What classic rock bands did you see? And how much did the ticket cost?

[tomwed]

In 2013 classic rock bands such as The Rolling Stones, The Eagles and Fleetwood Mac, and Paul McCartney commanded ticket prices ranging from $624 to $241. The minimum wage is $7.25.

In 1973, when the minimum wage was $1.60 I went to the Summer Jam at Watkins Glen (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summer_Jam_at_Watkins_Glen) featuring The Band, The Allman Brothers and The Grateful Dead. Tickets cost $10 for all three. They were established rock stars by then. Many of those performers passed away so there can’t be a “final tour”. But if there could be a “final tour” I wonder what a ticket would cost today?

$1,200? Weren’t we lucky?

What classic rock bands did you see? And how much did the ticket cost?

[DougB]

Palm Beach Pop Festival - Thanksgiving weekend 1969 - Iron Butterfly, Chambers Brothers, Pacific Gas and Electric, Sweetwater, Country Joe and the Fish, Johnny Winter, Janis Joplin, Sly and the Family Stone, Spirit, the Byrds, Rotary Connection, Grand Funk Railroad, King Crimson, Jefferson Airplane, Steppenwolf, Byrds, Canned Heat, and the Rolling Stones. ..Ticket price- $20 for all three days

Jimi Hendrix -1970 Miami Alai Fronton - 5 bucks

[delima2000]

Saw the beach boys at pine knob in Michigan and I think the seats were under $1O.OO also Neil diamond a few times and I think those tickets were under $20.00. Took my daughter a few times before she could drive to the Jesus Jones concert and tickets were under &20.00 also NiN way before they were popular. All I can remember that I wouldn't go to a concert if the tickets were over $30.00 each. What about the prices of Ball games now? Wow they are out of control along with the beer and food.

[jbdlfan]

Dayton Hydroglobe Music Festival in 1976. Headliners were Ted Nugent and Aerosmith but we also saw Rick Deringer, Rory Ghallager, and Exile. They booed Exile off the stage. Tickets were $10. Saw Boston the next year in Toledo, Ohio for $6.50.

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

I don't recall ticket prices except the $5.50 that I paid to see The Beatles, from the fifth row in 1966.

Beside them, I saw Cream, Hendrix, The Doors, Joe Cocker, The Who (twice) The Jeff Beck Group. The Small Faces, Rod Stewart, The Rolling Stones, BB King (many times), Delaney and Bonnie and Friends with Eric Clapton, Linda Ronstadt and the Stone Ponies, Arlo Guthrie, Buddy Guy, The Spencer Davis Group, The J. Giles Band and many more that don't come to mind right now.

I was just thinking about ticket prices this morning. I really wish that Paul McCartney, Elton John and all of the other big names would get together and try to do something about the so called legal ticket scalping that goes on today.

I saw McCartney in 2002 for the 11th row. I paid $1600 for two tickets which had a face value of $250 each. Ticketmaster and all of these other ticket agencies are screwing us. I think that it's time that the performers stood up and said, "Enough. We're not going allow this any more". I think that they can do something about it.

For a group of people who generally portray themselves as being very socially conscious they seem to be very quiet on an issue that affects so many of their fans who they claim to love.

[Bonnevie]

saw the Dave Clark 5 for $5. don't remember ticket prices (but couldn't have been much since I had to account to my parents for what I spent) saw Janice Joplin

also at SUNY at Oneonta as part of our fees we saw in concert Laura Nyro, Sly and the Family Stone, Chicago and John Denver

[tomwed]

Palm Beach Pop Festival - Thanksgiving weekend 1969 - Iron Butterfly, Chambers Brothers, Pacific Gas and Electric, Sweetwater, Country Joe and the Fish, Johnny Winter, Janis Joplin, Sly and the Family Stone, Spirit, the Byrds, Rotary Connection, Grand Funk Railroad, King Crimson, Jefferson Airplane, Steppenwolf, Byrds, Canned Heat, and the Rolling Stones. ..Ticket price- $20 for all three days

Jimi Hendrix -1970 Miami Alai Fronton - 5 bucks


amazing line-up
Who was the headliner? I'm guessing The Rolling Stones.

