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On the back of the Oasis ticket discussion, who would you pay silly money for? It has to be a band that could reform and play now, not 'back in time' wishlists.
For me – I'd pay that silly money to see Pink Floyd with both Waters and Gilmour in the line-up. I'd probably just about cope with spending £300 on that.
Maybe if Spacemen 3 kissed and made up, I'd like to see them.
I'd still only stretch to £50 or so though, haha.
Me, in 60 years time (when I'd be in the running for the worlds oldest man) 🙂
I’d pay silly money to see Dire Straits, or Mark Knopfler.
I watch live music an awful lot and did try to get Oasis tickets. Even at £150 I thought it was over priced but kind of expected these days.
I’m going to a small gig on Saturday to watch The Montagues, local North Wales band, very good. £9 a ticket.
I fancied watching the Prodigy a few years back as a mate was looking at getting tickets. But it was just too much.
Anyone who I REALLY like I've seen live already, and anyone old enough to reform would probably be piss poor. Closest is probably REM, but I'd rather save the cash and keep good memories.
Edit: Would much rather go to smaller gigs at smaller venues who are really struggling, than giving my cash to the likes of Ticketmaster and massive venues.
Nobody. I prefer to see new bands. I did pay £35 to see clipping. last year, that was about my limit.
How about The Jam? Nope, saw them in their prime. Fab gig and the memories of that are so much better than trying to drag up the past.
Paying some old hasbeens going through the motions on stage for a massive singalong isn't my idea of money well-spent.
Talking Heads doing Stop Making Sense tour but silly money would top out at €100.
No-one. This madness needs to stop - justifying/normalising £300+ tickets is just stupid, and only encourages it!
My dad was at the Isle of White festival in 1970 but was drunk in his tent instead of watching Hendrix, so I'd pay through the nose to see Jimmy to taunt him 😀
I have a mate who works at the Arena in Manchester and they were telling me the other day the prices of the VIP packages, which they sell out of regularly. It’s absolutely insane!
There are people out there who will pay literally thousands of pounds to see what I consider the most mediocre and meh of bands. But it’s their money and if that’s what they’re into…
Yeah Joe,Jimmy,and Janice triple bill
Queen and The Prodigy don't count (unless you would pay silly money to see them without Freddie and Keith respectively).
Nobody. I'd much rather pay £5-£15 seeing small local bands in small venues. I did go crazy and paid £30 to see J Mascis earlier this year though 🙂
justifying/normalising £300+ tickets is just stupid
in some ways its a lot of money, but in others its not. £300 is probably what an uplifted biking weekend costs, once tickets, couple of nights in a bnb and food etc are considered.
I get a lot of pleasure from a weekend away biking, but its easy to see that someone might get more pleasure from watching their all time favourite band play a gig. The majority of Oasis fans are going to be in their mid-to-late 40s so a lot of them will have a bunch of cash.
I don't know how you set the value for something like a gig ticket (I've never paid over £100 for a gig) but I can see it being fairly easy to justify the money for an event that could be the highlight of your year
£300 is probably what an uplifted biking weekend costs, once tickets, couple of nights in a bnb and food etc are considered
And that's a fair comparison with a few hours watching a band?? I go to a lot of gigs and I go on days uplifted mtbing. They sure ain't the same!
I paid £70 or £80 ish for the Arctic Monkeys (as the kids wanted to go) and Foo Fighters but I don't think I'd pay any more than that for anyone, whos members are all still alive anyway...
No one now, but if I could go back in time I'd like to see quite a few artists in their prime at small venues.
Of the top of my head and in no particular order...
Beastie Boys
Fugazi
Nirvana
Hole
Alice in Chains
Mischief Brew
Siouxsie and the Banshees
Talking Heads
Before they were mega famous my Dad got tickets to see The Beatles but my Mum wouldn't go because they sounded like insects.
Regret not seeing the Talking Heads and Prince so would hypothetically pay good money to see them on the basis it would never happen!
The Smiths - not that it's possible now 🙁
As silly as it sounds. I'm gutted that I never got to see The Cranberries 🙁
+1 The Smiths. Do wonder after the madness of the Oasis debacle if Johnny's position is softening a little!
