*** The Concert Thread ***

271,768 Views | 2758 Replies | Last: 2 days ago by 62strat
62strat
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AG
Quote:



2) All-in pricing only works if every one does it, which requires legislation. If you're "all-in" and everyone else is "pre-fees", then everyone else will look like a cheaper ticket.


This assumes you can buy a concert ticket from multiple sellers... none of which are third party. This isn't the case. If you want to buy, say metallica tickets at solider field, ticketmaster is the only retail outlet.

So what difference does it make it TM includes their fees.. they have no one else in which to appear competitive.

Proposition Joe
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62strat said:

Quote:



2) All-in pricing only works if every one does it, which requires legislation. If you're "all-in" and everyone else is "pre-fees", then everyone else will look like a cheaper ticket.


This assumes you can buy a concert ticket from multiple sellers... none of which are third party. This isn't the case. If you want to buy, say metallica tickets at solider field, ticketmaster is the only retail outlet.

So what difference does it make it TM includes their fees.. they have no one else in which to appear competitive.

TM competes against the secondary market (and also has a platform for the secondary market).

If TM Primary has to be "all in", does that mean TM Resale has to be also? What about TM Platinum? What about dynamically priced TM tickets? It's not a simple solution.

I mean, at this point people know for the most part that whatever price they see on TM is before 15% or so in fees. It's no real surprise. Due to the nature of the industry people are just always going to be upset with what price they get or what seat they get or whatever. For the most part people get hung up on "face value" when for most bands "face value" no longer exists. The ticket price you see as "Face Value" on Friday for a pair of tickets may be significantly higher than it was on Thursday for the same pair of tickets.
Know Your Enemy
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May pick up a ticket for Duran Duran tonight. That would be some fun nostalgia.
512Ag
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Took my oldest son (10) to see Weezer the other night. It was his first rock concert. Nice night in Austin for an outdoor show. All us 40-something's had a great time. My son was disappointed they didn't play anything from the Van Weezer album, but overall he enjoyed it as well.
Goldie Wilson
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Looking to go to a concert at Red Rocks in a few months. Anybody have any tips on pre- and post-show transportation? Or nearby hotel recs?
jetch17
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I have a 40 passenger bus booked next week for a show at red rocks for a client outing during convention - probably excessive for what you're looking for, but used these guys:

https://limousinesdenver.com/red-rocks-amphitheatre

They have several options. Also, several local limo/transport companies all seem to funnel through that main hub site, so they search across several companies to price for you depending on what you're looking for (SUV, limo, bus etc..)
Jim01
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This weekend I made a quick trip to Chicago for Dead & Company back to back nights at Wrigley.

Friday night I had a pit ticket, and Saturday night I had a ticket up in the second deck (section 204).

Friday I got there at open, grabbed a shirt, and found a spot on the left of the stage, which was a mistake. Jeff's setup really blocks a lot of the view from that side, so at set break I switched sides and the view was much better. It was a great show and a ton of fun. On the way out I actually ran into a guy from home. Small world.

Night 1 highlights: Deal, Brown Eyed Women, Terrapin, Stella Blue

Saturday I got a little mischievous.

After experiencing the pit I could not stomach 204 and being that far away. Wrigley has a weird system where you go into one specific entry if you are GA, but they don't give you a wristband right there. You have to go to another booth to get that, and it's set up in the concourse where everyone is. On Saturday night they also had a two step process at that booth. You scanned your ticket at the back of the line, then went into an area that was barricaded with those half height metal barricades, and at the front of that area you got your wristband. Well I am hanging out just, I don't know, praying a wristband flies through the air, when I hear a guy tell his friend "Have you figured out the loop hole? Two of the barricades aren't connected. There is a gap!" Well I proceed to watch his friend slip through the gap and something in my usual rule follower brain screamed "GO! GO! GO!" So I slipped in the gap, right next to a group of four guys who see me and said "Hell yeah! Come here buddy!" They fist bumped me and put me in the middle of their group so it looked like I was with them and was simply catching up. We talk about Fridays show, get to the front of the line, I stick out my wrist, and I get a wrist band! We walk out a ways and they tell me "That was awesome! Have a great night!" and we go our separate ways

Learning from Friday, I set up on the right side this time. I also didn't leave to pee anytime so got to move up a bit during set break. Saturday night was even better. The crowd just had so much more energy and the set list was blistering!

