he played his first gigs in ireland for 20-odd years last week, charging a massive 130 euros for the privilege. My brother, despite obvious reservations about the price, chose to buy one because he's a big fan. the gig took place in a specially designed marquee tent in dublin, and it was an all-seater gig. my brother texted during the gig to tell me of his disappointment as he was forced to sit one row from the very back, thus completely getting shit sound quality.
I'm not quite sure how the seats are assigned, but it's certainly not on a first-come-first-served basis. This is disgraceful, as my brother ended up paying the same extortionate price as those in the front row. to begin with, the price was absolutely ridiculous, but this just added insult to injury.
What do you think? Is Waits and his ilk (there's plenty of others) essentially raping, exploiting and taking the piss out of the very people he should respect, i.e. his diehard fan-base?
Before the smart-arses start posting saying he didn't have to pay for the ticket, think about if your favourite band/act of all time were playing in your country for the first time in 20 years, and probably the last. leaves you in a bit of a quandary.
What happened to the days when The Clash insisted on releasing a triple-album (Sandanista) for the price of a double album, knowing full well they would make a loss on it but not wishing to rip off their loyal fans. I've lost a lot of respect for Waits because of this, but then he always seemed like a pretentious prick anyway..