Hmmm. Well, it's breaktime here in the Scroll Shop, so I'll stick my head in the proverbial lion's mouth. Honestly, $100 ain't what it was. I get paid $100 for gigs, on slow nights.
Maybe some of it's generational?
I'm a little bit younger than the average of regulars here, but as a general rule I don't go to concerts of any size. I hate crowds, or rather, being in them. Even if I get tickets to this AK&US show, they'll be for my Dad and someone else... I won't go. Probably my sister or one of his buddies. I just won't deal with the hassles. I've made exceptions for Fleetwood Mac twice, and Jimmy J's team once. It isn't completely about the cost of tickets, but I admit that I think >$150 is getting excessive for a 2 hour show considering what you have to deal with just to get in anymore. FWIW, I had awesome seats to see Fleetwood Mac in Charlotte back in 2013, for <$100, and just slightly more for even better seats in 2015, like $120. When I went to catch JT in Greensboro, it was <$100, and I got to hang with Jimmy J for a few minutes and talk Alembic stuff. I've been a James Taylor fan for years anyway, and I'm a Tarheel by birth. It was a a great show, and getting to meet a bass hero too was a bonus points highlight. I had a $uper gig myself the next night in Charlotte that made the whole thing revenue-neutral, then I went on vacation for a week.
I have observed that the Gen Z trainees I just left to do what I used to didn't even flinch at $500 tickets to see pop-country acts they like, (*I won't name them so as not to generate a bash-fest...) and were totally willing to drive state lines away to see them. It's completely standard in their mind. Hell, they buy donuts and coffee with their phone. I expressed surprise that tickets to *Eddie and the Ripchords were that much and they just kinda' looked at me like... yeah, man. Pro football (or other sports) games? Yep, same deal. A couple of them banded together and drove to Nashville to watch a Titans game, hit Broadway and Music Row and got lubed-up before the game. Cost $1000's. They had a ball, texted me pictures from the stands. It was a party/concert atmosphere. I was already in bed.
My point is, these days people are willing to pay more for live entertainment than some of us seem to be willing to be. I have no clue why. I realize musicians are pretty much the bottom of the food chain in this pyramid, but on some level, I think it's a good thing that concert attendance can be counted upon.