Night 2 highlights: Watchtower straight into Bertha, Help On The Way>Slipknot>Franklin, Brokedown Palace

Sad they are wrapping this thing up, as I've really become a big fan since my first show in The Woodlands in 2021, but a great weekend all around!













Know Your Enemy
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Trust me. You want to avoid Wrigley bathrooms (specifically in the concourse) at all costs. Last time I went was in the OF bathrooms and they weren't anywhere near as nasty.
Know Your Enemy
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Know Your Enemy said:

May pick up a ticket for Duran Duran tonight. That would be some fun nostalgia.
Blew off the Duran Duran show but I am going to see Les Claypool tomorrow.
johnnyblaze36
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Jim01 said:

This weekend I made a quick trip to Chicago for Dead & Company back to back nights at Wrigley.

Friday night I had a pit ticket, and Saturday night I had a ticket up in the second deck (section 204).

Friday I got there at open, grabbed a shirt, and found a spot on the left of the stage, which was a mistake. Jeff's setup really blocks a lot of the view from that side, so at set break I switched sides and the view was much better.

Sad they are wrapping this thing up, as I've really become a big fan since my first show in The Woodlands in 2021, but a great weekend all around!

Funny you should say this. My second show was Dallas 2021 on the lawn. Had a great time with lots of friends and had lawns for the next night for the same Woodlands show with just two buddies. I checked TM as we were traveling and bought sixth row Mayer side left and surprised my friends with the upgrade when we got to the parking lot.

Ran into the exact same problem with Jeff's setup majorly blocking the view. I still enjoyed being up much closer than the lawn the previous night but still....it was an unfortunate issue.

Looks like a ton of fun was had at Wrigley. I'm still trying to make the three night Boulder run happen but it's up in the air at the moment.
johnnyblaze36
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Know Your Enemy said:

Know Your Enemy said:

May pick up a ticket for Duran Duran tonight. That would be some fun nostalgia.
Blew off the Duran Duran show but I am going to see Les Claypool tomorrow.
Please post your experience after. I'm going to Houston Friday and all I keep seeing are rave reviews of each night.
johnnyblaze36
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Goldie Wilson said:

Looking to go to a concert at Red Rocks in a few months. Anybody have any tips on pre- and post-show transportation? Or nearby hotel recs?
Not travel related but I do have one rec regarding RR. I have 2nd row to moe. and Umphrey's McGee this Friday (and was going to get Saturday GA).

Trip fell through and I didn't realize the first four rows there through AXS are "non-transferable". I spoke to an AXS rep on the phone today and told her I was just trying to sell them for less than face on cashortrade or even just give them to a friend in the Denver area.

Paid $253 and she basically just told me I'm SOL. I'm thinking I might be able to sell them to a friend or just miracle them so they don't go to waste by allowing them to use my AXS login but I haven't figured out if they ask for ID to match up with the non-transferable tickets and I'd hate to send someone there and they get turned away.

Moral of the story: if you ever buy seats in the first four rows there be sure to purchase ticket insurance in case you end up not being able to attend.
Know Your Enemy
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Will do. I knew Sean Lennon was in the band for this tour but I learned this evening that Harry Waters, son of Roger, is also in the band.
johnnyblaze36
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Know Your Enemy said:

Will do. I knew Sean Lennon was in the band for this tour but I learned this evening that Harry Waters, son of Roger, is also in the band.
I actually only learned the same about Waters' son two days ago. And with Mike Dillon on percussion you can never go wrong. Sucks that Skerik is out with injury but I'm sure you're in for quite an experience.

This was one of the best albums of all 2019 put out imo:



*Sidenote can't wait for the Les Claypool and Billy Strings duo album that is finished and ready for release later this year.

