Concerts for 2022

[Zantera]

I'm seeing The Cure in 2 days, can't wait! Saw them once before 5 or 6 years ago and if they keep a similar level it will be fantastic.

Don't have any other shows lined up for 2022 but in 2023 I already got tickets to see Godspeed You! Black Emperor and I'm also strongly considering Between the Buried and Me/Haken (mostly for the former).

[Stadler]

I'm seeing The Cure in 2 days, can't wait! Saw them once before 5 or 6 years ago and if they keep a similar level it will be fantastic.

Don't have any other shows lined up for 2022 but in 2023 I already got tickets to see Godspeed You! Black Emperor and I'm also strongly considering Between the Buried and Me/Haken (mostly for the former).

I got a free ticket years ago to see The Cure in Hartford; I had just seen Page and Plant, and they did "Lullaby" (Porl Thompson was the second guitar player on the P&P tour) so I went.  I was blown away.   Three hours, and while I didn't know too many of the songs, they were clearly well-played and presented with energy.  Robert Smith was an engaging performer (and it was a hoot to see him - google Robert Smith - wearing a Hartford Whalers jersey).   

[ReaperKK]

I thought I was done for the year but I picked up some tickets to:

Steve Vai - October 23
Emancipator - December 14

[ShadowWalker]

I'm seeing The Cure in 2 days, can't wait! Saw them once before 5 or 6 years ago and if they keep a similar level it will be fantastic.

Don't have any other shows lined up for 2022 but in 2023 I already got tickets to see Godspeed You! Black Emperor and I'm also strongly considering Between the Buried and Me/Haken (mostly for the former).

I got a free ticket years ago to see The Cure in Hartford; I had just seen Page and Plant, and they did "Lullaby" (Porl Thompson was the second guitar player on the P&P tour) so I went.  I was blown away.   Three hours, and while I didn't know too many of the songs, they were clearly well-played and presented with energy.  Robert Smith was an engaging performer (and it was a hoot to see him - google Robert Smith - wearing a Hartford Whalers jersey).

The Cure is generally an automatic purchase when they come to town. I first saw them on the Bloodflowers tour and the have always delivered value for the money.

[twosuitsluke]

So I went to see Coheed and Cambria/Thrice last night.

As a lot of you know C&C are my all time favourite band, and I think this was like my 7th or 8th time seeing them live.

I only found out on Thursday that this tour was actually billed as a co headline tour. I immediately panicked thinking Coheed wouldn't close the night, but they did last night. I'm assuming the bands are alternating each night?

Anyway, they were supported by Touché Amoré. I think I've heard them before. They were OK, and played post-hardcore that reminded me of Glassjaw (who I actually also saw supporting Coheed a few years back).

Next up were Thrice. I'm hardly a huge fan of the band but I like a fair few songs and have been checking out new releases for the past few years. They played a set with a fairly good mix of new songs and old songs. I enjoyed them but was still eager for them to hurry up and finish.

Coheed came on and just blew me away. At 39 I was starting to feel pretty old by the time they hit the stage as my back was hurting  seated shows have started to seem more appealing and the kid inside me is appalled by this.

All that disappeared when they hit the stage. I won't post the set, in case it spoils it for anyone else, but they opened with a song I like but don't LOVE. Still got me pumped though. My back pain became a distant memory and I started to involuntarily jump about.

I was situated on the bottom step down onto the main floor and had a woman in front of me that literally wasn't moving. After the first song they played the intro, to the new album, and stormed through three new songs. I've had a sore throat all week and lost my voice on Monday, but holy shit did I belt those songs out! That felt so good. I always feel a bit of an idiot at gigs as I can't help but air guitar/drum to certain songs/bands. Coheed are certainly one of those bands, obviously.

They went into the title track off their second album next and I had no choice other than to get in the pit. I had little room to move where I was, and I needed to move!

Man, there is no feeling like it. I got in the pit and thrashed about, singing every word, crushing every riff and hitting every drum fill (all surrounded by others singing every god damn word). There is seriously no feeling like this and I have missed it so bad, due to COVID and becoming a Dad.

They ran through some hits and other new songs before playing a song they ALWAYS close with. Claudio said they were trying something different. I remember thinking "wow, playing this mid set, wonder what they'll encore with?". Well after this they played one more song and then left the stage.

