I found NZ's most expensive concert ticket
It's not for who you think it is.
This past weekend, I received an email containing a concert ticket pre-sale link. There’s nothing unusual about that: these days, if you’re a music fan who loves going to live events, your life has become a complex web of online ticketing accounts, sign-up links, text prompts, social media alerts, pre-sale dates saved in your calendar, and yes, a steady stream of emails.
This one contained a pre-sale link for a concert by nu-metal’s nadir, Limp Bizkit, who plan to perform in Auckland on November 26. It’s fair to say I haven’t listened to, thought about, engaged with or even slightly dilly dallied with anything remotely Limp Bizkit-ey since 2012, around the time Fred Durst tweeted something so creepy at me I’ve blocked it from memory (and can no longer find the link to post here).
I was intrigued. I had questions. Could a band like Limp Bizkit really fill Spark Arena, Auckland’s biggest indoor venue with a capacity of 12,000? Who would go? What songs would they play? (According to this recent setlist, expect a lot of covers, including The White Stripes’ ‘Seven Nation Army,’ Blur’s ‘Song 2’, and Simple Minds’ ‘Don’t You (Forget About Me),’ which is wild to me.)
My biggest question was this: what does it cost to see Fred Durst and co perform live in 2023, almost 20 years since Limp Bizkit had any kind of cultural relevancy? Clearly, the once mighty nu-metallers still have fans, and are in some kind of demand.
I couldn’t help myself. I had to find out. I clicked on the pre-sale link and put a single GA ticket into my basket. Spoiler alert: it’s much more than a three dollar bill, y'all…
Yes, you read that correctly. To see Limp Bizkit live in 2023 will set you back nearly $200, an eye-watering sum that doesn’t yet include Ubers, snacks and beers. (I didn’t buy that ticket and I’m not judging if you did: if you have $185 spare to see Limp Bizkit perform ‘Dad Vibes’ on a Sunday night in November, I’m in awe.)
But it did make me wonder. What is going on with concert prices these days? Is it just me or do they seem all up the wazoo, like absolutely none of it makes sense at all?
Let’s compare some concert prices, shall we?
This coming Sunday, I’m going to my first proper post-Covid music festival, Listen In.
The line-up includes rappers Lil Uzi Vert, JPEGMAFIA, Ice Spice and Coi Leray, and DJs Skrillex, Mark Rebillet, and Four Tet. I can’t wait, but also the last time I saw JPEGMAFIA perform live I caught Covid in the Powerstation moshpit. Please don’t let that happen again.
Anyway, here’s what Sunday’s all-day event with about a dozen acts performing over two stages at Go Media Stadium Mt Smart will set you back:
That’s almost the same price as it costs to see Limp Bizkit. It’s also about the same price to see Post Malone perform at Western Springs’ Outerfields on his November 1 If Y’all Weren’t Here I’d Be Crying tour stop ($189.90 + fees), or to attend the Laneway music festival in February ($212.90 + fees), or to see Dave Grohl’s Foo Fighters return with a new drummer in January ($220.90 + fees).
It’s also about what you’ll need to see The Chemical Brothers headline Christchurch festival Electric Avenue, alongside a dude-heavy line-up that also includes Six60, Shapeshifter and L.A.B ($179.90 + fees), or to experience Ms. Lauryn Hill and Six60 headline Eden Fest at Go Media Stadium next weekend ($169 + fees).
Judging by those figures, it’s fair to say you need a spare $200 to see any kind of major international touring act or festival in New Zealand right now. But that’s where ticket prices start. They only go north from there. A warning: some of the following numbers are astonishing.
You can see Niall Horan perform at Spark Arena on April 26 for the low, low price of $299 (+ fees). The Weeknd’s December 8 Eden Park show will cost you $301.05 (+fees) for a GA ticket. Pink’s March 8 show at Eden Park is sold out, but you can still get a GA ticket for the following night: it will cost you $414.90 (+ fees).
More than $400 for a single ticket seems like we’ve crossed a new frontier. Yet, remarkably, there’s one act charging even more for a single ticket to their show. It’s someone I didn’t expect to have the most expensive concert ticket in town, but that’s exactly why prices are so damned confusing. So here goes. Are you ready?
To see Curtis James Jackson III, the rapper also known as 50 Cent, perform at Spark Arena as part of his The Final Lap tour on December 14, you’ll need to take out a small mortgage. Yes, the most expensive concert ticket in New Zealand that I could find (excluding VIP and meet-and-greet experiences) are for 50 flippin’ Cent.