[John_W]

The most expensive show I ever paid for was Amnesty Int'l Concert Atlanta, GA Omni Center was $36 in 1986. Each band played six songs, U2, The Police, Peter Gabriel, Bryan Adams, Lou Reed & the Neville Bros.

The most I ever paid for a single artist show was Pink Floyd 1988 at Atlanta Omni was $20. In the early 80's at Savannah Civic Ctr I saw many shows and never paid more than $10. That included Foreigner, Scorpions with Bon Jovi, Def Leppard with Krokus, Billy Squier with Saga, ZZ Top with Sammy Hagar, Moody Blues with the Fixx, REM, Molly Hatchet, etc. In Jacksonville 1985 U2 was $15, Frank Zappa 1985 Atlanta $15.

Going back to the 70's I saw Jethro Tull in '72, Deep Purple '72, Black Sabbath '72 and Uriah Heep with Manfred Mann Earth Band '74 and those I paid $7.50 or less.

In more recent times in the mid 90's I saw several shows at Merriweather Pavillion in Columbia, Maryland. They were all $20 lawn tickets and the shows were Boston, Styx & Kansas, Jethro Tull & ELP, Grand Funk with all 3 original members, Blue Oyster Cult/Foghat/Steppenwolf, and so on. Also Peter Gabriel at the Cap Centre in 1993 was $15.

The best sounding show I ever saw was Ambrosia at the Rainbow Theater in Denver 1979 and it was less than $10. It was a former movie theater converted to a concert pavillion. It seated about 1200 people in very comfortable seats. When you entered the lobby it was just like the movie theater with pop corn and food and drinks and the walls were covered with gold records presented to the promoter. The week I was there the shows included Ambrosia, Blondie & Journey. The alternative was the beautiful Red Rocks outdoor shows, Denver really had it nice for concerts.

The show I was probably most hyped for was Journey in 1980 at Gulfport Coliseum at Biloxi Mississippi. For some reason the first three albums Journey produced with singer Steve Perry were Infinity, Evolution and Departure and I played them non-stop. Now I was seeing that band on the Departure Tour.They were great as well as the opening band The Babys. Also I am a great fan of Peter Gabriel and seeing his twice live has been a highlight of my concert shows.

[tomwed]

[QUOTE=Dr Winston O Boogie jr;918019]I don't recall ticket prices except the $5.50 that I paid to see The Beatles, from the fifth row in 1966.

Could you tell us more about the Beatles concert? [if you don't mind me asking]

[John_W]

Palm Beach Pop Festival - Thanksgiving weekend 1969 - Iron Butterfly, Chambers Brothers, Pacific Gas and Electric, Sweetwater, Country Joe and the Fish, Johnny Winter, Janis Joplin, Sly and the Family Stone, Spirit, the Byrds, Rotary Connection, Grand Funk Railroad, King Crimson, Jefferson Airplane, Steppenwolf, Byrds, Canned Heat, and the Rolling Stones. ..Ticket price- $20 for all three days

Jimi Hendrix -1970 Miami Alai Fronton - 5 bucks

I remember the Palm Beach Festival, I was going to St. Petersburg Jr. College at the time and wanted to go really bad, but couldn't find anybody to go with or wanted to miss school. The funny thing was, I had bought King Crimson's first album 'The Court of the Crimson King' and was playing it non-stop and that was the band I wanted to see the most, as well as Grand Funk and the Chamber Bros. Every band had some great songs then, 1969 is my favorite year for music.

[DougB]

amazing line-up
Who was the headliner? I'm guessing The Rolling Stones.

Yes, Stones played last. Airplane finished about 2:00 am and the Stones didn't come on until about 4:00 am. Sat in the mud and about 30 something degree weather for 2 hours waiting for them. Local news referred to the festival as Woodstock South.

