leonardcohenforum.com

Nico2000 wrote: Like I said, for 60 bucks I went to "The Wall" by Pink FLoyd

Nico2000, I find it hard to imagine how 60 euros is acceptable & affordable for you, but 89 euros (the price you stated as the cheapest LC ticket) is not. The difference is 29 euros. I looked up the cost of living in the Netherlands, & the average price of a domestic beer (0.5 liter draught), for instance, is listed as 3.95 euros (the range is 3.00 - 5.00 euros); so 29 euros is equivalent to about 6 or 7 glasses of domestic beer. If the difference of 29 euros is really making it impossible for you to see LC, give me your paypal/mailing address & I will share my "prosperity", & send you the damn 29 euros.

Well by all means, send me the 29 euros. Thanx. Unfortunately I do not have a creditcard, nore do I have a paypal account.
I barely have a bank account, but I gladly PM you the details. 29 bucks is a week and a half food where I come from.
Not to mention twice. I would like to bring my girlfriend.
Pretty rude though your entire post. I gladly payed the 60 bucks, (120 for two) cause I am not stingy and I did have a job back then. Circumstances now are different and the 29 bucks does make a difference.

So actually... Go choke on your 29 bucks and go get yourself one of those 3,95 (blah blah blah) beers.
***

*** Your abusive language has been deleted. -- Marie

I have no intention of getting drawn in to the debate on the rights and wrongs of the ticket pricing, who may or may not be ripping off fans of long or more recent standing and whether it is a right or a luxury to be able to go and see big name artists in concert. It's all been aired before and, as has been amply demonstrated, there is a distinct risk that the debate sinks to the level of personal insult. However, I think it is worth noting that this is a VERY expensive tour.

There are something like 75 heads in the tour entourage, the band and certain other people travel from one concert to another by private jet and the tour is a very drawn out affair with lots of rest days programmed in to the tour schedule and - yes - that will be rest days in the best (ie expensive) hotels in a lot of cases. Is all this "luxury" necessary at a time when the rest of us are having to cutback and count the pennies? Of course not - in theory. But the reality is that this is the way the tour has been structured by those around Leonard to minimise the stress of touring on the mind and body of a man who is nearly 78 years old so that he can deliver 3 or more hours of pure magic to his audience night after night. I doubt if Leonard would want to compromise on the length of each show just as he would not want to compromise on the length of his tour - remember he said earlier in the year that, if he went back out on the road, it would be for a long tour. The price of this uncompromising position is the cost of the extra travel luxuries (private jet, relaxed schedule etc) which add extra cost to every single ticket and will make some tickets for Leonard Cohen shows more expensive than tickets for some (but not all) other artists. Without these costs, we would not have the chance to see Leonard in concert in his 78th and 79th years.

That's not to say that some parties may or may not be milking the situation for all they're worth - I don't know the facts so couldn't comment - but it does mean that the tour has a very high cost base which must be factored in.

Wendy

Nico2000 wrote:So actually... Go choke on your 29 bucks and go get yourself one of those 3,95 (blah blah blah) beers.
(abusive language deleted)

Nico2000 - I appreciate and understand that you are upset but please stop using such abusive language.

Wendy

I'll bet six beer that this is just a troll - a bored (or boring) troll at that.

I do think it's sad that ticket prices will mean that some people will not be able to go to a concert. I don't understand how prices are determined, I'm sure there's all sorts of factors but some locations, like Montreal, offer both high and low price tickets.

~~

in Europe is it common to say bucks when you mean euros?

That was a generous offer Holydove and very well said Wendy.


If i was that big a fan, i would cut back on some things to make sure I did not miss out on this opportunity.

I have never heard the word bucks used here Cate, only in America

By the way Nico, I did not think Holydoves post was rude, but i thought yours was

Dont think it mattered what you'd call it. I've got roots in the USA as well as in the NL, so to me it's not a strange term. There's no real slang for it yet.
If you two think that I was rude and have a problem with it? I really don't care. I think its4inthemorning's comment was pretty rude. And completely wrong about the "covering expenses validating the high ticketprice". Way bigger concerts go for less.
But mostly, you can't know if 29 bucks, dollars , or even frigging roepies is a lot of money to somebody, so just waving it away in a "don't wine" comment is extremely rude. But you only would get that if you've been in the situation. Clearly, you two have not. Republicans I take it?
Anyway... Just came to make a point. Did that, nothing will change.
I'm going for the download as soon as I see the torrent.
Bye bye

I've been following this thread for a few days. Several months ago I decided I would never again make a comment on the Forum if something upset me, but this is simply too much. A friend has been attacked personally by someone who has not been with us for very long. Cate, I do believe you are correct. We have a troll here.

Wendy explained perfectly how the tour operates. In the presales, AEG offers seating availability at all price ranges. Not only in the prime sectors, but at every level. Every level. The seats back further may not be prime, but they are reasonable, and available in presales. You should be able to afford that.

Nico2000....what are you wanting? A free ticket? You mentioned Pink Floyd. When did you go to a Pink Floyd concert for 60 euros? I was at the Roger Waters (not Pink Floyd anymore) concert just over a month ago in Detroit. My seat was $205 USD. Holydove most generously offered to assist you financially, I'm sure partly because you have to be one of biggest whiners I've heard in a long time (however that's only my opinion).

