When I was a young kid I walked to our local village shops and bought myself a secondhand album - A Star is Born.
I got lucky - the album was newly released.
And so began a nearly 50 year love affair with Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson.
My older sisters mocked me as I lay on the floor in our lounge, my head pressed to the large speaker - sound down as low as I could get it - in an attempt to avoid being mocked for listening to my beloved album on repeat 😅
I still own the album, it was the first in my collection. It still has the $3 price inked on the jacket.
I love that it turned out my childhood musical idols are also people who spend / spent their lives advocating for a better world.
Thanks for your writing, Chris. I really enjoy reading you.
Concert tickets are yet another item that has gone up in price out of step with inflation.
Honestly, I get suspicious of big concerts with high price tags, and I assume the high pricing is some form of greed somewhere along the line - venue costs or equipment costs or whatever. Someone is overcharging someone.
We saw Maiden as a family and it was so great - highlight of our year but just so expensive! And they're always on a week night which means you miss work if you have to drive from Welly. Still worth it but not something we can do often. Our tween got so sick of hearing us talk about "the good old days" when we would drive to Auckland for gigs every other weekend. His eyes were glazing over as we talked about the king's arms and cheap petrol. Kids these days!
Yep, that Billie Eilish show cost the three of us like $600+. Add in flights and accommodation and it's just not possible. Iron Maiden though - I hope it was family friendly!
I pay for Spotify and YouTube; stream 100% of my music these days; but still have all my records, cassettes and CDs in a cupboard under the stairs, just in case streaming services ever cease (world war etc) or increase dramatically in price. However, many people don’t pay for streaming. Artists have always been ripped off by record companies, promoters, managers. But these days it seems artists have to charge top dollar to make any sort of living - indeed to make touring profitable. So… pay the money and enjoy the show. Or, as one comment here suggests, enjoy the range of top quality Aotearoa artists who regularly play for $15-100. You don’t think twice about paying your mechanic, dentist, lawyer, restaurant…
I 100% agree we should all be checking out more local acts - I have tickets to Mousey coming up and can't wait. I guess I'd just love to see that full spectrum of acts and artists. That way we get to see those big acts growing and changing every few years, smaller acts get to play in support, and all our behind the scenes support crews are employed. If you take out a large proportion of those major acts, that's a huge thing that's suddenly missing. I don't think we understand the long lasting effects if everyone's suddenly going to Oz to see them instead.
Ha ha, right on cue, Spotify have just messaged to say our whanau subscription is increasing to $30 per month from November. I don’t care: Music is an addiction. Spotify should pay the artists more, though.
The importance of knowing about and bonding with a good artist before everyone else forms a memetic desire for them is increasing all the time! Imagine seeing Billie at the Tuning Fork.
Yeah looking back it was pretty nuts - Lorde was in the crowd and Billie's mum was side of stage watching over her. She would have only been 16 or so back then. What a rise (that we no longer seem to be a part of, sniff)
Last time U2 came (2018-19ish?) To play 2 nights in Auckland, I was up to play a gig at Leigh Sawmill. So the next night we had a delicious curry in Mt Eden, then parked near Mt Smart and listened to U2 for free outside the stadium. They sounded great under a grey Auckland sky. We already knew what they looked like and U2 didn’t need the extra $. By the time I’d flown home the next day, someone had posted the whole concert on YouTube.
Yeah when a stadium show is done right, it can be magic having all those people together celebrating the one thing. That's why I'm so mad so many acts are bypassing us!
Seems I'm way too easy to please - musically speaking. Some might even say, a cheap date - for the month of October at least....
Saturday 5th Louis Baker, San Fran, Te Whanganui a Tara Wellington $53.53
Friday 11th Tami Neilson [Sings Nelson 🥹] Opera House Te Whanganui a Tara Wellington $112.33
Thursday 28th Delaney Davidson and Barry Saunders, Suites Gallery, Cuba Street,Te Whanganui a Tara Wellington $58.50
Too lazy to leave home? Definitely. Lucky in live? That too!
Don't judge me for my home advantage, Chris 😌.
I'm a happy customer. I can have my home comforts, and live concerts too.
Of course, I will need earplugs for San Fran and the Opera House - I'm sensitive to a loud sound.
Lastly, in memory of Kristoffer [Kris] Kristofferson.
https://youtube.com/shorts/vfPoUZQQY8M?feature=shared
When I was a young kid I walked to our local village shops and bought myself a secondhand album - A Star is Born.