Oh yeah, Vanilla Fudge played also.

[Chi-Town]

Saw the Stones during their Bridges to Babylon tour about 15 years ago at the MGM Las Vegas. Tickets were $300 face value. It was an unbelievable show. The audience was a mixture of white hairs and some of the freakiest "costumes" you'll ever see.

[DougB]

Saw the Stones during their Bridges to Babylon tour about 15 years ago at the MGM Las Vegas. Tickets were $300 face value. It was an unbelievable show. The audience was a mixture of white hairs and some of the freakiest "costumes" you'll ever see.

Was that Jagger and Richards in the freaky costumes?

[Chi-Town]

Palm Beach Pop Festival - Thanksgiving weekend 1969 - Iron Butterfly, Chambers Brothers, Pacific Gas and Electric, Sweetwater, Country Joe and the Fish, Johnny Winter, Janis Joplin, Sly and the Family Stone, Spirit, the Byrds, Rotary Connection, Grand Funk Railroad, King Crimson, Jefferson Airplane, Steppenwolf, Byrds, Canned Heat, and the Rolling Stones. ..Ticket price- $20 for all three days

Jimi Hendrix -1970 Miami Alai Fronton - 5 bucks
thought you might like this.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=777UEHKyka4

[Bonnevie]

I also saw Elton John way in his early days at the Saratoga arts center...had lawn seats so couldn't have been much

[MikeV]

Boston at Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) 1997 $45.

[Chi-Town]

Was that Jagger and Richards in the freaky costumes?
Not nearly as freaky as the patrons. News cameras were filming people as they came in. The craziest that I saw was a scantily clad girl with another in tow on a choker leash. The bartender didn't even look up. Only in Vegas.

[RedChariot]

The Dave Clark 5 in Newark, NJ. 1964? During the British invasion. Lived in Edison, NJ at the time. My father drove me and a friend there and waited outside the whole time till we came out. Price? Who remembers!

[tomwed]

thought you might like this.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=777UEHKyka4


That's a great clip. The reporter said the biggest fear was that it would turn into an uncontrollable orgie. Can you imagine if it did? At some point the reporter would need to announce “You can all relax now, they seem to have the orgie under control; news at 11.”

[bkcunningham1]

If you purchase a Florida resident annual pass to the Disney theme parks for $519 or the Epcot after 4 p.m. pass for $190, you can see a large variety of concerts at Epcot. The upcoming lineup for the Food and Wine Festival has some new groups playing this year. We go every year and love the mini concerts. They are just right for us.

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/entertainment/epcot/food-wine-eat-to-the-beat-concerts/

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

[QUOTE=Dr Winston O Boogie jr;918019]I don't recall ticket prices except the $5.50 that I paid to see The Beatles, from the fifth row in 1966.

Could you tell us more about the Beatles concert? [if you don't mind me asking]

I grew up in Revere Massachusetts which abuts East Boston. Logan Airport is in East Boston. The city line between Revere and East Boston runs right through the middle of Suffolk Downs Racetrack which is where The Beatles played. Contrary to many reports I've read, they were not in the middle of the oval infield. The stage was erected at the finish line of the track. In fact a friend of mine and I went to the track that afternoon to watch them build the stage. We also helped set up chairs in front of the grandstand.

My father was on the Revere Police Department. The department was offered the best seats in the place either for nothing or a discounted price. I remember the price on the ticket was $5.50 but father got it for me so I don't know what he paid. It was fifth row center which was still not all that close to the stage. There was about thirty yards or so from the fence in front of the first row to the stage so I was about 35-40 yards back. That was about as close as anyone got.

I remember the opening acts, The Ronettes, Barry and the Remains (who I knew) Bobby Hebb, Sounds Incorporated and the Circle.

When The Beatles came on there was the loudest cheer I'd ever heard in my life. They launched into Rock and Roll Music and I almost couldn't even make it out. I heard the rest of the set very clearly and wondered what all the fuss was about with people saying that they couldn't hear them.

