SickthingsUK

So, AC announced that he is swinging by my country. I've always wanted to do the Meet & Greet, but then I saw the prices: Roughly 760 EUR (or 890 USD for the yanks).

Did something happen to make the VIP tickets so expensive? I think I remember them being about half that price, a bit less than a decade ago. Is my memory faulty or have the prices exploded?

A few years ago, the VIP experience was enhanced so that it now includes a ticket, as well as early entry into the venue for a tour of the stage, photos with the guillotine, etc, in addition to VIP-only merchandise. And, of course, the meet-and-greet with Alice.

Hurm. I see that this warrants a higher price. Still feel like it it should be less expensive than a used car, though

As long as people are prepared to pay, the price will continue to increase. They simply charge the maximum amount they think enough people will pay. Value for money is simply irrelevant.

Yeah, I'm with you. Alice Cooper was always a business, and I have no issue with that. I kind of hope they'll have zero sales and bring down the prices by 3/4, though!

The stage tours have been pretty popular, and they often have photos of large groups at the MnG, as well as lots of repeat attendees mentioned. I don't see prices dropping anytime soon.

Out of curiosity: NotSoPerfect, what's going on in your profile picture?

A) You're a woman posing with Tom Green.

or ...

B) You're a man who looks a bit like Tom Green, posing with a female celebrity I'm unaware of ...

Kristian wrote: ↑

Wed Jan 30, 2019 10:13 pm

Out of curiosity: NotSoPerfect, what's going on in your profile picture?

A) You're a woman posing with Tom Green.

or ...

B) You're a man who looks a bit like Tom Green, posing with a female celebrity I'm unaware of ...

Haha. I'm the female (shorter of the two) posing with Damon Johnson after an Alice Cooper show...in which Damon Johnson was a guitar player in Alice's band. ;-)

That makes sense. Looking up Johnson, I see that he looks nothing like Tom Green in other pictures. Please don't tell him about my mistake

I feel about the price of meet and greets the same way I feel about the guy who overhauled my truck's engine. When he handed me the bill, I said, "Bubba, for that kinda money, I'm goin' to your house, drinkin' your beer, pettin' your dog, lovin' on your ol' lady and makin' your kids call me 'daddy'."

damn, that's a hike in price. still, it seems Alice is still one of the better value (relative...) ones. WOuld love to meet Metallica, but....$2000.... :-/

I don't know if I am negative but the advent of these VIP packages seem to have pushed the venues to be all seated which is KILLING the atmosphere and makes potentially great shows (like the recent tour) lame ducks because all the people who are anywhere approaching the front are typically older people who have the disposable cash to pay for the privilege. Just very disheartening to me.

At the last gig in Glasgow (all seated) I met a couple at their first Alice gig. Both proudly wearing their VIP tags they happily admitted that they only knew a couple of songs and had come on the strength of reviews of previous shows on Ticketmaster and hearing Alice being interviewed on BBC Radio 2 recently "he seemed really nice". Both in their late 50s they had come down for the weekend from Aberdeen and had bought the VIP package because they had never met what they felt was a genuine music legend.

Got the strong impression that If Andre Rieu or any other "legend" had been in town that weekend he'd have got the cash instead. I couldn't even call them casual fans but they were certainly a very small but very lucrative slice of the pie for Alice.

I hate the seated gigs and the fact that VIPs of any description can buy a seat ten rows in front of me. Can't argue the maths though, showbiz after all.

Saint&Sinner wrote: ↑

Wed Feb 06, 2019 1:51 am

I don't know if I am negative but the advent of these VIP packages seem to have pushed the venues to be all seated which is KILLING the atmosphere and makes potentially great shows (like the recent tour) lame ducks because all the people who are anywhere approaching the front are typically older people who have the disposable cash to pay for the privilege. Just very disheartening to me.

Couldn't agree more.
The VIP packages do bring in a lot of money, allowing shows to be more profitable, but they are killing live music for many people. They should go back to VIP packages that do NOT include a ticket, but tey apparently didn`t sell as quickly.

Having said that, the way the tickets are being made available (or rather not available) is an even bigger problem.
When you go online as tickets go on sale and there is simply nothing worth buying there is a serious problem and that is slowly killing live music. I've been to very few big shows by other bands over the last decade because of this, and the rising additional costs, like the £25 to park at the venue and use your ticket, ut it ove a breaking point for me! They are pricing the average fan out of the market and there surely must come a point when the business model collapses.
If I see a show is seated I just don't even bother looking any more. It's pointless as the decent tickets will be on the secondary market as soon as they are on sale if not before, and a £50 ticket will become nearly £100 with fees and parking at a big venue.
It's far better and more fun to support smaller artists and go to smaller venues where the tickets are far cheaper and the parking often free... Like the upcoming Ryan Roxie shows (plug plug)

Si wrote: ↑

Wed Feb 06, 2019 8:33 am

They are pricing the average fan out of the market and there surely must come a point when the business model collapses.

This kind of greed has taken hold in every industry for decades, and as you stated, there will come a breaking point.

"They are pricing the average fan out of the market and there surely must come a point when the business model collapses"

I agree completely. I know several people who were casual alice fans (but a big enough fan to like zipper!) and they didn't go because of the cost/bad seats.
From the nose bleeds I was in at the recent alice gig the ONLY song that got anyone in the vicinity of us moving (other than me and my mate obviously)was schools out.

I know its all about money , now more than ever, its just depressing as I would have to seriously think hard if I even want to see alice, which is hard for me to admit but true.

I will be seeing ryan however, at Bedford esquires. Not a massive fan (tho have his recent album ) but should be a giggle.

i'm the opposite when it comes to seating. due to most everyone not realising there is a city called Newcastle in the country, i generally have to travel 3 hours to get to a venue. when i do, i want to know that i have a decent place to sit and watch. if it comes to standing, it could mean i end up anywhere and that could ruin the night. alternatively, it means having to leave a lot earlier, and then stand around at the front of a queue for however long, wasting my life for no good reason on top of three hours wasted driving to get to a venue.
i don't see that seating or not is ruining gigs, i see the vendors doing that all by themselves. TM are scum, and some of the practices they operate - little choice of seat in some cases, horrific "service" charges, retarded thought behind the release of seats in tranches etc etc - are what's killing live events for casual fans.

You would be much better off trying to find out which hotel Alice is staying at and getting something signed and maybe a pic there. Meet and fleece is so un rock n roll. Still there are suckers out there.

No intention to put the spanner in the works here but could it be that we represent the minority nowadays?

Attendances at gigs in the UK has exploded over the last 7-8 years with the majority of this (excluding festivals) at the very same venues that we hate. At the same time, the number of smaller venues has continued to decline meaning that the big boys have all the evidence they need to confirm that their model works and continues to grow.

The big boys are a dying breed.