I got lucky - the album was newly released.
And so began a nearly 50 year love affair with Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson.
My older sisters mocked me as I lay on the floor in our lounge, my head pressed to the large speaker - sound down as low as I could get it - in an attempt to avoid being mocked for listening to my beloved album on repeat 😅
I still own the album, it was the first in my collection. It still has the $3 price inked on the jacket.
I love that it turned out my childhood musical idols are also people who spend / spent their lives advocating for a better world.
Thanks for your writing, Chris. I really enjoy reading you.
That’s a great line-up of shows Sarah! Very jealous…
Oasis definitely maybe coming to NZ? More like "definitely not".
Haha I’ve gotta get that into a headline :)
Concert tickets are yet another item that has gone up in price out of step with inflation.
Honestly, I get suspicious of big concerts with high price tags, and I assume the high pricing is some form of greed somewhere along the line - venue costs or equipment costs or whatever. Someone is overcharging someone.
If you read that Rolling Stone story I’ve linked to then yep, that explains much of it. A monopoly is never good, etc…
Would if I could, stupid paywall.
BTW I've got that Naima Bock album on my to-listen list for next week :)
It’s good! Chill vibes.
Try https://archive.md/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/live-nation-ticketmaster-monopoly-lawsuit-doj-justice-department-1235114969/
Oh and that bonus beat worst nightmare 😂🤣😂
We saw Maiden as a family and it was so great - highlight of our year but just so expensive! And they're always on a week night which means you miss work if you have to drive from Welly. Still worth it but not something we can do often. Our tween got so sick of hearing us talk about "the good old days" when we would drive to Auckland for gigs every other weekend. His eyes were glazing over as we talked about the king's arms and cheap petrol. Kids these days!
Yep, that Billie Eilish show cost the three of us like $600+. Add in flights and accommodation and it's just not possible. Iron Maiden though - I hope it was family friendly!
I pay for Spotify and YouTube; stream 100% of my music these days; but still have all my records, cassettes and CDs in a cupboard under the stairs, just in case streaming services ever cease (world war etc) or increase dramatically in price. However, many people don’t pay for streaming. Artists have always been ripped off by record companies, promoters, managers. But these days it seems artists have to charge top dollar to make any sort of living - indeed to make touring profitable. So… pay the money and enjoy the show. Or, as one comment here suggests, enjoy the range of top quality Aotearoa artists who regularly play for $15-100. You don’t think twice about paying your mechanic, dentist, lawyer, restaurant…
I 100% agree we should all be checking out more local acts - I have tickets to Mousey coming up and can't wait. I guess I'd just love to see that full spectrum of acts and artists. That way we get to see those big acts growing and changing every few years, smaller acts get to play in support, and all our behind the scenes support crews are employed. If you take out a large proportion of those major acts, that's a huge thing that's suddenly missing. I don't think we understand the long lasting effects if everyone's suddenly going to Oz to see them instead.
Ha ha, right on cue, Spotify have just messaged to say our whanau subscription is increasing to $30 per month from November. I don’t care: Music is an addiction. Spotify should pay the artists more, though.
That's a big increase! I wonder if Apple Music will follow suit...
The importance of knowing about and bonding with a good artist before everyone else forms a memetic desire for them is increasing all the time! Imagine seeing Billie at the Tuning Fork.
Yeah looking back it was pretty nuts - Lorde was in the crowd and Billie's mum was side of stage watching over her. She would have only been 16 or so back then. What a rise (that we no longer seem to be a part of, sniff)
U2 in Auckland. $20 !!! Outrageous…
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/v92R4kEdG1FA8R9P/
Ha imagine what it would be now - that wouldn’t even cover Bono’s hair dye…
1984. Peak mullet. U2 touring ‘The Unforgivable Hair’ 😉
Last time U2 came (2018-19ish?) To play 2 nights in Auckland, I was up to play a gig at Leigh Sawmill. So the next night we had a delicious curry in Mt Eden, then parked near Mt Smart and listened to U2 for free outside the stadium. They sounded great under a grey Auckland sky. We already knew what they looked like and U2 didn’t need the extra $. By the time I’d flown home the next day, someone had posted the whole concert on YouTube.
Love 'em or hate 'em - it's usually a great show.
Yeah when a stadium show is done right, it can be magic having all those people together celebrating the one thing. That's why I'm so mad so many acts are bypassing us!