I found out years later that Barry Tarsian from the Remains recommended that they use a sound company in Medford Mass called Hanley Sound. Hanley had all of the latest state of the art equipment. They had two massive speaker arrays on wither side of the field. I learned afterward that John Lennon said that that was the first time they had heard themselves in a long time and that he wanted Hanley to do the rest of the tour.

A band that I was in back then used Hanley quite often and we gave them an autographed photo to hang on the wall. We always got excited when we went in there and saw our signed photo hanging on the wall next to a signed photo of The Beatles.

Anyroad, the show was great. They sounded great. I remember being disappointed that John and George were playing Epiphone Casinos. I expected to see the Rickenbacker and Gretsch that they usually played.

A kid climbed over me, jumped over the fence and got up onto the stage and touched each one of them. The cops gather him up and put him back into the audience where he was immediately assaulted by hundreds of fans who wanted to touch him.

Years later I found out something I will never forgive my father for. The chief of police in Revere was told that he could invite some of the officer's kids to come back stage and meet The Beatles. My father told him that I wouldn't be interested.

My father also worked the detail at the track that night and told me that they drove right by him on the way to their dressing room.

I don't know what else I can tell you about the concert but ask anything that you want and I'll try to answer it for you.

[Halibut]

The best concert I ever saw was Neil Young at San Jose Center For The Performing Arts in the late 70s. Tickets were $12, which the Dept. of Labor tells me is $47 in today's money.

I'm not sure why I enjoyed the show so much because the guy was stoned out of his mind and has never had the best of voices, but he had such a rapport with the audience that it drew everyone in. I remember my hands were actually sore from clapping so hard. I wasn't high myself, either. ;)

[Beechie]

What a great post. I was weaned on the Beatles at such an early age but it was my sister that actually got to go to the 1966 Beatles concert at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. Her recollection of that concert was very poor acoustics and non-stop fans screaming.

To think that Dr Winston O Boogie jr could have gone back stage to meet the Beatles. That missed opportunity would have have scarred me for life.

My earliest concerts would begin in 1970 with a combination of Canadian, American & British Bands such as:
Guess Who, Traffic, The Band, Neil Young, Sha Na Na, April Wine, Burton Cummings, Rolling Stones, Fludd, Edward Bear, Bee Gees (Before Disco), Black Sabbath, Alice Cooper, Ten Years After, Beach Boys, Emerson Lake & Palmer, Rush, Canned Heat, James Gang, Lighthouse, Crowbar, Chilliwack, Edgar Winter, Hall & Oats, Styx, REO Speedwagon, America, Eagles, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr...that I can remember. Unfortunately, I can not remember the ticket prices for most but I can tell you the The Eagles and Paul McCartney Tickets were both in the $300..00 plus each mostly because they were recent concerts.

Dumbest thing I ever did was sell my labour day 1971 Led Zeppelin Tickets so I could go to the cottage to meet some chick. Sadly...Not a Whole Lotta Love that weekend.

[OldManTime]

Saw Chicago in 1971 Framingham Ma. got in Free at the Montecello

[MinnieM]

Grew up going to the Fillmore East in NY. Was there almost every weekend. Tickets were 3.50-5.50. Every headliner from 1968-1971 played there.

MinnieM

[Kahuna32162]

The first major concert I ever attended was in 1972 at Northern Michigan University. It was Chicago, tickets were $3.50 and I still have the poster from that concert.

Having grow up in the Detroit suburbs, we used to see Bob Seger often for free at school sock hops and the like.

[tomwed]

[quote=tomwed;918040]



Years later I found out something I will never forgive my father for. The chief of police in Revere was told that he could invite some of the officer's kids to come back stage and meet The Beatles. My father told him that I wouldn't be interested.



In this respect, I think us Dads all think alike.

You answered all my questions. I was wondering if you could hear them singing. I just imagined complete chaos with screaming girls crying and going crazy just like you see in the old newsreels.

I enjoy hearing stories like this. Thanks for sharing.

