Hors d’Oeuvres: $100 Dead and ABB Tickets

The era of the $100 ticket started many years ago, but for the most part jamband ticket prices have remained in the double digits. The surviving members of The Dead recently announced their first tour in five years and the ticket prices listed at GDTSTOO range from $45 to $105. Most top tier tickets are $99 or more and most lower tier tickets are in the $60s. Are you willing to pay $58.50 to sit in the 400 level at Madison Square Garden?

Tickets for the Allman Brothers Band’s 40th Anniversary run at the newly renovated Beacon Theatre range from $60.99 for upper balcony seats to $100.99 for lower balcony seats to $150.99 for orchestra ducats. Imagine how pissed Dickey Betts must be not to get a taste of that kind of money.

Here’s a stack of links to keep you busy this afternoon…

Finally, U2 singer and philanthropist Bono wrote an Op/Ed piece for Sunday’s New York Times. Instead of discussing AIDS or African debt relief – two issues close to the performer’s heart – he penned an ode to Frank Sinatra.

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12 Responses

  1. got to assume the Dead are gonna be looking at some 1/2 empty arenas. Maybe not at MSG, but I bet you more than a few places that are harder to get to.

  2. Not to laud Phish in any way, shape or form; but it is interesting how Phish is charging a helluva lot less for thier tour!

    One sure thing, all the “miracle” seekers will be able to get cheap tix the the lots at the arena’s for the Dead!

  3. I just want a $50 ticket with a decent view. Is that too much to ask for a band called The dead that doesn’t include Jerry Garcia?

  4. yeah- i hate phish, but i gotta give it to em on this one- the most the dead ever cost with Jerry was $25 and that was a lot…i know its years later but this is pathetic- expect all those fat old rich assholes at MSG sitting down to hear bob weird sing us blues and fart up the place.

  5. I too was a little taken aback by the prices, but then I considered this: when I first saw GD in the fall of 81 my ticket was $8.50. 14 years later, in 1995, the ticket for my last Garcia-era show at the Knick here in Albany was $30, a 300% + increase. Fast forward another 14 years to today. If I want “good seats” I’ll need to shell out $100 for the privilege- at a 300% + increase in price- or take the $50 tickets. For good or for ill, I think this is just the state of arena concerts today, and that this tour is pretty much a one-off. so some folks will feel ok paying the hefty price and others won’t. I’ll leave it to others to decide if it’s just another rock band money grab a la the Police, the Eagles, etc. Regardless, I’m with Scott B above. I’ll take my $50 seat, hopefully with a decent view, and will be happy with it. At least they offered the cheaper seats, you know? I don’t need to see any of those guys up close, and I know it’ll sound great. I’m happy to see the boys and their hired guns one more time.

  6. Beyond the prices, did anyone else just have a hellish time getting tickets today? The site was slow as could be and crashed on me several times. And after all that, I found tickets were still available hours later!

    As for the ticket prices, I’m of mixed opinion. I mean, higher prices do cut into the scalpers’ profits. The only way to keep the prices down are to play a lot more shows, to cut demand, and I’m not sure the boys still have that in them.

  7. Bob Weir once said that it takes the band, the crew and the fans to make these experiences work…well only 2 of 3 will be be there this year because only the band and the crew can afford to be there…and thus, the experience will not HAPPEN! I have a choice; pay my rent and bills in order to keep living, or see the Dead fumble their way through a concert (I was there at PSU for Change Rocks)….the ideals set forth by the Grateful Dead are NO MORE and this band should be ashamed of itself!

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