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| winter |
Does anyone have any opinions on the new shows in Boston, NY, Chicago, etc. I think it may have been a mistake to announce the Jan. shows this early where they are already playing a stadium, arena and theatre/club. Just by playing around ticketmaster, it is apparent that there is a LOT of $350 tickets available for the Jan. show.
I bought my tickets for the Jan. show already. I am concerned that many fans don't want to fork over another $350 per if they are going to see them once or twice already this fall.
What if the tickets don't sell? I can't imagine the Stones playing an arena where the last 2 $350 sections on each side are empty. It would be embarrassing. I just don't want them to cancel the show.
Hopefully, sales will pick up again after the Sept shows with good reviews. Never thought that I'd actually worry about a Stones show being cancelled in Boston for poor sales. I hope that I am just being paranoid here.
Winter |
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| Stonecrazed |
I've been having the same thoughts. I think this was a poor marketing strategy. They should have put them on sale in the mid-fall when lots of people would be sad that they missed thier chance or when lots of fans would be yearning for another go-around. What I REALLY wish is that they would have come back for ONE MORE CLUB SHOW.
I hate to be cynical but the more I think about it, the initial club shows seem to have been a very good marketing ploy to generate a ton of hype for the tour. When people got shut out of these shows, they felt, well, okay, I'll fork over $90 for a stadium show or $350 for an arena. It's all relative. I wonder if tickets to CMGI would have gone so fast if there had never been an Orpheum theater show. And while the Fleet Center would have sold out, I'm not sure if as many people would have willingly forked over $350 if they hadn't seen $2000 tickets on ebay for the Orpheum. We'll never know. |
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| Nasty Habits |
Oh, I think we already know the answer to that question, Stonecrazed. I am absolutely convinced and have been for a while that the demand for the bigger shows on the tour was driven by frenzy for the club gigs dangled in front of everybody's face. Once people couldn't get the club gigs they decided to go to the arenas, and then once they couldn't get into the arenas, they opted for the stadiums. The old bait and switch technique - and it worked like a charm. Naturally this is not the case for everybody - but I am sure that was the strategy behind it. Remember, and this is very important: "Clear Channel Claims 'Strategy' Misinterpreted as 'Evil'." (headline from a recent Reuters article.) |
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| mattb |
I disagree. The Stones have been wanting to do more club shows for years - here since 1981 at least. Now they are going to do it and it's called a marketing ploy. How cynical. There are people, like me, who wouldn't bother with a stadium show forty miles away at any price, but would hop on the trolley for a ten minute ride to the Orpheum. The net from the Orpheum will be about $150,000 and they could have bought alot of publicity with the 4 million they could have gotten by playing another arena/stadium show the night they are playing the clubs.
Then you would just be saying how greedy they are without the marketing ploys.
[Edited by mattb] |
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| Nasty Habits |
Believe me, I am completely thrilled they're playing theaters - I'm going to the Tower in Philadelphia and I'm happily and eagerly travelling from North Carolina to do it. I plan on it being one of the greatest things I've ever seen in my life and don't disparage them doing it for a minute. I hope they play like mad dogs and make me cry for my mommy during the show. And if they weren't playing clubs and weren't playing the Carolinas I'd probably give them a miss. (Oh, who am I kidding, I'll fucking be in Nashville no matter what.)
I will, however, be very surprised if they announce any "surprise" or additional theater/club gigs at any other point on the first leg of the tour. The three tiered venue listing is at the core of the marketing campaign for this tour - STADIUMS/ARENAS/CLUBS. This implies (to me, anyway) that clubs (the Aragon Ballroom, a club? Bwahahahahaha) or theaters, which I guess pass for clubs for the Stones, are as important a focus for the band as Stadiums and Arenas. But they're not - they're barely a blip on the radar screen, slightly over 10% of the gigs in the first three months. This to me indicates that they're giving lip (or tongue) service to the gigs fans are really interested in, and that the band as a musical unit might be really interested in, while the old profiteering angle is the principal focus.
I would love to be proved wrong. I hope they play three-four more club gigs in October and November, or a few more in January for that matter, and shut my cynical ass up good and proper. If the theater gigs weren't such a heavy part of the marketing campaign I wouldn't think they were such a gimmick. I actually think it was a pretty brilliant way to get people interested three months in advance of the tour and to put a perceived immediate demand on tickets. What the theater gigs really remind me of is a campaign promise during an election - you see results at the outset, but then they go away, once the machine is really working.
You have to be cynical about the Rolling Stones, because they're cynical about you.
