Carole King Tkts: To buy or not to buy???

[Oak Kitten]

Tickets for the Carole King/James Taylor Troubador Reunion tour go on advance sale at 10 AM tomorrow. As I posted previously, I have always wanted to see Carole King live in concert, as to James Taylor - I am indifferent. The show in my neck of the woods will be at the Verizon Center in Washington DC in June. I am balking at the ticket price - @ $200 apiece. That is an awful lot of money for a seat in a giant stadium setting. Then again, who knows how much longer Carole King will be doing live tours? I am vacillating. It is not that buying the tickets will pose a financial hardship, but I just can't convince myself it is worth $400 for two tickets.

Your two cents, please. They will be used to defray the ticket price.

Oak

[razal]

I really understand your hesitation, Oak. You could play it risky....wait until about a week and a half away from the show date. Go on eBay and see if anyone NEEDS to get rid of tickets....I lucked out with Leonard Cohen tix back in October of last year....$180 seats...I scored both for $136.50......

....but then again, it may be a hot ticket and then you wind up not going or worse, kicking yourself......hmmmmmmmm

[JoanM]

My son has a question he uses in situations like this, "Is the juice worth the squeeze?". Unfortunately only you can decide that. I'm not a fan of mega-venue shows. I've spent too many years hearing great music in small venues. Even when we heard Bette in Vegas (we both hate Vegas) the show and venue seemed intimate. Can Carole and James pull off making you feel up close and personal? I assume you've seen Carole's livingroom tour DVD. I loved it. Was it the same as being there? No. so...my 2 cents is if you've hesitant then the juice probably isn't worth the squeeze...today...jm

[razal]

I wound up eighth row center....great seats, which did make a big difference in mega venue.

[Randy & Betty in Pa]

Randy, you need to ask? JT & CK..... You want my opinion, buy now or spend the rest of your life saying "I almost bought tickets", You can bet it will be a killer show and if you can afford them.... DO IT!!!

Best

R

[coffeegyrl]

Carole King came to my town sometime around 1972-73 and I regret to this day that I did not go see her.

[Elliott]

I figure the price of these tickets cost five cents a second. If they do twenty songs, that's twenty bucks a song. Does this help? :confused:

[dreamchaser728]

Presale is here for the KC show tomorrow also. The presale price for the first 16 rows is $111.50 The pair is supposed to be in Glendale, AZ and their cheapest tix are $39.50. (Not a presale.)

[Oak Kitten]

The other thing that irks me is that when I checked out the seating plan for the Verizon Center, is shows two possible configurations - a center stage or the stage at one end of the arena. The website says to check Ticketmaster for seating details, but Ticketmaster is showing nothing for that date. This pisses me off. As if they do not already know how the seating will be configured? At those prices, I want to know EXACTLY where I will be sitting vis a vis the stage. I feel like I am being jerked around by the promoters.

JoanM, you have a good point. I too am spoiled by seeing performers in intimate settings. I don't think the game is worth the candle at this point.

Thanks to all of you for your views.

Oak

[lucille]

As I have posted before, I went to see Barbra Streisand's "final" show in an arena setting - tix $350 - and she was 2" tall! It was my first and last venture to an arena setting.

It would be cheaper for you and Mr. Dr. Oak to fly to one of the other venues mentioned above.

[Jim in Chattanooga, TN]

Go to the concert. You will regret it if you don't.

[Roady]

Why don't you come see them at Tanglewood on July 3rd?

http://www.bso.org/bso/mods/perf_detail.jsp?pid=prod3500028

[Greener]

Oak Kitten, are you sure that's the final price, or maybe it's some special pre order deal? Ours were only $49.50 for about the mid range seats. Maybe you'll have more choices when they go on sale.

[Jim in Chattanooga, TN]

I paid a fortune to see Barbra Streisand on New Year's Eve in 1999. What I spent that weekend, I could have bought a good used car. No regrets though. You have a chance to see one of America's greatest songwriters and a man who is still recording after 40 years. $200 is a cheap price to pay. Just budget your money accordingly and cut back on some other things.

