What's it Worth to You, Really? (Ticket prices)
 

I understand that this may be a personal thing that some fans don't like to share, but if you are willing to share, what did/have you paid for tickets this tour and was it worth to you? I appreciate any feedback as I am struggling on whether to buy tickets for this tour. I know that everyone makes their own decisions for their own reasons regarding how they spend their money, but I'm interested in hearing about how some of you feel about what you spent to go to shows this particular tour. Maybe it can help me and others make a decision.

For example,

Was it worth it to you?
Do you have any regrets?
If you could've done something differently, would you have (i.e., buy better seats, regardless of the cost)?

Thanks for your feedback! :)
Jamie

I have paid the face value ($226 w/fees) for seats to the side of the stage and further out in first level loge for New York area shows so far for this tour and made a trip of it from L.A. Sitting further out was great to see the lighting effects and backdrop that I liked better than last year, but the side stage is fun to see other band and crew movements.

I have no regrets whatsoever and am also going to see them at the Forum when they come back to L.A. It is certainly a lot of money for me, but this is the only band I would spend this much to see on multiple occasions. Hearing Christine sing Songbird live again was soooo worth it to me and dancing along to Little Lies and You Make Loving Fun was well worth the cost. The Chain also seemed full force again with Chris back on the stage.

There is something about seeing the five of them together again that that is so inspiring to me that I could not pass up this opportunity. When I see them on December 6th at the Forum it will be 35 years to the day that i first saw them perform at the same venue when I was a senior in high school. This band's music has been such a part of my life for over 35 years and I love seeing them today as much as I did as a teenager. How many things can you say that about in your life?

There also seems to be a real joy about the band's interactions this tour as they acknowledge what a special situation they are in. I'm happy to be tightening my belt in other areas to take advantage of this opportunity.

I never payed anything over $250 bucks for my tix for the Mac or Stevie shows.

I look at it this way.We only live once. Mind as will enjoy the Mac or Stevie/Lindsey or other favorite artist or band live to that matter.

I have a friend that says .Spend your money when you can or somebody will spend it for you.

This is an awesome little story, I wish I could have seen them back then. Anyway, to answer the original posters question, if you like the band enough, you will not regret buying tickets. I saw them a few weeks ago and it was a great show. For me, I have to be on the floor at every concert I go to. So my tickets were expensive. Two tickets in the 8th row were $1000. After we saw them, we decided we wanted to see them again, so we got tickets for a show in March, better seats actually for about $200 less than the first show. So if you like the band enough, get tickets. I just saw Paul McCartney and I was in the 14th row on the floor and I wish that I had spent the money for better seats. Again all these great bands and musicians may be getting old and I'm sure it's not the same as seeing the show back when they were young, but I'm in my 20s and I'm a big music buff, but all my favorite musical artists are in their late 60s-early 70s, they could die or retire at any time so go take advantage of the opportunity if you feel like it's something you should cross off your bucket list.

I've paid face ($200+) for both Atlanta and Knoxville. This is the first time for my daughter(10 years old and a die hard Stevie fan) and me to actually get to see the Mac. I didn't choose floor seats because I didn't want an obstructed view for my little one, so I got seats in the 100's on Christine's side for both shows. We should have a great view! Hopefully, we will get a short Stevie tour after the second leg ends and we can see her solo too. Best of both worlds! We are so excited! :angel:

I struggled with whether to pay $200/ticket myself. I think if I would have landed tickets somewhere in the first 20 rows I would have pulled the trigger. But that didn't end up happening for any of the 3 Texas shows. So I don't have a regret now that I didn't purchase a ticket. I'm beyond thrilled Christine is back. But I'm not forking over $200 a person for yet another oldies cash grab, especially if I can't find a decent seat. When the band has new material that's good (unlike the dreadful EP), I'll go see them again. But until then, I sleep easy knowing I've lined their pockets well enough over the years.