Cool, encore time. Well, apparently no     they left the stage and the lights came up. There were the usual chants etc, and quite a while passed before everyone was looking really bemused like, this can't be it? I was 100% sure they'd play something else, as they'd played just shy of an hour at this point.

Well once the drum kit started to be dismantled it started to dawn that this was it. At one point Claudio poked his head out and I thought "OK, weird that they are going to end with an acoustic encore, but ok".

Still nothing. Eventually the band came back out and apologised, saying that because it was a co headline tour they didn't have time for encores! I'd have understood if it was 11pm, but they finished at 9:50pm! If it was about making sure both bands played the same set length, then both band could've played another 20 minutes easily.

The fans were cool, and respectful about it but everyone was disappointed, and you could see the band genuinely felt bad about the situation. Hopefully they'll decide to both play a bit longer for the rest of the tour (last night was the first night of the tour).

They were honestly absolutely phenomenal last night, but the set length just left me feeling a bit cheated. The set was pretty heavy on the new album, which is fine as I really love it. Also, I've posted about this in the Coheed thread, but the new album speaks to me on emotional level as a lot of the songs are about Claudio's son and parenting a kid who is not neurotypical. It was quite emotional singing some of these songs, and when I closed my eyes, belting the songs, I could just see my little boys face 

[lonestar]

Just got back from seeing BAND-MAID...I may have to re-adjust my top 25 concerts list, they were that good. Outstanding musicianship, unbelievable energy, a nearly 2 hour set, tremendously charming, and probably the most invested audience I've ever seen. These girls were absolutely outstanding.


https://youtu.be/8OgmMlawoM0

[Ben_Jamin]

I'm about to head into the venue now to see Lamb of God, Killswitch Engage, Animals As Leaders, and Fit For An Autopsy. Mainly came for AAL, but still will enjoy the rest of the lineup.

It's the last show at our local outdoor venue and weather isn't too bad. Might rain, might not, but I brought my Haken hoodie to be safe.

Should be a good one.

After this I have John Petrucci lined up on Nov. 1st.

[lonestar]

Lamb of God kicked so much ass last week, enjoy!

[Ben_Jamin]

Well...

The show is postponed for now. It started raining good when Lamb of God started, then after Nevermore when Randy began talking, it thundered real hard and the fire safety told everyone to seek shelter. It was lightning around us when Killswitch was on. Adam D from Killswitch taunted the weather by making the crowd say, fuck you weather. I laughed and said, watch him jinx it...and sure enough..."Man Plans, Nature Laughs."
 

Oh well, at least I got to see Animals as Leaders and Fit For An Autopsy.

[Ben_Jamin]

After about 45 min. and 10 min. past curfew time the show still went on. Lamb of God, then ended up finishing their set, playing to a crowd of about 200, enough to just fill the pit. That's how many people stayed, and about half were from the grass, so they got a major seat upgrade just for staying.

The show ended up becoming one of the best shows I have ever experienced at that venue. I had good views where I could see, the weather is the type of thunderstorm I love, and seeking shelter in the bathrooms with some other fans was funny as well, also the moment they opened up the gates again was fun as I rushed to get the center front row. Show ended around 11:45.

As Lonestar said above...Lamb of God kicked ass this tour. I also loved the lineup, and appreciated the ticket prices, and find it a bit amusing that not many people bought these tickets when they were the cheapest tickets of the concert season.

[cramx3]

Last Friday I went right to the Jersey shore after work to catch the postponed Punk in Drublic festival in Asbury Park NJ.  I wasn't going to go to this initially because I opted to see 311 instead the same day, but it rained that day and the outdoor concert got postponed to a day I could make which worked out well for me.  Sadly, being a Friday and the show starting at 4pm, I missed all the opening bands. I did get there to see the final two bands, which is mostly who I wanted to see anyway (I would have liked to see Face to Face though).  I scored my ticket at the door and got an actual ticket stub and avoided ticketmaster fees!



I didn't expect to be back in the venue, but being that it's fall at the "summer" stage, it was actually really nice.  It was cool and already dark out so didn't have to deal with the sun setting into your eyes trying to watch the band.  Descendents were OK.  They are old school classic punk rock.  Been around a long time and well liked in the punk community.  I never got into them when I was younger and really into punk.  I couldn't recall why that was going into this show, but I figured after all these years, seeing them should get me to enjoy them more than I ever had before.  I'm not sure that was the case here.  Not to say they were bad by any means, but I think I rediscovered why I never got into them in the first place.  I find them boring.  THey do have some good songs though.  But the venue felt dead too.  The mosh pit was pretty small for them and as I walked around the venue, it seemed like everyone was just chatting with each other instead of watching the band, it actually annoyed me that I couldn't find a spot without people around me talking to each other.  THe band was not very loud so it was very noticeable for me. I do think the set got more enjoyable as it got to the end and I am glad I got to see the punk legends, but I was not won over.