A few months ago I golfed with a guy from Liverpool who was best friends with Paul Mccartney’s younger brother, Mike. Mike was 2 years younger and they all went to the same upper school. He said he did all the same things that the beatles, and all the other teenagers did in liverpool at that time. It was the same gang. I didn’t press but I wish I offered him lunch and drinks just to recount those days.

[tomwed]

Grew up going to the Fillmore East in NY. Was there almost every weekend. Tickets were 3.50-5.50. Every headliner from 1968-1971 played there.

MinnieM

[i envy you. i was just about to paste this in another thread. you made my point exactly]

Forget about how much we have in the bank or our bucket list. When we were young we could take a girl to a great concert and buy “beer” for $20. Young people do not have that opportunity now. Were they undercharging or are they price gouging now?

I understand that artists can’t rely on album or cd sales for their income anymore. I didn’t buy music then and I don’t buy it now. Now with sites like Pandora I listen for free like many others. But I consider myself lucky that concerts were affordable when I was young.

Now that a concert costs the same as a cruise, I’m cruising. I guess I got lucky again.

[EnglishJW]

Grew up going to the Fillmore East in NY. Was there almost every weekend. Tickets were 3.50-5.50. Every headliner from 1968-1971 played there.

MinnieM

Me too but from NJ - around Woodstock the majority of the acts also performed at the Fillmore East. Also went to many concert in Newark, Asbury Park and Atlantic City NJ, all over The City. Concerts included The Stones, Beach Boys, Four Seasons, Jimi Hendrix, Santana, (Young) Rascals, B.B. King, Chuck Berry, Stevie Wonder, Bill Haley, Shirelles, Jimmy Reed, Paul Revere, Peter Paul & Mary, and many more. I have no idea how much those tickets cost. I worked and had the money to pay for them so they couldn't have been too bad.

[al & jane]

Rolling Stones (From the 13th row at the Fox Theater in Atlanta)

Paul McCartney (Once at the Silverdome in Vegas and once on the Plains of Abraham in Quebec City)

Bob Dylan (Twice)

The Animals

The Moody Blues

Herman’s Hermits

Paul Revere and the Raiders

Paul Simon

Sheryl Crow

Chicago

The Beach Boys

Peter, Paul and Mary

Jethro Tull

Donovan

The Kingsmen

The McCoys

Joan Baez

John Hammond

Richard Thompson

Gordon Lightfoot

Never paid more than $45 for a ticket and many were free but that’s a long story.

[Halibut]

Oh! I forgot about the music halls -- Fillmore West, Avalon Ballroom, Winterland, and Longshoreman's Hall, all in the San Francisco area. I don't even remember who all I saw except Joplin and Jefferson Airplane, but I wish I had kept some of those flyers (https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-a&hs=Sml&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&channel=fflb&biw=1366&bih=629&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=music+flyers+60s+fillmore&oq=music+flyers+60s+fillmore&gs_l=img.3...12428.13908.0.14102.9.9.0.0.0.0.156.1 008.0j8.8.0....0...1c.1.51.img..9.0.0.YMGIrfff7qw) . They used to pass them out on streetcorners. I had one entire bedroom wall papered with them at one point. Chick magnet!

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

[quote=Dr Winston O Boogie jr;918110]

In this respect, I think us Dads all think alike.

You answered all my questions. I was wondering if you could hear them singing. I just imagined complete chaos with screaming girls crying and going crazy just like you see in the old newsreels.

I enjoy hearing stories like this. Thanks for sharing.

A few months ago I golfed with a guy from Liverpool who was best friends with Paul Mccartney’s younger brother, Mike. Mike was 2 years younger and they all went to the same upper school. He said he did all the same things that the beatles, and all the other teenagers did in liverpool at that time. It was the same gang. I didn’t press but I wish I offered him lunch and drinks just to recount those days.

