Highway Robbery

[tinderella]

I have to agree Ann Marie, that bouncing ball is very annoying

[real-alan]

I have to agree Ann Marie, that bouncing ball is very annoying

[cohenadmirer]

To be fair Nico has a point . Ticket prices everywhere are on the high side and for sure many people just can't afford them in this economic climate
I was certainly taken aback somewhat by the montreal prices , but am in the fortunate position where i could decide to buy some

Anyway for those of us who can afford the ' economic and geographic inconvenience ' the first shows in ghent are getting close . Let's hope that the wet weather that's dominated the uk and the 'low countries' improves .

Rachel - That was a generous offer and a genuine attempt to be helpful . Look forward to seeing you in Ghent

[amcgee]

Hi

The price of cohen Tickets will always cause issue with price as they tend to be high. Over the last few tours there has always being complaints and also comparison to other musicians of his calibre. For instance, Dylan tends to charge much less for his tickets, i went to see dylan and cohen in the same venue in one year and dylans tickets were half the price, but also Cohen played for twice as long, so it is swings and round abouts.
Price of tickets are their for your decision, if you don't like the price, you don't buy them. if you think they are too expensive, then don't buy them. if you think they should be cheaper..then ask why..fair enough..but they don't have to reduce them!
amcgee

[Vicomte]

I don't like to read abusive posts but I guess nico was angry, that doesn't mean in any way that I think it was acceptable, it wasn't but somewhere in my head, I understood his annoyance.

Anyway......

The point about pricing may have been lost on some people........again.

It is not a case of someone of having a choice whether to go or not, it is purely and simply a case that some people can no longer afford to go to a LC gig at the ticket prices charged. Some folks sadly think that because they can afford the prices, or indeed, some say they have the choice to not spend their money on other items, so as to be able to afford to see L.C, then everyone has that same choice. Well this may, or may not come as a shock but some people have a very limited income, they can afford so much for a ticket and no more, one might call it a hand to mouth existence where they will only have so much they can afford to pay for a ticket.

Sure, the market will always get as much as they can for anything in life, I just think (thought) from the way he has spoken, the way he conducts himself, what he has been through and written about, that LC was a little above all that and might just say to all involved, let's keep the tickets priced and available for fans from either end of the spectrum and be heard and seen by followers of all extremes of income as is possible.

As John Lennon once said:
Will the people in the cheaper seats clap your hands? And the rest of you, if you'll just rattle your jewellery.

[Cheshire gal]

Vicomte,

Thank goodness we have you, once again, to put us straight.

quote: 'The point about pricing may have been lost on some people.......again.'

[Vicomte]

Any need for that? Wasn't it Oscar Wilde who said that sarcasm is the lowest form of wit.

I am only trying to add my thoughts to this thread, nico might have been abusive but sarcasm is right up there in the rudeness stakes.

[real-alan]

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....

[Cheshire gal]

The comment:- 'The point about pricing may have been lost on 'some people'...... again.

This sounds condescending to me. All it needed at the end was a sigh.

[scocoh]

I'd guess that most people had at least a feeling of disappointment in the high ticket prices, and obviously some were shocked and angry. But for all the reasons listed above by various persons, in the end the prices are defendable. (Who is to say if they are reasonable?) The local promoters know what type of fan comes to these shows. The bottom line is that the majority of people are older and have careers and good jobs and are willing to spend money to see him. Throw in the poor but nutty (like myself) who will scrape together money and forgo other things in order to see him, and you have most of the seats almost automatically selling out. They know this and they set the prices accordingly.

I'm not sure what some expect. There will always be people who can't afford to go to shows-- that would be the case unless he plays for free. Are the high prices shutting some people out? I guess. But what is really happening is that people are choosing to not go and choosing to make other purchases or uses for their money. Really how much difference is there between 60 and 80 or even 60 and 100? You'd go if it was 60 but 89 is "highway robbery"? There are ways to make or save 20 or 40 bucks or euros over the course of a couple months. If you can't think of any you shouldn't be considering going in the first place.

"Highway Robbery" "F--You" "Blow you" "(supposed) Rich vs (supposed) Poor" "Real fans please clap, people who bought their way in please rattle your jewelry" etc etc-- It's all a bit over the top. And Nico's histrionics are merely envy in a bad wig.

[Vicomte]

The comment:- 'The point about pricing may have been lost on 'some people'...... again.

This sounds condescending to me. All it needed at the end was a sigh.

Condescending? well hardly, I stated a fact and I said it as it was, if that didn't suit you, well.... Of course you are one of the people that have stated elsewhere that you think the prices are high but are worth it, in which case, you may well pay any price that is put upon you. So I have to say, that basically this thread is not really for the folks that can afford the high prices, I am speaking up for those that can't.

[Vicomte]

................... Throw in the poor but nutty (like myself) who will scrape together money and forgo other things in order to see him, and you have most of the seats almost automatically selling out. They know this and they set the prices accordingly.

Scott, so do you actually see that as a fair way to treat all the fans, set the tickets at prices that suit the older person and those with a career and good jobs? Seems a nice way to me of grabbing money off them, whilst pricing out the ones who cannot afford the ticket prices.........nice!

Throw in the poor but nutty (like myself) who will scrape together money and forgo other things in order to see him, and you have most of the seats almost automatically selling out. They know this and they set the prices accordingly.

