Excited and a little nervous

[q***@gmail.com]

Barry back on Broadway is sooooo exciting.

I am, however, a little concerned about the schedule, which calls for 17 performances back-to-back on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and back-to-back-to-back on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

Basically just Mondays and Thursdays off for three weeks.

I know he wants to keep his band (family) together and keep everyone earning a living, but that's asking a lot.

[Kristen Cladek]

Post by q***@gmail.com
Barry back on Broadway is sooooo exciting.
I am, however, a little concerned about the schedule, which calls for 17 performances back-to-back on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and back-to-back-to-back on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
Basically just Mondays and Thursdays off for three weeks.
I know he wants to keep his band (family) together and keep everyone earning a living, but that's asking a lot.

It seems like an incredibly intense schedule! He's doing like 3 shows a weekend in Vegas with a lot of time off. I pray he stays healthy, but this schedule seems like a lot.

[Brenda M]

Oh, he’ll probably cancel a few here and there if it gets too much.

He’s not an idiot. He knows when he needs to rest.

[marvin]

Because Barry is not performing in an arena show as this theatre seats less than 2,000, the promoter needs Barry to perform an intense schedule to be able to afford to pay him and the musicians and theatre staff.
The bonus for the audiences is that the intimate venue allows better views of the stage and, hopefully, no need for a television screen as is the case in arena shows. Marvin

[Maria M]

The fan club tickets went like crazy. I am sure the bots snatched up a bunch on TM. It should be noted the FC orchestra tix were $50 less than the orchestra TM tix. I haven’t really seen it mentioned but I think Stiletto deserves kudos for lower prices.

Excited for Barry to be coming home!

Maria

[dcsharon]

At $400+ a seat (with fees???)

There's no kudos there from me. At least Hamilton had a lottery for 40 tickets at $10 a seat that people had a chance of winning for every show. I think those prices are obscene.

Enjoy, those that are going. As Simon Cowell says, "It's a no from me".

(DC) Sharon

[Scooter]

Post by dcsharon
At $400+ a seat (with fees???)
There's no kudos there from me. At least Hamilton had a
lottery for 40 tickets at $10 a seat that people had a
chance of winning for every show. I think those prices are
obscene.
Enjoy, those that are going. As Simon Cowell says, "It's
a no from me".
(DC) Sharon

Wow. Just, wow.

Glad my fandom was in the olden days.

Scooter

[Maria M]

Hamilton has a lottery as do many other shows. Other shows also have RUSH tickets. So you can get Broadway cheaper and people will be able to get Barry’s show cheaper too.

But the reality is- Broadway is expensive. The average front orchestra ticket for Hamilton is $750 +fees. It has been like that for years. Barry’s prices are the Broadway norm and there are plenty of people here willing and more than able to pay to see him.

Maria

[D]

Post by Maria M
Hamilton has a lottery as do many other shows. Other shows also have RUSH tickets. So you can get Broadway cheaper and people will be able to get Barry’s show cheaper too.
But the reality is- Broadway is expensive. The average front orchestra ticket for Hamilton is $750 +fees. It has been like that for years. Barry’s prices are the Broadway norm and there are plenty of people here willing and more than able to pay to see him.
Maria

If there are people who have the money and are willing to spend it in that manner, hooray for them.
I'm not one of those people.

[Brenda M]

$400 a seat?

Wow.

There really is one born every minute.

Barry was a great performer in his day. But even in his prime he wasn’t worth that.

Yikes!

[Scooter]

Post by Brenda M
$400 a seat?
Wow.
There really is one born every minute.
Barry was a great performer in his day. But even in his
prime he wasn’t worth that.
Yikes!

Since we're discussing ticket prices, this came in on a news
alert this morning. They show the concert ad in the article.

=========
https://bit.ly/2KtbT0d

CLEVELAND.COM

Blossom Music Center memories: 30 classic concert ads from
1980-1990

[snip to]

Aug. 6, 1980
Barry Manilow's three shows at Blossom in 1980 sold out in one
hour five minutes even though pavilion tickets cost $15-- a
high at Blossom to that point, reported The Plain Dealer's
Mary Strassmeyer.

[snip]
================

Scooter

[marvin]

Blossom Music Center memories: 30 classic concert ads from
1980-1990

[snip to]

Aug. 6, 1980
Barry Manilow's three shows at Blossom in 1980 sold out in one
hour five minutes even though pavilion tickets cost $15-- a
high at Blossom to that point, reported The Plain Dealer's
Mary Strassmeyer.


Scooter

Thanks for the post Scooter and sometimes I wish we could turn back the clocks to 1980. However, to be fair, back in 1980, most new cars cost $3000 or less, houses cost less than $100,000 and many people earned $20,000 or less in 1980, so the concert tickets represented the economy of the era. Regards, Marvin

[Brenda M]

I was at all three of those shows.

My friends and I sat on the lawn two of those nights because ... get ready ... the pavilion seats were too expensive.

LOL ... thanks for memory!