You need to come to some meetings of my Beatles Club. We had a big celebration on Feb 9 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. We had my friend Chris Huston as a guest speaker. Chris was in a Liverpool band called the Undertakers. He was a classmate of John Lennon at Liverpool Art College and he was very good friends with all the Beatles. He played on the same bill with them several times. He was also in playing The Star Club in Hamburg at the same time as The Beatles.

Chris went on to become a world class engineer and producer having produced bands such as the Rascals, Eric Burdon and War, Led Zepplin, The Who and James Brown.

We meet every Friday morning at 10:00 at the O'Dell Rec Center.

This Friday marks our second anniversary as a club.

[DougB]

thought you might like this.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=777UEHKyka4

Thanks, Chi. I couldn't believe it when I watched this. Look at the picture where they are standing in line to use the phone. The fourth guy in line with the bell bottoms and jacket is my brother :a20:

[Penguin]

I don't remember.:shrug:

[DougB]

I don't remember.:shrug:

Well, they say if you remember the 60s, you weren't there.

[Lauren Sweeny]

I was lucky to live in Cleveland where all the rock bands visited. It is also home to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame so we still get the old timers coming! Jane Scott (the rock band reporter for The Cleveland Plain Dealer ) was my condo neighbor. She was always getting " thank you gifts and flowers" from the band that she shared with me... I have had treats from too many bands if the 60's and 70's to count!!

[The Buckeyes]

Saw The Doors at the Allen theater in downtown Cleveland for $6.00....still have the ticket stub. Have also seen Blood, Sweat & Tears, Vanilla Fudge, Iron Butterfly, Carly Simon, Peter Frampton, Styx, Heart, Donovan, Player and a few others that I can't recall right now.

[Taltarzac725]

18 July 1974 - Eric Clapton & His Band (http://www.whereseric.com/eric-clapton-tour/18/07/1974)

I went with my cousin Tom and older brother Robert to this Eric Clapton concert. It was probably under $10 a piece. We were sitting on the grass in the stadium.

I have seen Styx, Yes, Billy Joel, Joe Jackson, and Bette Midler too. All of these were in Denver or near Denver with University of Denver graduate students. The tickets were probably around $25.00 or so. These were between 1983 and 1984.

BB King at a Reno, NV., casino for the price of two drinks. These were Coca-Colas. I was underage if I remember correctly.

[Penguin]

Saw The Doors at the Allen theater in downtown Cleveland for $6.00....still have the ticket stub. Have also seen Blood, Sweat & Tears, Vanilla Fudge, Iron Butterfly, Carly Simon, Peter Frampton, Styx, Heart, Donovan, Player and a few others that I can't recall right now.

I wished I could have hung out with you back in the day. Nice band resume.:BigApplause:

I was more Grand Funk Railroad, early Rush (2112 days) Deep Purple, Sammy Hagar when he was 18 and played with Montrose and Van Halen with David Lee Roth. Chicago Transit Authority and REO Speedwagon played at my high school.

[Number 6]

Ticket prices for my three favorite concerts -

Sir Paul 10/05 $225.00
Elvis 7/76 12.50
John Sebastian 5/70 6.00

[coolkayaker1]

Aerosmith are gods, but their tickets are face value $300, scalper value $1000 (and I'm all for open markets for getting what one can for their own ticket in the resale market). So how much did it cost for me to see them live, the complete show? Nothing!

Their 2013 full concert is free on youtube in high-def, I can google Chromecast it to my 70-inch HDTV; sit five feet away from the screen so that I can see if Steven Tyler's had a tonsillectomy; crank it through my 125-watt, 5.1 home stereo until my ears ring like church bells; drink Pabst Blue Ribbon for which I pay 50-cents a can; my truck parks free in my garage and I'll never find a half dozen juveniles smoking reefer and treating my bumper like a saloon stool; I can wear my faded Aerosmith t-shirt from 1970, the one that reeks of mothballs and Aqua Velva, without someone begging me to buy a new one with a naked lady on it for fifty bucks; and I don't have to pee in the blue-waters of a filthy, portable, plastic outhouse.

At home, I just pass out in my own excrement, drunk and safe, in the beanbag chair in front of the television until daybreak.

