I told you it was coming. The Rolling Stones made it official though with their announcement today that they are heading out on the road for their 50th anniversary tour. The group said they will roll out their wheelchairs in November for a pair of shows in London followed by a pair of shows in Newark. The band is expected to receive about $25M for the four shows. That means that just to pay the $25M, the ticket prices would have to be about $300 so I would expect them to be at least averaging $500 each. Are the Rolling Stones worth $500 a ticket?
Don't they have enough money...?
ReplyDeleteI have always wanted to go to a Stones concert. But only because I am convinced Keith Richards will spontaneously combust on stage under those lights and I kinda wanna be able to say I was there when it happened.
ReplyDeleteNo.
ReplyDeleteNo, but neither is Vadge. God, will Mick Jagger just die on stage? Got to give it to them though, they do put on a show.
ReplyDeleteWeird how the Beatles combusted, but Stones lived forever. Who would have thought that back in 1968?
In my purely subjective opinion, Rolling Stones have never been worth $500 a ticket.
ReplyDeleteI like the Stones but, um, no.
ReplyDeleteI had the pleasure of sitting 6th rowish, next to the catwalk on their Bridges to Babylon tour when I was younger, and they were incredible. I don't think you have to worry about them pulling a Madonna and making you wait two hours then only performing for 45 minutes. Even as old as they are, I'd expect their energy to be off the charts. If you can swing it, go. They're legendary.
ReplyDeleteMick's voice is apparently horrible now. $500 a ticket - are these mother fuckers crazy???
ReplyDeleteYeah, no. I'd never have paid $500 for a Stones ticket. Mick Jagger can't sing and I don't want to pay half a grand to have someone loudly attempt to speak in a semi-melodious fashion at me for an hour.
ReplyDeleteIF I had $500 to spend on a ticket, it would be on a rare opportunity. Like some group who never comes to the USA or (I know I know dream on) if Led Zeppelin did a proper reunion. If I was into the Stones enough to want to go to this tour I'd have already seen them right?
ReplyDeleteYeah, if the guys pictured showed up.
ReplyDelete@Del Riser, LOL! The same thought was hiding there in the back of my head. I could totally go for a 1960's Keith Richards.
ReplyDeleteah no they are not worth $500! Who wants to pay that kind of money to see their wrinkly old assess strutting around on stage? Sorry. I have seen them in concert in 1981, they were AWESOME, the ticket was @25 and worth every penny. I would not pay that now to see them.
ReplyDeleteI saw them several times on the 1981/2 tour and even quit my job when my boss booked me in for a previously scheduled two days off so I could travel Philly and see the Stones. The shows were amazing.
ReplyDeleteSaw them again in 1989 and the love affair was finished. By this point, they were truly just going through the motions.
I wouldn't spend $50 to see them again, let alone $500.
I heard they really put on a show, but I was always a Beatles' girl so I have no desire no matter what the price.
ReplyDeleteYes! But i hv already seen them, and i think it was $8 or $15!!!! It will be on hbo eventually. Fyi, the night i was there, i alsi saw ike and tina, bb king, and janis joplin surprised everyone by popping out onstage with tina and later mick. Really got our moneys worth, lol. Also the night we got kidnapped, almost mugged, until we finally got home at 6am, where my friends father was just leaving for work. We had been gettingvreading to gi to bed, but all of us, undpoken, put clothes backbon, and saud we git up early to go the beach and watch the sun rise. So we did. Ahhh, the memories.
ReplyDeleteI paid about 1/8 that amount to see Blondie, and it wasn't worth that much to see a band way past their prime with a lead vocalist whose voice is shot from hard living and age. It was depressing and not how I want to remember them. So no way would I go see the stones now.
ReplyDeleteI would only pay that amount for Ab artist whose reclusiveness is legendary.
I loooove them but I wouldn't spend $500 on any concert and shame on these artist and promoters charging people that much!
ReplyDeleteI don't think their age necessarily means the performance will suck. How old is ozzy now? I saw him 15 years ago when he was already old and was incredible. I think the best aging rockers recognize what they can and can't do anymore and base the show on that instead of what they did when they were 20. I have no idea what the Stones r like except Mick KILLED on SNL! Just from that I'd say e puts on an awesome show. Robert Plant is the most gracefully aging musician ever ;)
ReplyDeleteNo. My dad paid 300 for floor seats at a beastie boys concert a few years ago.
ReplyDeleteGive me a REAL talking heads reunion and I would totally totally! spend 500 dollars on a ticket.
Joe Cocker is worth seeing, his prices aren't crazy, and he sounds fabulous!!!!!!!!!1
ReplyDeleteif jerry was alive, i'd go see the dead for 500$ but not the stones.esp.since that story came out from jaggers ex g.f.
