Black Stone Cherry at the Motorpoint Arena in Sheffield will be my 53rd gig (including festivals) since I saw Guns N'Roses and Foo Fighters at Leeds Festival back in 2002. Throughout the past twelve years I've seen acts as folky as Mumford & Sons right through to thrash gods Metallica but I've always had one rule...
Back in 2005, my sister told me that a friend was selling U2 tickets for the then City of Manchester Stadium. I agreed to take them off her hands before realising they were £60 each! As good as the show was I made a promise to myself on the train back to Durham: Never spend over £50 on a gig ticket. A £50 seems quite reasonable. Hell I nearly made if £40! As amazing as it is to see your favourite artists on stage, it's only one night and by the time you factor in travel, merchandise, food and possibly even a hotel you could easily be upwards of £100 out of pocket.
I've come close a couple of times to breaking my £50 rule. Festivals obviously don't count as you get so much more for your money. However there have been times when a really great band or singer comes to town and they want upwards of £50. Peter Gabriel is charging £51 (before fees) for his show at the Metro Radio Arena. I've seen Peter Gabriel once before (funny story I may tell one day relating to that) and he was great but I can't justify even that. Usher is also coming to the arena. He's not to my taste but obviously he's a pretty big deal. That being said he wants £61 of your hard earned money to sing 'Yeah!' and some other songs to you. I just can't justify it. Kylie Minogue wants £80 for a ticket to a show on her latest tour!! £80??? She should be so lucky! ... ... I'll get my coat...
However this week I finally broke my £50 rule; call it inflation, call it weakness, I don't know. Queen's classic line up have been no more since 1991 when Freddie Mercury left us too soon. That hasn't stopped Brian May and Roger Taylor taking the baton over the past decade or so and hitting the road. One of the first gigs I ever went to was only their second show billed as Queen since the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert. Queen + Paul Rodgers played the Metro Radio Arena in 2005 and gave us younger Queen fans a chance to see our heroes play the songs we love. In that context I was happy to pay £50. It is still one of the greatest nights of my life. Q+PR returned to the arena in 2008 on their Cosmos Rocks Tour and again blew the house down. I genuinely thought that I would never see Queen in any incarnation again.
Their current collaboration with American Idol alum Adam Lambert has breathed new life into the band and has seen them tour the world for a whole new generation of fans. Their much awaited UK tour went on sale yesterday with a price tag of... £70. Well £60 for the cheap seats. I'm not gonna lie, I really thought long and hard before getting tickets. In the end it was only the fact that my mum was so generous as to contribute towards the price of tickets as a Christmas present that I decided to go ahead and buy them. I simply couldn't have afforded it on my own. I'm 28 years old with a mortgage and a wedding to pay for. £70 (or £60 as I eventually plucked for) is a lot of money! That could pay my electricity or a good food shop. Perhaps I'm getting older and my priorities have changed. I'm extremely excited that I'm going to get to see Brian and Roger one more time and the fact they've been singing relatively obscure songs like 'In The Lap of The Gods... Revisited' give me goosebumps. That being said I'm fully aware that what their promoters expect fans to pay is extortion.
I'm not having a go at Queen. I've listed loads of artists here who are charging a huge amount to let you see them perform. Queen (like all the others) charge so much because they know we'll pay it. I'm living proof. However I'm pretty sure that I won't break my £50 rule again. Some of the best shows I've ever been to were also the cheapest. Every time I see WWE Superstar Chris Jericho's group Fozzy, I leave having thoroughly enjoyed myself and having only parted with an amount of money that would pay for a takeaway for me and the missus. Steel Panther (as of 2014) never charge over £20 and put on the most hilarious and bitchin' show I've ever seen; so much so I'll be seeing them again as part of my stag weekend next March.
Then there's Black Stone Cherry... 5th time seeing them in a few weeks and I KNOW I'll get my money's worth. Not that I think they'll ever charge over £50 a ticket but like Queen they are one of the few bands I'd be happy to break my £50 rule for.
What do you guys think? Do you have a cap for how much you'll pay for live music? You may also be interested in reading a post I wrote a few years back about Gorillaz cancelling some UK shows in favour of touring America. Read it on the link below:
An Open Letter to the Management of Gorillaz
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