What the heck is going on with these shows!!!!????

[tkramer]

I know this was a topic a couple days ago, but the situation isn't much better. NONE of the new shows have sold out!! The sacraligous california and kansas city crap Missouri shows both have yet to sell out the lower level! What can a fan do to help these shows along? I've convinced three groups of fans to get tickets, but it's looking very grim. Living in the Kansas City area, I have to say I am very disappointed with the lack of advertising. Nobody goes to shows they aren't even aware of!!! I've seen nothing on tv, heard nothing on the radio, and have only seen one print ad in the papers. WTF??!!!

 

[U2Kitten]

I think it's that some of us have gotten so spoiled that it's GA or nothing at all. I believe those other shows will eventually sell out.

 

[speedracer]

Originally posted by U2Kitten:
I think it's that some of us have gotten so spoiled that it's GA or nothing at all. I believe those other shows will eventually sell out.

Entirely reasonable, given the ticket prices...

 

[Bonochick]

Originally posted by speedracer:
Entirely reasonable, given the ticket prices...

GA definitely are a great price. My parents and I had the $85 seats though...luckily, they paid.

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"I don't know you,
But you don't know the half of it..."

 

[tkramer]

Maybe you are right, I tried for GA in KC and it seemed they were gone in 3 minutes or so... Yet there are tons of seats left. Still, Johnson County is one of the wealthiest counties in the U.S. I can't imagine price is the only reason. (Although most of the die-hards around here are college aged and not exactly rich.)

 

[SkeeK]

*shrug*
maybe U2 just sucks. I mean come one, they are old hasbeens. Bon Jovi and DMB are waaaay better man.

 

[joyfulgirl]

I had an extra ticket for Denver--it was one of the best GC's in the house (2nd row by the heart) which I couldn't sell. I couldn't believe it. The seat was a dream come true for any fan--I know $130 is a lot of money, but U2 has their share of well-salaried fans and I really couldn't believe I had no takers. I kept looking at that empty seat and shaking my head. It sure would've beat standing out in the cold, rainy GA line.


[This message has been edited by joyfulgirl (edited 11-13-2001).]

 

[tkramer]

Maybe if bon jovi opened for U2, then they could sell out every venue from here to Osaka...

 

[unforgettableFOXfire]

Originally posted by SkeeK:
*shrug*
maybe U2 just sucks. I mean come one, they are old hasbeens. Bon Jovi and DMB are waaaay better man.

LOL @ Bon Jovi and U2 as old hasbeens...

 

[melon]

Umm...maybe it's because they've already been around two times before this? Just a thought...

Melon

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"He had lived through an age when men and women with energy and ruthlessness but without much ability or persistence excelled. And even though most of them had gone under, their ignorance had confused Roy, making him wonder whether the things he had striven to learn, and thought of as 'culture,' were irrelevant. Everything was supposed to be the same: commercials, Beethoven's late quartets, pop records, shopfronts, Freud, multi-coloured hair. Greatness, comparison, value, depth: gone, gone, gone. Anything could give some pleasure; he saw that. But not everything provided the sustenance of a deeper understanding." - Hanif Kureishi, Love in a Blue Time

 

[ramblin rose]

I've spent some time thinking about this since they announced these "particular" additional shows.

I've wondered why they decided to announce these so called "smaller markets" after the larger cities. My thought process is the following: I traveled to NY/NJ, Providence, Austin and this week to Vegas. Had they announced St. Louis/Kansas City first I/and possibly other people might have travelled to those cities, thereby supporting the possible slower sales. On the other hand, I don't think that NY/NJ/Providence/LA/Chicago would have had any problems selling out with a last minute announcement. And now many people have already travelled around a lot and can't/won't be hitting any of these shows. Personally, if I'm going to travel to any of these additional its surely not going to be St Louis or Kansas City, (still considering Dallas/Miami).

I don't know, I guess they must have had some marketing people that are doing this type of market study, and decided this was the best way to do it.

 

[what a bomb!]

Just goes to show the 3rd leg should of been in Europe or South America or Asia! Theres such a thing called overkill you know, and just think of the places they could of sold out as yet unvisited on the Elevation tour!
They could of sold out 4-5 nights in every city in Asia, Australia, South America instead of touring America once more, it just doesn't make sense! And don't give the crap about currency, that its too low they won't make any money ect, it never stopped them before!
Hic! yes! been down the pub again!

 

[STING2]

Call the Radio stations in your Area, and find other ways to spread the word.