Proposition Joe
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Mentioned it in a previous page, but the ticket companies / bands have ramped up their PR convincing people that non-transferable (with or without a "face value marketplace") is the future to keep those nasty scalpers out.

Like with anything, follow the money. Non-transferable means the ticket companies control the market 100%. Not only will you start getting scalped on the high demand events, but you'll also get scalped on the low demand events because they will be able to control the floor price. If people can't sell, or can't sell under face value, then that means more $$$ for Ticketmaster and the bands.

It's understandable for bands to search for methods to stop or dissuade scalping -- but creating an environment where someone has purchased a ticket (sometimes for an event a year+ in advance) and they cannot actually recoup some of their funds for that ticket if they cannot attend is not good for the consumer.
Victory Dance
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I recommend using Bus to Show if they still have seats available for you, not sure when your show is. Just old, school busses they used to go back and forth but you can bring booze on there and drink the whole time, usually they have a big ass speaker up front and someone just plugs their phone in and plays music. Can hop right back on the same bus you came up on so we usually buy a styrofoam cooler and leave it there so we have some beers on the way back.



BusToShow
Know Your Enemy
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I learned this morning that the opening act is Jerry Harrison of Talking Heads & Adrian Belew. Their set is almost all Talking Heads, including opening the set with my favorite TH song ever. Will definitely be ready for that
62strat
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Proposition Joe said:

Mentioned it in a previous page, but the ticket companies / bands have ramped up their PR convincing people that non-transferable (with or without a "face value marketplace") is the future to keep those nasty scalpers out.

Like with anything, follow the money. Non-transferable means the ticket companies control the market 100%. Not only will you start getting scalped on the high demand events, but you'll also get scalped on the low demand events because they will be able to control the floor price. If people can't sell, or can't sell under face value, then that means more $$$ for Ticketmaster and the bands.

It's understandable for bands to search for methods to stop or dissuade scalping -- but creating an environment where someone has purchased a ticket (sometimes for an event a year+ in advance) and they cannot actually recoup some of their funds for that ticket if they cannot attend is not good for the consumer.
I feel like it's easy to implement a non transfer policy except for within the TM system, and capped at face value. It's already all digital so physical scalping is long gone.

Scalpers would have no interest in the game if they can't make money on their investment. They would have to secure funds above and beyond face value outside of the TM system, which might prove difficult.
Know Your Enemy
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62strat said:

Proposition Joe said:

Mentioned it in a previous page, but the ticket companies / bands have ramped up their PR convincing people that non-transferable (with or without a "face value marketplace") is the future to keep those nasty scalpers out.

Like with anything, follow the money. Non-transferable means the ticket companies control the market 100%. Not only will you start getting scalped on the high demand events, but you'll also get scalped on the low demand events because they will be able to control the floor price. If people can't sell, or can't sell under face value, then that means more $$$ for Ticketmaster and the bands.

It's understandable for bands to search for methods to stop or dissuade scalping -- but creating an environment where someone has purchased a ticket (sometimes for an event a year+ in advance) and they cannot actually recoup some of their funds for that ticket if they cannot attend is not good for the consumer.
I feel like it's easy to implement a non transfer policy except for within the TM system, and capped at face value. It's already all digital so physical scalping is long gone.

Scalpers would have no interest in the game if they can't make money on their investment. They would have to secure funds above and beyond face value outside of the TM system, which might prove difficult.
Like he said though it's more about not being able to resell for less than face to recoup some losses. That should not be allowed.
Proposition Joe
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What should occur is that there is a non-transferable, "Face Value or less" verified ticket exchange/sale page via Ticketmaster.

That way you can't have sales outside the TM system for over face (scalping), but for shows where demand isn't that high you can still get 50 cents on the dollar if you can't attend reselling on their platform.

But Ticketmaster (and the bands) don't want that, because they don't want tickets being sold for less than face value because it cuts into their ability to sell their own tickets (at regular price and platinum price).

