yolland
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- Aug 27, 2004
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Both u2log.com and atu2.com have posted STRONGLY worded editorials about Ticketmaster UK's one-show-per-fan policy. In reading these, I was really struck by the sense of unjust abandonment expressed by both editors--their tone is very much like that of an aggrieved wife deserted in midlife for a 'younger model.'
***Caroline at u2log.com writes:
"(I)t’s not just the touts who’ll feel the pain...They cannot prevent us from swapping, or, god forbid, buying from touts. Do I still want to? Less and less so, but christ, I still want to see them doing what they do best: play live. And I'm not ending 25 years of fandom with one lousy gig in bleedin' Brussels.
But here's a thing, lads. Next time? Write your own bloody U2 Live book. Because you've just stopped me from being able to. I think I'll be sticking that energy into someone y'all know very well.
[...]
Sure...we'll all step aside for the people that will be disappointed if they don't hear 'Sunday Bloody Sunday' played, who get pissed drunk before they've seen a note (have you ever checked out the back of a GA floor?), who scream all through Streets and leave the building during A man and a woman because those new songs are boring. Lovely fresh clueless faces. Too bad the band themselves aren't getting any younger."
[Caroline is the author of the venerable 'U2 Live' book; she also runs the official website of U2's pal Gavin Friday, to whom the 'someone y'all...' comment undoubtedly refers.]
***While Matt at atu2.com writes:
'I saw this mentioned on a mailing list today and thought for sure it was a false alarm. There's no way TicketMaster UK would tell U2's fans they can only buy four tickets to one show for the whole tour!?!? What happened to following the band around, especially in Europe where it's so much easier to do?
[...]
I'm sure that target, or whatever it's gonna be called, will be a ton of fun for the band when it's filled with cellphone-carrying blockheads who won't appreciate the moment when "Electric Co." is played for the first time in 18 years, and walk out during "Gone" to go grab another round of beers for their buddies.
Hey U2: If you don't want us around, just come out and say it."
OUCH.
Both these folks have well-earned reputations for being measured and thoughtful, so it gave me pause that even they are up at arms about all this. But then, they're both also longstanding, diehard fans who've followed U2 on the road since before today's youngest fans were born. Not unlike quite a few around here.
Are all these 'oldtimers' becoming a tiresome liability in the band's eyes as they struggle to maintain their hard-won street cred, and avoid becoming just another well-paid nostalgia band? Is this what Larry had in mind when he said 'I hope we'll be playing to a much younger America!' this time around?
I don't like to think this could be the case, but that is exactly what Caroline and Matt seem to be alleging. Although the two of them have (oddly) different notions about the listening preferences of younger/newer fans, their complaints share an unmistakable underlying tone: <<It was OUR enthusiasm, OUR money, and OUR unwavering support over the last 25 years that made U2 the biggest band in the world. And now--after years of gladly sleeping on sidewalks, willingly forking over months' worth of salaries, and doggedly collecting every single and side project--we are told that we deserve nothing more than the same crapshoot chance at A ticket, ANY ticket, that Newbie X (for whom U2 are just a 'Daaahhling!-you-MUST-see-them' jukebox) is going to get.>>
Is this merely the sour grapes of 'dinosaur fans,' delusionally--and prejudicially--thinking their recreational spending choices entitle them to some kind of gratitude from four men for whom it is all just a business transaction? Or is it the case that some kind of 'relationship' beyond the cash register really does exist between artists and their most tried-and-true fans--and if so, what sort of obligations does it entail for both sides?
***Caroline at u2log.com writes:
"(I)t’s not just the touts who’ll feel the pain...They cannot prevent us from swapping, or, god forbid, buying from touts. Do I still want to? Less and less so, but christ, I still want to see them doing what they do best: play live. And I'm not ending 25 years of fandom with one lousy gig in bleedin' Brussels.
But here's a thing, lads. Next time? Write your own bloody U2 Live book. Because you've just stopped me from being able to. I think I'll be sticking that energy into someone y'all know very well.
[...]
Sure...we'll all step aside for the people that will be disappointed if they don't hear 'Sunday Bloody Sunday' played, who get pissed drunk before they've seen a note (have you ever checked out the back of a GA floor?), who scream all through Streets and leave the building during A man and a woman because those new songs are boring. Lovely fresh clueless faces. Too bad the band themselves aren't getting any younger."
[Caroline is the author of the venerable 'U2 Live' book; she also runs the official website of U2's pal Gavin Friday, to whom the 'someone y'all...' comment undoubtedly refers.]
***While Matt at atu2.com writes:
'I saw this mentioned on a mailing list today and thought for sure it was a false alarm. There's no way TicketMaster UK would tell U2's fans they can only buy four tickets to one show for the whole tour!?!? What happened to following the band around, especially in Europe where it's so much easier to do?
[...]
I'm sure that target, or whatever it's gonna be called, will be a ton of fun for the band when it's filled with cellphone-carrying blockheads who won't appreciate the moment when "Electric Co." is played for the first time in 18 years, and walk out during "Gone" to go grab another round of beers for their buddies.
Hey U2: If you don't want us around, just come out and say it."
OUCH.
Both these folks have well-earned reputations for being measured and thoughtful, so it gave me pause that even they are up at arms about all this. But then, they're both also longstanding, diehard fans who've followed U2 on the road since before today's youngest fans were born. Not unlike quite a few around here.
Are all these 'oldtimers' becoming a tiresome liability in the band's eyes as they struggle to maintain their hard-won street cred, and avoid becoming just another well-paid nostalgia band? Is this what Larry had in mind when he said 'I hope we'll be playing to a much younger America!' this time around?
I don't like to think this could be the case, but that is exactly what Caroline and Matt seem to be alleging. Although the two of them have (oddly) different notions about the listening preferences of younger/newer fans, their complaints share an unmistakable underlying tone: <<It was OUR enthusiasm, OUR money, and OUR unwavering support over the last 25 years that made U2 the biggest band in the world. And now--after years of gladly sleeping on sidewalks, willingly forking over months' worth of salaries, and doggedly collecting every single and side project--we are told that we deserve nothing more than the same crapshoot chance at A ticket, ANY ticket, that Newbie X (for whom U2 are just a 'Daaahhling!-you-MUST-see-them' jukebox) is going to get.>>
Is this merely the sour grapes of 'dinosaur fans,' delusionally--and prejudicially--thinking their recreational spending choices entitle them to some kind of gratitude from four men for whom it is all just a business transaction? Or is it the case that some kind of 'relationship' beyond the cash register really does exist between artists and their most tried-and-true fans--and if so, what sort of obligations does it entail for both sides?