I hadn't seen NOFX live in over 20 years and the last time was actually in the same parking lot before the Summer Stage even existed.  Kind of a cool nostalgia moment for me.  I used to love NOFX, but they haven't aged well for me and I hardly listen to them at all anymore.  None the less, I did want to see them because there's some rumors that NOFX is calling it quits soon.  In fact, Fat Mike said multiple times at the show that it was their last time playing in NJ (and the other guys kept stopping him everytime he brought it up so I don't know if that's true or not).  So let me forward by saying that I am glad I got to see a band I loved from childhood again for what could be the last time.  BUT, I thought they were one of the worst bands I've seen in awhile. 

Let me start by saying I am aware that NOFX are known for being jokesters and not exactly on point in their live performances.  This was expected.  What I didn't expect was for Fat Mike to be so drunk that the things he was saying between songs often didn't make sense or were such terrible jokes that not a single person in the crowd reacted.  From calling the drummer the wrong name, to saying "asian orange' instead of "agent orange" (a punk band that was playing nearby) to not being able to play the songs or sing.  There were multiple songs started and stopped because he couldn't play.  There were also many times when the guitarist was angrily asking Mike to just play the next song instead of talk.  There was also one point during the encore that he stopped the song to tell the crowd to get the guy who he just witnessed fight "a kid".  I have no idea what happened (it seems a crowd surfer may have kicked a guy who then beat up the crowd surfer) but the way the singer was yelling "get him! record him! chase after him!" and then "I'm not starting until that kid is on stage" which kind of made me wonder if he saw what he said he saw.  As in, its a 21 and over event so there's no "kids" in the crowd.  And given how drunk he was, is it possible that things didn't go down as he thought he saw them?  Just an odd moment.

Anyway, there were some positives.  Some reminders of those songs I used to love and the moments where they did perform well enough on said songs.  I don't know if it's how they perform these days, but one of the girls from Dance Hall Crashers was playing the keyboards for the few songs that had them and adding backing vocals.  I enjoyed her addition.  They advertised this show as being over at 10pm, but it went to 10:30 (by far the latest a show has gone on at this venue that I have attended) so it seems we got the full show, not an abbreviated set that most thought we'd get after the postponement.  The crowd was way more alive for NOFX than Descendents so the vibe was good when the band was actually playing. 



NOFX & Descendents LIVE @ Stone Pony Summer Stage Asbury Park NJ 2022

Next concert... tonight!

October 19th - Smashing Pumpkins, Jane’s Addiction & Poppy @ Madison Square Garden, New York City NY

[Stadler]

Let me know how Jane's is.  I heard Dave Navarro isn't there.

[cramx3]

Yeah, he's out. I doubt they'll be as good as when I saw them last year doing a headline set (with Dave). But still, a very solid opener. On the train now into the city. 

[cramx3]

Noticed the conversation of concert prices being brought up in multiple threads and also generally it's being discussed quite a bit.  Saw this article and figured it's an interesting read

https://www.vice.com/en/article/m7gx34/blink-182-tickets-are-so-expensive-because-ticketmaster-is-a-disastrous-monopoly-and-now-everyone-pays-ticket-broker-prices

EDIT: and oh yea, MAIDEN tonight! 

[King Postwhore]

Vola in a few weeks on a Saturday night. Fuck yeah.

[Anguyen92]

Noticed the conversation of concert prices being brought up in multiple threads and also generally it's being discussed quite a bit.  Saw this article and figured it's an interesting read

https://www.vice.com/en/article/m7gx34/blink-182-tickets-are-so-expensive-because-ticketmaster-is-a-disastrous-monopoly-and-now-everyone-pays-ticket-broker-prices

EDIT: and oh yea, MAIDEN tonight! 

Yeah, the concept of dynamic pricing has really sucked the life out of me wanting to buy tickets for arena shows.  As I mentioned in other threads, you just hope that the consumers would not give into the FOMO and not buy the tickets in an impactful way.  That stated, I think the fear of there being another pandemic pause in concerts is certainly playing a role which is why people are willing to pay those prices.  Next big show I'm thinking about going would be Elton John at Dodger Stadium, but tickets are high for all three shows, and I don't see a safe and cost-effective way to find nearby parking/close transportation to the venue.