So everyone gets sold on this closed system as being the best idea to "thwart scalpers", they'll convince the public to adopt it, and then people will find out when the floor price is completely controlled that suddenly they are paying more for tickets and they can't actually get rid of them once they've bought them.
62strat
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Know Your Enemy said:

62strat said:

Proposition Joe said:

Mentioned it in a previous page, but the ticket companies / bands have ramped up their PR convincing people that non-transferable (with or without a "face value marketplace") is the future to keep those nasty scalpers out.

Like with anything, follow the money. Non-transferable means the ticket companies control the market 100%. Not only will you start getting scalped on the high demand events, but you'll also get scalped on the low demand events because they will be able to control the floor price. If people can't sell, or can't sell under face value, then that means more $$$ for Ticketmaster and the bands.

It's understandable for bands to search for methods to stop or dissuade scalping -- but creating an environment where someone has purchased a ticket (sometimes for an event a year+ in advance) and they cannot actually recoup some of their funds for that ticket if they cannot attend is not good for the consumer.
I feel like it's easy to implement a non transfer policy except for within the TM system, and capped at face value. It's already all digital so physical scalping is long gone.

Scalpers would have no interest in the game if they can't make money on their investment. They would have to secure funds above and beyond face value outside of the TM system, which might prove difficult.
Like he said though it's more about not being able to resell for less than face to recoup some losses. That should not be allowed.
right.. How hard would it be for TM to allow transfer in their system, capped at face value?

That's what I'm proposing to fix that issue.
Goldie Wilson
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johnnyblaze36 said:

Goldie Wilson said:

Looking to go to a concert at Red Rocks in a few months. Anybody have any tips on pre- and post-show transportation? Or nearby hotel recs?
Not travel related but I do have one rec regarding RR. I have 2nd row to moe. and Umphrey's McGee this Friday (and was going to get Saturday GA).

Trip fell through and I didn't realize the first four rows there through AXS are "non-transferable". I spoke to an AXS rep on the phone today and told her I was just trying to sell them for less than face on cashortrade or even just give them to a friend in the Denver area.

Paid $253 and she basically just told me I'm SOL. I'm thinking I might be able to sell them to a friend or just miracle them so they don't go to waste by allowing them to use my AXS login but I haven't figured out if they ask for ID to match up with the non-transferable tickets and I'd hate to send someone there and they get turned away.

Moral of the story: if you ever buy seats in the first four rows there be sure to purchase ticket insurance in case you end up not being able to attend.
Yeah I noticed this as well. Kinda frustrating for someone like me who missed the initial on-sale but would gladly pony up for those seats.
jh0400
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AG
AXS does that with their face value marketplace. So far the only artist I've seen use it so far is Zach Bryan.
Proposition Joe
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62strat said:

Know Your Enemy said:

62strat said:

Proposition Joe said:

Mentioned it in a previous page, but the ticket companies / bands have ramped up their PR convincing people that non-transferable (with or without a "face value marketplace") is the future to keep those nasty scalpers out.

Like with anything, follow the money. Non-transferable means the ticket companies control the market 100%. Not only will you start getting scalped on the high demand events, but you'll also get scalped on the low demand events because they will be able to control the floor price. If people can't sell, or can't sell under face value, then that means more $$$ for Ticketmaster and the bands.

It's understandable for bands to search for methods to stop or dissuade scalping -- but creating an environment where someone has purchased a ticket (sometimes for an event a year+ in advance) and they cannot actually recoup some of their funds for that ticket if they cannot attend is not good for the consumer.
I feel like it's easy to implement a non transfer policy except for within the TM system, and capped at face value. It's already all digital so physical scalping is long gone.

Scalpers would have no interest in the game if they can't make money on their investment. They would have to secure funds above and beyond face value outside of the TM system, which might prove difficult.
Like he said though it's more about not being able to resell for less than face to recoup some losses. That should not be allowed.
right.. How hard would it be for TM to allow transfer in their system, capped at face value?

That's what I'm proposing to fix that issue.

Not hard at all, but they don't want that nor do the artists. It cuts into regular ticket sales and platinum ticket sales.

