Live show tickets -- $$$

**LivingAlmostLarge** · 11-06-2025, 08:49 PM

So i'm one of those people paying a lot. I did not pay for taylor swift on the secondary market. i would pay face value and i have for multiple concerts. Most recently maroon 5 and katy perry. I've seen elton john, rhcp, adele. and i have tickets for ed sheeran. i also have taken the kids to lots of cirque du soleil. And i've seen pretty much every touring one and most of the ones that are permenant installations. I've seen wicked and hamilton on stage. I've also seen a bunch of comedians. DH and I really enjoy live shows. We've loved concerts since we first met. My first concert beastie boys. His first concert smashing pumpkin mellon collie. We've also gone to the ballet and opera and theater.

When we we had less money we would to go NYC on the weekend and go to TIKTS and see whatever was cheap and on sale. I've seen avenue Q, jersey boys, book of mormon. It was whatever was cheap.

Last year when it was Taylor Swift my kiddo wanted to see her. But $1500 was outrageous. Have i spent a lot? Yes the most was Adele but I got them at face value from a friend who couldn't go to las vegas. As I watched the ticket prices for TS, i couldn't understand how people could shell out that much and more. To pay $3000 for a ticket. I guess if it's a one time thing and you never spend any money on it.

But the scalper prices were just so much. I don't get it at all. I don't buy it if it's not below market from secondary or i can get it face value at opening. I also wouldn't go into debt or charge it on a CC to afford it but so many people were interviewed saynig they had to see TS and charge it and it was "once" in a lifetime.

**disneysteve** · 11-07-2025, 05:32 AM

Originally posted by LivingAlmostLarge View Post

So i'm one of those people paying a lot.

Sure, but you're not the typical American as far as net worth goes. Neither am I. Surely all of those seats aren't being filled by multi-millionaires though. There must be a fair number of folks of average means attending these shows.

**kork13** · 11-07-2025, 06:14 AM

We love going to live theater. Whether it's musicals, Shakespeare, ballet, Cirque, orchestras, or other shows ... The unfortunate part is that we've rarely lived near an event center that consistently had a good variety of shows. But that's the kind of entertainment that that we've always been happy to shell out to enjoy, and I'll travel for them as well. When we did live in a city with an active event center, we did 2 years of season tickets. We do fewer concerts, but we will selectively go to some of those as well, when available.

That said, it's extremely easy for those tickets to get stupid expensive. Although we love love shows , I do have my limits ... $200-$300 per person is probably the upper end of my tolerance. And I'm also never one to deal with scalpers or second-hand markets ... With very limited exception (close family/friend/coworker), I don't sufficiently trust tickets like that to be legitimate. It's box office or nothing.

**ua_guy** · 11-07-2025, 06:54 AM

The Super Bowl is not too far off, and it's just insane (IMO) what people will pay for tickets. Even just regular NFL football games, years of waitlisting just to become a season pass holder, or buying the rights to become a season pass holder and then paying for the tickets. Totally bonkers if you ask me, but YOLO, right? Around Seattle, you'll pay $100-$150 just for parking if you want to attend a major sports game.

Based on the experience of friends who would attend concerts back when we were in our 20's and 30's, some of them probably put themselves in financial jeopardy to attend some of those shows.

**disneysteve** · 11-07-2025, 11:50 AM

Event parking is another racket, especially when the price fluctuates based on what's going on.

**QuarterMillionMan** · 11-07-2025, 03:45 PM

I could do it on the cheap at Dodgers or Angels games for $8 a ticket. I'd park on the perimeter of the neighborhoods on the streets for free and ride my bike inside. I'd bring a bottled water and not buy anything inside the stadiums. I'd sit way out in left or right field or above home plate but way up in the nose-bleed sections. During the later innings swaths of seats would open up closer to the field then I'd move closer. At Angels stadium Disneyland's fireworks can be seen at 9 pm from right field or center field and I'd get a free bonus fireworks display from Disneyland all for $8, quite a bargain.

**LivingAlmostLarge** · 11-07-2025, 05:08 PM

Originally posted by ua_guy View Post

The Super Bowl is not too far off, and it's just insane (IMO) what people will pay for tickets. Even just regular NFL football games, years of waitlisting just to become a season pass holder, or buying the rights to become a season pass holder and then paying for the tickets. Totally bonkers if you ask me, but YOLO, right? Around Seattle, you'll pay $100-$150 just for parking if you want to attend a major sports game.

Based on the experience of friends who would attend concerts back when we were in our 20's and 30's, some of them probably put themselves in financial jeopardy to attend some of those shows.

The scalper pricing is where it goes bokers. The regular tickets on face value of Taylor Swift was $200. I had friends who happened to snag it at face value and went. They won the presale lottery. But the tickets on the secondary no way. Just like my adele dream was a dream until friends offered it up face value and i was like sure we'll snap them up. those were probably the most expensive tickets I've bough at $400 a piece. But at least I didn't feel like i was paying a scalper price but really nice seat down low.

I'm okay paying more but to scalpers it seems ridiculous you would pay $1500 for $200 seats or $3k for the same $200 seats. But from reading about it was YOLO for taylor swift.

Live show tickets -- $$$