[DTwwbwMP]

Maiden tonight in NJ was incredible as always. Just a terrific live band, still going strong, while actually putting on an even better show! The opening band was Within Temptation and I was pretty impressed. I am not normally into these type of bands, but this one sounded really tight and the songs (other than one) all pretty much rocked! I'll have to check out their discography.

Next up....Greta in December

PS - I say this every time I see a show there, but OMG, I HATE the Pru Center SO MUCH! No wonder the Devils play there

[chknptpie]

John Oliver did a really good dive into Ticketmaster and its BS a couple months ago. It truly is a sham.

[cramx3]

Maiden tonight in NJ was incredible as always. Just a terrific live band, still going strong, while actually putting on an even better show! The opening band was Within Temptation and I was pretty impressed. I am not normally into these type of bands, but this one sounded really tight and the songs (other than one) all pretty much rocked! I'll have to check out their discography.

Next up....Greta in December

PS - I say this every time I see a show there, but OMG, I HATE the Pru Center SO MUCH! No wonder the Devils play there

Yeah, great show last night! What's your issue with the venue though? I didn't have any issues last night.

[DTwwbwMP]

Maiden tonight in NJ was incredible as always. Just a terrific live band, still going strong, while actually putting on an even better show! The opening band was Within Temptation and I was pretty impressed. I am not normally into these type of bands, but this one sounded really tight and the songs (other than one) all pretty much rocked! I'll have to check out their discography.

Next up....Greta in December

PS - I say this every time I see a show there, but OMG, I HATE the Pru Center SO MUCH! No wonder the Devils play there

Yeah, great show last night! What's your issue with the venue though? I didn't have any issues last night.

Never liked the design and unless you are on floor or lower section, very difficult to get around. Then again, I'm 62 and really grumpy!

[Zoom E]

Noticed the conversation of concert prices being brought up in multiple threads and also generally it's being discussed quite a bit.  Saw this article and figured it's an interesting read

https://www.vice.com/en/article/m7gx34/blink-182-tickets-are-so-expensive-because-ticketmaster-is-a-disastrous-monopoly-and-now-everyone-pays-ticket-broker-prices

EDIT: and oh yea, MAIDEN tonight! 

Someone e-mailed me the link to this story just this morning.

This BS makes me glad my concert-going days are mostly behind me. A lot of bands I like but not love come through town and when I look at the prices for those arena shows I quickly lose interest.

[DTwwbwMP]

I think back to the days of $7.50 tickets for Zep, Queen, Elton, etc. It's INSANE now and has NOTHING to do with inflation. Simply, CORPORATE GREED!

[Ben_Jamin]

It's why I loved that the Lamb of God pit tickets were only $103 bucks after fees. I jumped on that real fast, and was quite surprised it wasn't as packed becuase lots of people here like Lamb of God and Killswitch Engage.

That is compared to $300 for the same section for Rob Zombie, which was packed to the brim. I called that the nostalgia cash grab tour becuase it had Powerman 5000, Static-X, and Mudvayne. Straight up Nu-Metal nostalgia. It was further proven by the fact that Rob Zombie's intro music was 1999 by Prince. 

[Architeuthis]

Just saw The Who in Seattle last night. Fantastic show and Roger Daltry is just killing it for being in his mid to upper seventies.  He's singing better than ever, and Pete Townshend is still tearing it up.
The only thing is that they have really turned down the volume the last couple of tours. Perhaps to accommodate the orchestra.  The mix was was crystal clear,  but man they need to turn it up a notch or two. It's The Who, they're supposed to be loud!

[ReaperKK]

Saw Steve Vai for the first time last night and I'll probably never miss one of his shows again. I'm not a big fan of his music, hell I made a playlist of the songs he was playing just to familiarize myself and I didn't really care for much of it. But being a guitar player I've always admired and appreciated his skill and I thought I should see him while I still have the chance. Seeing him was just something else, his playing is so effortless and so unique, I don't walk as effortlessly as he plays guitar. It was incredible.

