U2/KEANE

Date: Fri 10/07/2005 thru Fri 10/14/2005
Venue: Madison Square Garden – New York, NY
Promoter: The Next Adventure/Ron Delsener Presents
#Sold Out/# of Shows: 5/5
Gross: $9,658,009
Sold/Capacity: 93,275 / 93,275
% Sold: 100%
Ticket Price(s): $165.00, $49.50

Why is it in 1988, upon release of "Rattle and Hum", U2’s fans cried UNCLE! 
Were worn out with Bono’s God act.  And now, there’s no BACKLASH?

Because now you don’t have to pay attention.  U2 can play a week at Madison
Square Garden and it can completely evade your radar screen.  That’s 2005, when
there’s so much input that everything pales in comparison.  It takes
something on the level of Katrina to get us to all pay attention, and then for only a
little while.

Meanwhile, U2 continues to play by eighties rules.  Needing to demonstrate
again and again that they’re the biggest band in the world.  Why don’t these
guys just book Madison Square Garden for a MONTH?  Or maybe the entire year. 
Turn it into Vegas.  Fuck with Celine Dion.

Oops!  Nobody cares about Celine Dion anymore other than the people who are
going to see her.  And they forget about her soon after the show.

So on one hand, who gives a fuck.

On the other, could Bono just COOL IT?  Does he have to meet with Bush, does
he have to save all of us?  Can’t he cease being such a celebrity and
concentrate on playing music?  Can’t he follow his guru Bob Dylan into the edges,
turning out what’s not expected of him, rearranging his songs, trying to push the
edge of the envelope? OF COURSE NOT!

And that’s my problem with U2.

I’ll let you in on a secret. I’m sure I’D have a great time at a U2 show.  I
love so many of those songs.  But the band doesn’t represent what it once did.
 It used to stand for adventure, now it stands for complacency.  Where was
the band challenging the norms with "Unforgettable Fire".  Turning its back on
its hit formula from "War" and doing something different?  Where is the band
that stunned us by releasing the at first impenetrable "Achtung Baby" after the
negative reaction to "Rattle & Hum"?  Where is the band that is taking CHANCES
instead of fighting like a two bit Hollywood celebrity player for ink?

Just call me Jim Carroll.  I’m just a constant warning to take the other
direction.  (And if you don’t know this line, from the impeccable "City Drops Into
The Night", download it NOW!

PAUL McCARTNEY

Date: Fri 10/14/2005 thru Sat 10/15/2005
Venue: Palace of Auburn Hills – Auburn Hills, MI
Promoter: The Cellar Door Companies/Palace Sports & Entertainment
#Sold Out/# of Shows: 2/2
Gross: $4,733,526
Sold/Capacity: 33,511 / 33,511
% Sold: 100%
Ticket Price(s): $252.50, $127.50, $92.00, $52.50

What if a Beatle put out a new album and nobody cared?

There’s more anticipation, more interest in Neil Diamond’s newest than Paul
McCartney’s "Chaos And Creation In The Backyard".  Oh, I read all the hype
about him working with Nigel Godrich, but did you listen to "Jenny Wren"?  CREEPY!

U2 and Paul are on the same page.  Enamored of their fame.

If you’re not willing to risk it all, you’re not an artist.

Go see your Beatle show.  I’d rather not have someone fuck with my memories.

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN

Date: Sun 10/09/2005
Venue: Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum – Uniondale, NY
Promoter: Ron Delsener Presents
#Sold Out/# of Shows: 0 / 1
Gross: $783,325
Sold/Capacity: 8,570 / 10,052
% Sold: 85.3%
Ticket Price(s): $85.00, $55.00

He can’t even sell out in his own backyard…  In a scaled-down arena to boot.

Do you really think fiftysomethings want to pay a hundred bucks to sit this
far away?  Oh, they’ll pay that number, just let them sit close, where they
don’t need binoculars.

I applaud Bruce for trying.  I didn’t love his new album, but unlike U2’s, it
was different.  But it appears his audience really only wants to see him with
the E Street Band.