Miles Davis
John Martyn (again)
Steely Dan
Harry Chapin
Stevie Ray Vaughan is my pick
I've seen pretty much every big classic rock act from the 60s and 70s on their later tours if they were still on the go. Some were fantastic, some were abysmal (I'm looking at you Clapton)
+1 The Smiths. Do wonder after the madness of the Oasis debacle if Johnny’s position is softening a little!
Na Morrissey is claiming that it was on the cards recently but Johnny flatly refused
And that’s a fair comparison with a few hours watching a band?? I go to a lot of gigs and I go on days uplifted mtbing. They sure ain’t the same!
I guess it depends on whether the price of something should be anchored to the cost of producing it or the enjoyment\value gained from it? If the former, the tickets should clearly be a tenner each, as you can see some local band for that?
I saw Talking Heads at Manchester University for a couple of quid, seems about right. I wouldn't pay silly money to see anyone preferring CDs and avoiding crowds.
Radiohead playing somewhere like Hyde park
Not £300 though
Or Simon and Garfunkel playing central park
justifying/normalising £300+ tickets is just stupid
in some ways its a lot of money, but in others its not. £300 is probably what an uplifted biking weekend costs, once tickets, couple of nights in a bnb and food etc are considered.
But most people splashing £300 on a ticket are not only spending that - they have travel, accommodation, drinks etc at the venue - all grossly inflated because they've spotted the cash rich "once in a lifetime" people coming...
That said people spend more to sit in the sun for week, moaning its too hot! They tell me its not just about the enjoyment of the time there but the looking forward to it that they enjoy. Certainly Swifties and Styles fans spent many days or weeks building up to the big day... People with world cup final, F1 Silverstone grandstand , Centre Court mens final wimbledon tickets etc are probably paying similarly silly money for their particular "moment"
Nobody really, unless it included the right venue and a great crowd.
I saw ACDC a few years back in Hamden, all excited after watching the River plate gig on youtube. Needless to say, the vibe with a daylight crowd of mostly 40 - 60 something Scottish blokes, VS a young crowd of excitable Argentinians was somewhat less exciting....
Peat & Diesel in a small local venue for £15 was way more fun.
The who - but the who of the 70s not now
I always regretted never seeing them
Can’t think of a possible band.
Impossible original lineups would be the obvious like Thin Lizzy, Nirvana, Queen etc.
It’d have to be somewhere like the Camden Underworld or the Marquee, whilst I’m on impossible.
Hit the limit of what I was prepared to pay when we went to Foo Fighters in Manchester, that was £85 each and I didn't actually really enjoy it anyway. I would have really liked to see The Mighty Mighty Bosstones live but they split up before I could make good on that.
As for Oasis, I was at the ticket selection stage for Murrayfield but Ticketmaster decided I was a bot and I got hoofed to the back of the queue. They can stick their £300 tickets up their mardy arses. BIL was looking at hospitality for Wembley - £1200 each with no food/drink included.
I wouldn’t pay silly money to see anyone “big” anywhere “big”.
I’d pay silly money for a magic Time Machine to see any of the big bands I like in a tiny venue, at the time they release their debut album, in one of the many great, small, gig venues that have been closed down. I’d start with interpol at the Astoria in 2003
No one. Seen all the ones I liked in my younger years. Happy to see local music now
A mate and I had this conversation earlier today and we agreed on The Sundays, if of course they re-formed. I’m not sure I’d pay three hundred quid for the privilege however.
I reckon I’d pay £1000 to see ac/dc, but only with bon scott, which i guess is unlikely to happen.
Yeh a tad unlikely given he's been dead 44 years.
Silly money (£100+?) - my favourite band in the whole wide world is the Cult and they're doing a UK tour later this year and they're actually playing my hometown York but we're away for it. Same week they're playing Bristol and I'm seriously considering driving from Bude where we'll be, to Exeter/Plymouth and then getting a train to Bristol to see them and then doing the same in reverse. Well over £100 if I factor in train tickets...
Second favourite band in the world is the Toadies but they never/rarely play outside of Texas anymore so the chances of me ever seeing them live is slim unless I decided to hop on a transatlantic flight to do it, something I have considered...
Nobody else - lots of my favourite bands tend to play in small venues now where tickets are £20. I've grown to really dislike massive stadium gigs...
The who – but the who of the 70s not now
I always regretted never seeing them
I got to see them at Glastonbury in 2015 and got almost to the very front 🙂
all excited after watching the River plate gig on youtube.