Speaking of ticket prices, anyone else notice how 3/4 of the arenas seats are priced at the $200 level? :rolleyes:

I paid face value ($210) for floor seats (row 16) the first time around and didn't regret it. I immediately wanted to go again the next night but they were sold out. I would have sat anywhere at that point. I just bought for the next show for floor row 11 at $311. I wouldn't have bought for anymore than that, but since there's an aisle in front of me (ie no tall people blocking my view) I had to do it. Let's just hope these tickets are legit.:lol:

I agree with what everyone else has been saying- you don't know how much longer they're going to be around, Christine is back, etc. Plus, I enjoyed the first show so much, I just had to do it again, and even though $311 is a lot, I just had to do it for those seats.

I went to MNPLS and Chcago. LA, PHX, Lincoln, NYC and KC to go. I would see every show if I could. I am so excited to see them all together, likely for their last tour.

I think if you can see them once, go. Don't buy $200 seats if it isn't practical for you. Just get in and go.

All in all I paid 250.00. In December I will have to pay for gas, a hotel and normal expenditures that a short trip calls for. I intend to budget another 300.00 to be comfortable. I won't spend money on t-shirts/souvenirs, but I probabaly will enjoy some beverages and enjoy myself since I will have just completed another semester. For me, seeing FM is something I HAD to do within the next couple years. An investment in people and music
That feed my soul. Having Chris back (something I never ever expected) is priceless and resolved any buyers remorse I may have felt.

Totally worth it for me, I don't purchase books, CDs,etc. And sacrifice to be able to afford the trip and tickets. I don't go to concerts regularly, so this is a treat.
Oh and I will add, that I have NEVER seen them live. I will NOT spend that Kind of money again. "That's Enough For Me"!

I think I have seen the Mac live about 7 times now and its always worth it! There is some sort of magical thing that happens when you see them live where you just want to keep going back time after time.
For the Pittsburgh show recently, I paid the most I ever had for a ticket which was $319 for 3rd row but it was like the best thing ever to see Christine McVie up close once again. My good friend went with me and it was her first time seeing them and she was like freaking out she was so excited and happy. I don't think I have ever seen her smile like that in her entire life. We already are planning on seeing them again in Cleveland but I keep hoping somehow along the way they eventually come back to Pittsburgh to the First-Niagara Pavilion.
Its crazy when I was watching them a few weeks ago I kept thinking how the first time I saw them I was only 20 and didn't have a care in the world and now at 37 its like seeing them takes me back to that time when things were just so easy and simple. If I could go to a concert every single day I would be like in total heaven -ha!!

It was worth it to see them two times with Christine back, but not five times, which I could have easily done. Not at those prices.

In this situation, money is not even a factor, IMO. I'm a teacher, with a steady job plus two other jobs. I don't have kids or anyone to take care of. So, I don't think twice when spending for this. I don't mean $1,000. But I have to be up close. I've seen both Boston shows and I have two more to go!

Thank you all for your responses. I have seen FM before, several times, but not with Chris. I'm still undecided. Thr closest venue for me is San Diego (10 minutes away from my house), but for whatever reason tickets are fewer and more expensive than the ones offered in LA (about 2.5 hour drive). I found a pair for friday 11/28 at the Forum in L.A. for $299 each. They're located one tier up from the floor, towards the back of the venue. I was all excited about it, but when I went to buy them I couldn't pull the trigger. I have the money, it's the principal of it. So I decided (for now) to wait and see if some miracle happens for the San Diego show. I just can't pay that much money for so far away.

my advice - go see them with Chris, Jamie. it's worth it. don't spend what you don't have, don't get yourself into debt or anything, but buy what you feel you can afford without much problems, and go see them with Chris. you will be pleasantly surprised, i was - it is a very different show this year, and for the better!

I agree with much that has been said. We paid 179.00 for our tickets--on Lindsey's side in the 100s for last year and this year, and we were pleased with those. Unless I'm in the first five rows on the floor, it's too hard to see because I'm not tall.

I think of it as my hobby/treat that I know I'm going to spend the money on, so I just resign myself to the expense, which usually involves some travelling and a hotel, which I try to make a nice hotel, so it's like a little mini-vacation. I try to visit one Relais and Chateaux property every year, but this year, I'll substitute that with two (maybe three) FM shows. Zero regrets. Stevie AND JOHN(!) in witch hats on Halloween in Keith's beautiful DC?! What's better than that? :)

I haven't seen a show this tour, and I probably won't. Two friends are coming to LA to see the show and offered to buy me a seat and I turned them down. I didn't feel it was fair to them to pay that much for a ticket, as if it was tit for tat for staying at my house.