Funny, isn’t it.  How dumb your audience can be.  You think you’re the star,
and you are, but they want the brand name.  Just check Trey Anastasio’s
numbers without Phish.

Then again, I’d rather listen to Bruce explore his sensitive acoustic side
than have him make more tripe like "The Rising".  Play that one recently?  I
didn’t think so…

FOO FIGHTERS, WEEZER, HOT HOT HEAT

Date: Fri 10/14/2005
Venue: Continental Airlines Arena – East Rutherford, NJ
Promoter: Ron Delsener Presents
#Sold Out/# of Shows: 1 / 1
Gross: $579,220
Sold/Capacity: 15,862 / 15,862
% Sold: 100%
Ticket Price(s): $42.50, $30.50

I think Dave Grohl is a great guitarist for a drummer.  But he’s not a major
talent.  But, the audience seems to think so, and I don’t care, since none of
his music is memorable and I never have to hear it anyway.

Many people believe Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo is a major talent, but his last
album disappointed these people.

But make no mistake, this isn’t about the package.  This show would have sold
out if it was the Foo Fighters alone.

One thing in its favor?  THE TICKET PRICE!

Grohl knows his fans.  He knows you can’t be PERCEIVED to be ripping them
off.  (McCartney doesn’t care, people will pay anything to see him before he di
es.  U2 and Madonna…attendees just want to say they were THERE!)

Meanwhile, do you really think you can go to the show for this price?

From: gl3br@______.com
Date: November 3, 2005 1:00:19 PM PST
To: bob@lefsetz.com

hi Bob

im fairly new to this country and love many aspects of it, one thing
that pisses me off though is the institution known as Ticketmaster.

I know its a whory old issue, but seriously where do they get off ?
i just bought a ticket to see My Morning Jacket at the Henry Fonda in LA next week, the ticket price was a more than reasonable $20.50, cool well worth it, but then after purchasing it through the only legal route (Ticketmaster) after all their monopolising and dubious fees i end up paying $36.50 !

now i still bought it because i know itll be a great gig, but as i enjoy Jim James and his crew i know at the back of my mind i ll be really fucking annoyed at the fact that Ticketbastard will be earning almost as much from me to do fuck all, as the band i paid to entertain me.

THE KILLERS, ARCADE FIRE, MODEST MOUSE, DOVES, BRITISH SEA POWER

Date: Sat 10/08/2005
Venue: Shoreline Amphitheatre – Mountain View, CA
Promoter: Bill Graham Presents
#Sold Out/# of Shows: 0 / 1
Gross: $475,647
Sold/Capacity: 16,453 / 22,000
% Sold: 74.8%
Ticket Price(s): $45.50, $25.50

Who the fuck put THIS bill together?  Aren’t the bands supposed to share the
same audience?

I don’t want to hear from the pros how this is a good number, to evaluate the
lack of a sellout in light of the fact that the extra capacity was the lawn,
these are HOT ACTS!  Then again, not hot enough to sell out a venue like this
alone.

Acts like this should be playing indoors.  They lose all their charisma
outside.  You want to feel the presence of your brethren, you want the sweat, you
want the darkness.

Oh yeah, Clear Channel owns all these amphitheatres…

NINE INCH NAILS, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, AUTOLUX

Date: Sat 10/08/2005
Venue: Joe Louis Arena – Detroit, MI
Promoter: The Cellar Door Companies
#Sold Out/# of Shows: 0 / 1
Gross: $468,897
Sold/Capacity: 9,986 / 14,754
% Sold: 67.7%
Ticket Price(s): $49.50, $39.50

Nine Inch Nails is an oldies act and Queens Of The Stone Age released a
second-rate record and lost a ton of momentum.

You don’t stay on top forever.  Nine Inch Nails peaked back at Woodstock,
another century ago.  Their fans have graduated from college and started careers.
 The music wasn’t radio-friendly to begin with, now callout flummoxes those
hearing the snippets.  A credible band, that did not make a terrible record,
but it can’t sell out arenas anymore.

