Stuck between rock, hard place

Concerts are the best way for musicians to prove that their talent is derived from more than just good studio productions.

At present, groups such as Journey, Rolling Stones, Natalie Merchant and Chris Isaak are preparing to do a slew of concert dates throughout Southern California.

---

David Felton

---

A recent visit to Ticketmaster opened my eyes to the fact that every year, these concerts are becoming more directed toward the rich.

It is hard to purchase a ticket - in the very back row for that matter - for less than $30 these days.

I can understand that the musicians want to make money, but thousands of seats at $30 a piece, with two or three shows per venue, add up to one thing - greed.

To start, Ticketmaster charges a $5 handling fee per ticket. The fact that they have very little competition seems that they have a monopoly going.

Sure they say one can always purchase tickets at the box office, but that leaves only two choices: deal with traffic and drive miles to buy a ticket at the convenience of the box office operating hours, or wait the day of the concert and take a chance on the show being sold out.

Bands such as Pearl Jam have tried to fight the corruption, but unfortunately, the members did not take the suit seriously enough and lost the battle.

So instead, the band has decided to sell its own tickets to shows. My only question is: when was Pearl Jam's last concert?

Ticketmaster has the concert-going populace in a tight squeeze.

Either buy tickets from them or miss out on seeing one's favorite band.

Those who can afford to view live music will not have to worry, except for the other tangling fees such as parking, gas, refreshments, program guides and concert shirts.

David Felton is a journalism major at CSULB.