In the past I have spent so much on tickets. 500 a seat for front row Dance at the Bowl. I am sure I did the same for at least one TISL show. I have snapped up pairs of front row and second row seats to take friends or bfs numerous times. Money was never an object. I don't even remember anymore how many times I flew places to see Stevie, though with some effort I could. It has been an easy 25k over my lifetime. I never went into debt for it. But oddly now I don't feel like paying for it LOL.

I have seen them so much. Maybe I will flip at the last second and go. I doubt it. It is the principle of the thing also, like someone else mentioned. I think they are charging too much. Way more than most people can afford. I wouldn't blink at the expense, however I do not feel like supporting the idea of it.

For anyone who wants to go, I say do it. I have no regrets about any of the shows I have been to, or the cost.

I hear you, but if you haven't seen them with Christine, then you really haven't seen them. There's a completely different vibe when Christine's with them, and given their age, there won't be too many opportunities to see them. It's the full classic line-up, and most bands their age can't do that. Years from now, when it's long over, you'll be more upset at having missed the opportunity while it was there than the money you spent.

This is so true.

I paid face value ($224.00 each) for two floor tickets in row 6 in front of Stevie.

Was it worth it to you?

Yes, it was. I have never seen FM with Christine before and unless they tour again (and have a date in my province), this will likely be my only chance to see the five.

Do you have any regrets?

See my answer below...

If you could've done something differently, would you have (i.e., buy better seats, regardless of the cost)?

I did buy better seats. I went on Ticketmaster the moment they went on sale and the only available floor seats started in row 20 :distress: I bought two tickets in row 20 and checked occasionally throughout the summer to see if better seats popped up. About a month ago, entire rows in the first floor section became available. I sold my old tickets for $200 each and bought the new seats.

I lost $60, but it was worth it to me. I could afford the tickets, the venue is nearby, and I knew I would regret it forever if I passed over a FM concert with Chris, even if it's another greatest hits tour.

I paid face value and with fees it was about $200 per ticket and I bought 2. It was totally worth it for me. I still listen to Christine McVie solo records all the time. I had just about given up on the Mac because the Stevie and Lindsey show seemed to never change. I thought I would NEVER hear Chris live again in concert. I cant tell you what a treat it was to hear her singing live again!

I have never and will never spend more than face value for a ticket!

Alright guys. After reading all of your thoughtful and honest posts, I broke down and bought two tickets for $299 each for the 11/28 L.A. show. I will be seeing the Mac on Black Friday! We plan to make a day of it. Maybe Amoeba Records on Sunset will have some great Black Friday specials. :thumbsup:

Along with your posts, I looked at it this way - I'm basically paying each band member (not including back-up musicians and vocalists) $60 each to watch and listen to them play together on which may be one of their last tours. I also went on vacation recently and came home with a lot of unspent spending money, so that helped as well. So, thank you all again for your input.

Jamie

They will! Here's a nifty list. :thumbsup: http://www.recordstoreday.com/SpecialReleases

Myself, I'm looking forward to that Grateful Dead vinyl and maybe the Bowie one. :D

Rad! Thanks!

I paid about £130 (face value) for a seat about 20 rows back at London last year. No regrets at all- it was one of the nights Christine came back and there was no way I was going to miss that...

I don't go to that many things, but the events I really want to see I will do my damnest to go to. I paid £995 to go to the 2012 Olympic opening ceremony (pure madness, I know, but hey...) so after that I kind of have a different perspective on things....

Every time I've seen them I've paid what I consider to be a tidy sum of money but only ever had decent tickets. However, I always come away vowing to go all out and spend big for top, top tickets next time. Will probably be the same next year. When they come to London I'll probably pay a few hundred pounds for decent tickets and then curse myself on the night for not spending a thousand.

Exactly, Steve!
We paid $350 each, for 15th row floor, in Indy.
IF Chris weren't back, and John hadn't been battling cancer last year, and they weren't a million years old, I wouldn't have paid that. BUT, those three things are true. And they've literally been the soundtrack to my entire life, so I really had no choice. How many more tours are we going to get? Hopefully at least one, but the end is inevitable, so I had to be there!!!