 

[STING2]

Stop complaining about ticket prices, U2 charge what their Market value is and no more, just like every other artist in the Industry.
The Third Leg has been a MASSIVE Success! The first 22 shows of the third leg were all SOLD OUT! Most SOLD OUT in RECORD TIME! U2 could easily sell out two more shows in Both Philly and DC!
If 5 or 6 more shows are added in December, the Elevation tour will be come the HIGHEST GROSSING TOUR in the History of the UNITED STATES!
The markets that were recently added are "soft" markets, and they were added only two weeks before the shows would happen. Most artist including U2 put shows on sale MONTHS before the date with boat loads of promotion.
The marketing team for U2 did a Kick Ass Job, 72 sellouts in North America this year, and now with the new shows and the possibility of more, the grand record might fall.
Dave Matthews wishes he could do business like this, and for Bon Jovi its a wild dream that they could do this in the USA. In Fact, Bon Jovi even in its heyday in the late 80s couldn't do business like this.
So yes, there are some surprises at the slow sells in these soft markets. But last minute, no promotion, and a weak market, these are really not bad results. Dallas and Phonix will sell out. I think Atlanta and Miami will too. Tampa, Sacramento, Kansas, and St. Louis, may not, but they will be close.

 

[~LadyLemon~]

Who gives a shit about them--I'm still waiting for a WHAM! reunion...

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Tonight this city belongs to me...

 

[Blue Room]

I did some checking on the Ticketmaster site. Most of the shows are side-stage or rear stage tickets left only.

Sacramento, was an initial slow seller but now it is mainly tickets on the side stage or extreme upper deck. I doubdt there will be rear-stage tickets for this show so it will be soldout.

Phoenix, is rear stage only. It will definately be soldout. Probebly in a couple of days.

Dallas, is also only rear stage for the most part so it will most likely sellout.

KC, here is the concern. This show is not selling well at all. Good seats are available in the $85 and $130 ranges but there are no more tickets in the $45 range. Despite what some of you in KC said I dont think they sold any rear stage tickets and they will most likely have the black backdrop like Lexington, Columbus and Indy.

St. Louis, this is a weird one. I asked for the best available and it gave me $85 upper decks. I punched in $45 and it gave me GA's!!! I dont think they will sell rear stage to this show, they are only selling up to the extreme side of the stage but not rear-stage. So this show will most likely sellout.

Atlanta, surprisingly this show was a little sluggish but it is now down to rear-stage tickets only. It will be soldout, probebly in a few days.

Tampa, obviously it has not gone on sale yet but I'am concerned about this market. This market had the lowest turnout of the Popmart tour, with an attendance of 18,000 in a 45,000 seat stadium and this show had 6 months to sell that amount of tickets.

Miami, I think this will be more sluggish than expected. It took several weeks for the 2nd Ft Lauderdale show on the 1st leg to sellout. But the fact that this is probebly the final Elevation show will cause it to sellout.

So the bottom line is you are looking at possibly 2 markets that may not sellout. While I think it is embarrassing for the fans in those markets it certainly doesnt mean the tour is selling poorly. Even the sluggish markets will be near sellouts most likely even if they dont sellout.

 

[Diamond The U2 Patriot]

hmmm..................

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"...The big guy is made of STEEL." - Bono as we stood together on stage at Boston #4, June 9th, 2001.

---
-curious? click
links for
Bono/Dimon-
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Pics..

http://www.arizonaautoweb.com/bono/

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[U2One]

Amen Sting!!!!

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"Miami, New Orleans, London, Belfast, CHICAGO!" ~ Bono (during Stay) at Chicago 10/16/01

"Home, that's where Chicago is!" ~ Bono (during Walk On) at Chicago 10/16/01

 

[The Wanderer]

I didn't go to the 1 show in Baltimore this leg because I couldnt get GA and didn't want to pay $85 or $130 for less favourable seats... now I don't care what the marker value is, so don't give me that nonsense, this is why most of us don't go to concerts or sporting events on a regular basis -- this is why I took a pass this time, simple economics 101

 

[Blue Room]

Simple Economics 101 indicates that most people do pay these prices for concerts as all the tour so far has soldout at these prices. So that IS the market value and there are obviously plenty of people willing to pay these prices to see U2. THAT is basic economics, supply and demand dictating the price.

 

[The Wanderer]

wow, thank you for pointing that out!!!

now explain to me why it is that most sporting events and concerts don't sell out

 

[STING2]

I think most do sellout, but even if they don't, they come close and make a massive profit. If that were not the case, then the price of things would start to fall, or they would go out of business. At the end of the day, you have to sell your product or you don't make anything. The price of goods rises and falls based on the demand for goods.