You see it with a lot of sports teams as well "we've weeded out the brokers!"... and the big Alabama game is still $500 from the ticket office, but suddenly there's not many $5 tickets for McNeese State anymore and you have to go to the box office to buy them for $40.

That's not to say scalpers aren't bad, but don't be fooled into thinking that Ticketmaster or most of the artists don't want to completely control the market and that is not a good thing for the consumer.
johnnyblaze36
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Know Your Enemy said:

I learned this morning that the opening act is Jerry Harrison of Talking Heads & Adrian Belew. Their set is almost all Talking Heads, including opening the set with my favorite TH song ever. Will definitely be ready for that
Yeah they are playing "Remain in Light" in full. Should be great.
johnnyblaze36
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Proposition Joe said:

Mentioned it in a previous page, but the ticket companies / bands have ramped up their PR convincing people that non-transferable (with or without a "face value marketplace") is the future to keep those nasty scalpers out.

Like with anything, follow the money. Non-transferable means the ticket companies control the market 100%. Not only will you start getting scalped on the high demand events, but you'll also get scalped on the low demand events because they will be able to control the floor price. If people can't sell, or can't sell under face value, then that means more $$$ for Ticketmaster and the bands.

It's understandable for bands to search for methods to stop or dissuade scalping -- but creating an environment where someone has purchased a ticket (sometimes for an event a year+ in advance) and they cannot actually recoup some of their funds for that ticket if they cannot attend is not good for the consumer.
I missed that discussion but the whole thing is infuriating. The only band I've seen get it absolutely right in a long time is The Cure on this current tour. Robert Smith is such a badass that he even got TM to refund a portion of the absurd service fees to all ticket buyers when he found out about it after the onsales.

I don't know if it has happened before but it's the only time I've seen face value exchange only on TM for their tour and tickets literally couldn't be scalped on any other site.

Wish more bands would follow suit. Instead we've got Pearl Jam who led the charge in fighting the man nearly 30 years ago now charging $950 just to be on the floor at the back.
johnnyblaze36
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62strat said:

Proposition Joe said:

Mentioned it in a previous page, but the ticket companies / bands have ramped up their PR convincing people that non-transferable (with or without a "face value marketplace") is the future to keep those nasty scalpers out.

Like with anything, follow the money. Non-transferable means the ticket companies control the market 100%. Not only will you start getting scalped on the high demand events, but you'll also get scalped on the low demand events because they will be able to control the floor price. If people can't sell, or can't sell under face value, then that means more $$$ for Ticketmaster and the bands.

It's understandable for bands to search for methods to stop or dissuade scalping -- but creating an environment where someone has purchased a ticket (sometimes for an event a year+ in advance) and they cannot actually recoup some of their funds for that ticket if they cannot attend is not good for the consumer.
I feel like it's easy to implement a non transfer policy except for within the TM system, and capped at face value. It's already all digital so physical scalping is long gone.

Scalpers would have no interest in the game if they can't make money on their investment. They would have to secure funds above and beyond face value outside of the TM system, which might prove difficult.
It is easy as The Cure just proved. Sorry for the redundant repost but hadn't read this. I bought a 9th row for face to the Dallas show on TM an hour before the show for $170. Unfortunately there's too many greedy artists out there who'll never abide by such a thing.

https://www.vulture.com/2023/04/the-cure-robert-smith-ticketmaster-fees-tour.html

Quote:

Update, April 3: Sure, boys don't cry but Robert Smith is giving Cure scalpers a reason to. The Cure leader revealed he has gotten around 7,000 ticket sales canceled on Ticketmaster owing to scalping suspicions tickets either already being posted for resale or being purchased with fake accounts. (Fans whose tickets got caught in the spree can contact Ticketmaster, he added.)

The Cure is only allowing tickets to be resold at face value in an attempt to combat scalping. Smith went on to offer another "weekend thought" on Twitter about the good fight he's fighting: "This ongoing TM 'conversation' is not taking place in a vacuum … The system that values profit over people is really what needs


Know Your Enemy
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Les Claypool's Fearless Flying Frog Brigade put on a killer show last night. The Animals portion of the set was incredible. Seems a lot of people were there for only that as many left after that. But the whole set was tight. Sean Lennon is a better guitar player than I realized. Harry Waters isn't much of a singer but he only really sang a bit of Pigs (Three Different Ones). Sean led on Sheep with Les taking the rest of the vocals.