Bren

[D]

Post by Scooter

Post by Brenda M
$400 a seat?
Wow.
There really is one born every minute.
Barry was a great performer in his day. But even in his
prime he wasn’t worth that.
Yikes!

Since we're discussing ticket prices, this came in on a news
alert this morning. They show the concert ad in the article.
=========
https://bit.ly/2KtbT0d
CLEVELAND.COM
Blossom Music Center memories: 30 classic concert ads from
1980-1990
[snip to]
Aug. 6, 1980
Barry Manilow's three shows at Blossom in 1980 sold out in one
hour five minutes even though pavilion tickets cost $15-- a
high at Blossom to that point, reported The Plain Dealer's
Mary Strassmeyer.
[snip]
================
Scooter

1980... hmm. Wasn't allowed to go to concerts yet.
But 1983... yup. First concert... Poplar Creek. Same night as the BMIFC Convention. Still have my ticket stub... concert plus whatever parking and ticket fees got added on... $18.

Just realized that's almost exactly 36 years ago... when the heck did we get so old? LOL

Dave

[Brenda M]

Poplar Creek 1983 ... those were some amazing shows.

A convention ...AND my friend Barb got picked to sing with him.

What I wouldn’t give for a time machine. :-)

Bren

[Scooter]

I was just thinking about these insane ticket prices. I guess
gone are the days when so many fans could gather in one city and
see multiple shows. That's what helped build the whole
BMIFCLMNOP culture where life-long friendships were formed, and
so much fun was had. It was such fun to get dressed up for
Vegas. (Do people get dressed up for anything anymore?) There
was nothing quite like seeing 4, 5 or 6 shows in a row. Or
multiple shows in Cleveland or Lake Tahoe. Or St. Louis or San
Diego. Or "Texas Tour" road trips where we'd see three or four
shows, each in a different town. Now it's just too expensive
for most people to do that.

I read an article about rising concert prices. It said there
are basically three reasons: (1) Ticket bots, (2) Artists
needing to make money because of the loss of profits from
recordings, and (3) Fans willing to pay the prices. A formula
that has squeezed out lots of folks.

Oh well...glad I experienced the fan thing when I did. Lots of
great memories.

Scooter

[dcsharon]

Well, when we did travel to Vegas, the shows changed (some). You hated to miss one because you might miss the one night that he threw in a song you haven't heard in forever ("and a day" ... sorry, couldn't resist).

The ticket prices didn't kill your budget and we put as many people as we could in a room. Those were fun days, for sure.

I'm glad we had our fandom when we did. A much simpler time, that's for sure, and if you got invited backstage it was because he wanted to meet you, not because you had to pay him $2K for it.


(DC) Sharon

[Scooter]

Post by dcsharon
The ticket prices didn't kill your budget and we put as
many people as we could in a room. Those were fun days,
for sure.

I remember once at the Desert Inn, we had seven in our room.
Such fun, especially when everyone was trying to get ready at
once. Another bunch of us was on the floor above, and one of
the guys came down the stairs to our floor because it was faster
than walking to the elevator. The ice machine was in the
stairwell, or right outside of it. (CRS) When he got to our
floor, he surprised a maid drinking from an ice bucket. Makes
you want to bring a ZipLoc bag to line the ice bucket in your
room. :^P

Scooter

[Jackilope]

I remember the show in Milwaukee got up to a little over $100 back in 2004 or 2005 and thinking that’d be my last show. I maybe paid $140 for second row last time her was in Sioux Falls a few years ago and thought maybe that would be the limit and last show. My first ticket in 1982 for Bismarck, ND was $12.50. I got a second row seat (to be fair, the stage was in the round) and mail ordered the ticket — so before Ticketmaster. All great adventures and great shows. Seeing him in NYC — his old stomping grounds is kind of like a bucket list thing for a serious fan, so I wish those fans well. I’d rather stream some of his old concerts on a Netflix instead ... curled up with my dog and sparkling water. :-).

On side note, it is so nice seeing everyone from a.f.b-m glory days still here and posting. Cyber hugs and smiles to you all. I’d love to see Reb here too.

Jackie

[marvin]

$400 a seat?

Wow.

There really is one born every minute.

Barry was a great performer in his day. But even in his prime he wasn’t worth that.

Yikes!

Hi Brenda,
The issue is not whether Barry is worth the money or not, (there is no objective answer to that) but rather why the ticket prices (and expenses) are so much higher for concert performers now than 30 years ago. Unfortunately, the most popular artists today make most of their money at concerts, as record sales have been in decline for decades, and so their incomes are dependant upon ticket sales at concerts. Also, concerts today are not just a performer and band, bus there is an emphasis on special effects, staging, costume changes and choreography. The expenses are very high and the promoters of the concerts want to make profit beyond concession and merchandise sales, so the ticket prices have to remain high. Regards, Marvin

[Brenda M]

Marvin,

Fair enough.

Concert prices are ridiculous and have been for some time. No argument there.

But as long as there are idiots willing to pay those prices, these artists are entitled to gouge them for every penny.

Bren