That said, I am interested in going to at least one more show this tour, but I'll do nosebleeds if I do.

Well, you forgot to mention that we spent most of the time at 3rd row, thanks to the fender ;)

And do you regret it? Was what you would have spent that $350 on worth the memories of that concert? NO!! :]

Can you believe when I saw Stevie Nicks and Joe Walsh in 1983 great seats were $12.75 :eek:

You could go to a concert for about the price of the album. Unbelievable!

I think I paid $10 for the tickets the first time I saw them. (Oct. 1975)

I broke down and bought a ticket for the Providence show. But I bought the cheapest seat available. It was a little over $60 with the fees. To me that's a reasonable price for a concert. If I can't be in the first two rows, there's no point in me being on the floor. I am 5'2" and would not be able to see. I will be about as far from the band as it is possible to be, but this arena (Providence Civic Center) has steeply sloping rows of seats in the balconies and I will have a nice view. I will bring my binoculars and should be able to see everything well, and the sound will be good from back there (as good as sound can be in these big arenas).

I hesitated to go at all, because I am not happy about all the pre-recorded tracks they're using. If I go to see a live band, I want the music to be live, for goodness' sake, even if that includes an occasional mistake. But I am extremely happy that Christine is back in the band, and the fact that I could get a ticket for such a reasonable price decided me.

OMG, you're back!!!!

I told the Fender T-shirt/security guard/how we got to 3rd row story in another thread.

Not to mention the Stevie top hat that you were wearing!!!

Regret it? Hellz to the no!!! A night I'll never forget. And with the best company to be found!!!!:angel:

Why so expensive?
 

Why are the ticket prices in the US so expensive? Or are the average saleries higher then overhere?

Last year I paid less then 80 euro's general admission in Amsterdam (twice).

Both times showed up early (5 o' clock) at the venue and ended up 3 meters from the stage (no chairs, never understood with they are good for at a rockconcert).

In Antwerp I also paid something like 75 euro's for a seat at the tiers on the side.

Indeed and that is a normal price today..... Max i will pay for a concert and also for FM is between 75 and 100 Euro's....

I don't expect Europe tix to be less than US.

Thinking about the current price of tickets, and the cost of seeing Fleetwood Mac particularly with Christine back in the fold, it's easy to let the fanatic pull take control of one's wallet. I am reminded of President John F. Kennedy's inaugural address: "Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty." Sometimes, as FM fans, we lose our grip and switch the last word of that speech to "Fleetwood Mac." The band doesn't really deserve this sort of dedication, but it exists among us at times. Watch your wallets.

they were last year (i'm talking continental Europe, not UK that has all the legal scalping and such).

if they try to sell continental Europe tickets with the same prices as the US ones, we will see bunch of cancellations of shows. their promoters know better.

No, I don't think our salaries are higher. I just think there are far too many 50-60 year olds, that CAN afford the ridiculous prices, and will pay them, that it drives up the prices for everyone. They charge what the market will bear. If people refused to pay more than $50, tickets would be $50.

Do American fans pay less for Fleetwood Mac tickets?

The first Fleetwood Mac show I saw was on the Mirage tour. My ticket cost about $15 (service fees were only a few dollars). These were the times just before Wall Street completely took over and corporations became people. I can take into consideration that inflation and the higher costs of expenses over the years would drive up the prices of tickets. But it seems way out of proportion. Corporations have taken ownership of concert venues and brand them in their name.

I'm grateful that I can still go see a show at an independent, cool vibe, beautiful old vaudeville venue and see artists of caliber like Neil Finn, Amy Mann, Graham Nash in an intimate setting and only pay $35. Get there a little early, stand in the cue before the doors open, and you can sit wherever you want. I usually have the option to sit the the first row, but usually choose the third row. I imagine this experience is similar to the 1960's, when there were numerous clubs on the Hollywood strip, San Francisco, New York and other cities, where you could afford to see many legendary artists without spending hundreds of dollars. I have an advertisement for a 1967 Mamas and Papas show: ticket prices ranged from two to five dollars.

No time at work this week to buy tickets.
Just got 2 tickets for London on 22nd June for block A1. With booking fees- £442.
At least its done now.