Time marches on.  If you want to stay on top you’ve got to release records
more frequently.

Then again, do you need to stay on top?

SYSTEM OF A DOWN/MARS VOLTA

Date: Sat 10/08/2005
Venue: Oakland Arena – Oakland, CA
Promoter: Bill Graham Presents
#Sold Out/# of Shows: 0 / 1
Gross: $433,858
Sold/Capacity: 9,798 / 14,107
% Sold: 69.5%
Ticket Price(s): $45.00, $32.50

Although in THEORY these two bands share a similar audience, they don’t.

Mars Volta fans are like Dead fans.  They believe in this band and this band
only.  They don’t want to endure another act’s music and don’t want to be
exposed to another act’s fans.  They want MORE Mars Volta music, and LESS of
anything else.

Packages appeal to oldsters.  Who are interested in value.  Youngsters are
rabid.  They truly BELIEVE!  They could give a shit about the opening act, they
just want more of the HEADLINER!

AUDIOSLAVE, SEETHER, 30 SECONDS TO MARS

Date: Fri 10/07/2005
Venue: Air Canada Centre – Toronto
Promoter: House of Blues Canada
#Sold Out/# of Shows: 1 / 1
Gross: $380,801
Sold/Capacity: 8,910 / 8,910
% Sold: 100%
Ticket Price(s): $41.89

Date: Wed 10/12/2005
Venue: Veterans Memorial Auditorium – Columbus, OH
Promoter: Belkin Productions
#Sold Out/# of Shows: 0 / 1
Gross: $102,716
Sold/Capacity: 2,754 / 3,844
% Sold: 71.6%
Ticket Price(s): $46.00, $40.50

Canada and the U.S. are two different markets.  And don’t ever forget it.

JETHRO TULL

Date: Sat 10/08/2005 thru Sun 10/09/2005
Venue: Carnegie Hall – New York, NY
Promoter: Ron Delsener Presents
#Sold Out/# of Shows: 2 / 2
Gross: $370,320
Sold/Capacity: 5,576 / 5,576
% Sold: 100%
Ticket Price(s): $80.00, $40.00

Don’t think this is about New York City, the cachet of Carnegie Hall.  Tull
sold out in Toronto.  And in Lowell, Mass (well, 4 tickets shy of a sell-out). 
Sure, Ian and the boys only did 71.7% in Dallas, but tickets there were a
ridiculous $99.00 BEFORE service charges.

I heard "Skating Away" on XM yesterday and it was so fresh it made me a
believer all over again.

Furthermore, on the way down to Newport last Sunday my 22 year old nephew
told me he was going to see Atmosphere at the Wiltern, but that the hightlight of
his year had been Jethro Tull.  This came up when the Scotsman’s band came
over the classic rock radio station and Andrew had to TURN IT UP!

Make no mistake.  People know what’s real.  And good.  Classic rock rules. 
Catalog is where it’s at.

3 DOORS DOWN, SHINEDOWN, ALTER BRIDGE

Date: Fri 10/14/2005
Venue: Cricket Pavilion – Phoenix, AZ
Promoter: Evening Star Productions
#Sold Out/# of Shows: 0 / 1
Gross: $125,917
Sold/Capacity: 4,769 / 8,232
% Sold: 57.9%
Ticket Price(s): $46.00, $22.50

I’m using the Phoenix number instead of the marginally better Las Vegas
number since Las Vegas is known as a shitty rock town.  But, by doing this I risk
the wrath of Danny Zelisko.  Danny, get your fingers typing, I KNOW you’ve got
something to complain about here!

Could it be over?  Could the age of the faceless meat and potatoes band be
HISTORY?

I certainly fucking hope so.

Then again, 3 Doors Down is far better than Ashlee Simpson and the other crap
being purveyed today.  It’s just that 3 Doors Down is just not that special. 
I mean where’s their "Gimme Back My Bullets", never mind "Sweet Home Alabama".

As for Alter Bridge…  Isn’t this like the Doors without Jim Morrison?

