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Joe Bonamassa Forum → Old Topics → Has Joe Forgotten His Fans
Oh I also forgot the Ticketmaster mafia style vig , ( Thank Irving Azoff for that...) plus the scumbag ticket brokers who charge 400 dollars for a soldout show and blame it on me... and the other Bullshit that goes along with putting the show on sale...
# frustratedbuthavingthetimeofmylifeplayingwithmyfantasticband
Joe B
Sorry... I just went all New York on you.... #youcantakethebluesboyouttanewyorkbutyocanttake
I guess that answers the question. How can he forget about the fans when he comes here to keep up with what is going on. Always has and always will.
Some people will complain no matter the situation. You can't make everybody happy and to some people $15 is a lot of money. Doesn't buy much anymore. Here or there.
Oh I also forgot the Ticketmaster mafia style vig , ( Thank Irving Azoff for that...) plus the scumbag ticket brokers who charge 400 dollars for a soldout show and blame it on me... and the other Bullshit that goes along with putting the show on sale...
# frustratedbuthavingthetimeofmylifeplayingwithmyfantasticband
Joe BSorry... I just went all New York on you.... #youcantakethebluesboyouttanewyorkbutyocanttake
TicketBastard? Don't get us started on that! ;^p
Syracuse PBS just played the Vienna show. Great concert Joe!
Oh I also forgot the Ticketmaster mafia style vig , ( Thank Irving Azoff for that...) plus the scumbag ticket brokers who charge 400 dollars for a soldout show and blame it on me... and the other Bullshit that goes along with putting the show on sale...
# frustratedbuthavingthetimeofmylifeplayingwithmyfantasticband
Joe BSorry... I just went all New York on you.... #youcantakethebluesboyouttanewyorkbutyocanttake
I just love you Joe Bonamassa!!!! You're my kind of guy 
I just went all Iowa on you! 
pattyluvsjoe 
I have no problem paying whatever the cost to see Joe. Quality cost, would rather see a show well put on in a smaller setting than one in a huge arena. My only problem is that I have to travel a good distance to see him, end up taking 2 days off work,but well worth it. As for forgot about his fans thats just crazy, he has always took time to speak to myself and friends after the show, not that he has to he could blow everyone off and get on the bus but doesn't and that means something to me. Looking forward to seeing him in Minneapolis in April, with one newbie in tow.
+1
I have no problem paying whatever the cost to see Joe. Quality cost, would rather see a show well put on in a smaller setting than one in a huge arena. My only problem is that I have to travel a good distance to see him, end up taking 2 days off work,but well worth it. As for forgot about his fans thats just crazy, he has always took time to speak to myself and friends after the show, not that he has to he could blow everyone off and get on the bus but doesn't and that means something to me. Looking forward to seeing him in Minneapolis in April, with one newbie in tow.
Well, just a bunch more +1's.
Plus, I call it a bargain when I can get in first few rows for the prices I have to pay when compared to other touring artists. I'm paying more than double for the same seat in the same venue for a "name", who doesn't put on half the show that Joe does. Talk to the "name" act before or after the show? Not a chance.
Keep up the great work and thanks for being there for your fans, Joe.
First of all... Let me say.... Yes they are expensive... But if anybody thinks every penny goes into my pocket here is the deal...
The touring cost have gone up especially in Europe and the Uk....
Bus Regulations
Arena Cost.. We play half house arenas... They dont care... Charge us for the whole house.. Rush..does 14k. Iron Madien( same) Us 5k....
Better sound and lights.. ( something I will spend my last dollar for)
tour personel.. 22 people to pay every week to support the above...
Union personel... ( in the USA it is a freaking rip off that is borderline criminal in some places..) by the way...24 people above the tour.
fuel for 2 buses and two semi trucks.. 700 bucks per truck and per bus 4 times a weeks... Tell Shell to lower the price of gas..
Oh by way... 2 buses 10,000 per week.. per vehicle..
2 Semi Trucks ( see above)
hundreds of Hotel rooms per tour...
food for 22 people twice a day..ect ect ect....
I havent forgot the old days nor any of you that I know on a first name basis... The cost is stagering for these days... I try not to think about it and just play my Gibson...I hope this sheds some light on this discussion...
Joe B
Boom. Says it all right there. He ain't wiping himself with 100's. 
The down low from the man himself. I hope this dispels any notion that he is lighting cigars with 100's or even 20's.
Prices are up everywhere. What matters is that the product being put out is still top notch and will continues to be. I appreciate that Joe is the type of person who doesn't need to explain himself, but still decided to. That should show that he definitely has not forgotten about his fans.
Yep! What ever you charge, I'll pay Joe. You can't put a price on the best music experience around.
Rick
...feed 'em once a day Joe! ...Leo the Lab' survives ok on it! lol
Perhaps a slightly irrelevant standpoint here but i'll make it all the same....
I'm gonna go small scale on you guys, Irish style...