"I never turn a hair, I never play it fair, just like the politicians. I wrap my conscience up. I wanna win that cup and get my money, baby. But back in the dressing room the other side is weeping."
Ain't that the truth?
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| Stonecrazed |
I have to agree with you Nasty. And I too, will gladly and humbly have my cynical attitude proven wrong if more club shows are added (but even then, that may be a good way to finish off the sales of some of the slower moving venues). I'm sure the Stones will play their hearts and souls out at the theater shows. They always give their shows 500 percent. But, yes, look at the proportion of theater shows to stadiums and arenas. And sure, while on a given night, they'd bring in far more at a big venue, the indirect impact of the frenzy for club tix definately helped sell the larger venues. Look, if there were no Orpheum show, the Fleet Center would easily have sold out. But CMGI? I don't think so. I skipped B2B because I generally dislike Stadium shows but found myself buying tix to CMGI. Why? Because after getting shut out of the Orpheum, there I was on the TM website and I went for the next best thing. And a few days later, I was still feeling like pouncing on a great chance when the Fleet tickets went on sale. I'm not sorry I did by the way. I plan on having a great time. I'm just keenly aware of how the psychology of the theater tickets has worked this tour around. And you have to admit, IT IS a brilliant strategy. |
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| mattb |
Sounds like sour grapes. CMGI would have sold out without the Orpheum date. The Stones have been trying to play a club/theater show in Boston since around 1981 at least. |
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| T&A |
said it before and i'll say it again:
they haven't booked ANY clubs yet, just 5 theater shows. i have heard from reliable sources that the club shows (4 to 8) will happen without advance notice...much like past surprise gigs, e.g., Double Door. No way they could get away with booking 300 seaters in advance.... |
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| mattb |
I would say Roseland and Aragon are clubs rather than theaters. Since Wiltern is removing floor seats on the first level, it would also qualify as a club. You may still be right about other surprise dates in smaller clubs. |
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| Nellcote |
Look, this is the Stones, they are doing what they want.
They have the best sense of marketing in the rock business
Jagger is no fool. If he thought, for one minute that there was peril in the introduction of new dates, they would have never announced them. They are considered an entity, an institution. The logo for the band has been omnipresent for over 30 years now. It's recognition factor is unchallenged. What corporate entity would not kill for this? Some critics try to lump them with other bands, there is not a comparison. Cancellation of dates? Got to be some natural occurance for this to happen. Don't worry, although some of the dates might have some challenges, I do not think you will see any dates cancelled. They will just handle this like Hartford, where it was for DC, it went to a lock area. What you will see in the 2002-2004 tour, probably, lumped as an entire package, merchandise, ticket sales, etc, is the most lucrative rock tour ever. All this, with only airplay on radio, via classic rock stations! |
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| keefnmick |
I have heard thru the grapevine that there will be a club/ theater gig in SF in Nov. |
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| jb |
My inside sources say the Fillmore....Papa don't preach...Joey's keeping my baby...he's going to keep my baby.... |
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| mattb |
Which Fillmore? |
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| jb |
Fillmore West |
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| keefnmick |
I think he means the original Fillmore auditorium; the Fillmore West has been a Honda dealership for over 20 years! |
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| mattb |
There's a Fillmore in Denver too. But there doesn't seem to be much open time in the Bay Area with two Pac Bell shows. Plus the Oakland show. But who knows?
[Edited by mattb]
[Edited by mattb] |
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| luxury1 |
Oh Mattb--you'll be pleased to know that Nankerphelge and I will be at the Hartford show--maybe we'll be sitting near you. |
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| mattb |
No, I won't be spending my money on Hartford. I think arenas suck for concerts. |
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| winter |
Hey Luxury, I'll be at the Hartford show as well. Hope you got/get good seats -
Winter |
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| luxury1 |
Winter--where are you staying? let's plan a pre-show party |
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| luxury1 |
Oh, and mattb---you ain't invited |
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| mattb |
Is there something wrong with your reading ability? I won't be seeing the Stones in the rodeo and circus buildings. |
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| winter |
Luxury -
not sure yet, I'll let you know when I figure it out, any recommendations?
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| luxury1 |
Winter--there is a Hilton right across the street from the Civic Center |
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| Ken |
I just wish they would announce all the shows so I know
which stop will be the last in North America.
Oh and I wouldn't be surprised if they do a Theatre in Toronto.
http://www.ipetitions.com/campaigns...etSatisfaction/
www.kenkeppol.com |
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