<body><div><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0J12cU_0oFxOeBP00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0J12cU_0oFxOeBP00" width="640" height="427" > I remember hearing “Juke Box Hero” by Foreigner for the first time. Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Second Helping” remains one of my favorite records. Black Sabbath introduced me to heavy metal and subsequently some of my favorite bands. Thin Lizzy’s “Dancing in the Moonlight” is one of my all-time favorite songs. Those songs and artists created my love for music that endures to this day. It inspired me to pick up a bass guitar in high school, and for the next eight years, I played in so many different bands, primarily playing this genre of rock songs that first resonated with me so deeply .Classic rock will always be one of my favorite genres of music. <nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate> Naturally, with a love of music, comes a love of concerts. In high school, I would go to multiple concerts a month, primarily newer artists that I still really enjoyed. I was about 30 years too late to see Led Zeppelin or Pink Floyd, but that didn’t stop my hair from being far below my shoulders. These concerts, situated at smaller venues, were often very cheap — I never spent more than $30 on a ticket. For an experience that I would look forward to for weeks and months at a time, it was money well spent. The economic realities of going to just about any concert these days are horrific. Concerts are no longer a spur-of-the-moment decision, but a sizeable chunk out of one’s paycheck. I won’t have many more opportunities to see some of the bands who introduced me to some of my favorite music. But there’s one band, probably the first band I ever truly loved, that recently announced a farewell tour that I had a lot of interest in attending. <nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate> Aerosmith will be performing in Raleigh in two weeks as part of their farewell tour. I own just about all of their CD’s — Toys in the Attic, Rocks and Draw the Line are definitive, hard rock staples of the ’70s, albums that I cherish to this day. But am I really going to pay $149 for a seat behind the stage, $437 for the furthest possible nosebleed seats or spend well over $1,000 for a front-row seat to see a bunch of geriatric rockers, sans their original drummer? If you want to see the Eagles this November in Raleigh, the nosebleeds will cost you over $700. A mid-level front row ticket could set you back $2,600. Floor tickets to see Drake in Charlotte this September will fetch over $800 — the furthest away seats are only marginally better, at $400. If you would like to Jelly Roll this October in Wilmington, it will be a minimum of $153. <nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate> I remember looking at Bruce Springsteen tickets prices for his March appearance in Greensboro, and being nonplussed about who is dropping thousands of their hard-earned money to see him. I’m not a fan of his, but I don’t think anyone is a fan of those prices. And of course, if you wanted to catch Taylor Swift for her Eras Tour, resale tickets for her shows can go anywhere from $13,000 to $30,000. “ <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-much-taylor-swift-tickets-regret-spending-eras-ticketmaster-stubhub-2022-11" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank"> I don’t feel good to have tickets anymore, </a> ” said a sad Swiftie who spend $5,500 for a ticket.. “It wasn’t something fun, like it was supposed to be. I feel guilty. I feel like I did something impulsive in panic mode, and I am disappointed in Ticketmaster and Live Nation for letting it get to this point of just being a complete frenzy.” Keep in mind that for all of these ticket prices, courtesy of TicketMaster, there are additional service fees (for two tickets I purchased a few months to see my favorite band, Dance Gavin Dance, it added another $40. I’m sure the fees are even higher for bigger-profile bands). I don’t have buyer’s remorse because I’ve never spent more than $50 for a ticket, but I’m lucky that my tastes are a bit more eclectic than the average person. <nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate> I still enjoy going to concerts, but I will never spend hundreds, let alone thousands, to see an artist, and it’s unfortunate for many fans who want to see their favorite rappers and pop stars, that that may never be possible. It doesn’t matter whether you like country, pop or rock — no genre is immune to breaking your wallet. Instead of seeing my all-time favorite artist, Frank Zappa, I’ve been fortunate to see his son, Dweezil, multiple times; instead of seeing Phil Lynott perform, I’ll have to settle for a Thin Lizzy cover band; if I happen to ever see a band like Motley Crue live, it will be with a Motley Crew of replacement musicians and back-up singers. I would have liked to Phish play in Wilmington this summer, but the cheapest tickets were well over $100. Incredibly, I was able to snag tickets to see Pantera next month in Virginia Beach for only $25 as part of a sale. I couldn’t believe the receipt when it was only $50 for me and my twin brother to attend. <nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate> It’s disappointing that music, one of the purest artistic endeavors, has been paywalled with these insane ticket prices and fees for marquee artists and bands. If you had told those grungy teens in a dingy gymnasium at the first Aerosmith concert in Boston over 50 years how much a concert ticket would set them back now, they certainly wouldn’t believe you. Cheap ticket prices? Dream on. <nbtemplate data-content="eyJhcGlLZXkiOiAiZDgxM2Q5Yzg3NTI3N2IzNWU0YzRmZDM0NTAyMjJkNmQiLCAiZGVzY3JpcHRpb24iOiAiU3Vic2NyaWJlIHRvIEFuc29uIFJlY29yZCIsICJldmVudCI6ICJtcF9zdWJzY3JpcHRpb25fYnV0dG9uX2NsaWNrX2V2ZW50IiwgInVybCI6ICJodHRwczovL3d3dy5hbnNvbnJlY29yZC5jb20vc3Vic2NyaWJlIiwgIm1lZGlhSWQiOiA1NjM3MjksICJ0aXRsZSI6ICJNYXR0aGV3IFNhc3NlciB8IENoZWFwIGNvbmNlcnQgdGlja2V0cz8gRHJlYW0gb24ifQ==" data-id="MediaPlatformAmplitudeButton"></nbtemplate></div></body>

Mountain View, CA

I remember hearing “Juke Box Hero” by Foreigner for the first time. Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Second Helping” remains on