The River Plate gig is the ONE gig I've ever seen on screen and its made me yearn to be there. Looked absolutely immense (BTW, I might have been at the same Hampden gig - the last one they did there before Brian got signed off, must have been about 10 years back???)
Hit the limit of what I was prepared to pay when we went to Foo Fighters in Manchester, that was £85 each and I didn’t actually really enjoy it anyway
Was about to say that’s just inflation, the last Arena ‘big’ band I remember was Black Sabbath at the NEC. A quick google suggests £18.50, with inflation that’s £42 ish.
Patty Smyth - the only person I've not seen that I would like to
Queen but only with the proper line up. I wouldnt pay to see the current version
If the rules are now and no resurrection / back in their prime, I can't think of anyone. I'm with Desp Bike and SDB, I'd far rather see a new / up and coming band and support them and a local venue.
The two I had chance to see and didn't, in their prime, and will now go to my grave regretting are:
The Smiths (had tickets, gig was rearranged, couldn't make the rearranged gig, split up after.....so not only did I miss seeing them I missed their last gig - http://www.passionsjustlikemine.com/live/smiths-g861212.htm )
- and as Morrissey's a **** and Andy Rourke is dead even a reformation ain't going to cut it.
and
The Cure (was at Glastonbury, didn't even see someone else, had been caning it all weekend on the Cider and WAS JUST TOO TIRED to see them play. I know I've still got the chance but this was prime Cure, and while Fat Bob still has it, it ain't 1995)
And the absolute one I'd have wanted beyond any others would be Joy Division. But I was only 10 at the time.
I'd pay quite a lot to see Sparklehorse again, but that'd be because it would mean Mark Linkous was alive.
I'd certainly give it some thought if Dire Straits reformed, but given their age now and how different the band was at various stages of its life that wouldn't be an unconditional thing I think.
I think if you paid much for mark knopfler yo might be a bit disappointed, saw him a few years ago at the secc Glasgow and played maybe one Dire Straits track with his folky mates
Crappy venue with so many folk walking constantly to the bar maybe a bit bored too
No chance of an encore and back out still daylight at 9.30 pm
Saw Neil young & crazy horse at London O2 for £120... Really good spot too.. Right near the front, but off to the side looking down on a sound desk...
Shame the acoustics in the o2 dome are utter gargabe though
That was going back 11years though... Dread to think what something similar would cost now.
redmex Free Member
I think if you paid much for mark knopfler yo might be a bit disappointed, saw him a few years ago at the secc Glasgow and played maybe one Dire Straits track with his folky mates
I don't mind Mark Knopfler's solo output and actually I saw him at the SECC 15 years ago on his Get Lucky tour, but it definitely wasn't the same as seeing Dire Straits. I'm just a little too young to have seen them live, but way too young to have seen them on the early tours. I think I'd most liked to have seen them touring when they were a 4 piece, of the live tracks I've heard of theirs, the early stuff is what I've enjoyed the most - though Alchemy is great too. On the Night? Not so much.
My Bloody Valentine.
Saw them a couple of times BITD and a couple of times after they reformed in 2008-ish.
They were really good each time and I reckon they'd still be amazing now.
Weirdly, I have no desire to see them again though.
If we aren't allowing resurrection, Stevie Wonder. I had tickets for a gig of his back in 2009, but had an emergency back operation about 2 weeks before and had to give the tickets away for free. Heard him about 5 years later when holidaying in the South of France and he did an outdoor gig about 400 metres from my hotel.
If resurrection are allowed ... The Doors, Queen, The Beatles.
I've been lucky enough to have seen most of my "contemporary" bands through the years ... often in great, small venues
Mine would be Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds 1990's line up playing songs from Tender Prey, Henry's Dream, Let Love In, Murder Ballads albums.
I still buy the new albums as they are released but have struggled to get into most of the recent ones. My attention span has declined as the albums contain less traditional songs with verses and chorus.
Seeing them play classic stuff would be amazing. As it is a wish list I want Grinderman to open and for PJ and Kylie to come on stage for their Murder Ballad duets. Shame that Shane McGowan has passed away as I would have had him singing too.
I'd love to get to see REM again. They were still brilliant live when they called it a day. I don't think it's out of the question that they'll have another go at it as they all seem to get on and pop up in each others current projects occasionally.
