Ry Cooder, first the good news…

xDottore

…well the good news is that he's playing the Cadogan Hall in London on 18 October. I bought Paradise and Lunch in 1976 and he's always been one of my favourite guitarists, so I was dead keen to see him, especially as supported by son, Joachim, and on the back of the Prodigal Son album.

But the bad news is that available spaces (ha ha) start at £308. That's fucking ridiculous. I saw Taj Mahal and Keb Mo last year for about £20. A real shame that gougers take the piss like that. The Nice Lady at the Cadogan said they'd only had a small allocation of tickets but most had gone to big agencies. Feckers. 

KDS

I'm curious to know if cooder realised how much the tickets are

KKJale

Holy crap. A friend got me one a couple of weeks ago for about £60.

The new anti-bot ticket buying law isn't working, we need to cap resales. That kind of mark-up is outrageous. 

richardhomer

That sounds rather a lot.....

IIRC, he’s not played over here for about 30 years - certainly a rare chance to see a true great of the guitar.

That said, I wouldn’t pay that much to see the Beatles fronted by Elvis with Hendrix sitting in on guitar....

mart

richardhomer said:

...

That said, I wouldn’t pay that much to see the Beatles fronted by Elvis with Hendrix sitting in on guitar....

Colonel Parker’s lonely hearts club band of gypsies?

Phil_aka_Pip

richardhomer said:

That sounds rather a lot.....

IIRC, he’s not played over here for about 30 years - certainly a rare chance to see a true great of the guitar.

That said, I wouldn’t pay that much to see the Beatles fronted by Elvis with Hendrix sitting in on guitar....

I guess you're not a fan of Elvis, Hendrix, or the Beatles

bingefeller

KKJale said:

Holy crap. A friend got me one a couple of weeks ago for about £60.

The new anti-bot ticket buying law isn't working, we need to cap resales. That kind of mark-up is outrageous. 

What is an anti-bot ticket law?  I didn't know people set up bots to buy tickets, I'm assuming it's something to do with this?

KKJale

bingefeller said:

What is an anti-bot ticket law?  I didn't know people set up bots to buy tickets, I'm assuming it's something to do with this?

http://www.nme.com/news/music/ticket-touts-bots-now-illegal-uk-2202748

underdog

I don't get why tickets are not linked to the card that buys them, and that card has to be shown with tickets on entry. A simple system as a card will have to be used to buy them.

DefaultM

underdog said:

I don't get why tickets are not linked to the card that buys them, and that card has to be shown with tickets on entry. A simple system as a card will have to be used to buy them.

It was this way for Kate Bush and I'm pretty sure it worked well. 
Only problem is that then people will sell the tickets regardless and people will buy them. Their own fault for not reading the rules, but they'll still kick off.

boogieman

richardhomer said:

That sounds rather a lot.....

IIRC, he’s not played over here for about 30 years - certainly a rare chance to see a true great of the guitar.

I think I saw him on that tour. It was just him and David Lindley. I’d hoped for some electric stuff with a full backing band and singers but it was just them on acoustic instruments. Clever stuff and quite atmospheric at times but a bit of a snooze fest really. 

fandango

Saw Nils Lofgren at Cadogan Hall a couple of years ago. Pretty good venue for those performers that haven't got whizz-bang effects and stage shows.

sev112

underdog said:

I don't get why tickets are not linked to the card that buys them, and that card has to be shown with tickets on entry. A simple system as a card will have to be used to buy them.

Which prevents me buying tickets for Ed Sheeran for my daughter and wife for a surprise Xmas present as I have subsequently found out is now a requirement that they have my card with them when they go.

might work in our case, but doesn’t work for other people 

xDottore

Now seeing Mr Cooder in Amsterdam. It worked out cheaper or about the same to get two tickets there, and flights and cheap hotel next to theatre than seeing him in London. And I get a day or two out in Amsterdam. Which is nice.

jdgm

Dottore said:

Now seeing Mr Cooder in Amsterdam. It worked out cheaper or about the same to get two tickets there, and flights and cheap hotel next to theatre than seeing him in London. And I get a day or two out in Amsterdam. Which is nice.

Congrats - very resourceful. I saw Ry several times at the end of the 70s/early 80s and it was always fantastic. Hope you have a really great time.  Good luck to you!
I think the current situation with concert tickets is bloody scandalous; 'agencies' are just venal touts and the practice of buying and scalping like that should be outlawed. Sheer greed. Only the artists can stop it.
A few years back I wanted to see Eric Johnson in London, original ticket price £30. By the time I found out, the few remaining ones were well over £100.
Last year I heard an interview on the radio with one of the main offenders, think it was the director of one of the best-known online 'agencies'. Everything that was put to him was like water off a duck's back, he couldn't give a damn and wasn't going to stop doing it either unless it was made illegal - and then he'd find a way round it.
Parasites IMO.

Koa

Like what I heard  of the new Ry recordings, heard a trailer on R2 this morning for Ry On the Cerys Matthews blues show at 8pm I think this Monday coming 

Nitefly

Well, well - a government minister no less has put her head above the parapet and said "Don't use Viagogo."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-44299981

Margot James, Digital Minister, said it on Radio 5 this morning.  It looks like they're also in trouble with the Advertising Standards Authority AND the Competition and Markets Authority!

Good quote from consultancy firm Iridium:  "[Viagogo] seems to regard UK consumer protection legislation as a minor inconvenience" - this because they are now based in Switzerland.