[Stadler]

Noticed the conversation of concert prices being brought up in multiple threads and also generally it's being discussed quite a bit.  Saw this article and figured it's an interesting read

https://www.vice.com/en/article/m7gx34/blink-182-tickets-are-so-expensive-because-ticketmaster-is-a-disastrous-monopoly-and-now-everyone-pays-ticket-broker-prices

EDIT: and oh yea, MAIDEN tonight! 

Yeah, the concept of dynamic pricing has really sucked the life out of me wanting to buy tickets for arena shows.  As I mentioned in other threads, you just hope that the consumers would not give into the FOMO and not buy the tickets in an impactful way.  That stated, I think the fear of there being another pandemic pause in concerts is certainly playing a role which is why people are willing to pay those prices.  Next big show I'm thinking about going would be Elton John at Dodger Stadium, but tickets are high for all three shows, and I don't see a safe and cost-effective way to find nearby parking/close transportation to the venue.

Look, I don't want to say these prices any more than the next person, but I have to laugh at all the "Ticketmaster!" and "Corporate Greed!" nonsense and all that.  Bottom line is this: there's no other industry that I can think of that the MINUTE a product is put on sale, it's available for a higher price somewhere else.  This is not "corporate greed" or any of that nonsense; it's simple SUPPLY and DEMAND.  You have a finite event of singular importance to some people and they are willing to pay.  It's not the fault of Ticketmaster or the arena or the band that there's a demand there.   And you DON'T want the alternative:  the REAL answer to scalping is to price even HIGHER so there's no arbitrage there.   You won't like that, I promise you. 

[chknptpie]

Noticed the conversation of concert prices being brought up in multiple threads and also generally it's being discussed quite a bit.  Saw this article and figured it's an interesting read

https://www.vice.com/en/article/m7gx34/blink-182-tickets-are-so-expensive-because-ticketmaster-is-a-disastrous-monopoly-and-now-everyone-pays-ticket-broker-prices

EDIT: and oh yea, MAIDEN tonight! 

Yeah, the concept of dynamic pricing has really sucked the life out of me wanting to buy tickets for arena shows.  As I mentioned in other threads, you just hope that the consumers would not give into the FOMO and not buy the tickets in an impactful way.  That stated, I think the fear of there being another pandemic pause in concerts is certainly playing a role which is why people are willing to pay those prices.  Next big show I'm thinking about going would be Elton John at Dodger Stadium, but tickets are high for all three shows, and I don't see a safe and cost-effective way to find nearby parking/close transportation to the venue.

Look, I don't want to say these prices any more than the next person, but I have to laugh at all the "Ticketmaster!" and "Corporate Greed!" nonsense and all that.  Bottom line is this: there's no other industry that I can think of that the MINUTE a product is put on sale, it's available for a higher price somewhere else.  This is not "corporate greed" or any of that nonsense; it's simple SUPPLY and DEMAND.  You have a finite event of singular importance to some people and they are willing to pay.  It's not the fault of Ticketmaster or the arena or the band that there's a demand there.   And you DON'T want the alternative:  the REAL answer to scalping is to price even HIGHER so there's no arbitrage there.   You won't like that, I promise you.

Ticketmaster deliberately controls the supply though. They only release 1/8 of a tickets and also send them directly to the resale market without actually selling them in the first place. It is a completely controlled and deliberate environment to drive up prices.

[Stadler]

Noticed the conversation of concert prices being brought up in multiple threads and also generally it's being discussed quite a bit.  Saw this article and figured it's an interesting read

https://www.vice.com/en/article/m7gx34/blink-182-tickets-are-so-expensive-because-ticketmaster-is-a-disastrous-monopoly-and-now-everyone-pays-ticket-broker-prices

EDIT: and oh yea, MAIDEN tonight! 

Yeah, the concept of dynamic pricing has really sucked the life out of me wanting to buy tickets for arena shows.  As I mentioned in other threads, you just hope that the consumers would not give into the FOMO and not buy the tickets in an impactful way.  That stated, I think the fear of there being another pandemic pause in concerts is certainly playing a role which is why people are willing to pay those prices.  Next big show I'm thinking about going would be Elton John at Dodger Stadium, but tickets are high for all three shows, and I don't see a safe and cost-effective way to find nearby parking/close transportation to the venue.