 

[TheU2]

Originally posted by SkeeK:
*shrug*
maybe U2 just sucks. I mean come one, they are old hasbeens. Bon Jovi and DMB are waaaay better man.

How can you say that? And you call yourself a U2 Fan!?!?!?!

Why don't you take your stuff and leave mister!!

CK




[This message has been edited by TheU2 (edited 11-13-2001).]

 

[The Wanderer]

Originally posted by STING2:
I think most do sellout, but even if they don't, they come close and make a massive profit. If that were not the case, then the price of things would start to fall, or they would go out of business. At the end of the day, you have to sell your product or you don't make anything. The price of goods rises and falls based on the demand for goods.

What are you referring to when you say "most do?" Surely you're not under the impression that most sporting events and concerts sell-out??? If so, you may want to go and double check that, because generally only the top teams and/or largest markets sell-out most of their games... same with concerts: top acts like U2, Bruce Springsteen, Dave Mathew's Band and Bon Jovi (gasp) sell-out on a regular basis

 

[HeartlandGirl]

I think lack of awareness is the biggest cause here. I told my students that I was going to see U2 in two weeks and none of them had even heard about the show. Not everyone is a diehard like most of us are, and they simply aren't aware of the added dates. If I hadn't gotten an email from U2.com and decided to look at it two days before tickets went on sale, I wouldn't have known about the new shows either.

People talk about the danger of not selling out the concerts like it is a stain on the Elevation tour and somehow makes U2 less wonderful. That's just crap, IMHO. Whether U2 sells out every show is really their concern, not mine. Just my two cents...

 

[The Wanderer]

Originally posted by HeartlandGirl:
...People talk about the danger of not selling out the concerts like it is a stain on the Elevation tour and somehow makes U2 less wonderful. That's just crap, IMHO. Whether U2 sells out every show is really their concern, not mine.

exactly.

 

[senrab]

Originally posted by TheU2:

How can you say that? And you call yourself a U2 Fan!?!?!?!

Why don't you take your stuff and leave mister!!

CK

I think he was being sarcastic. ;-)

 

[achtung__baby]

I think after paying to travel and attend muliple shows in the US on the previous legs fans just can't afford $130 for a single ticket!

Alsways strikes me as odd that the seats are so much more expensive than GA when GA tickets are the ones everyone wants. Over here (UK) both standing and seating were about the same price so don't know why they are ripping off their American fans!

 

[Crzy4Bono]

I agree with Heartland Girl - most people I have talked to (even people who live in Atlanta) are completely unaware that U2 is coming back, and these are people who were bitching that the southeast didn't get manys shows.

It is also right around the holidays, and many people have already made travel plans that can't be changed.

And also, I thought long and hard about adding the Atlanta show. Ordinarily I would have been there in a snap, but I decided to travel to Philly this fall since they didn't announce any southeastern shows, and frankly - after 6 shows this year - I'm broke and out of vacation. I agree with rambling rose that a lot of folks who probably would have supported these secondary markets may not be going because they've already seen the show (possibly more than once) somewhere else.

That being said - they're still selling tickets quickly, on very short notice and with no promotion, in all these markets. What other band could add tickets as an afterthought, and virtually sell out all of the cities in such a short period?

Atlanta looked like a sellout to me when I was trying to get GAs on Saturday morning.

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She's gonna dream up a world she wants to live in / She's gonna dream out loud.
Visit my web page at www.u2page.com

 

[sharky]

Originally posted by Bonoforever:
Alsways strikes me as odd that the seats are so much more expensive than GA when GA tickets are the ones everyone wants. Over here (UK) both standing and seating were about the same price so don't know why they are ripping off their American fans!

Hmmm.....this is just a theory but the US isn't as used to GA as European countries and the band may have had to charge more for other tickets to cover additional security or insurance that arenas may have insisted on due to the GA situation.

As for the sellouts, you also have to remember that Propaganda wasn't able to offer tickets to those shows. That meant that alot of the die-hards were thrown in to the mix with the normal average fans. These average fans may be more willing to pay $45 for a GA when presented to them but not willing to pay $130 like some fans would.

Which beings up a side note-- I noticed alot of people this time around in the GA line were tour veterans. But with no Prop tickets, it seems like there will be alot of first-timers in GA. Anyone want to guess how many problems were going to hear about in regards to the GA situation for these last few shows?



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"Things will not be the same in this city for us." -Bono, Dublin, February 1980