Maybe the Led Zeppelin reunion concert, but having seen some of the footage, nah, too self-indulgent.
These days, no one springs to mind, and since lock down I don't do crowds.
The KLF
but has to be full on stadium rave, not machine guns dead sheep and napalm death (could be the encore)
Martyn Ashton Live...
Hang I see this every Tuesday.
So nobody really.
Saw Ramones for about £20 in the early 90s.
One of the best gigs I've been to. Iggy & the Stooges were better, but not by much.
Beastie Boys.
Without MCA though?
50+ years of gig-going means I’ve seen a great many bands and artists, but there are many I missed for a variety of reasons. I finally got to see King Crimson in 2019, I missed seeing REM in Newport, but of those artists who I’ve not had a chance to see, and are still alive, Tom Waits and Joni Mitchell are the two I’d happily pay whatever the price is for tickets.
Ticketmaster need to be brought under control, this ‘variable pricing’ bullshit is absolutely unacceptable, and their booking system is complete garbage. I’ll always try to use an alternative agency for booking, like See Tickets, Gigantic, or AGV, the O2’s agency.
Thing is, even small venues are having to charge higher prices now, because artists aren’t making money, it’s not unusual to be paying £30-odd for tickets for a lesser known artist in a small venue now, or artists who aren’t exactly mainstream, like Laura Marling, who’s playing a few dates in a couple of venues, as she’s now a mum, and touring isn’t an option, and the tickets are £45, Fairground Attraction are playing Bristol Beacon, tickets are £65, Gemma Hayes, who I’ve been following for pretty much her whole career, is playing Bristol Strange Brew, but her tickets are only £18.50, she doesn’t need a tour bus and a large crew though.
Opeth at Bristol Beacon tickets are £47.50, and Wardruna at the same venue are £45, which I think are reasonable. Oh, and I’m seeing Steve Hackett at Bristol Beacon in October, doing highlights from The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, plus other Genesis and solo stuff, my ticket was £51.75.
I will pay quite a lot for certain artists who record and tour infrequently, like Peter Gabriel and Tool, and Kate Bush, who I paid £145 for a ticket, I actually bought three tickets, but that’s my own cost. The show was extraordinary, worth every penny, and it’s unlikely she’ll ever perform again. I also had front row centre seats, by sheer luck.
Taken after the main set.
The White Stripes, but no more than £100, that is silly money to me.
I have always been disappointed by the bands/artists I have seen who are beyond their sell by dates. James Brown was the biggest disappointment, I would have loved to see him in his heydey but by 2005 it was the backing singers doing all the heavy lifting and he was just an old man on stage. I saw the who at around that time as well and they were also disappointing.
It was with those memories that I avoided the stone roses and the specials reunion tours, I had seen the stone roses a few times back in the day, the specials I would have loved to have seen, but decided I would rather keep the good memories in my head rather than ruin them with reality.
So I think it would need to be someone current to get me to spend big, and non of the big acts really do it for me currently.
It bloody is!
Depends on the artist, and the venue. I’m sure there’s loads where the tickets are a tenner or so, but whether they’re people I’d actually want to pay to see is another matter entirely.
Speaking, as we were, of Sparklehorse, I’d forgotten I’d seen them twice at The Fleece, first time in ‘98, supported by someone called The Paradise Motel, who seem to have vanished into obscurity, the second time supported by Gemma Hayes, who, thankfully hasn’t.
For any Sparklehorse fans who might be interested, here’s the setlist for each gig, and Gemma’s rather brief one, written on the back of a large envelope!
Just checked The Paradise Motel, and they released six albums, last one in 2013. They’re Australian, they relocated to the U.K. in ‘98/99, disbanded in 2000, and reformed in 2008. Nothing else since. Got to download some of their stuff now, see if I can remember what they were like!
"lesser known artist in a small venue" is what I based my answer on.
I honestly can't think of any 'bucket list' bands that are a) mostly still alive and b) I haven't already seen. With a time machine there's plenty, Queen jumps immediately to mind.
There's quite a few I'd like to see live but haven't yet, but nothing that I'd pay three figures for unless it was part of a larger event. I'd love to see The Pretty Reckless, but not at prices where they're a supporting act for AC/DC. On a triple headliner bill with Halestorm and Paramore, perhaps.
The Smiths like some others have mentioned