I see from looking on the Des Moines Register website that Billy Joel is coming to town, with ticket prices at $96 or $50.50. while I am not going to be in Des Moines for the April 15th concert, it’s certainly one that I would love to see. But $96?
Back when I was in High School and College in Cedar Falls, we used to go to almost every concert that came through town. And considering that we had a domed football stadium in town, we had quite a few concerts come through town. And while I always considered concert ticket prices too high, in hindsight I didn’t realize what a bargain concerts were in the 70’s. Early on I remember seeing Kiss, Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, Pablo Cruise, and Harry Chapin, and I’m pretty sure that I didn’t pay anymore than $7 for any of these concerts. My good friend Chris and I saw Elton John in 1981 – a pretty huge concert – and those tickets were $9.00 each.
Now when you consider that the minimum wage in 1980 was $3.10 (and I was a minimum wage earner in those days), we’re talking about having to work roughly three hours to earn enough for a concert ticket. That means that today a concert ticket should cost $18 to $25 at the most.
And $96 to see Billy Joel is in no way as high as these tickets are going. Heck, Cindy an
d I saw The Eagles three years ago, and we had to pay a whopping $175 EACH for those tickets. A quick check of Ticketmaster.com shows Van Halen tickets at $147, Bon Jovi at $129, and Def Leppard at $125. At least Def Leppard has Styx and my personal favorite – REO Speedwagen – playing with them. And don’t even get me started on Hannah Montana tickets.
While I live in a small, small town, I’m only three hours away from L.A. or San Francisco, so we can see the big names, it’s just kind of a hassle. And we do have the California Mid-State Fair in Paso Robles, less than 10 miles from our house. This is not your average fair folks – The Mid State Fair is known as one of the top fairs in the country with regards to talent. Last year we had Aerosmith, Daughtry, Bob Dylan, Velvet Revolver, Rascal Flatts, Toby Keith and Martina McBride. And the free entertainment included Foghat (I LOVE Foghat) and Joan Jett. All of these great concerts to choose from, and who did I get to see: The Jonas Brothers. For those of you who don’t have an eleven year old girl in your house, The Jonas Brothers are like Hanson: three teeny-bopper brothers for the Disney Channel set. The things I won’t do for my little girl.
Back when I was in High School and College in Cedar Falls, we used to go to almost every concert that came through town. And considering that we had a domed football stadium in town, we had quite a few concerts come through town. And while I always considered concert ticket prices too high, in hindsight I didn’t realize what a bargain concerts were in the 70’s. Early on I remember seeing Kiss, Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, Pablo Cruise, and Harry Chapin, and I’m pretty sure that I didn’t pay anymore than $7 for any of these concerts. My good friend Chris and I saw Elton John in 1981 – a pretty huge concert – and those tickets were $9.00 each.
Now when you consider that the minimum wage in 1980 was $3.10 (and I was a minimum wage earner in those days), we’re talking about having to work roughly three hours to earn enough for a concert ticket. That means that today a concert ticket should cost $18 to $25 at the most.
And $96 to see Billy Joel is in no way as high as these tickets are going. Heck, Cindy an
d I saw The Eagles three years ago, and we had to pay a whopping $175 EACH for those tickets. A quick check of Ticketmaster.com shows Van Halen tickets at $147, Bon Jovi at $129, and Def Leppard at $125. At least Def Leppard has Styx and my personal favorite – REO Speedwagen – playing with them. And don’t even get me started on Hannah Montana tickets.While I live in a small, small town, I’m only three hours away from L.A. or San Francisco, so we can see the big names, it’s just kind of a hassle. And we do have the California Mid-State Fair in Paso Robles, less than 10 miles from our house. This is not your average fair folks – The Mid State Fair is known as one of the top fairs in the country with regards to talent. Last year we had Aerosmith, Daughtry, Bob Dylan, Velvet Revolver, Rascal Flatts, Toby Keith and Martina McBride. And the free entertainment included Foghat (I LOVE Foghat) and Joan Jett. All of these great concerts to choose from, and who did I get to see: The Jonas Brothers. For those of you who don’t have an eleven year old girl in your house, The Jonas Brothers are like Hanson: three teeny-bopper brothers for the Disney Channel set. The things I won’t do for my little girl.
3 comments:
And Elton Rocked IT! I remember ranting about paying $18 to see the Stones in the Dome back then. I paid it but I wasn't happy...well until I got to the concert. What was that funny smell?
You took the daughter to see the Jonas Brothers? Good on you Bob. I bet it would qualify for one of those mastercard "priceless" events to see your daughters eyes light up when they took the stage.
I remember that Stones concert. Those tickets were $15, but of course I didn't get mine until after they sold out, so I had to pay the ungodly sum of $25 from a scalper. I had to tear a lot of tickets at the Regent to pay for that one, but what a concert!
It was strange though seeing your college buds on one side passing around a joint, and your best friends from church sitting on the other side. And the Stray Cats as an opening act ROCKED - almost better than the Stones. Good Times.
It's the bad economy that forces those prices... :)
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