Look, I don't want to say these prices any more than the next person, but I have to laugh at all the "Ticketmaster!" and "Corporate Greed!" nonsense and all that.  Bottom line is this: there's no other industry that I can think of that the MINUTE a product is put on sale, it's available for a higher price somewhere else.  This is not "corporate greed" or any of that nonsense; it's simple SUPPLY and DEMAND.  You have a finite event of singular importance to some people and they are willing to pay.  It's not the fault of Ticketmaster or the arena or the band that there's a demand there.   And you DON'T want the alternative:  the REAL answer to scalping is to price even HIGHER so there's no arbitrage there.   You won't like that, I promise you.

Ticketmaster deliberately controls the supply though. They only release 1/8 of a tickets and also send them directly to the resale market without actually selling them in the first place. It is a completely controlled and deliberate environment to drive up prices.

And that's a fair criticism; but the problem exists on non-Ticketmaster shows, so while they are making it worse, no doubt, there is still a disconnect between what SOME fans will pay versus what ALL fans will pay.  I got escorted into the venue for Bruce Springsteen on Broadway, because the $several hundred dollar ticket I bought would have garnered several thousand dollars out on the street (the two guys sitting next to me paid $6000 EACH for their tickets). 

[El Barto]

The dynamic pricing thing is, thankfully, a problem that doesn't really effect me. If anything it might have made things better for me. Probably half the time I wind up paying less than face value for tickets because scalpers went in too deep. Mercyful Fate is tomorrow night and face is $59+TT&L. I'll probably get in for <$25 all in. The truth is that I seldom go to a concert that's going to be an instant sellout. Tool is probably the only likely candidate, and I've seen them for well under face, too. Much like it has been for ages, you just have to learn how to play the game.
 
Also, while I understand what the problem is, TM is not a monopoly. Live Nation's integration with TM is certainly problematic, but LN isn't a monopoly, either. AEG is certainly holding its own, and is utilizing the same shitty business practices (and Ticketmaster's ticketing service). And in truth, aside from the dynamic pricing thing, and gods help you if you ever need support, TM actually is better than most of their competitors.

[cramx3]

There's a monopoly on these tickets.  Livenation not only owns the ticketing process, they own/operate the venues and even the bands/tours themselves.  I'm all about demand and supply, but there's something wrong here. 

Last week's Smashing Pumpkins concert was much better than I expected.  The show was at Madison Square Garden which was sold fairly well, but not sold out.  Lower bowl was full, I got a ticket in the half empty section in that back because I just couldn't justify spending the $250 cost of a ticket to get lower.  I paid 78$ for my seat and got my work out going up and down the stairs. 



Opening band was Poppy.  I was not familiar with their music although I almost saw them last year as they would have opened for Deftones/Gojira before pulling off the tour when it got postponed.  None the less, I got there in time for their 6:45pm start.  I thought they were OK, better than I expected based on the couple songs I sampled the afternoon before the show.  My issue is I'm not entirely sure how much of the singer's vocals were live.  It sounded noticeably fake a few times which sucks because between the clean and harsh vocals, I would have otherwise thought she was pretty good.  It just sounded very fake to me.  She also wore a see through shirt with stickers on her boobs.  I feel like this is a new trend for females in rock, to be mostly topless.  What does suck for them, there was very little people in the seats to even see them.  You can see the sea of empty seats in my video. 

Up next was Jane's Addiction.  Must say this was a surprisingly really good set.  I just lowered my expectations a bit since they were without Dave Navarro on guitar and I'm generally not a huge fan of them anyway.  I saw them last year and thought they were good, I figured I'd enjoy the set this time around, but I got to say, I think they stole the show.  Definitely had a good crowd reaction.  Everyone made it to their seats when they went on and I saw a lot of people leave when they finished so there was definitely people who came just for them.  During the epic track Three Days, they brought out former Red Hot Chili Peppers gutiarist Josh Klinghoffer to play the same with them, but not before Perry actually proclaiming Josh is in the band.  I don't know if that was a serious comment or just like a throw away line.  But Josh did do a nasty solo to end the song that was pretty sweet.  I could see him fitting really well in this band if he ended up there permanently.  I also thought who ever filled in for Dave was pretty spot on.  There was also three "strippers" on stage for a few songs.  Doing choreographed dances on the back sides of the stage and along the catwalk behind the drums.  I believe as Stadler mentioned to me, that one is Perry's wife.  BUt if you didn't know, you'd think they were three legit strippers as they hardly wore anything and the dances were ones you'd see in a strip club.