ReplyDelete@ tamarind - what story?
ReplyDeleteNo. No concert is worth that much.
ReplyDeleteWhat, are they only catering to the 1% now? I can't imagine anyone else being able to blow that kind of money on a concert. How very rock 'n' roll of them.
smashbash - I bet your Dad doesn't regret spending that money now. People spend that much on their pets, cigarettes, alcohol and whippets. Stones are worth it. Nobody plays guitar like Keith Richards.
ReplyDelete_-_=_ yeah he really loves them still. So do I!
Delete300$ is really not that bad for any really great band these days. 500 is getting a little up there.
Hell YES if you can afford it.
ReplyDeleteActually, I checked and the tix for the NJ shows are going for $300range, which is about what I paid for the last Stones concert I attended. (Which was awesome, BTW. Great band live. Keef is the man. Mick is the front man.) But hey, let's never miss an opportunity to stir up peoples' money resentments and rage about old people who should get back in their old people boxes.
Not worth it, unless they could resurrect Brian Jones.
ReplyDeleteI'm not convinced anyone of any age is worth $500...OK, maybe a Beatles reunion if they could bring John & George back from the dead, but even that would probably be anti-climatic in the end. I do know people who've spent insane amounts of money on shows, but generally that was part of a charity fundraiser and/or you got some serious bang for your buck in terms of meet & greets, etc.; also, if you're that hardcore a fan, you probably know a lot of other fans as well, and so meeting up w/everyone while doing umpteen shows is kind of a touring family reunion, albeit w/much better tunes, so it's not just about seeing the band onstage.
ReplyDelete(I'm thinking of NIN fandom here, seeing as that's the one w/which I'm most familiar, although I'm pretty small potatoes as far as hardcore fans go--the most shows I ever did in a row was 5, my expensive charity meet & greet was an early birthday present from a friend, and my lifetime show total was 25, whereas I have friends who've literally gone to hundreds of shows and travelled around the world on multiple occasions. Ah, NINnies...the few, the proud, the totally fucked... ;-)
I was lucky enough to see them in the early 1990s and it was one of the best shows I've ever been to, even if it was in Soldier Field. :/ But $500, now? I'll pass.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes down to it, (a) no band is really worth $500/ticket, but (b) if said band has enough hardcore fans/fans w/too much disposable income, those tickets will be bought, especially if said fans are worried that this might be their last chance to see the band. Somehow, I don't see the Stones having any trouble selling out any of those dates...
ReplyDeleteI saw them at Yankee Stadium in 1989. That was enough for me, they aren't worth $500 a ticket besides gauging die hard fans for their money (which they hardly need at this point).
ReplyDeleteNot cool.
I remember them playing Soldier's Field in Chicago when the tickets were an astronomical $10.50--"Outrageous!" I said then, and didn't go. My brother said the show they put on is amazing, though, and how many more chances are you going to have to see what's left of the Stones live?
ReplyDelete@ katsm - agreed! With everything you said in both posts! LOL Saw Elton John in concert a few years ago (much like Phil Collins, he used to be really good before Disney got hold of him!) and he can't really hit those high notes anymore. So the audience did the "Na na na na nas" for Crocodile Rock. It was awesome, and the show was phenomenal.
ReplyDeleteIf I could afford $500 for ANYTHING, it would be a Bruce Springsteen ticket. Saw him in September for my birthday and he was phenom. I'm still determined to get floor seats and get pulled up on stage, ala Courtney Cox.
ReplyDeleteOh Del..That was spot on. I actually paid over $200 for their show back in 1981 at the Fox in Atlanta. It wasn't worth it then. I did just read Keefs book and he thinks there is nothing better than getting up to play. As long as he can do it..He will.
ReplyDeleteAre Mick Taylor and Bill Wyman coming back?
ReplyDeleteSaw them live at Fenway Pahhhhk 4 or 5 years ago and they were great. But wouldn't spend $500 for a ticket to see them at this point, *unless* perhaps Mick Taylor came to play and they did most of Exile on Main Street live. Then, maybe.
ReplyDeleteIn 1969 they were worth every penny. In 2012 go see Silversun Pickups or Metric. Rock bands really don't improve with age. The creative lifespan of most major bands is 10-15 years. After that they start running on fumes. At least as far as new material. They do make decent walking jukeboxes if you don't mind watching people who look like your grandfather dance & make faces the whole time.
ReplyDeleteOT: "Led Zeppelin: Celebration Day" is being shown tomorrow, October 17th for one night only in select movie theatres around the world.
ReplyDeleteThey put on a nice show in Cleveland....I saw them when I was 12.....and I was pretty sure it was going to be one of their last shows...HAAAAAA!
ReplyDeleteI'd pay 500 to see George Clinton again....his shows are the best