Would you pay more for a ticket price for smaller venue to weed out the partiers?

HughFreakingDillon

Was at a show over the weekend. The Watchmen come back to Winnipeg usually annually, and it's almost always on a Saturday. That really brings out the "let's get loaded and nostalgic" crowd. The lead singer usually does at least on a capella song, as he's got the voice to do it, and it's magical every time. Inevitably, some idiot(s) always end up interrupting him and yelling shit out during it, and this time was no exception. He actually stopped midway through and said "it's my turn pal". Then, right when the band was coming out for the encore, some guy had a medical emergency (I'm going to guess something he ingested) and the rest of the show was cancelled. 

So I was thinking: maybe it's time the band scale back the venue capacity, charge more, so the fans who are actually out to see them are the ones who go, and the ones who just want a party can stay home and get loaded and watch youtube. 

I'd personally pay a premium for that. Of course it's not going to get rid of all the drunks, but I think it would help. 

Would you do it?

GB281198

How small are we talking? 

HughFreakingDillon

they typically play 1500-2000 seats. Years ago I used to see them in a 300 cap club. It would sell out, and never any issues. 

MikeDigs

I'm very interested in small venue, 10C only shows.  I'd pay a premium for this.  It would be spectacular.  I'd go to several of these shows.  I could imagine Riot Act or Lost Dogs maybe getting played in full

GB281198

You would probably be looking at 4x the ticket price and not sure how lower alcohol sales would affect price. Depends on the band I would through my wallet on stage if Led Zeppelin got back together.

DarthMaeglin

It would also keep many of the poor fans out, like myself.
And there’s always the possibility that the assholes pay the premium and continue to be disruptive.

Edit: Hugh, on what basis do you make your guess about the medical emergency?

GB281198

I have never understood why you would go to a show and talk the entire time. And the people constantly shouting song requests. I saw Charley Crockett a few years ago and the people talking during the acoustic encore clearly annoyed him.

HughFreakingDillon

DarthMaeglin said:

It would also keep many of the poor fans out, like myself.
And there’s always the possibility that the assholes pay the premium and continue to be disruptive.

Edit: Hugh, on what basis do you make your guess about the medical emergency?

of course, but logic tells me that the ones getting plastered at a show are casual fans. Casual fans won't pay premiums to go to a show in a club. 
first hand account from the person next to him. 

ekwipt

I wish they’d come over the rockies. Been ages since they played Vancouver 😔 

DarthMaeglin

HughFreakingDillon said:

DarthMaeglin said:

It would also keep many of the poor fans out, like myself.
And there’s always the possibility that the assholes pay the premium and continue to be disruptive.

Edit: Hugh, on what basis do you make your guess about the medical emergency?

of course, but logic tells me that the ones getting plastered at a show are casual fans. Casual fans won't pay premiums to go to a show in a club. 
first hand account from the person next to him. 

I was at a small venue show recently where tickets weren't cheap on initial release. During what turned out to be the last song some guy came and was jumping around 2 inches in front of me. So the assholes will get in is my point,  and I just focus on the rest of the show.

Making shows more exclusive and unattainable for some also seems counterintuitive from the artist's perspective to me.

HughFreakingDillon

of course it still happens. My point is, it happens less when you make it less desirable to go for the average fan. 

pjl44

I've been to plenty of small shows with annoying crowds. But I'm all for giving it a shot!

DarthMaeglin

HughFreakingDillon said:

of course it still happens. My point is, it happens less when you make it less desirable to go for the average fan. 

As I understand it bands these days make their money on tours as opposed to album sales, so I just don't see it working for most artists.  What price point are we talking?  $1,000/ticket? As someone else mentioned the ONLY band I'd pay that much to see would be Zeppelin so I'm safe. If Pearl Jam went this route I'd likely be done with their live shows despite my 34 year love for the band.

This is an elitist idea at best. You want to keep the "average fan" out of the venue so people can MAYBE have a more enjoyable show by their standards?  And who's the judge here? I think people should sit down, shut up and listen to the music at a concert,  yet I have to "suffer" through standing for the duration of the show (despite having a seat), have people dancing bump into me, have others singing loudly.  Clearly I'm in the minority here because virtually every fan view thread has comments about how "dead" some people's sections are. But what kind of fan would I be classified as then? And do I let any of that bother me in the moment?  I honestly try not to let it get to me. 

Here's another idea,  let's arrange concert attendance placement based on attendees height,  so short people get a view?

For what it's worth,  I'm sorry The Watchmen show disappointed you because of the crowd. 

HughFreakingDillon

you know, I made the mistake of actually clicking on your posts in this thread in hopes you could engage in meaningful discussion. Of course you just had to shit on it. Back to ignore. 

DarthMaeglin

HughFreakingDillon said:

you know, I made the mistake of actually clicking on your posts in this thread in hopes you could engage in meaningful discussion. Of course you just had to shit on it. Back to ignore. 

So none of the points I made are worthwhile…to you. I still stand by what I’ve said.

Edit: Why are you unwilling to address the points I made and shit on my opinions instead? Am I not allowed to have my own thoughts and express them?