Smashing Pumpkins were pretty good. 20 songs from throughout their career with 4 new songs, 3 of which Ive never heard before.  I do like how raw they sound and Billy's guitar tone on those older tracks is just so good.  The guitar solo in Cherub Rock for example. It just sounds great to my ears. The addition of Katie Cole to their live show has been fantastic (she's not new, but they've kept her around and integrated her into their albums now too) as her voice adds to much to the live show.  While I thought the Cyr album was pretty bad, the title track is actually pretty good and seeing that live was a highlight of their set for me.  It did seem odd to only play one song from Cyr, but since I don't like the album, playing more new unreleased stuff may have been the better choice.  I will say, I think they do have some odd placement of the songs.  Like doing Bullet and Today back to back to get the crowd going wild to be followed up with We Only Come Out at Night which is almost a country song? I saw people head to the exits in droves at that point.  Also, to end the set with 2/3 final songs being new unreleased songs including the final song of the night just seems like an odd choice.  I didn't think those songs were bad, in fact, I enjoyed the new songs, but it's just a dead moment to end the show basically.  I feel like Billy does this on purpose for some reason.  I think all three shows I've seen of the band, they all had these anti-climatic endings  I would say another highlight was two NWA fighters (Billy owns the wrestling organization NWA) during Beguiled and the female gave the male (I don't know who these wrestlers are) a stunner during the song Beguiled.  It was pretty awesome, also Billys daughter was on stage just dancing by herself while this was happening 

Smashing Pumpkins Janes Addiction Poppy LIVE @ Madison Square Garden 2022

[cramx3]

The dynamic pricing thing is, thankfully, a problem that doesn't really effect me. If anything it might have made things better for me. Probably half the time I wind up paying less than face value for tickets because scalpers went in too deep. Mercyful Fate is tomorrow night and face is $59+TT&L. I'll probably get in for <$25 all in. The truth is that I seldom go to a concert that's going to be an instant sellout. Tool is probably the only likely candidate, and I've seen them for well under face, too. Much like it has been for ages, you just have to learn how to play the game.
 
Also, while I understand what the problem is, TM is not a monopoly. Live Nation's integration with TM is certainly problematic, but LN isn't a monopoly, either. AEG is certainly holding its own, and is utilizing the same shitty business practices (and Ticketmaster's ticketing service). And in truth, aside from the dynamic pricing thing, and gods help you if you ever need support, TM actually is better than most of their competitors.

I don't know how you are able to score under face value tickets.  I have not been able to at all this year barring a couple instances and the savings weren't much. My biggest wins with savings from ticket purchases this year has been buying from the box office to avoid the TM/LN fees.

As for not being a monopoly, that's true but the problem is LiveNation not only owns the ticketing, they also own/operate the venues and book the tours.  I think it's starting to become clear without being an actual monopoly, they own so much of the process that they may have too much power.  Sadly, as mentioned before, people DO buy these insanely expensive tickets so while I think TM/LN is being greedy here, the supply/demand thing kind of holds true in a sense. As that linked article pointed out, you used to have cheaper tickets and more expensive tickets based on demand, but now everyone pays the expensive price due to the dynamic pricing.

[Stadler]

Up next was Jane's Addiction.  Must say this was a surprisingly really good set.  I just lowered my expectations a bit since they were without Dave Navarro on guitar and I'm generally not a huge fan of them anyway.  I saw them last year and thought they were good, I figured I'd enjoy the set this time around, but I got to say, I think they stole the show.  Definitely had a good crowd reaction.  Everyone made it to their seats when they went on and I saw a lot of people leave when they finished so there was definitely people who came just for them.  During the epic track Three Days, they brought out former Red Hot Chili Peppers gutiarist Josh Klinghoffer to play the same with them, but not before Perry actually proclaiming Josh is in the band.  I don't know if that was a serious comment or just like a throw away line.  But Josh did do a nasty solo to end the song that was pretty sweet.  I could see him fitting really well in this band if he ended up there permanently.  I also thought who ever filled in for Dave was pretty spot on.  There was also three "strippers" on stage for a few songs.  Doing choreographed dances on the back sides of the stage and along the catwalk behind the drums.  I believe as Stadler mentioned to me, that one is Perry's wife.  BUt if you didn't know, you'd think they were three legit strippers as they hardly wore anything and the dances were ones you'd see in a strip club.

Did the girls hang? Not Perry's wife, but the other two?  When I saw them open for Alice In Chains, the two girls had hooks in their shoulders hanging them from the lighting rig. Yes, I meant that literally.   It's not harnesses, but actual hooks through their skin; it's a thing.  (Dave has done it too. It's part of the whole tattoo/piercing scene or something).   Hard to watch, but like a car accident, you still watch.

