR etc, even Phish (60 bux with free download), can bring the best lights and sound and all that to a venue then why does Eric Clapton need to charge three times that? Is "famous in the sixties or seventies" worth the extra hundred dollars? Why does NEIL YOUNG,(the "this note's for you" guy) cost so much for his solo show? Him, a couple of guitars, a pump organ and piano. Not much crew, sound etc there yet the tickets are still over a hundred dollars.

[Apostrophe (')]

it's not just the golden era acts, benny, but i heartily agree with your sentiment. tickets for Pearl Jam's most recent appearance at the Rose Garden started at $50.

[groovy1967]

Ridiculous. I don't get it. If Panic, DMB, SCI, FURTHUR etc, even Phish (60 bux with free download), can bring the best lights and sound and all that to a venue then why does Eric Clapton need to charge three times that?

Because he can.

People keep paying it, so the acts will keep raising the prices.

The acts will counter and say they've lost revenue from recordings, so they need to make up for it with more expensive live shows. To which you could ask, "When was the last time Eric Clapton wrote a bonafide hit?"

Then they'll say they have to charge high prices to defeat the scalpers on the secondary market. Of course, many of these acts are getting paid from the secondary market, having their management set aside pre-sale tickets to go straight into the scalper sites. It's all done in a very clandestine way, so the act never is directly linked to the practice and can always convincingly feign innocence.

[Lit]

The other thing to remember is that, by and large, "jam bands" follow the Grateful Dead model; i.e., they make most of their money from touring, and much less from record sales than the likes of Clapton and Neil. This is definitely true for Phish. As a result, they tour more frequently, and this usually means lower ticket prices, because the supply of shows is much greater than it is for someone like Clapton who doesn't play nearly as frequently.

Dylan is really the one that's the outlier here. He's got more records than anyone and could obviously live off royalties for the rest of his life, but he's been on the "Never-ending Tour" forever, with no signs of letting up, and his ticket prices are generally pretty low, relatively. I think that's just life for him, and he doesn't want to stop because he likes doing this better than anything else. I think he's also afraid that he'll die if he stops.

[bennyboy]

The other thing to remember is that, by and large, "jam bands" follow the Grateful Dead model; i.e., they make most of their money from touring, and much less from record sales than the likes of Clapton and Neil. This is definitely true for Phish. As a result, they tour more frequently, and this usually means lower ticket prices, because the supply of shows is much greater than it is for someone like Clapton who doesn't play nearly as frequently.

Dylan is really the one that's the outlier here. He's got more records than anyone and could obviously live off royalties for the rest of his life, but he's been on the "Never-ending Tour" forever, with no signs of letting up, and his ticket prices are generally pretty low, relatively. I think that's just life for him, and he doesn't want to stop because he likes doing this better than anything else. I think he's also afraid that he'll die if he stops.

Yeah but the jambands figured it out long ago, Stream it, offer downloads and voila, cash grab a roni. Think about it. if Phish adds 10 dollars to the ticket price and they sell 10,000K in DL's that is one hell of a lot of money for almost not a product. Why can't the oldy and moldies do that as well?

I think MMJ, Wilco and Bob Dylan was 60 dollars at Shoreline (Not sure I bought outside for less) last summer.

And 50 bux for PJ? That is fair I think. They aren't old enough to really screw everyone over and charge over 100 bux......

[Lit]

Yeah but the jambands figured it out long ago, Stream it, offer downloads and voila, cash grab a roni. Think about it. if Phish adds 10 dollars to the ticket price and they sell 10,000K in DL's that is one hell of a lot of money for almost not a product. Why can't the oldy and moldies do that as well?

Because each Phish show is unique, just like Dead shows. Most other major touring acts play the same or very similar shows every night. Not Bruce, obviously, but most of the others. If you can hear the show for $10 and you know it's going to be essentially the same show each night, you're much less likely to be willing to pay $50 or $100 to attend it.

[bennyboy]

Tells me them old guys need to step it up and make every show unique then huh? (Bruce does a four song rotation mostly every show and that don't really count).

.

[Apostrophe (')]

And 50 bux for PJ? That is fair I think. They aren't old enough to [...] charge over 100 bux......

...and yet, they do. for example, their next show with available tickets is in Milan on 6/20. the price range is € 41,40 - 92,00, or the equivalent of about $56-125 USD.

I think he's also afraid that he'll die if he stops.

aren't we all? i know i'll die at least a little the day i can no longer enjoy live music.

[ohio]

Because he can.

People keep paying it, so the acts will keep raising the prices.

I think this is all that matters...like any product.

[MormonMatthew]

I think MMJ, Wilco and Bob Dylan was 60 dollars at Shoreline (Not sure I bought outside for less) last summer.

And 50 bux for PJ? That is fair I think. They aren't old enough to really screw everyone over and charge over 100 bux......

That Bob Dylan, Wilco, My Morning Jacket show here was just $35 here in SLC, and that was for reserved seating, the lawn GA tickets were around $25. I can honestly say that was the single best "Bang for the Buck" concert I can remember in the past 10 years, an incredible lineup for an extremely modest price.

(I can't say I am a huge fan of Pearl Jam's music, but I am pretty surprised that their tickets aren't more expensive, I would have guessed in the $80-$100 range. Apparently Eddie Vedder is known to be a decent, down to Earth guy)