I play in a working covers band, nothing special, pubs, clubs, weddings and proms. There's 6 of us in the band. Our normal rate (after 6 years of playing) is €360 (470usd) for local gigs, that is, gigs within a 10 mile radius of us. And €420 (550usd) for travelling further afield, and that can be anything within 100 miles. That's for a 2 hour set. Now we don't charge admission or anything, that's not how it works here...the pub/club pays us and they reap the profits at the bar (even play one place that passes a top hat around, supposedly for tips for the band and that sucker is full of notes sometimes, of course we don't see a penny of it. They likely make more than they pay us but that's a rant for another day!)
Alas, I digress, back on point, bars pay us that relatively small amount of money and yet time and time again they try to haggle and pay less, they infer that we're too expensive, no one makes €60 an hour etc etc
What they, like so many others, forget is that they're not paying us for 2 hours work, 2 hours playing maybe, but not 2 hours work. We pack up all the gear and pack the van to be there at least 3 hours before we start, unpack the van, lug the gear in, set everything up, set all levels and do a sound check, wait around til it's go time, do the show, and then after the gig and the inevitable encores, we pack all down again, lug it all back out to the van, pack the van, drive back to our rehearsal space and unpack it all again!!! I swear my muscles have grown at a ridiculous rate since we started. So yeah, my point, it's not 2 hours work.
Then there's all the rehearsal time that goes into making sure the performance is perfect, 5 days a week practicing either with the others or individually.
Then there's all the gear, ok obviously we can't complain about the cost of our instruments but the extras, PA systems and power amps, countless xlrs, speakons, instrument mics etc, stage lights...the list goes on and on...
Transportation costs, the price of the van for a start, plus fuel to and from the gig, road tax and insurance...
Anti social working hours, having to deal with drunken morons and putting your equipment at their mercy. Leaving any personal problems at the door and putting on your best game face....
Anyway, you get the point. What I'm trying to say is it's very easy to forget the details and see, through that narrow tunnel vision, something as being too expensive. When you fully understand all the things you're paying for, you'll realise how cheaply you're getting it!
Besides, if you think 75dollars, or however much Joe's tickets are, is expensive, try calling out a plumber or an electrician at 8 or 9 o'clock on a Saturday night, see what he says when you offer him 75 dollars, he'd likely laugh in your face.
Sorry, didn't mean to rant quite so much, but this kinda thing annoys me on a personal level....you'd never guess though right? 
First of all... Let me say.... Yes they are expensive... But if anybody thinks every penny goes into my pocket here is the deal...
The touring cost have gone up especially in Europe and the Uk....
Arena Cost.. We play half house arenas... They dont care... Charge us for the whole house..
(snip..)
Joe B
I don't think that anyone thought Joe trousered the whole fee, got paid with sacks full of money at the stage door and sleeps on a mattress stuffed with 100's. If they do, they're missing the point.
It's interesting that most of the, lets say, defensive comments are US based and most of the "How much?!! Jebus!" comments are from Europe (especially UK). Now, I don't know if this is a cultural thing or if times are harder over here but for Joe to mention the touring costs are higher in the EU probably play a significant part too.
My only comment on that is that, if it is more expensive in the UK, why then play in half arenas and pay the whole price they demand which has to be passed on to us? Why not play smaller, cheaper venues (often much nicer atmospheres) to keep everyones costs down? It probably doesn't work like that though. Nothing is ever that simple.
Yes, the costs Joe outlined (didn't have/need to, for me) are as eyewatering as a cattle-prod to the groin, but that's to be expected from such a big operation. Is bigger better, though? I'm not convinced it is.
I'd hate for Joe to see all these comments as ungrateful criticism, because they're not. I'd rather think of it as honest, constructive feedback which is offered without malice or obligation.
Hi Joe
Your the best your prices are worth every penny. Keep the blues moving along
cheers Ron
The way I see it, this was always going to happen. The venues would get bigger and the tickets more expensive. Of course the prices will be too much for many, and others will make other choices. Personally I love the intimacy of smaller shows and the most expensive ticket I've bought this year so far is £25 to see Robben Ford, whom I've not seen before. I'll also see other great acts for even less. On this occasion I will not see Joe, but I'll cope with it without sounding off. Ticket sales are driven by demand and while the venues are still full, there will be no change to that. I'm sorry for the dilemma that some will have to face, but if you feel it is too high, there are plenty other great acts out there who you can see in many of the venues Joe used to play. Finally, if Joe had forgotten his fans, he wouldn't be playing the larger venues in order to accomodate them.
price is determined by supply and demand. Absolutely agree it is a shame that some fans may not be able to afford to pay the prices because Joe is now a much more popular artist than he was 3 or 4 years ago so plays bigger venues with the associated higher costs.
- But to just make a sweeping statement accusing Joe of forgetting his fans is way off the mark.
I just went all Iowa on you!
pattyluvsjoe
He probably noticed the corn, my dear...
Shu
Joe Bonamassa Forum → Old Topics → Has Joe Forgotten His Fans
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