JUDAS PRIEST, ANTHRAX

Date: Sat 10/01/2005
Venue: U.S. Cellular Arena – Milwaukee, WI
Promoter: Elevated Concerts
#Sold Out/# of Shows: 0 / 1
Gross: $92,896
Sold/Capacity: 3,698 / 8,605
% Sold: 43%
Ticket Price(s): $47.50, $12.48

Date: Fri 10/07/2005
Venue: Paul E. Tsongas Arena – Lowell, MA
Promoter: Tea Party Concerts
#Sold Out/# of Shows: 0 / 1
Gross: $57,866
Sold/Capacity: 1,716 / 6,800
% Sold: 25.2%
Ticket Price(s): $38.50

What if a classic metal band reunited with its lead singer and went on the
road.  Wouldn’t everybody care?

Maybe Judas Priest just isn’t that classic.  Or maybe the band’s fans just
got too old.

And, is Anthrax touring with its real lead singer again?  Who knows, after
all these years of changes.

It appears that that the only hard rocker who never dies is Ozzy.  I’m sure
Iron Maiden would do better business than this, but not a hell of a lot better.
 And with Ozzy no longer on Ozzfest (then again, can one trust Sharon,
especially if the initial ticket counts or guarantees are slim?), one wouldn’t
expect THAT tour to do so well.  Then again, people have to take off their shirts,
dribble beer on their chests and bang their heads SOMEWHERE.

JASON MRAZ

Date: Sat 10/01/2005
Venue: Congress Theatre – Chicago, IL
Promoter: House of Blues
#Sold Out/# of Shows: 1 / 1
Gross: $86,700
Sold/Capacity: 2,890 / 2,890
% Sold: 100%
Ticket Price(s): $30.00

Elektra Records built something.  Well, Jason built it himself and Elektra
capitalized on it.  A great story, act and band working hand in hand.  THEN, the
suits come in, eliminate Elektra under the rubric of merging it with Atlantic
and Jason gets caught in the shuffle.

Have you SEEN this guy?  The little girls eat him up.  He’s cute.  And
talented.  Sure, the Matrix helped him write his hit, but there’s SOMETHING there. 
Which the rap-centric Atlantic Records fails to notice.  I mean how is it that
Atlantic is now run by the same people who ran Island/Def Jam into the
ground?  How is it that a rock-oriented label with a few black hits has become a
totally unsuccessful black label?  I guess I’ve lived long enough to realize
nobody really cares about this movie.  Money changes hands, assets are sold, it’s
all forgotten.  Doug Morris did a great job of ramping up a house that Ahmet
built.  Then Doug built Universal.  I don’t think Doug is Mo, but compared to
the other slackers in the business today, he’s a god.

DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE/YOUTH GROUP

Date: Sat 10/08/2005
Venue: The Fillmore – Denver, CO
Promoter: Chuck Morris Presents
#Sold Out/# of Shows: 1 / 1
Gross: $72,000
Sold/Capacity: 3,600 / 3,600
% Sold: 100%
Ticket Price(s): $20.00

Okay, here’s where I contradict myself.  This act IS ON Atlantic Records.

But there were four records before.  And the act was quite big before
Atlantic picked it up.  And the pick-up made insiders notice, but it’s not like
airplay is selling this record/act.  Rather, it’s PURE WORD OF MOUTH!

Well, based on great music.

THIS is the buzz band.  I know, because I hear it buzzed about.

I mean I’m sitting around the table at Halloween, and the famous southern
actor is waxing rhapsodic about country music and then he says, HAVE YOU HEARD
DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE?

How great is this.  Small venue.  Cheap price.  Good music.  This is the way
it’s supposed to be.

BRIGHT EYES, NEVA DINOVA, JESSE SYKES

Date: Sat 02/05/2005
Venue: La Zona Rosa – Austin, TX
Promoter: Charles Attal Presents, Direct Events
#Sold Out/# of Shows: 1 / 1
Gross: $27,200
Sold/Capacity: 1,206 / 1,206
% Sold: 100%
Ticket Price(s): $25.00, $22.50

Conor Oberst is the overhype of the century.