One seated ticket, in the middle of Spark Arena, will set you back a whopping $424.90. If you’ve seen any recent footage of 50 Cent performing live lately, you’ll know he’s not worth anywhere near that. He seems out of shape, out of time, his voice reduced to a husky mumble. Get rich or die tryin’? He certainly seems to be giving it a go.
What does this all mean?
I called a few industry mates who know more about this stuff than me to try and make sense of it all. They had a few ideas, some suggestions, but nothing concrete, no smoking gun. One bleakly suggested touring and ticketing companies were taking advantage of a messy market to try and get away with charging fans as much as they possibly could.
Another mentioned the increased costs of bringing acts to New Zealand. When everything’s more expensive – flights, accommodation, shipping, venue hire, staffing, equipment, crew, etc – that all has to be passed onto consumers. I get that. I accept that. But when inflation’s running this hot, it’s hard to know how much of a ticket price consists of actual costs, and how much is taking the piss.
A third took a deep breath and sent me this link explaining how gigantic touring companies are taking over and monopolizing the Australian market. Go read it: it’s scary stuff, and it’s almost certainly happening here too. (This doesn’t help explain why Limp Bizkit tickets cost $185; that one’s a sideshow for Australia’s Good Things festival, which is run by the independent touring company Destroy All Lines.)
Basically, it all comes back to this: fans have no control over ticket prices. If you want to go to a show and can afford to pay the set price, you’re one of the lucky ones. If you can’t, well, fat chance. As another friend said recently: “A concert ticket is a luxury purchase now.”
So, if you’re going to Limp Bizkit in November, I hope they play ‘Nookie’ for you. At that price, you deserve that, a free red cap and a foot massage from Fred Durst after the show.
Did AI write The Creator? It’s a hot mess
It’s a war film. It’s a heist movie. It’s an odd-couple-on-the-run story. It’s a love tale between man and machine. It’s about AI being alive. The Creator, a new sci-fi film from Gareth Edwards, is about so many things it’s impossible to keep up. Individually, they’re good topics, but by the end it all felt pretty hollow. This is a film that has so many influences it doesn’t really know what it wants to say. It’s a shame, because The Creator looks so damned good: the robots, the vehicles, the space ships, and a running, talking bomb with arms and legs all look beautiful. In a world full of sequels, prequels, multiverses and franchises, I’m not going to be mad at someone taking a big swing, but The Creator doesn’t even come close to hitting its target. (In theatres now.)
Gen V is dirty, filthy, and totally down with the kids
You’ll know it as soon as you see it. There’s just one scene everyone’s going to be talking about after the first episode of Gen V lands, and it’s something so explicitly filthy I’m not prepared to discuss here (hi, son!). This spinoff of The Boys – that wonderfully X-rated series based on Garth Ennis’ disturbing comic book series – is about teens becoming super heroes. It lives up to its roots with sickening twists, blood-thirsty violence and a scene so deranged it’s designed to break the internet. Once you see it, you’ll know instantly if Gen V is for you. (Streaming via Prime Video)
I have some notes…
Hallelujah, the writers strike is over. That’s great news for all the writers and associated crew that have been without work for five months now. So why oh why is the first show being announced a reboot of The Office? Leave Pam, Jim, Michael and Creed alone: you’re only going to ruin their legacy.
I’m really, really, really into this trailer for Fingernails, a film debuting on Apple TV+ on November 3.
Want to feel old? Lorde’s Pure Heroine came out 10 years ago. Here’s the transcript of a delightful convo between her and her producer Joel Little about how they met and made the album in 12 weeks.
You can go see Taylor Swift live in New Zealand after all (sort of). Tickets to the movie of her Eras concert that isn’t coming here are on sale now, and the film debuts on October 13. Pack snacks: it’s nearly three hours long.
Dunno about anyone else, but I’m kind of into Usher hosting the Superbowl.
I was going to write a whole newsletter on this, but Pitchfork beat me to it. After the past summer, when outdoor music festivals were cancelled all over the North Island because of extreme weather events, it’s hard not notice that climate change could kill them completely. It’s a big knotty read so take your time.
And finally … ARSON
Who the heck is trying to burn the iMax building down?! If it’s you in this photo, please get in touch: I’d love to talk to you – for obvious reasons.
That’s it for this week’s instalment of Boiler Room. If you liked reading this and want me to do more, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. I’ve deliberately kept prices low so you can still afford those Limp Bizkit concert tickets…