So ya
Thought ya
Might like to go to the show.
To feel the warm thrill of confusion
That space cadet glow.
Tell me is something eluding you, sunshine?
Is this not what you expected to see?
OK, Paul McCartney (you might have heard of him, his old band The Beatles are gonna be big some day I'll tell ya) is currently doing his last tour. In SF it was one night at the baseball park. It took 4 days to set up, one to tear down, for a 3 hour show. Total labor cost to build and tear down that stage, his techs to run it, security and clean-up, the rental of that equipment (the lights, sound, LED screens, cameras, pyrotechnics) and the trucks to haul it all was easily over $1,000,000 for that one show. (Yeah, that's right, one million dollars just to put on the ONE show.) And that's before the promoter makes his money, it's not counting the cost of renting a baseball stadium for a week, or the money that Paul is making to cover his last divorce.
Now 2.5 years ago you could have (had you been hip enough, and you we're not) seen Gaga at the Regency here, 800-1000 capacity, and the tickets were like $40-50. Hell, she didn't even sell out Last time through she played the Civic Center, 8000 people, with the accompanying need for a bigger stage, larger sound system, more lighting, more techs, and the tickets were $80 and up and two shows sold out in a matter of minutes. Now, she's playing places like the O2 and the Nokia Center, even bigger stages, full line-array sound systems (and delay towers), full lighting, full video/LED projections, and the cost goes up - I'm sure over $750,000 a show, and that's on the cheap. At that, I'm sure the nosebleed seats were not $200. That's the cost to be up-front and personal.
Watch "This Is It" and look at that stage, the elevators, the size, the aerial lifts and all that - what do you think it cost to design that, build it (in component sizes so it can be taken apart, shipped in trucks, and reassembled just about anywhere in the world) and then set it up?
And your home system, no matter how 'kick-ass' is wimpy, wimpy, wimpy comparison to a good line array, or even a half-assed line array. I know a lot of people expect me and my work buddies to have these fantastic home audio systems, and most of us don't. Once you get used to the real sound of a full system, it's not even worth it to try to get something at home to reproduce it - not to mention the neighbors hate it when you play your home system at 110db. My home system is a Boise wave radio. I'm never going to be able to get something that captures the power and the glory of the the 'Live and Let Die" drop (not to mention the pyro that goes off at that moment). You hear your home stereo, you feel a concert system. And wait till this fall when Roger Waters goes to tour The Wall, complete staging, including (of course) the collapsing wall, the sound system, the lasers and all the rest.
Hell, if you are using pyro, you have to shoot it all off twice. Once during the show sure, but you have to shoot it all off the day before, for the fire marshals so they can sign off on it first. No fire marshal sign off, no fireworks. Lasers require someone with a federal certificate to operate them. And, if it's outdoors, your going to have to get FAA approval too (something about lasers in the eyes of pilots flying airplanes that is bad somehow). Everything that is hanging has to be certified, and has to have certified people there to supervise the installation. I mean do you really want day labor hanging a couple tons of electrified equipment over your head on a couple of chain motors? Didn't think so.
And you ain't fooling me either - I know that the $200 you spend on the ticket is pretty close to the amount you are going to spend on the outfit, the dinner, the drinks and the recreational chemicals.
Oh, and last time I saw Madonna it cost $80 (at Coachchilla) and Paul Oakenfold opened for her, and after she was done we went and saw Massive Attack, and then Tool. Not bad for $80.
