french kicks and idlewild

Ticketbastard must have been bought by Clear Channel or something. I clearly don't understand their service charges. for example<P>Johnny Marr $20 ticket + $4.00 service charge<P>Idlewild $12 ticket + $7.00 service charge<P>Ticketmaster has appeared to drop the extra charge for shipping and handling by rolling into the service charge instead. Kinda like how Merriweather collects the parking for each ticket sold.<P>Unless there is true competition, when the ticketmaster database is open to other agents to sell tickets through, it should be regulated as the monopoly utility it is.

Damn, looks like I'll have to make a trek down to the club sometime this week for tickets. Thats INSANE to pay over 50% for a "service charge." And they wonder why concert attendance is dropping off?

Let's talk about the 930 club Box office woman who not only couldn't find the Idlewild show, but really didn't believe me when I told her it was on the 8th. Now, I have to go back tonite with the city paper in hand and try again, hopefully with a box office clerk who actually believes me. But I'm not bitter.

Well Redsock, often people are able to find out about shows via band websites and such before they are officially announced, which means ticketmaster does not yet have the information, nor do our box officers. <BR>That show is now in the ticketmaster system and already has sold some tickets, so you won't have any problem getting them now.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Arial, Veranda">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by twangirl:<BR><B>Well Redsock, often people are able to find out about shows via band websites and such before they are officially announced, which means ticketmaster does not yet have the information, nor do our box officers. <BR>That show is now in the ticketmaster system and already has sold some tickets, so you won't have any problem getting them now.</B><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>I understand what you are saying, and appreciate her situation. Clearly board members had purchased tickets at the box office earlier in the day, so it was slightly frustrating, but in the grand scheme of things, life goes on, and I will still get my tickets.

How big is the Fletcher's? I've never been there. I just check the price from ticketmaster and the total charge will be $22.5. That's just insane! I don't know would it possible to get a ticket on the show date.

fletchers is tiny. perhaps just twice the size of the now sadly departed metro cafe. hold less than 600. maybe less than 500.

Why can't the club (speaking solely the 9:30) take care of it's own ticket distribution? Most don't sell out instantly, so I can't see why some sort of snail mail, low/nil surcharge system can't work. At what point does it become counterproductive to work with ticketmaster/tickets.com. I'm sure I speak for many here saying many times "I don't want to trek to the nearly godforsaken area of the club (just to purchase tickets) and….. the surcharge on a ticket is enough to keep me at home" If this has happened once for me, it's happend 50 times. Yeah… and they (industry) wonder why attendance is down.

Ticketing is an extremely labor-intensive operation, even using a ticketing agency…doing it ourselves would be an unthinkable amount of work, given the number of shows we have scheduled at any given time. <BR>Also, all contracts from booking agencies contain clauses requiring documentation from a licensed, known ticketing agency as to how many tickets were sold. An audit report generated from the ticketing agency, a neutral company, is necessary at settlement to accurately document attendance and, in some cases, to determine how much the artist gets paid.

thanks for incite on the ticket agency clause in artist contracts, it helps me to keep things in perspective.<P>a couple suggestions if you can't get to the 9:30 box office. (which by the way takes me roundtrip from station to club about 15 minutes)<P>is call a ticketmaster outlet (i.e. Tower) and find out what the service charge is buying them that way. it could be lower since you don't have to pay the handling charges.<P>secondly, call Sound Garden in Baltimore (410) 563-9011) confirm that they are indeed a boxoffice for Fletchers and findout what the service charge is. I believe tickets are cash only.<P>Drive up to Fells Point and make a day of it. Besides Sound Garden there loads of nice eateries and boutiques to shop in there.

Hey, grotty! A Pittsburgh date has been added to the tour. I can't remember when exactly it is, but it's sometime in late April. Check Pollstar. Maybe this means they will swing by DC as well.

i thought fletcher's held even less than 500…like 250 or something.<P>that room is tiny tiny tiny.<P>-m

Yeay, got me some tix for Idlewild today! So who all here is going again? I know Kurosawa is a given, she's the only one here who gushes about this band more than me. <BR>So, believe it or not, this will be my first Fletchers show. How early do you think I'll have to show up to be somewhere up front?

well the mini will headed to charm city with kosmette, markie, poorlulu and myself for the show.<P>fletchers is so small that a big guy like you should have no problem working themselves up to the front regardless when you so up.<P>any word on the third act Solea, recently added to the bill?

i'll be there!!!<BR>though, given that i started this here rambling…it would be rude of me not to. =)

megs be sure to check out the thread about the ladytron show… there's a reply from seth you'll want to read

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Arial, Veranda">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by kosmo:<BR><B>megs be sure to check out the thread about the ladytron show… there's a reply from seth you'll want to read </B><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>hmm kosmo it's hard to tell whether you're being sarcastic or sincere…

i'm speechless! <BR>that is so nice of seth. i had totally resigned myself to keeping my unused ticket stub in a drawer with the rest of my tickets, as a memento of that evil blizzard…and now, well, frankly i want to give him a big old hug! thanks for telling me, kosmo, as i totally wouldn't have noticed it on my own.

Here's the link to Solea's site: <A HREF="http://www.solea.org/solea.html" TARGET=_blank>http://www.solea.org/solea.html</A>; <P>I haven't listened yet but they are opening for a number of dates. The Natural History is opening for the rest of the dates.<P>Oh and just to clarify. French Kicks are still also opening for all the shows.<p>[This message has been edited by kurosawa-b/w (edited 02-25-2003).]

Got my tix last night, looking forward to it. Would like to echo the question posed earlier, since I've not been to this venue either. What time makes sense? Is it a one-level venue? Is the layout comparable to any DC places?