OK so I've had alot of people request OAR. Now my question is how much would you pay to see OAR and a local or regional (maybe the Gourds) play here in College Station?

honestly, it'd depend on where you have it.... If it's in some sweatbox like the Tap, you won't see me there. That place is just too crowded to have a good time - that is, if you actually went there to see the show.
$10 ticket would be reasonable.

Name your price for an Old 97s show - I'd be there if I had to sell my liver to science to get the ticket $.

Honestly though, if you have to ask random folks on an internet board how much they'd be willing to pay, it makes me think you're just going to charge too much anyway. Why not just charge what'd be a comparable ticket in any other town for a similar venue & lineup. ex: Just saw the Shins in Houston for a $15 ticket. Charging much more than that here = price gouging.

[This message has been edited by Salome (edited 6/15/2004 3:26p).]

What's up Juan, this is James from (ex)Adamo.

Yeah, I know the difficulty with booking big shows in this town-- while there are a handful of people who are extremely passionate about seeing this town become more musically involved, there are simply too many people here who don't give a damn. Investing 10k in a show here is a risk, and I definitely admire anyone who is willing. But here are my 2 cents

Polyphonic Spree -- I corresponded with the band a while ago before they got big, and they expressed some interest in playing here. If they are not too expensive, you could definitely get people to come see this band. I imagine their pricetag has risen somewhat now that they are a major act in Lollapalooza (not to mention toured with David Bowie). But I would definitely look into it...

Secret Machines -- these guys are about to blow up, you could probably book them for cheap. Used to be out of Dallas; they've since moved to NY and have become insanely successful there.

Other bands that would be cool --

Broken Social Scene
Ben Folds
Death Cab for Cutie
Beulah
Modest Mouse
The Shins

But as you know in this town it's all about the buzz... you can hype up a cheap ****ty act just as well as a good one. I know this is relatively sacreligious to say, but if you are looking for the easiest way to boost attendance and alcohol sales, try to get a frat involved. Support from a decent sized frat here can be good for 500 heads (I'm not kidding; Sterling knows what I'm talking about).

Good luck,
James

I would pay $20+ to see OAR and $10+ to see The Gourds.

The venue is a huge point of contention to me. A nice venue combined with even a slightly-above-mediocre act is a better sell than a great act at a crummy venue.

For instance, if OAR played at Wolf Pen, I'd consider driving down from Dallas to go to the show. If OAR played in Dallas at Starplex again I wouldn't even drive across town.

The owner(s) of Wolf Pen need to understand this: Wolf Pen is a gorgeous venue, and I've loved the acts that I've seen there in large part because of that. But a $15,000 a night venue it is not. Wolf Pen would be wildly successful (and its owners would be filthy rich) if they didn't price it out of the market and had more than 5 shows there a year.

Apparently they never took Economics...

Salome - I'd be very hesitant to charge more than $10 a ticket. The only exception is if it were absolutely necessary for us to break even. (i.e. for a band that we have to pay $20k just to show up in a 1,000 person venue, the break even point is the place selling out at $20 a head. That's not even including sound.)

Hey James, I've talked to the Polyphonic Spree and they want to play an outdoor venue, the only one in town that would be suitable would be Wolf Pen, which we've already addressed. I could try a free show on the Promenade, but I'd have to raise a ton of money for that. Modest Mouse's agent has called me and are interested in playing in September, but they're asking for alot of money and most venue owners here have never heard of them. Besides, I already have a show far into the works on the same date that they're asking about. Death Cab would be great, I think they are currently working on a new album though. The Shins haven't done any routing for the Fall yet and their agent thinks they may be doing shows in Europe.

friend of cheese - For most of the big shows here, I would most likely put them at Shadow Canyon. The Gourds will be in town sometime in the next year. Davis, their agent, really wants them to come into town. I've considered them on a double bill with BTE and also by themselves. Either way it'd be a great show. OAR is a band that I am starting to consider heavily just from the responses I've gotten from the possibility of having them, so I'll try to make that happen.

I would pay $20-$25 for OAR, that's what I am paying to see them in Austin at Stubb's in July

quote:

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Modest Mouse's agent has called me and are interested in playing in September, but they're asking for alot of money and most venue owners here have never heard of them.

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There is a reason reputable venues have booking agents. The mere fact that Modest Mouse isn't thumbing their nose at College Station is reason enough to book them. I guarantee that Modest Mouse could fill any non-Reed, non-Wolf Pen venue, plus they would draw a moderate number of folks from Austin and Houston. Plus me and a friend.

Honestly, are the owners of Wolf Pen just that out of touch with reality? (I assume you know/have spoken with them.) It's the best venue in town, bar none, and an OAR show there would be soooooo much fun. I think you could charge $20-25 a head and pack Wolf Pen -- maybe not sell it out, but it would be worthwhile if there was enough publicity on campus and on the radio. What is WP's capacity?

Shadow Canyon would be the perfect venue for the Gourds, both size- and atmosphere-wise.

The Bryan-College Station music scene is ridiculously messed up -- thanks for making strides to rectify it.

I'd like to see Pearl Jam play Reed (probably won't happen). They played Penn State, so why not A&M?

Also, I'd like to see the band Live come back to town. They are probably one of the most underrated bands. Everybody has heard a song by them, but has no clue who it is.

I'd pay about $50 to see PJ and $30 to see Live.

Mark Chesnutt would be a great act to see. I've seen him once before and he did a LONG show and played all of his hits as well as a couple of covers.

i think you could count on just about everyone in tmfh to come out to a modest mouse show. i'd even come to town for it.