Your personal attack on Holydove was unwarranted and indicates someone who is only interested in stirring the pot.

Tickets ARE available at lower price ranges....several Forum members have been extremely patient and understanding with you...one of the most considerate individuals on this Forum has offered to help. It's time for you to get over it. No debating...just get over it.

A personal note...

It would be sad to see this Forum degenerate into the slime of some other forums. The words used, and the vitriol expressed by this individual feels unacceptable to me.

Just my feelings...perhaps others don't care....free speech and all that.

I completely agree with Wendy. The cost is high but I want the best for Leonard and his Company. It is such a wonderful opportunity to see a world class performer, with the best musicians. I will gladly give up some other expenditures to see this show. It must be a pretty grueling experience to travel so far and so wide and for so long.

I would never forgive myself if I missed this tour. I will only see one concert, and luckily this time it is local for me. I just cannot wait to hear the reviews from Ghent. Please think how bad you will feel if you miss seeing him again. It just would not be worth it.

Thanks to Marie for editing the abusive words in this thread.

I'd like to add some words about the pricing policy.

The ticket prices in Europe are up to the local organizers. The promoters sign agreements with AEG and know exactly how much is to be paid for the concert. After that, the promoters have to calculate and decide the prices. First they calculate the average price they need to get (=the basic price divided by the number of seats they think they can sell, plus the promoter's local costs like advertising, venue, value added tax, etc., plus their margin). Then they can either sell all tickets with this average price, or create various price groups. Obviously the back rows cannot be equal to the best front rows. Some organizers, like Eastway in Finland, have only two categories (89 and 99 eur) while some others have several, from quite cheap to quite expensive (like from 21 eur in the back up to the VIP Exclusive price of 167 eur in Bucharest).

I want to give a heartfelt thank you to Wendy, Tinderella, Ladydi & Cate for you very kind words of support. And it's very reassuring to know that you understood that I did not have the slightest intention to be rude or insulting, & that my offer was sincere. (Maybe my use of the word "damn" was confusing, & I shouldn't have used that word, but it was not meant as any kind of attack). It saddens me to think that anyone would miss out on the incomparable event of seeing Leonard Cohen live, for the sake of 29 euros, so I thought I might be able to help. Since yesterday, I've been feeling very disturbed by the response I got & I want you to know that your kind words are truly very consoling; it's so good to know that I have such sweet & caring friends here.

And thank you to Marie for deleting the abusive words, & to Jarkko for taking the time to give such a clear & thorough explanation of the costs of the tour.

Be Well, Friends

Rachel

some are healthy, some are sick
some are bright, some are not
some are beautiful, some are ugly
some are lucky, some are not
some can afford the tickets, some can't

I too have been disturbed by what I read here this morning. We all feel lucky to have the opportunity to see LC and his band performing, and I'm sure that even the wealthiest of the forum members would like the tickets to be cheaper, but I didn't expect foul language or mean feelings on this forum.
We (forum members, and I will dare say, fans) are supposed to be litterate (ok, my broken English isn't a good example) but if I'm not mistaken, LC's words are words of peace and love (ok, and lust) and I would have supposed we were to share at least a little bit his attitude towards others.

Nico2000, since seeing him live for the first time 4 years ago, I've understood it's all about giving if you want to receive, please don't take this as an offense, I don't know you and wouldn't dare judging you, I'm just mererly sharing my 1st experience.
I really hope you will have one day the opportunity to see LC on stage and share that experience with us.

I'm not wildly upset by the recent outbreak of mild abuse.... I see far far worse on other forums I use (not that I condone it, or engage in it - heaven forfend!) - I'm happy that this forum is generally more "genteel" than many others..... I have experienced though (and I know others have) a more subtle form of abuse.... I tend to the irreverent, and like to gently (and without malice) prick pomposity when I see it - this has lead to me receiving some fairly nasty PMs in the past... I'd like to think we could all get along - serious and not so serious - without getting too upset or offended by those amongst us who are less restrained....

... and on the ticket prices, I'm not being cynical when I say that the principal (by a long way!) reason for all of the tours is to make money - I'm sure Leonard enjoys the welcome, the warmth, and even the adulation he gets night after night.... but I'm also sure that he would get this reward from playing small venues, with a smaller band, and staying close to home - most of the artists I have spoken to love playing small venues (I used to promote events in small venues, so maybe they were just humouring me!), and it's persuading their "people" to let them do this when there's not much money in it that's the problem.... big tours, like this one, whether by Leonard, or Springsteen, or Dylan (whoever) are all about the money.... and I don't have a problem with that.... I guess there's an inflating factor in that The Boss will probably be touring every year for another decade, at least, whereas every time I've seen Leonard since 2008 I've thought it would probably be my last chance - I'm really happy that the old fella keeps proving me wrong though, so roll on Dublin and Los Angeles!

I so agree with you Real Alan, even if I hate your bouncy ball!
I think we're just soooooooooo privileged that LC has chosen to come amongst us yet again. Ooops I was just about to use bad language, but as you know here in Ireland we have a saying that says ".... the begrudgers"!!!!!!
Seriously tho I think it's probably difficult for younger fans, recession etc. And........if this was all happening twenty years ago I'd probably be in the same boat, broke!
Getting older has some benefits!