I dig Jane's, and "Three Days" is always the climax for me; when I saw them, I was sort of a dick and forced my way down front for the "Erotic Jesus" part, and it was total rock star; Dave had his foot up on the monitor and let loose that killer riff.  I didn't take any pictures, I just wanted to experience it, then when the passage was over, I went back to the back side of the pit where I was.  When people realized I wasn't stealing their spot they were pretty cool. 

[cramx3]

There was no hanging.  I know what you mean though, they did that last year. 

I recorded the full Three Days song (which includes the girls, and Josh) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPqY7F9IxGQ

[cramx3]

Last Sunday was the final show of the Sabaton and Epica North America tour.  I had been looking forward to this because I had a very strong sense that something really fun or unique would happen at the end of the show to mark the end of the tour.  I was correct. But let's start off with getting to the venue just before doors and had to line up along two street corners to get in.  The show wasn't marked as a sell out, but both balconies were sold out and the floor was almost so this was a very packed concert.  No surprise there was a huge line.  Took about 30 or 35 minutes to get into the venue, which was fine because Epica started at 8.  Another reason to get in early was that the balcony was GA seated so luckily we were able to claim two good seats (most who got in after us were left to the shitty seats or none at all, it seemed some people were stuck standing). 

This was my 5th time seeing Epica and all of them in NYC.  Being the opener, I didn't expect it to be their best set and it wasn't, but they were still really damn good and this was the biggest crowd I've seen them perform to.  I was really happy for the band to get positive reactions from the Sabaton fans.  The place basically erupted during Beyond the Matrix as they asked the crowd to jump, and even the balcony got up and the whole place was shaking.  There were also a ton of blown up balloons in the crowd just flying around. This song was really epic IMO and at one point a balloon landed in front of Simone and she just gives it a great soccer kick.  I even tweeted the clip of it to her and she retweeted it.  https://twitter.com/Cramx3/status/1585091730676019202  They pulled out all their typical tricks too with the keyboard playing while crowd surfing and a wall of death during Consign to Oblivion.  My only minor complaint was that they only performed 2 songs from their latest album so there was not much fresh songs for someone like myself who've seen them before. 



Up next was the headliner Sabaton.  They are such an energetic band.  I kind of view their show a bit more like a punk rock show, very energetic and fast, the band is active on stage, and it rubs off to the fans with a wild crowd.  The only difference is Sabaton has a huge tank on stage  Their show was VERY fun.  Being the last night of the tour, you could tell right off the bat that the band was happy and playing loosely.  During Shiroyama the guitarists basically stopped playing so they could throw more balloons at the singer.  During the last song of the night, the guitarist stuffed a dollar bill down the singers armor vest and the singer got on his knees and acted like he was going to give a blow job for a moment.  It was just FUN.  Half way through their set, my gf and I wanted to quickly run to get some Epica merch.  While we went to the stand, Mark (guitarist/singer) of Epica was there so I got to quickly talk to him and get a picture together.  He was super nice and seemed to be super happy.  My gf and I both got Epica shirts with him standing by. 

The highlight of the night was easily the encore. To go back to my point about end of tour fun.  During Swedish Pagans Epica came out wearing body suits similar to what Sabaton's techs wear (military like suits) and Simone had a bottle of booze and cups.  They gave out drinks to everyone in Sabaton while someone who looked just like the singer of Sabaton snuck out behind the singer who then surprised him as he broke out in laughter.  Also, not to forget to mention, the crowd was also doing the rowing to start this song.  You can watch the full song here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BE-c10K00-8  After this song they did a cover of ACDC's highway to hell but the guitarist gave his guitar to one of the guys in Epica and they swapped drummers with everyone still hanging and drinking on stage.  Definitely one of my top concert moments of the year!

Sabaton & Epica LIVE @ Hammerstein Ballroom New York City 10/23/2022

Next up:

A halloween show with gwar!
October 31st - Gwar, Light the Torch, Crobot @ Irving Plaza, New York City NY

[lonestar]

Hey Marc...I think it's a local show for you, you may want to check out Band Maid in East Rutherford tomorrow at American Dream. They booked a venue too big (all their other shows sold out in under an hour, I paid 200 for my ticket), and reseller tix are dropping to like 15 bucks. They're a fucking killer show.