JeBurkhardt

I would just be happy, and pay extra for a no cell phone policy. You can't go to a show anymore without a sea of phones being held above people's heads to capture the show. I don't know if you will ever weed out obnoxious people or people who think they have to be plastered to enjoy a show. 

F Me In The Brain

JeBurkhardt said:

I would just be happy, and pay extra for a no cell phone policy. You can't go to a show anymore without a sea of phones being held above people's heads to capture the show. I don't know if you will ever weed out obnoxious people or people who think they have to be plastered to enjoy a show. 

Agree on the phone idiots.  
Phones and signs.  Hold them above your head during the show, get asked to leave.
Between songs?  Hold up your self important sign.

tempo_n_groove

Will not get rid of the idiots.  However I do like the idea.

If its an older crowd I find that they are even more insufferable than a younger crowd.  The whole "don't get in my space" thing is quite interesting as I don't want to be bothered either, lol.  A smaller venue would exacerbate that even more.

Gibson

Short answer: I will pay more for bigger band, smaller venue
Long answer: Unless every fan behaves exactly the same, there's always going to be someone in a crows that annoys someone else.

Merkin Baller

IDK... $185 a whack is hard enough to justify in any venue... now you're talking MORE $ for a smaller venue? As nice as that sounds, I don't know that any (non-VIP) concert experience is worth significantly more.

DarthMaeglin

It occurred to me a compromise might be 2 night stands for bands. A big show for everyone and an exclusive show in a small venue the night before or after.

It would be a winner for both bands and the cities economically I would think, though I’m still not convinced it would produce the outcome the OP desires.

cincybearcat

HughFreakingDillon said:

Was at a show over the weekend. The Watchmen come back to Winnipeg usually annually, and it's almost always on a Saturday. That really brings out the "let's get loaded and nostalgic" crowd. The lead singer usually does at least on a capella song, as he's got the voice to do it, and it's magical every time. Inevitably, some idiot(s) always end up interrupting him and yelling shit out during it, and this time was no exception. He actually stopped midway through and said "it's my turn pal". Then, right when the band was coming out for the encore, some guy had a medical emergency (I'm going to guess something he ingested) and the rest of the show was cancelled. 

So I was thinking: maybe it's time the band scale back the venue capacity, charge more, so the fans who are actually out to see them are the ones who go, and the ones who just want a party can stay home and get loaded and watch youtube. 

I'd personally pay a premium for that. Of course it's not going to get rid of all the drunks, but I think it would help. 

Would you do it?

Yes.  I feel this way throughout most aspects of my life.  I am willing to spend more $ to make my life easier and better.  

goldrush

How much more are we talking? Tickets prices are getting crazy anyway (the Sydney GC tickets were almost $300 AUD each), so I’m not sure how much more I’d be willing to pay.

As others have said, idiots will always get in. Drunks and assholes have cash too! When Ed played the State Theatre in Sydney (capacity of around 2000), there were still people talking, calling out, rushing towards the stage etc (How many times has he heard drunk people yell out “you’re the Better Man” over the years?”)

Get_Right

Unfortunately I doubt there is any correlation between douchebaggery drunken behavior and higher prices or smaller venues. There might even be more of them at an expensive smaller show. I seem to encounter fewer of them when I go to festivals. And yes, the phone use is totally annoying.

lexicondevil

I really don't think a smaller venue would weed out annoying party people. I would definitely pay more for a bigger band at a smaller venue. In fact, I just did. Saw The National at a much smaller venue than they were playing the next day an hour away. It was more expensive, but worth it. There were hella annoying drunks there. They were mostly wine moms/dads(show in Napa). I haven't seen so many obviously wasted people at a show in a long time. It gave me an opportunity to practice keeping calm and trying to ignore, while still enjoying the show. I was mostly successful.

brianlux

HughFreakingDillon said:

Was at a show over the weekend. The Watchmen come back to Winnipeg usually annually, and it's almost always on a Saturday. That really brings out the "let's get loaded and nostalgic" crowd. The lead singer usually does at least on a capella song, as he's got the voice to do it, and it's magical every time. Inevitably, some idiot(s) always end up interrupting him and yelling shit out during it, and this time was no exception. He actually stopped midway through and said "it's my turn pal". Then, right when the band was coming out for the encore, some guy had a medical emergency (I'm going to guess something he ingested) and the rest of the show was cancelled. 

So I was thinking: maybe it's time the band scale back the venue capacity, charge more, so the fans who are actually out to see them are the ones who go, and the ones who just want a party can stay home and get loaded and watch youtube. 

I'd personally pay a premium for that. Of course it's not going to get rid of all the drunks, but I think it would help. 

Would you do it?

Wow!  Well, first of all, bummer that this incident happened and I'm sorry to hear about it.  Hopefully you'll get a better situation next time.

I would pay more to see a favorite band or artist in a smaller club if I knew the extra money each attendee was paying was for a couple of things like: a) someone at the door to check cell phones, and a couple of good bouncers to kick out the idiots who interrupt or heckle the artists. 

But any more, I would probably only go see groups or solo artists for whom such problems are likely to be rare or non-existent: Henry Rollins, Steve Wynn, The Dream Syndicate, Lee Ranaldo, Juliana Hatfield, John P. Strohm, Richard Barone, and most jazz artists. 

jatimbo

Nah!