Sorry Scott, I have to pick you up on your version of "poor" and scrape together, do please stop me if I am wrong but so far I believe you are going to see LC for, 2 or 3 dates in Paris; Possibly Toulon?; Portland; Possibly Bucharest?; Los Angeles; Verona; Barcelona; Madrid, Lisbon and I stopped at that many as I tried to fathom out what some people see as poor? Or what constitutes "scraping by" and foregoing? Just those dates would mean being quite comfortable, surely?

I'm not sure what some expect. There will always be people who can't afford to go to shows-- that would be the case unless he plays for free. Are the high prices shutting some people out? I guess. But what is really happening is that people are choosing to not go and choosing to make other purchases or uses for their money. Really how much difference is there between 60 and 80 or even 60 and 100? You'd go if it was 60 but 89 is "highway robbery"? There are ways to make or save 20 or 40 bucks or euros over the course of a couple months. If you can't think of any you shouldn't be considering going in the first place.

You see, €29 doesn't mean a lot to many people, it is then that you realise that to some people it really isn't a lot, in which case, it is not easy for them to see that €29 is nearly half of the single persons "dole" money in the UK. Now I am not saying that dole people couldn't afford to go anyway because they are on the dole BUT to show just what €29 is to many people in the UK, probably their food money for the best part of the week. Too simple to have a few quid and forget how the other half live. Yes of course you are right, how dare they even think of going to a LC concert if they can't struggle to find €20 or €40 over a couple of months but what about £200 or even £100?

Not a dig at you personally Scott, just an attempt to make people realise that the ticket pricing is too much for many and my quote from John Lennon (which you twisted to suit quite nicely ) was tongue in cheek but I am sorry to say , it comes across like that on here sometimes.

[Mabeanie1]

just an attempt to make people realise that the ticket pricing is too much for many.

I think most of us got the point the first time you raised it Vicomte - and if not, nico re-emphasised it for you. Happy to let you have the last word.

Wendy

[scocoh]

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lol---- Oh no no Vi it is quite apparent in that post how much you abhor personal attacks.

do you actually see that as a fair way to treat all the fans, set the tickets at prices that suit the older person and those with a career and good jobs? Seems a nice way to me of grabbing money off them, whilst pricing out the ones who cannot afford the ticket prices.........nice!

Do I see WHAT as a fair way to treat the fans? The prices? I said it was "defensible" (or meant to-- I wrote 'defendable'). Are the prices "fair"? It is debatable.

Sorry Scott, I have to pick you up on your version of "poor" and scrape together, do please stop me if I am wrong but so far I believe you are going to see LC for, 2 or 3 dates in Paris; Possibly Toulon?; Portland; Possibly Bucharest?; Los Angeles; Verona; Barcelona; Madrid, Lisbon and I stopped at that many as I tried to fathom out what some people see as poor? Or what constitutes "scraping by" and foregoing? Just those dates would mean being quite comfortable, surely?

You have no idea what I've done and didn't do to be able to go to a bunch of shows. You have no idea how much money I make or how little. You only want to use my going to shows to promote your rich vs poor fantasy. I've explained my personal situation before and though I am certain I am in the bottom 10% of income around here, I have no need to somehow "prove" my poorness to anyone. I've made a decision to really go for something because I am worried that this will be the last chance. If my family and friends knew exactly what I was doing to be able to go on this trip they would be appalled and think I've finally gone over the edge. But I really don't care what you or anyone else thinks of my decisions or financial commitments.

You see, €29 doesn't mean a lot to many people, it is then that you realise that to some people it really isn't a lot, in which case, it is not easy for them to see that €29 is nearly half of the single persons "dole" money in the UK. Now I am not saying that dole people couldn't afford to go anyway because they are on the dole BUT to show just what €29 is to many people in the UK, probably their food money for the best part of the week. Too simple to have a few quid and forget how the other half live. Yes of course you are right, how dare they even think of going to a LC concert if they can't struggle to find €20 or €40 over a couple of months but what about £200 or even £100?

29 dollars, pounds, or euros means a lot to some, less to others. If you are on the dole, which I believe is what we in the US call welfare, then you shouldn't be worrying about going to concerts anyway. You should be thinking of getting a job instead of acting as if you are somehow promised Leonard Cohen tickets simply because you've spun the disc a few times over the years.

I'm not sure what it is you want, Vi. I do agree the tickets are (what I think as) too expensive, but what exactly do you expect here? You are playing this up as if it's some sort of cosmic injustice and some battle between rich and poor. Are you mad at Leonard for not controlling the prices more effectively? Are you envious of other's ability to go to shows? Is there a bigger cause in your mind that this is a part of? Why so so so darn angry about this?

[Paul Zagreb]

Perhaps we should all post our annual earnings and outgoings for the last, I dunno, let's say 20 years. We might need to adjust them for the cost of living of wherever we happen to live. And then a jury can decide who is allowed to speak (and for whom) in this thread!

A propos of nothing really - my daughter really wants to go and see One Direction - I won't even bore you with who they are. Their tickets were a very reasonable 25 and 35 quid for the same kind of venues LC is playing. Except they sold out at those prices in 10 minutes and I will not pay 5 times as much to see them - mainly because it erks me that some touts will be making the money. Ideally, when Leonard tours, there is a concert in your home town and the cheapest tickets are not a bad price. If not, well, it is a shame but I thought Jarrko explained it pretty well.

Like all online fora, we don't all know each other - we don't even come close to knowing 99.9% of the lives of 99.9% of the people who post here. And we all have the human capacity to be generous and mean. I love this forum cos most of the time, most of us, are mostly generous. I want to keep it that way. But you know somehow when the other side shows up, it helps to define who we are and what we want from here!

Paul