But I applaud this show.

Instead of booking himself into larger venues, commensurate with the press,
Conor is playing small venues where his tribe of believers can see him up close
and personal.  He should continue to fly under the radar.  Because hype turns
the core off.

LOS LONELY BOYS, LOS AMIGOS INVISIBLES

Date: Fri 09/30/2005
Venue: Avalon Ballroom – Boston, MA
Promoter: Tea Party Concerts
#Sold Out/# of Shows: 0 / 1
Gross: $24,315
Sold/Capacity: 740 / 1,850
% Sold: 40%
Ticket Price(s): $32.50

A turntable hit or was this gig too far north of the Mason-Dixon line?

You decide.

YELLOWCARD, ACCEPTANCE, PINK SPIDERS

Date: Fri 09/30/2005
Venue: Littlejohn Coliseum – Clemson, SC
Promoter: Littlejohn Coliseum
#Sold Out/# of Shows: 0 / 1
Gross: $20,917
Sold/Capacity: 1,620 / 5,000
% Sold: 32.4%
Ticket Price(s): $20.00, $17.00

The major label model is bankrupt.  They can build acts that can get on the
radio, but not acts that anybody wants to see live.

It appears that the only people eager for the new Yellowcard record are radio
programmers, and the media whores who need a heavily-hyped act to make their
magazines/TV shows appear to have the patina of hipness.

But there’s more hipness in the back row of a Widespread Panic show than any
of the acts these fucks are promoting.

BOB MOULD, SHINY TOY GUNS

Date: Fri 10/14/2005
Venue: The Fillmore – San Francisco, CA
Promoter: Bill Graham Presents
#Sold Out/# of Shows: 0 / 1
Gross: $12,200
Sold/Capacity: 544 / 1,150
% Sold: 47.3%
Ticket Price(s): $25.00

It appears his decision to retire and write for the WWF was a good one.

NADA SURF, SAY HI TO YOUR MOM, ARMY OF ME

Date: Wed 10/05/2005
Venue: Theatre of Living Arts – Philadelphia, PA
Promoter: Electric Factory Concerts
#Sold Out/# of Shows: 0 / 1
Gross: $5,978
Sold/Capacity: 477 / 810
% Sold: 58.9%
Ticket Price(s): $14.00

Don’t call it a comeback.

____________________________________________

As for all those acts in the Top Ten of the sales chart…

They’re nowhere to be found.

You see those acts don’t play live, they play on the radio, on TV.  No one
cares if they lip-sync, because nobody believes they’re real musicians.

The real musicians are in their basements right now.  Or their garages. 
They’re cooking up a brew closer to Mars Volta than Ashlee Simpson.  Expect them
to build on the Web and then tour the underground.  Starting not even at the
bottom of this chart.  In coffee houses, in places that don’t report to
statisticians.

Then, suddenly, these unknown acts will show up on this chart and you’ll have
no idea what’s going on, because they didn’t do it the traditional way, the
OLD-FASHIONED way, from the top down.

No, it’s back to the old days.  It’s DIY.  From the bottom up.

It’s just that with all the technology, the sound of the bottom ain’t that
different from the sound of the top.  Everybody can afford the tools, the means
of production.

The concert business we’ve now got was built on an old paradigm.  It grew out
of the rock explosion of the late sixties and early seventies.  Hell, look at
the names of the Clear Channel promoters…Bill Graham, Belkin, Electric
Factory.  These were all entrepreneurs who rode the crest of a wave.  And they’re
run by people who’ve seen the past more than the future.  Yet there are good
young people involved, more than at record labels.  And this, along with their
near-monopoly on real estate, will allow these enterprises to flourish in the
future.

But, are you gonna want to hear the new bands at the shed?

No.

Not even in the arena.

You’re gonna want to see them in theatres, in clubs.  Where you’re close
enough to bond with the act, where you can marinate in the music.

(Statistics from celebrityaccess.com)