Entries Tagged 'Complaining' ↓

The Kansas City Star reported that Kenny Chesney will be the first concert to play Arrowhead Stadium since 2001.  I had absolutely no idea that he - or any current country act outside of Garth Brooks maybe - was popular enough to fill a stadium.  They’re estimating that 40,000 - 50,000 people will show up to this which is incredible for someone who I can’t name a single song by.  Of course the article lists every show that has played Arrowhead and I’m suprised that a good two-thirds of them were popular enough to warrant a stadium.  I knew n’Sync was popular but I had no idea they were that big.

On one hand it’s interesting that they’re having concerts in the stadium again but I can’t imagine anyone I’m interested enough in seeing to actually go and deal with the hassle.  The article mentions U2 as a possibility but how bad would that suck?  Bad sound, horrible parking, a ton of people, and lousy seats.  Someone would have to rise up from the grave a book a date at Arrowhead in order for me to go, and not just any ghoul, I’m talking about two of the Beatles or Tommy Bolin.  I’ll pass on Kurt Cobain, thanks.

A few years ago I read an article about Disneyland that broke down a guest’s entrance into the park, and the jist of it was that even before you enter the park you are in four different lines.  I wish I had a link to that article because I kept thinking about it on Saturday.  The Roger Waters concert marked the fourth time I’ve been at the Sprint Center - three times for concerts, once for a business scam I went to for work.  The common thread is that Sprint Center management has made the experience of going into their facility pretty unpleasent.  In order to make it to my seat I had to:

• Stand in line at will call.  I normally try to avoid this because the will call window is a lot like the post office - there’s always some asshole ahead of you who’s got problems that can’t be resolved in a couple of minutes.  I won’t fault the Sprint Center for this.  Things ran smoothly.  I showed up at the Sprint Center at 7:20 and this took about ten minutes.  Fine.
• The line for the security check is the one that drives me up the wall.  I don’t know why they’re the only place in Kansas City that has this, but they’ve got metal detectors and you have to empty your pockets into a plastic bowl before you go in.  Everything I’ve been to, including the business scam, had this set up so it’s not like they just set it up for rock shows.  This line took 20 minutes so now we’re looking at 7:50 for an 8:00 show.
• The line to give the person your ticket is another one like the post office, it seems like there’s always someone who printed out their ticket who is having problems.  This one only took five minutes but that’s way too long considering that the line was only three deep.
• Once I got up the stairs and found my section I ran into a new one for me - the backup where the ushers had to examine everyone’s tickets even if you were just sitting in the cheap seats.

By the time I sat in my seat it was 8:00 on the dot which is unacceptable when I arrived at 7:20 and didn’t stop for beer or to use the bathroom.  The worst part is that nothing’s changed over the past year and a half, and why should it?  It’s not like events aren’t going to be booked in Kansas City’s shiny new arena any more.  I just feel that when you’re going somewhere to enjoy yourself you shouldn’t have to go through a lot of unpleasentness before you have fun.

It’s just about that time of year again, where 50,000 Kansas Citians drink beer and get sunburned while a lucky few get their cornea scratched.  The 2010 Rockfest lineup was announced, and it’s definately one of the weaker ones I’ve seen.  I don’t want to hash through the entire lineup but the fact that Godsmack is headlining the whole thing says a lot.  I keep wondering if they had a larger headliner in mind and had them cancel at the last minute. 

The biggest problem seems to be that the lineup is too predictable.  Maybe it’s my imagination but there are too many bands that seem to come through Kansas City all the time.  The most obvious one is Drowning Pool who put on a good show a couple of years ago at the City Market but they were just in town a few months ago.  Same with Rev Theory and Three Days Grace.

For all my complaining I’ll probably still go, with everything depending on the arrival of a new baby.  The promoters smartened up and scheduled the thing a month earlier on May 15 which should be pretty nice weather.  I think the advantage of the weak lineup is that there’s no one I’m dying to see so I can leave whenever and just enjoy myself.

In one of the most unexpected tours to come along in a while, the semi-reformed Public Image Limited will be playing the Midland theatre on April 26.

The end of April is getting filled with a bunch of crazy good concerts.  Unfortunately that’s also when my wife is due for our new son.

So to summarize, I will be missing the following shows:

- Jeff Beck, who is the last on my list of living guitarists that I really really really want to see.

- Mastodon playing at Liberty Hall.  Not a huge deal since I saw them with Dethklok, but it kills me that they’re playing just a few minutes away from my house.

- Steve Martin playing a bluegrass concert.  The guy is an amazing banjo player and I would really like to see this.

- Public Image Limited, who canceled their Las Cruces show that I had tickets to back around 1990 and I’m still bitter about it.

Maybe Paul McCartney can go ahead and schedule an appearance in Kansas City at that time as well.

First off, Alice in Chains announced their latest set of tour dates and they’re playing in Kansas City on 02/21/10 at the Midland Theater.  They came through a couple of years ago and even though I passed on it then I think I’m going to go this time.  The new singer is good and the new album is decent enough that it should be a good show.

Bon Jovi’s also coming on March 15.  Somewhere around New Jersey I lost interest in them as they became more of a generic rock band with a bunch of blah songs.  I’ve seen them twice before during their 80s heydey but at this point they interest me so little that I wouldn’t go even if it was free.

The reason I bring up this show I that I saw a link to the ticket packages.  There’s six of them, not including the travel package:

Diamond - $1725.00

Emerald - $989.00

Platinum - $575.00

Gold - $365.00

Silver - $142.50

The packages give you a seat whose location is appropriate to the amount of money you spend.  For me the kicker is that this is the first time that I’ve seen these expensive packages where there’s no mention of meeting the band.  For the most expensive package you get a front row seat and a fucking chair you get to take home and other than a bunch of crap that’s it.  You’re paying Bon Jovi $1700 for a front row seat.  The $142 package gets you a “second price” reserved ticket, whatever that means, and it doesn’t sound good.

I think what gets me is that this is Bon Jovi.  Bon Jovi.  They sang “Living on a Prayer” and “Wanted Dead or Alive”.  They’re not the Beatles or the Stones.  They’re a hard rock version of Genesis for Pete’s sake.  I just don’t get it, but good for them that they’re able to get that kind of money for their shows.