A Reasonably Priced Concert Is Still Rockin’
Last night, Sean and I went to see James McMurtry. The Dedringers opened for them and are a fabulous, high energy band from Austin, Texas. Then to the crowd’s enthusiasm, James McMurtry’s guitar tuner tuned James’ five guitars.
First of all, I’ll say that James McMurtry sounded as good live as he did on CD (which I’ve found is, sadly, not always the case). He started playing around 8:30 p.m. and didn’t stop until 11 p.m. He played all his hits as well as stuff from his new album. The tickets cost $25 each.
I was hanging out with my middle school girls a few weeks ago when one of them was talking about going to a Jonas Brothers concert. They said tickets only cost $500. I was floored. I may pay that to see the Stones, you know, if they also helicoptered me in. But $500 for a concert?!? I couldn’t believe it. (As an aside, the most I’ve ever paid for a ticket was $80 to see Matchbox 20, with The Push Stars opening. Both bands were great but any more money would have been out of my price range.)
The great thing about last night was the price made it really accessible for everyone. There were old people, young people, hippy people, biker people, crazy dancers, foot tappers… Hundreds of people came out for the concert, which not only made for a more energetic atmosphere but also great people watching. (I have a bad people watching habit, though the biker chick and her serial-killer looking boyfriend fighting the whole concert was super-interesting!)
So check out smaller local venues, especially in summer, for bands. You can preview them online before buying tickets so it isn’t a total surprise (even local ones seem to at least be on Myspace). You’ll be supporting a local (and likely, talented) artist and get some cheap entertainment for yourself. You may even get a high drama relationship to watch at no extra charge.
Image from Usatoday.com