Thank you, modern technology!

Aerosmith fans, here's the link!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0dXk5qUdiE

[tomwed]

[quote=tomwed;918221]

We meet every Friday morning at 10:00 at the O'Dell Rec Center.

This Friday marks our second anniversary as a club.

Thank you for inviting me. I am looking forward to it.

[tomwed]

I forgot that the last festival I attended was amazing and free. It was 2011 in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. Warren Hellman picks up the tab and played in the some of the bands when he could. Please read his obituary, it is inspirational. click here (https://www.baycitizen.org/news/obituaries/warren-hellman-dies-77/?page=3)

This was the lineup.http://www.hardlystrictlybluegrass.com/2011/print-at-home/HSB11_Schedule.pdf

[ron122049]

I saw the BEACH BOYS, The TURTLES and The ASSOCIATION back in the late 60's. Cost about $10. In the 80's we saw FOREIGNER, CHICAGO, REO SPEEDWAGON, The Highwaymen( Cash, Nelson, Kristofferson and Jennings) and TOM JONES. All cost under $30 dollars. Recently, Eric Clapton in London and The Eagles in Amsterdam for between 250 -300 Euros.
PS If anyone would like to organize trips to rock concerts let me know.

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

In defense of the higher "face value" of concert tickets today, I have to point out that the experience today is enhance by all of the high tech equipment that today's bands have.

I played in a band back in the 60s and early 70s that opened for several big name touring acts. These bands mostly just plugged into huge amplifiers and the sound went directly out the the audience. There were no mixing boards. Occasionally, if the venue was big enough, the drums would be miked, often with one bass drum mic and an overhead. Guitar amps were seldom run through the board as there was often no board. Often times, the performers didn't even have monitors.

These days, Paul McCartney travels with twelve 18 wheelers full of equipment. A twenty five foot high HD video show goes on behind him during his performance. He travels with his own stage. There are pyrotechnics involved in most shows. The bands have state of the art monitoring systems including wedges or in-ear and sometimes a combination of both. Performers have can look at television screens on which the the lyrics to their songs scroll in time with the music so that they don't forget a line. Amps are all run directly through the board and all of the drums are closely miked so that all of the sound is coming through the board and can be precisely controlled. It is amazing how they can EQ a board today to get them to sound so good in venues that in the past were considered impossible in which to get a good sound. Instruments are exchanged seamlessly. Pianos come up from holes that open in the stage. And these days, most of this is done without cords through remote controls.

And all of this is set up and run by a staff numbering in the hundreds that travels from venue to venue.

Then think about the venues that you sit in to watch these concerts today. I've been to concerts at the Amway Center and Orlando and the Banknorth Garden in Boston. These places are amazingly comfortable with wide padded seats. It's a far cry from sitting in the mud for hours waiting until 4:00am or the old standing on floor of the no seating concerts that we had back in the day.

If you wonder why concert tickets that were $20 forty years ago, are $250 now. That is the answer. It's a much better show and a much better experience. And that is without factoring in inflation.

Now as to why you have to pay $1,000 for a $250 ticket, that is another question and one that has me really ****ed off.

[kellyjam]

Woodstock 1969 Jimi Hendrix The Who Santana Janis Joplin the Grateful Dead Country Joe Joan Baez Richie Havens Crosby Stills & Nash The Band etc. 3 day pass $21 ($7 per day) Came up to the gates and the fences were all torn down. In celebration everyone were throwing their tickets in the air. Some entrepreneurial folks gathered them up and are selling them on E-Bay today to supplement their retirement.

[Barkay]

Best deal for me was The Rolling Stones in 1965, ticket price $2.50 (cost $0.75 to park).

Still have that concert program.

[gatherer47]

I saw the Dick Clark Caravan of Stars at the Convention Center in Conneaut Lake Pa in 1964.The show featured Tom Jones,The Shirelles,Mel Carter,Big Dee Irwin,and the Jaynettes.Tickets were $3.00.