Thread by @thescreendoor

A #ticket 🧵on Springsteen:

In the last 25 years I estimate that I have seen about 700 concerts & well over 1,000 performances.

I’ve written professionally about a slew of these shows, I’ve bought tickets during pre sales, regular on sales, day-of, & in the parking lot. 1/

53 of these shows have been for Bruce Springsteen. He’s the best live performer of the rock era & in ‘99 when the band reunited I swore I would see him every chance I could get.

The thing is after ‘99, he stopped having cheap tickets $50 & under) but he was always fair. 2/

I had some tours where money wasn’t an issue & other years where I’d sell books, music or other items to ensure I could afford the $100 ticket. I had better than average seats 2/3 of the time I went to see him but I could always find my way in the house. Always. 3/

During some lean years or when an artist was in high demand, I would sometimes buy a ticket just to be there. The Rolling Stones, Madonna, Paul McCartney, Aerosmith & others I’d grab a $50 ticket. Was the seat good? No. Did I still have a good time? Yes. 4/

I remember watching the Stones from the third level behind the stage in 2002 & watch the crowd roar when Keith Richards slashed through the opening riff to “Street Fighting Man”. It was exhilarating because I was there & it cost me $57 all-in for the seat. 5/

When I was younger & even in school, it wasn’t about where you sat but whether you could get in the building. Even as I got older, I knew if I wanted to see someone badly I could afford a cheap ticket in the rafters. 6/

A few years back I wanted to see Billie Eilish & my young daughter wanted to as well. They had combined two theater shows into an arena & we scored some 300 level seats & I watched one of the greatest shows of my life for under $100 a ticket. 7/

One of the reasons I walked away so ecstatic from shows by Eilish, the Stones & McCartney is I paid what that nosebleed ticket was worth.

There’s been A LOT written about #Springsteen tickets this week & how the best seats are going for over $1000 but there’s something worse. 8/

I didn’t receive any codes via the Verified Fan process so I didn’t even look at the #Ticketmaster site until this morning. I decided to look at Denver & I’m still trying to comprehend how a city where he played to a half empty stadium in 2003 could have this much demand. 9/

Granted, it will be 7 years since Bruce & the ESB have toured when these shows happen, but what really made me sick? Seeing what they’re charging for the third level seats behind the stage. $241 BEFORE fees. 10/

These are the very definition of “cheap seats”. Your vantage point is mediocre at best. You may be able to see a screen, but you’re essentially watching TV in an enclosed tight space in the era of COVID.

11/

There has been A LOT of discussion this week about what the market will bear & what fans are willing to pay. The truth is most fans are going to cave & pay $400-$750 for a ticket that cost $165 in September of 2016.

The FOMO is real & most *will pay*. 12/

When I tell a normal person I’ve seen Springsteen 52 times they look at me in some sort of dazed manner like something is wrong with me. When I tell a Springsteen fan I’ve seen him 52 times they call me a light weight. “I saw 52 shows in ONE tour” :-)

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It’s all good but I say this to demonstrate how passionate Springsteen fans are & how one show isn’t enough per tour.

But what about that fan who has fallen on hard times & just need to be in the building to feel that magic? 14/

I was that young fan who wanted to see the Stones, U2, McCartney & Springsteen & I did not have unlimited funds.

Seeing these three acts from cheap sets *at a reasonable price* is largely responsible for my love of live music.

I didn’t mind sitting in the nosebleeds. 15/

I truly didn’t mind sitting in the nosebleeds because I knew I wasn’t being taken advantage of. Stadiums & arenas are some of the worse venues imaginable for seeing live music but we love the music so much, we want to experience it. 16/

I had a good run with Bruce & I don’t necessarily feel ownership over the best seats to his shows the way some other fans do. But I do expect them t be fair. A behind the stage seat is the armpit of chairs & somehow they think it’s worth $250.
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Not enough people are talking about the kids who want to see this show. The people who could put down a keyboard or soccer ball & pick up a guitar. Is this audience small? Yes. But that doesn’t mean they’re not important. 18/

Someone making $50K a year after insurance & taxes might take home $35K. That $673 a week.

This is what most working Americans make & artists like Springsteen have now made it impossible for these people to see his show. The people who may need that night the most. 19/

I decided to click through & see what the fees were & for 2 tickets it is $648.61, which is a hell of a lot more than $263.00 x 2.

They added $119.66 in fees.

It needs to be said that this borders on criminal behavior. It’s wrong on every level of decency. 20/

Not everyone is entitled to the pit or the same seats the band’s friends & families sit in. But they should be entitled to a seat at a *fair* price. $256 for the worse seat in an arena isn’t fair.

21/

What’s so ironic & profoundly disappointing about this is none of the characters he wrote about on DARKNESS, THE RIVER or NEBRASKA could even begin to think about affording one of these seats. Art should be for everyone, & not just for those with six-figure salaries. 22/

While everyone is rightfully complaining about how there was no cap on the Verified Fan sales for the best tickets, I feel as if these cheap seats are being overlooked. Not only are these horrible seats but the price is insulting. 23/

“Now judge, judge I got debts no honest man could pay
The bank was holdin' my mortgage and takin' my house away
Now I ain't sayin' that make me an innocent man
But it was more 'n all this that put that gun in my hand”

24/