the price to pay for pleasure

I frequent Pollstar.com to see if any decent bands are coming to Upstate New York. I am usually disappointed by the lack of acts visiting my local Syracuse area, but relatively close towns and campuses like Rochester, Ithaca and Albany book a pretty solid number of shows every semester.

Today I logged on to the site to see what concert activity was brewing around here (and also be teased by the quality shows scheduled for my hometown metro area of DC and Baltimore).

A new scrolling marquee grabbed my eye, showcasing the average ticket prices for various shows/artists.

Here's a few figures that might aide you in budgeting your monthly concert allowance or just surprise you:

American Idols Live -- $60.68

These people did not win American Idol. Do you really want to pay $60 to see people who didn't make the cut? Apparently so.

Andrew Bird -- $24.22
The Avett Brothers -- $21.33
Bon Iver -- $15.94
Billy Joel -- $104.04

Be thankful if you saw Billy in the Dome for Block Party. Weren't those tickets $10?

Cold War Kids -- $17.20

I'm surprised by this. I feeling they broke into mainstream, which almost always equates to a $10+ price hike in ticket prices.

Crystal Castles -- $21.87

I definitely dig Crystal Castles, but I'm not sure if they're worth almost $25. Prices are probably a little on the pricey side because they've got to pay off those legal fees.

Dr. Dog -- $15.97
Fleet Foxes -- $14.85
Fujiya & Miyagi -- $12.59
Feist -- $35.44
GirlTalk -- $15.88
Hot Chip -- $23.65
Islands -- $14.39
Jay-Z -- $112.01

Faux retirement always means legitimized expensive tickets. Brilliant if you ask me. I hope M.I.A. doesn't do the same.

Jesse McCartney -- $39.37

That is what we're dealing with. Yes, I'm not kidding. $40? I do not think I would pay money to ever see that. Actually, I never ever want to see that ever again. ever.

Jenny Lewis -- $24.44
Kings of Leon -- $37.27
Lykke Li -- $19.02
Little Joy -- $12.02
M83 -- $18.02
MGMT -- $15.88
Mates of State -- $14.31
Matt & Kim -- $10.19
Neko Case -- $25.00
No Age -- $8.42

SO CHEAP FOR SUCH AN AMAZING BAND. My friend Tuan (of Now That's What I Call Music) said that they're incredible live; he has seen them twice. Randy really plays to the crowd too.

of Montreal -- $19.55
Ray LaMontagne -- $36.85
Rodrigo y Gabriela -- $29.49
Ratatat -- $17.76
Ra Ra Riot -- $12.60
Sigur Ros -- $39.10
The Wood Brothers -- $15.07
Yelle -- $18.13

Pollstar says that the average prices are averages of North American ticket sales over the past year and they do not account for extra fees.





Any ticket prices seem off to you? Too high? Too low? Comment.