bang on pal - its all gone mental - no doubt we will hear the usual sh1te - insurance costs, staffing, inflation(highest in EU) and whatever else... sometimes you get the feeling some of these guys feel they are doin us a favour and that we're lucky to get em at all (the promoters rather than the artists i mean). as long as we are prepared to pay 38euro to see the likes of mr adam sans band, then thats what the fornicators will charge. boycott the whole shaggin lot (if only for sixmonths) and see what happens - rather spend your money on local talent, somewhere like whelans or indeed SOUNDROOM AT DA2, EVERY FIRST WEDNESDAY EACH MONTH. (subtle or wha'?) forgive the unashamed plug, but you're dead right VENT. www.soundweb.ie

Amen to that! I really hope these prices drive people back into smaller venues. The Olympia really gets my goat though - this time a year ago I'd have been annoyed to pay more than 20 irish to a gig there. Considering the difference between the same gigs here and England, we can only assume the promoter is trousering a serious profit here over and above what they deserve. Between this sort of crap, the whole TicketMaster fiasco with booking charges and credit card surcharges, the best thing you can do is hit the smaller venues and catch the up and coming bands when you can afford it! To that end, (may your own) God bless the likes of Whelans, Da2 and Sound Cellar (for them cheap tickets).

Listen. One can rant and rave about this on Disucssion Boards or over a pint or whatever but the only way to have any chance of making a difference is to just simply boycott gigs at such prices. And to tell MCD by email (emailto:niall@mcd.ie) or fax or post or phone that this is not acceptable and that they must change. The only reason they charge such prices is because the Irish punter is nothing less than daft and is prepared to pay such insulting prices. Is Ryan Adams worth 38 Euros? Well I saw him in the Shelter last year and he was good but there is no way I would fork out 38 Euros (before booking charges) to see him. Not a hope. Stick it to MCD and just refuse to pay this sort of money. And get your mates to do so as well. Because if this gig sells out at these prices they'll be laughing their heads off down in MCD and will then start upping the price even more next time around to see if there are any fecking limits to how stupid the Irish gig-goer really is. The fault is actually not MCD's. The blame lies in the hands of the Irish punter who demonstrates again and again that they are prepared to pay way over the odds for a gig. Stop blaming MCD. They are just making the most out of our stupidity. So we need to look at ourselves as consumers and assert ourselves in the face of such pricing insults. The next time you consider forking out a fortune for an MCD event think about this: By buying the ticket you are perpetuating the upward price spiral. YOU ARE to blame. NOT MCD. They are just taking advantage of the punters' stupidity. And yes they don't charge 38 Euros in the UK for a Ryan Adams gig because the consumer there would just flat out refuse to pay it and the promoters know it. It's really simple. tobble

Testify, Brother Tobble

Well, I'm just after booking 2 tickets on-line to see Ryan Adams at his Brussels gig on Dec 7th. The cost? Just 23.75 Euros each (which includes a 1.75 Euro booking charge per ticket). The Brussels venue is comparable in size to the Olympia (although it is probably slightly bigger, it is a venue built specifically for gigs & is (much) more modern than the Olympia). Out of curiosity I tried to book 2 tickets for a Ryan Adams gig in Dublin on ticketmaster.ie and the total cost for 2 of the 38 Euro tickets, after the 'booking cahrges were factored in) was 85.90 Euros. That is almost DOUBLE the price I paid online for 2 tickets to his Belgian gig (I got 2 Blegian tix for 47.50 Euros). I agree with tobble - the punters have to vote with their feet and boycott gigs in Ireland that are priced way beyond the price being charged in other countries for gigs by the same artist on the same tour in similar sized venues). Otherwise the fleecing of Irish gig-goers will continue unabated. Here's the internet page with info on his Belgian gig... http://www.abconcerts.com/ab2/concerts/concerts-detail.html?c=100251 eoghan Edited by - eoghan on 14 Aug 2002 10:39:06

For the record, I'm ranting and raving and boycotting. I am curious though that it appears to be the Olympia in particular that are expensive. Do MCD promote exclusively for it? It is just mind numbing that Eoghan can but tickets for exactly half the price here. Some much for Euro zone price harmonisation. I feel a "We the proletariat" type letter to the Times coming on.

jaysus, it just hit me! you could fly to charleroi, take the shiny bus to brussels, order a bottle of 8% duvel bier whilst eyeing up the lovely belgian ladies and then watch mr adams in action in a purpose built acoustically designed venue, and you still would have frickin' change from the olympia tab. is there something wrong with this scenario? www.soundweb.ie

conceivably, theoretically, possibly... www.soundweb.ie

yes, yes. i suppose i have been boycotting gigs there of late ,although without really thinking about it: ("how much?, F*CK THAT!" for example) it's a good idea but if you're gonna do it you should really do it in conjunction with angry emails .that's the best way to handle it.this is a very worthwhile venture ,let's all get on the case.