[Oak Kitten]

Well, I logged on to CaroleKing.com at precisely 10AM today to check out the tickets. Seats on the floor in front of the stage were "only" $144.50 apiece. So I decided to go ahead and take the plunge and got 2 tickets for $289.00. I am sure there are cheaper seats in other parts of the arena, but if I am going to do this, I want the best possible seats. However, all I know is that I have seating in the floor section, rows A-V, no further amplifying information. The website stipulates you have to pick the tickets up at the box office on the day of the performance, with photo i.d. and the credit card with which you paid for them. I assume those procedures are to discourage scalping.

Since my purchase was recorded at 10:05am, I should have pretty damn good seats.

Oak

[Jim in Chattanooga, TN]

Way to go, Oak!

[Puppy lover]

I saw Carole King and JT together in 1971, saw CK's fabulous concert at the Beacon, went to the Living Room Concert at Radio City Hall and see James Taylor every time he plays Tanglewood. There was clearly NO WAY I was going to miss this. The big decision was Madison Square Garden (horrible, immense arena where I've seen far too many concerts) or Tanglewood which is lovely. I was leaning toward Tanglewood but tried to get pre-sale tix through Carole King's website. I was in a bit of a rush, had to fill out forms with address, credit card info, etc and did this all on my cell phone. I guess I was so excited that we were "in" that I hit "Purchase Now" despite not being clear about my commitment. I had no idea that I wasn't going to know my seating location and was going to have to deal with a "will call" window at freaking Madison Square Garden--circus of all circuses. Here's part of my receipt:

Carole King & James Taylor - Madison Square Garden - New York, NY - June 15, 2010 (Floor - Reserved Seating) - 2 @ $173.50
Tickets will be available for pick up at the venue ON THE NIGHT OF THE SHOW ONLY. You will receive your exact seat locations via email within 6 weeks of purchase. * Dates subject to change due to sports playoffs.

Sub-Total: 347.00
Shipping: 0.00
Total: $347.00 US Dollars

I really hope these are good seats and that the show isn't postponed due to sports playoffs. The main reason I posted this is: whatever you paid for your tickets, please take solace in the fact that you paid less.
I hope all of us enjoy our respective shows and look forward to discussion of same later in the year.
Happy New Year all!

[David from London]

I'd love to see Carole King, but if the tickets are anything like these prices, it'll have to be no. At current exchange rates, if they're $200, that's £122.

I paid £75 a seat for Leonard Cohen tickets and I thought that was expensive!!

[Judy]

I'm very stubborn about paying high ticket prices. I'll do it if what I'm going to see involves a production such as a Bette Midler show or Lion King which is expensive to produce given all of th people, costumes, props etc involved, but that's where I draw the line in agreeing to hand over huge money for a show.

[Randy & Betty in Pa]

I don't mind the ticket prices to see a slice of Musical History... I'd gladly pay twice or more what we pay to see Janis but the bedlam of attending large venue shows is the part that discourages me... To go to see a show at a venue with more then 2000 seats has to be a great act indeed. I mean really why look at stick figures from the nosebleed seats when you can see many of the great acts in the smaller venues at very affordable prices.... Guess I'll never see Elton or Billy Joel but hey the at least I know he was just "another opener" for Janis...:rolleyes:

Janis thank you for opting to play so many of the smaller venues.

Best to all...

R.

[Oak Kitten]

Puppy Lover,

My receipt had the same stipulation about the date possibly changing due to sports playoffs. However, given that the two teams that play in the Verizon Center in DC are the Washington Captials (hockey) and the Wizards (basketball) I am not overly concerned :rolleyes:

I have been thinking about the other large-venue concerts I have attended in the past: Elton John in '76 was a nightmare, I nearly got crushed to death against the gate in the bad old days of "open seating" at what was then Foxborough Stadium. In college I saw Charlie Daniels at the Nassau Coliseum. Even though we had nosebleed seats, it was a lot of fun - that was when I was young and enjoyed the whole "crowd" experience and being with my college buddies. I saw Diana Ross in Lexington, KY - can't remember the name of the venue, but it was a big stadium as well, and that was a good show, even though we did not have "killer" seats. I took my sister to see a Neil Diamond concert at the Worcester Centrum, which was actually a pretty good show.

I just have to steel myself for the wait at the "will call" window at the Verizon Center. I plan to get there as early as possible.

