Family....ticket price....sorry, no!

[lovecraft]

I see that Family, one of my all time favourite bands, are playing a relatively small venue in Glasgow. As excited as I initially was by this, I am truly staggered that they are asking £50 ($75) a ticket. With respect, at their advanced age, are they going to be that good? I'll pass.....

[bobg56]

$75 is not THAT bad. David Gilmour and Black Sabbath were way more than that. But does Family include Roger Chapman? Or is it just one guy who played drums on one album.

[lovecraft]

No, they're pretty much all originals as far as membership goes. It's twice what I paid to see VDGG at the same venue, a band of the same vintage and quality in my eyes.

[Steve F.]

I imagine it will sell out and I also imagine, that if you don't go over what isn't that high of a price, you'll regret it the rest of your life.

ymmv.

[mogrooves]

Unfortunately, from what I hear, the great Chappo is a vocal shadow of his former gloriousness. I'd attend anyway. I fortunately caught Family in '69. A criminally-neglected band of not inconsiderable influence.

[bob_32_116]

I guess what you expect to pay depends on where you live. US$75 is a lot, but is on a par with what I would expect to pay for a concert by a well known artist in Australia. For example I paid about that amount to see Joan Baez recently.

[Scrotum Scissor]

Unfortunately, from what I hear, the great Chappo is a vocal shadow of his former gloriousness. I'd attend anyway.

Agree 100%. They were once a sensational live outfit - by each and every account I've ever heard. "Shadow" or not today; this may be your very last chance to get to see them at all.

[Shadow]

I recently watched a dvd of Alice Cooper just to see the guitarist Orianthi play. I would rather listen to two cats fight than Alice, but he probably sells out as well.

[strawberrybrick]

I'd give my left you know what to have seen Family in the day. Now, $75 would do fine. One of the all time greats.

[Steve F.]

fwiw:

I continue to regret not going to see the Cream Reunion in 2005 in NYC, even though that would have cost me something like $500 or more to go (travel, ticket, hotel).

[Chuck AzEee!]

I'd give my left you know what to have seen Family in the day. Now, $75 would do fine. One of the all time greats.

Same here Charles. One of my all favorite bands.

[bRETT]

I believe Charlie Whitney is absent, yes? I'd still pay good $$ to see them.

[Facelift]

I see that Family, one of my all time favourite bands, are playing a relatively small venue in Glasgow. As excited as I initially was by this, I am truly staggered that they are asking £50 ($75) a ticket. With respect, at their advanced age, are they going to be that good? I'll pass.....

$75, in a vaccum, isn't all that high in the grand scheme of things, but it's definitely above what Family should be charging (popular bands playing large arenas get those prices, like Rush and Phish).

I wouldn't pay it.

[trurl]

Family....ticket price....sorry, no!

I'll give you 5 bucks to write that on a sandwich board and walk around outside with it at the venue the day of the show.

[Steve F.]

$75, in a vaccum, isn't all that high in the grand scheme of things, but it's definitely above what Family should be charging (popular bands playing large arenas get those prices, like Rush and Phish).

I wouldn't pay it.

well, in fairness, i wouldn't pay it for Rush or Phish, but I would for Family.

it depends what it is worth to you.

[bRETT]

$75, in a vaccum, isn't all that high in the grand scheme of things, but it's definitely above what Family should be charging (popular bands playing large arenas get those prices, like Rush and Phish).

I wouldn't pay it.

Rush got more than twice that on their last couple tours. And were worth it, but you get fewer chances to see Family.

[Facelift]

well, in fairness, i wouldn't pay it for Rush or Phish, but I would for Family.

it depends what it is worth to you.

I meant it in a grand scheme of things sort of way. I agree with the original poster that $75 is too much for what a band like Family should be charging, and I mean this independently of what I personally would pay (because that ultimately doesn't mean much; I wouldn't pay $1 to see a lot of bands popular enough to be charging $100, but that's just a matter of taste).

By means of comparison: I'd pay $75 to see Anglagard in the US, because they rarely play here. But given the size of their audience and the venue that they play at, $75 ticket prices for Anglagard is way too high as well. And, sure enough, when they were here, they were only charging half that.

[Facelift]

Rush got more than twice that on their last couple tours. And were worth it, but you get fewer chances to see Family.

On their most recent tour - yes, they were. They probably raised the prices because they promoted their most recent tour as being their last. Having already seen them half a dozen times over the last several years, I passed on the final tour.

[jamesmanzi]

I see that Family, one of my all time favourite bands, are playing a relatively small venue in Glasgow. As excited as I initially was by this, I am truly staggered that they are asking £50 ($75) a ticket. With respect, at their advanced age, are they going to be that good? I'll pass.....

So, your opinion of what a band is capable of should determine the price? Really? That's an awesome model - by this board's majority, we can all see Yes for free next year!

[trurl]

It would be interesting (but very very difficult, granted) to try and implement some kind of amortization program for concerts, whereby you could reduce the ticket costs based on attendance. Say, in a presale you do a Kickstarter kind of thing and not charge until the day of the show. If 50 people (or less) pre-buy tickets they're each $100. If 300 people buy tickets they're each $20. Each individual pays far less and the venue/artist makes a little more in the long run. Wonder if that could be made to work.

[arturs]

fwiw:

I continue to regret not going to see the Cream Reunion in 2005 in NYC, even though that would have cost me something like $500 or more to go (travel, ticket, hotel).

Yeah, me too! It still pains me whenever I think about it. I somehow deluded myself into thinking that they would do a full tour afterwards so there was no hurry. As soon as I heard Jack and Ginger had had another falling out, I remember cringing and thinking "oh shit, that really *was* that!"

I try to console myself knowing that I got to see Jack with Bernie Worrell and Vernon Reid a few years before.

Moral of the story: go see Family!

[JJ88]

It does seem high for a small venue.

[strawberrybrick]

fwiw:

I continue to regret not going to see the Cream Reunion in 2005 in NYC, even though that would have cost me something like $500 or more to go (travel, ticket, hotel).

I was in London that weekend, but at the VDGG reunion concert. Spent a fortune, but that's why we work.

[strawberrybrick]

I believe Charlie Whitney is absent, yes? I'd still pay good $$ to see them.

My understanding is that Charlie Whitney is happily retired in Spain, and declined to participate in the reunion.

[moecurlythanu]

That's an awesome model - by this board's majority, we can all see Yes for free next year!

Too much. They're going to have to pay me to get me into a Yes concert at this point in time.