But wait, there’s more!!

I don’t know how many people have had the good fortune to stumble upon the recent post on Facebook regarding Duran Duran’s return to Vegas. No, not the one taking place on Thursday night, I mean another return AFTER the return (after the return…rinse and repeat!). Duran Duran announced that over the weekend just before Halloween, they would be returning to the Wynn in Las Vegas for Halloween themed shows. Presales begin on Wednesday (that’d be tomorrow, folks), and there is a 2 ticket limit for the shows. No VIP available, as it is a very small venue.

I know many of you are looking through your email right now, wondering just exactly where that DD-Blast announcing these gigs must have gone. Well, search no more, because there isn’t one. According to an email reply inquiring about just that sort of thing, fans are being told that these days, sales are being handled this way, without much notice. We should just be grateful the band is touring and choosing to come back to Las Vegas, right?

In other words, “Never mind that you’ve been fans since the 80s, never mind that you were around in the late 90s when the band could barely GIVE tickets away much less play eleventy-million dates in the same city without calling it a residency – the fact is, Duran Duran is part of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (or soon will be), and you know – there are millions of other people that don’t mind the way we announce gigs, so please stop whining. Stand in line, buy the ridiculously-priced tickets, and shut up.”

Here’s the thing: our relationship with the band is transactional at best. While the band themselves may feel differently about us, management does not. They are in the the business of making money for the band, and themselves (obviously). The fact that we’re fans means nothing. Not in the sense that you and I might want them to see us as fans, anyway. They see us as potential dollar signs. We are the means to bags of cash. No more, no less.

I’m sure someone out there is saying, “But…but….the band cares about us!” I have no doubt about that. The band, though, isn’t involved in the business of Duran Duran. I know they care. They’re the talent. Somebody else though, has to be the bad guy and make the ends not only meet, but come together in such a way that everybody makes money hand over fist. This is likely the very reason why most bands steer clear of the “business”. That’s the job of management, and they don’t give a shit that you, or I, have been fans for forty years and that we feel like we deserve a better deal. They care that venues still sell out, regardless of how much you or I whine about the process. It might be harsh, but it is the cold hard reality, too.

If you want this to change, and while I certainly feel like many do, I have sincere doubts about our commitment at this point, we would have to stop buying tickets en masse. We would literally have to go on strike. Die hard fans, fair-weather fans, and people who just decide to buy tickets for the hell of it. Do you see that happening? I sure don’t.

Maybe someone out there is saying, “But Rhonda, if you really feel like it all works that way, why do you decide to keep going?” Good question. Just because I recognize the job of management doesn’t mean I don’t love the band – you know, those guys who write the music and take the stage for us. What I’ve had to do is simply compartmentalize my annoyance for the business and keep it separate from my love and respect for the band. There are a lot of things I truly hate about the music business, but there are also a lot of things that, if I stopped going to shows – and mind you, it isn’t just Duran Duran, it’s the whole business side of the music industry – I’d dearly miss.

I don’t have answers. I don’t even have advice. We all have to decide for ourselves what we are, and are not willing to do. That goes for just about anything, not solely concert tickets. Me? I’m not planning to go in October. I have a party that weekend, and while I would love to go to Vegas again, I’m not sure I can swing another trip so soon. However, if anyone has a ticket they want to gift me…. I’ll make the time!

Off to pack!

-R