Oak

[Mary6906]

Yes, I have become of the age now where I won't do the large stadium shows anymore... or for a matter of fact, any where I would have to stand for long periods of time in crowds of drunk/high, or oboxious people.... I now prefer the smaller intimate venues, with seating and a more quiet atmosphere. :)

[Randy & Betty in Pa]

Yes, I have become of the age now where I won't do the large stadium shows anymore... or for a matter of fact, any where I would have to stand for long periods of time in crowds of drunk/high, or oboxious people like Randy.... I now prefer the smaller intimate venues, with seating and a more quiet atmosphere. :)

See how you are...

best

R.

[Mary6906]

Oh, hush, Randy, can't you see I'm trying to listen to a great artist named JANIS ... I'm gonna give you a good thumpin'!!

[Seth]

I have seen Carole as many times as possible. I did not go see her when she and James payed at the Troubadour last year. The price was high and although a small venue, it seemed like a nightmare to make it, due to parking, lines etc.

The very next day I regretted it.

I did get tickets for the Hollywood Bowl. And yes, the price made me pause.

[dreamchaser728]

Well I just checked out ticket prices for the Kansas City shows, $65-$350. Unfortunately it's just too much right now.

[Puppy lover]

Roady,
I don't think we're going to have playoff issues postponing the show either. I just prefer a small, intimate venue which you can't always be lucky enough to get into when you're dealing with acts that typically play arenas. In the past year I saw Billy Joel do the last concert at Shea Stadium and Springsteen at the last concert at Giants Stadium. Both were remarkably civilized and our seats were prime.
One of my favorite shows ever was mid seventies, large stadium double bill--Fleetwood Mac and the Eagles. Heaven for me. I saw Janis Joplin either four or five times, always at large venues and was so enthralled, I felt that I was inches away. I saw Laura Nyro, one of my idols, at both large and small venues and always felt like she was singing to me.
I'm hoping that our seats are good for the CK+JT show. Would I have preferred seeing them at The Troubador? Most definitely. I don't think that any of us who are going to shows in June are going to regret it though!

[razal]

It's really difficult to determine if the price of tickets, crowds, etc. are worth the time, money, and effort to attend a concert where people whose music we enjoy are performing.

I can say all is true--I have seen performers in mega venues with good seats and "nosebleed" seats. Examples are Bette Midler, Billy Joel, Elton John, and Elvis Presley.

Both times with Bette Midler, I had "nosebleed" seats, once the performance was beyond great and the seating didn't matter. The other time was actually not very good at all (she had to reschedule the show due to hurricane warnings [well, ya' know So. Fla--comes with the territory] and she was not happy and unfortunately, it showed). Two Billy Joel concerts--one the best ever; the other was good--both shows I had great seats.

So it is good to take time and consider the value, but there are just some unknown variables that will enter into the equation. The only thing that troubles me now in reading these posts is that there seems to be a trend in not advising a buyer exactly where their seats are prior to purchase. That only adds to the difficulty of the decision making mix.

Hope you both have GREAT seats and most importantly enjoy the shows!

[Dar]

They are coming to the HP Pavillion in San Jose in May. That could be as much as a two hour drive for us on a TUESDAY night. It's a ginormous venue too. When Peggy first mentioned it to me, I said, I don't want to payt that much money to drive that far on a weeknight to watch a big screen tv with a huge crowd of people.
(I do have my curmudgeonly side believe it or not).

But the more I thought about it, and after reading what you all have to say, I decided to go ahead and get tickets. I called my best friend and her wife and asked if they wanted to go. Apparently they had had the same reaction as P and I. One was in favor and the other was balking. But once I told them we were going, they jumped on too. We got mid priced tickets, seats aren't bad, and we will get to say that we were in the house for these two icons of our generation. (plus they were cheaper than tickets to Wicked ;) )

[KarenSews2]

(plus they were cheaper than tickets to Wicked ;) )

Cheaper than $25??? Or cheaper than FREEEE????!!!! LOL

[hoops]

Dar, ya gotta go with cheap
peace
hoops

[Marcia Drummergal]

I gave in and bought 2 of the "cheap seats" at $69 a piece (after the so-called *convenience" charges). I have never seen either in concert and it would be a real treat to go...even if I have to see them through binoculars. Got first row in the nosebleeds so even if people stand up, no one should be blocking our seats!

Marcia :)

[razal]

Well, I think I've decided to pass on this one....having seen James Taylor in a mega venue, I feel he is really better suited for a smaller venue. I would be interested in Carol King, not ever seeing her in concert....

Really regretting not seeing Phoebe Snow last year when I had the opportunity.....