Tickets (May Be) Needed

Yesterday, Van Halen issued a new press release, proclaiming the immediate success of their upcoming fall tour.

Several cities, including Toronto and Chicago sold-out immediately, and the band added a second show in those cities. The band also added a show in our nation’s capitol.

Here’s the press release:

(LOS ANGELES, CA) August 20, 2007 Tickets for the first Van Halen tour in more than 22 years with David Lee Roth as lead vocalist went on sale this weekend and resulted in immediate sell outs in multiple markets around the country, including Charlotte, Detroit (Palace), 2 shows in Toronto, 2 in Chicago and one in Philadelphia. Tour producer Live Nation immediately added additional shows in Philadelphia (WachoviaCenter 10/3) and Detroit (Joe Louis Arena 10/20) which will go on sale this Saturday, August 25th.

An additional stop was also scheduled for Washington, DC's VerizonCenter (11/1), extending Van Halen's historic trek to 29 dates in all. Tickets for the Washington, DC date will go on sale this Friday, August 24th. In addition, tickets for the band's October 30th show at Boston's TD Banknorth Garden go on sale this Saturday, August 25th.

A complete list of confirmed dates is attached and more information and tickets are available at www.LiveNation.com. Additional announcements regarding on sale dates will be made in the coming weeks. Individuals who have the Citi® / AAdvantage® card, the official credit card of the tour, will be offered access to purchase preferred seats to all U.S. shows.


Fans can enjoy the ultimate Van Halen experience including concert pre-show parties, backstage access, premium seating and more. For additional details go to www.iloveallaccess.com. Fans are encouraged to also check in at www.van-halen.com for additional information.

Van Halen remains one of the most important and influential bands of all time. Formed in Los Angeles in 1974, the band quickly won a loyal hometown fan base with their electrifying live shows. From the moment they released their self-titled 1978 debut album, Van Halen shook the foundations of rock, thanks largely to Roth's peerless showmanship, Eddie Van Halen's revolutionary guitar virtuosity and their songwriting abilities. It changed rock music forever.

The band's first album proved one of the biggest selling rock debuts, with key tracks like "Eruption," "Running with the Devil," "Jamie's Cryin'," "You Really Got Me" and "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love" leading the way. The next year, the band followed up with "Van Halen II," which included the hit "Dance the Night Away."

Subsequent albums like "Women and Children First" (1980), "Fair Warning" (1981) and "Diver Down" (1982), along with worldwide touring, solidified the band's reputation for innovative and unparalleled live performances. Classic Van Halen tracks from the early 80's include "Everybody Wants Some," "Unchained", "And The Cradle Will Rock", "Beautiful Girls", "Mean Street" and "Somebody Get Me A Doctor" just to name a few.

With their sixth album, released in, and titled "1984", Van Halen rose to stratospheric heights. Recorded at Eddie Van Halen's 5150 Studios, the multi-platinum smash yielded one of Van Halen's signature hits, "Jump," which remained #1 on the Billboard charts for an astounding five weeks straight. Other hits from the album include "Panama," "Hot For Teacher" and "I'll Wait."

The band's record of achievement is hard to top. Presented with two Diamond Award RIAA Certified Status' for their albums "Van Halen" and "1984", Van Halen joins an elite short list of two time Diamond Award honorees in the history of the music industry. The Diamond Award is presented to an artist for album sales of 10 million or more units. They are also in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the most #1 hits on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart than any other band in history.

Inducted into the Rock 'N' Roll Hall of Fame in March of this year, Van Halen has produced a treasured body of work that fans will admire for decades to come.

The news of the immediate sell-out sent me into a panic. What if I don’t get seats? What if I miss one of the biggest concerts of the year (second to only Rocklahoma, of course)?

Is it wrong to buy tickets from a scalper? Does this hurt the band, or are the members of the new Van Halen so rich, should I not care?

Let me know your thoughts on scalpers.

I tend to hate these illegal ticket brokers, but if it means getting a good seat to see a legendary band, I guess I’ll go there.

Hopefully, I’ll be able to secure a handful of tickets, through the (almost illegal) Ticketmaster.

Comments

[Vince Neilstein]

Scalping certainly doesn't hurt the band. If someone has tickets to sell, that means someone had to buy those tickets in the first place -- meaning the band got the money. It's not like the tickets just appeared out of thin air into the scalper's hands.

Where you might get into an ethical dilemma is with ticket brokers, like StubHub, etc, or even just independent ones who buy a ton of tickets when they go on sale just to resell them for a profit. The argument could go something like this; if you're buying from these guys, you're creating a demand for scalped tickets which takes away opportunities to get good seats from the REAL fans who wait on line for hours or go on the internet to get tickets when they're released. But then again, you're a real fan, and you're buying from the scalper, so it's kind of a moot point.

In this case, tickets are going to be so outrageously expensive even at face value AND van halen are so fucking rich anyway that who gives a shit?

[bob_vinyl]

I hate the scalpers and brokers and Ticketmaster all about the same. While Ticketmaster does provide a service, they so grossly overcharge for it and they have such a stranglehold that they're no better than someone who buys up the tickets with the intent on making a profit without providing a service. Not much better are the the promoters and venues who focus only on maximizing profits. In a lot of cases the bands aren't even much better. Does Van Halen need all that money? Of course not. I'm so fed up that I just don't go to big concerts anymore. I stick to small shows where the band, the club and everyone in the audience actually cares about music.

Here's a link to an interesting post about increasing ticket prices:

http://laylasclassicrock.blogspot.com/2007/06/history-of-concert-prices.html

[Christian Graus]

My take on it is that I'd rather have a shot in hell at getting good seats, but given that never happens, I'd rather pay a scalper than sit in the nosebleed section. I'll be paying a scalper to get me into the first few rows of the Scorpions show in a couple of weeks.

[BillyKiss]

Forget the nose bleed seats here down under when these bands visit our shores the tip is to have contacts in the security industry and they will get you in for free.

You rock up,your contact meets you with wrist bands gets you in through the back door and PRESTO your rockin the night away.

Lets face it these bands have enough money from royalties from their back catalogs and all the other merchandise that they sell.

[Christian Graus]

Well, actually, a lot of bands don't make anywhere near what they used to on album sales, and rely on touring, and merchandising, for their profits. Especially in glam/metal, for every band that is set for life, there are 10 that probably make less money than I do.