Recently I ordered tickets for a big named artist coming to the Boston area through TicketMaster (that already made me nervous). By the time I got done, I was out 3 times the face value per ticket due to multiple "convenience charges" and "venue fees" that were specific to the particular event.

   

    I usually don't agree with Pearl Jam's political views but on this particular issue maybe Eddie Vedder was on to something. Ticketmaster is no better than a street ticket scalper. All these "venue fees" and "convenience charges" are just ways for Ticketmaster (TorontoMike hates Ticketmaster as well, check out his Blog) to sell the tickets at a higher price. It made me think why the heck do I want to see this artist or any major touring group anyway? Lets do a pros and cons list.

 

Con:

1.     Overpriced tickets
   

2.     Big concert means long lines and no parking
   

3.     Overpriced food and concessions
   

4.     Too loud of a PA system
   

5.     Drunken fans
   

6.     The artist is probably going to lip-sync the concert anyway
   

 

Pro:

1.     Big name, I can say I saw _____ when they came to Boston
   

2.     I can see a major production and light show
   

 

I was always a proponent of "live is better because the music was made 'live,'" but I am seriously rethinking my philosophy. I believe that some pop artists should live on records only. Most pop live shows are more about an overblown light show (no more pyrotechnics) and no longer about the music. Most of the time the music being played is the album that the artist lip-syncs or a specific show remix that accompanies all the costume changes, and videos being played.

 

    People you might have just witnessed somebody become an "underground" music snob (of course I'll still work a major concert if you want my services). I personally would enjoy hearing an amateur band live and cringe in sympathetic embarrassment every time I hear a mistake or sour note. I rather hear out of tuned singers and guitars because that is the purest sense of what music really is all about.

    It makes you appreciate when you see a band or artist nail a performance and realize how rare and hard music is to perform on a consistent basis. Now I am not saying that nobody should ever go to a major concert again, of course there is exceptions to the mediocrity but I think you can figure out which artists are fake and which ones are genuine. My new rule of thumb, if the concert ticket says, "sponsored by (add major corporation here)" or the artist has been in the tabloid more than Bigfoot, I'm not going.