Jerry Harrison & Adrian Belew sounded pretty good doing mostly Talking Heads material but I missed the start of the set which bummed me out since they open with Psycho Killer, my favorite Talking Heads song of all time.

Everything I had seen showed the opening act starting at 7:25pm so when I walked in at 7:15pm and they were 3-4 songs in I was not happy. Apparently they went on at 6:55pm. Likewise I had seen Claypool playing from 9:15pm-11:15pm at previous shows but last night it was 8:45pm-10:50pm. Maybe the other shows I saw were on a weekend and that's why they started later. Not sure on that.
Proposition Joe
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The Cure did it *almost* right. They still had a floor price of face value on the ticket exchange.

Because the event was actually in high demand, it didn't matter. But think about it for a low demand event -- you've got Row 15 and you paid $150 for it, but Row 10 is still available from the ticket office at $150 -- so it doesn't matter if you list at face, you aren't going to sell your tickets.

In a normal scenario, you'd go put them on Stubhub or sell them to a friend at $75 and recoup half your investment -- but with the "Face Value Exchange", that's not possible.

Artists/TM are keeping that safety net so that resell isn't undercutting the box office. That's fine if transfer is open to anyone, but if it's restricted it allows them to control the market.
johnnyblaze36
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AG
Good to hear. A buddy sent me a short video from last night he took and the visuals/scene looked crazy. They just announced another slew of Fall dates today including Halloween at the Ryman which I found pretty surprising. Can't wait for Friday.
johnnyblaze36
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Know Your Enemy said:

Les Claypool's Fearless Flying Frog Brigade put on a killer show last night. The Animals portion of the set was incredible. Seems a lot of people were there for only that as many left after that. But the whole set was tight. Sean Lennon is a better guitar player than I realized. Harry Waters isn't much of a singer but he only really sang a bit of Pigs (Three Different Ones). Sean led on Sheep with Les taking the rest of the vocals.

Jerry Harrison & Adrian Belew sounded pretty good doing mostly Talking Heads material but I missed the start of the set which bummed me out since they open with Psycho Killer, my favorite Talking Heads song of all time.

Everything I had seen showed the opening act starting at 7:25pm so when I walked in at 7:15pm and they were 3-4 songs in I was not happy. Apparently they went on at 6:55pm. Likewise I had seen Claypool playing from 9:15pm-11:15pm at previous shows but last night it was 8:45pm-10:50pm. Maybe the other shows I saw were on a weekend and that's why they started later. Not sure on that.
What time did the ticketing site for this show say? Tomorrow's on Ticketmaster says 6 pm. So I'm thinking maybe Harrison & Belew come on around 6:30 but really have no clue and don't want to miss anything.
Know Your Enemy
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It said 7pm but I think doors opened at 6. And from what I understand the openers went on a little before 7pm. I was expecting them at 7:25pm so I was a little late unfortunately.
Know Your Enemy
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maroon barchetta
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At HOB in the Tine.

Zebra comes on next. Just saw a band from Austin called Fuzz Wah. They were a trip. Acid rock/early Pink Floyd/Sabbath long solo section in War Pigs/Zappa.

It's their 2nd gig. Pretty decent getting to open for Zebra!
maroon barchetta
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Back from Zebra. I had never seen them in all these years and am glad I did.

With these classic rock bands, very few make it this long with a fully functional lead singer. They either can't hit the notes anymore, take a few songs to get going, talk a lot of lyrics or try to get the crowd to do them (hey, Vince Neil), or they lip sync or get a new singer.

Randy Jackson of Zebra can still nail every note. If you know how high the notes are in some of their songs, it's impressive he ever did it. After 40 years, even more so.

That 12-string and his vocals on Who's Behind The Door was worth the ticket alone.

 
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