Ants Podcast 42: Twittergate - Discussion

[aircavmike]

Originally Posted by DMBzilla

It should be noted that attendance so far this summer is even more impressive considering the size of some of the venues they're playing. Of the 22 shows reported so far, 6 had capacities of less than 17,000. That means that they're selling better in the bigger markets.

The one thing that might really hurt Alpine moving forward is that sales there were horrific last summer (47,882 / 71,200) while Northerly Island sold out both nights this summer.

Attendance #'s will dip tho after Berkeley and Bend.... 4 shows all under 10K capacity.... If u factor those 4 as sellout a which they are listed as it brings it down to abt 16.5K per over 26 shows....

I think a big factor was cutting a bunch of one night stops IE Scranton, Hershey, and Pitt to 1 night etc... But even then Camden's #'s is surprising. 38K. SPAC at 42K is not a huge # either. For being big east coast venues and w 5-6 less east coast shows that's not great for those places

Chicago did well.... Atlanta being only 1 show sold out 20K.

[aircavmike]

Also, 23 shows were reported... If u forgot Tulsa that only had a crowd of 8300 or so taking the per show ave down even more

[Jake]

Originally Posted by aircavmike

Also, 23 shows were reported... If u forgot Tulsa that only had a crowd of 8300 or so taking the per show ave down even more

How big is that venue?

[aircavmike]

Originally Posted by Jake

How big is that venue?

I've read that it has different configurations... Some acts house 17K or so. Not sure how they did it for dmb

[daveindyman]

Originally Posted by DMBzilla

I'm not jumping down your throat at all. Just stating facts.

However, per the quote I omitted...

2009 - 58 shows, 997,158 tickets sold (17,192 per show)
2010 - 57 shows, 1,052,312 tickets sold (18,461 per show)
2011 - Caravans
2012 - 41 shows, 757,629 tickets sold (18,478 per show)
2013 - 47 shows, 712,088 tickets sold (15,150 per show)
2014 - Through 22 shows, 397,255 tickets sold (18,057 per show)

A jump of roughly 3,000 tickets per show is more than a "slight boost" (just as the 3,000 ticket drop between 2012 and 2013 was a huge decline). A difference of a few hundred tickets per show is pretty much on par with what they were averaging between 2009 and 2012 (not including the Caravans). Interestingly enough, the post I copied these stats from was another response from me to you on the same topic.

And I'm not trying to single you out, but sales stats are inarguable facts.

I think the better statistical comparison at this point since we have differing venues w differing capacities to compare year to year would be to take the total number of tickets sold divided by total capacity of all the venues. That way you could percentages sold from year to year. Good stuff to know above though.

[aircavmike]

And last years tail end had Lake Tahoe which only holds arnd 7K, Utah that sold terribly and 2 at Dicks which also sold poorly...

I think a better way to look at it is comparing individual venue #'s from the past few yrs
From Billboard.... Couldn't find 2013
SPAC
2014 42K
2012 49K
2010 51K 2 sell outs

Deer creek
2014 42K
2012 46K
2010 49K 1 sell out

Camden
2014 38K
2012 39K
2010 48K

Darien
2014 12K
2012 21K sell out
2010 18K

[hailtopitt]

12k at darien this year? ouch

sorry buffalo, i bet that venue gets cut

[Kevaroo]

The slight uptick in ticket sales in some venues is based on the advertisement of two full set shows with them doing something new this year. The band is doing what they can from a marketing stand point to stay relevant. I just think they might be taking too much influence from the 99.9% that want to hear them play the phone book.

[hailtopitt]

[Jordan#41]

Originally Posted by Kevaroo

The slight uptick in ticket sales in some venues is based on the advertisement of two full set shows with them doing something new this year. The band is doing what they can from a marketing stand point to stay relevant. I just think they might be taking too much influence from the 99.9% that want to hear them play the phone book.

That marketing plan didn't fool the Darien fans though!

[Jordan#41]

I'd like to note that the The 24um thread name should be changed because Jack is being held hostage in Russia now.

[hailtopitt]

Originally Posted by Jordan#41

I'd like to note that the The 24um thread name should be changed because Jack is being held hostage in Russia now.

or is he??

:: silent clock ::

[jwehaeDMB]

questionable opinions in this 'cast.

[Jake]

Originally Posted by jwehaeDMB

questionable opinions in this 'cast.

look, if you don't want to hear Ghostbusters GTFO

[DmBand801]

Originally Posted by Cug1ne

But god damn would I love to see The Last Stop this year even though Dave apparently doesn't like it. And not slowed down like it was in 2010. Or was it slowed down? I feel like it was but not sure.

Last Stop sounded great to me in 2010.

[TheLastPig]

Originally Posted by DmBand801

Last Stop sounded great to me in 2010.

Same here. I thought the complaint was that it was too sped up anyway?

Well whatever, I loved it. Spoon and Last Stop in 2010 alone made both of my trips to CVILLE in 2010 and 2012 worth it. I hope I get to go back soon. Place is beautiful.

[Slipfanejc]

Originally Posted by hailtopitt

it's gotta be option 2, right? i mean, maybe not to the extreme you laid out but i see stefan as the kid who asks for something and dave as the dad who says "maybe", which always means no.

fonz might be a little trigger happy with the social media stuff too, like posting before thinking



yea the post-gazette reported a sell-out at starlake, but there's no arguing that attendance is down across the board

it may have seen a slight boost this year with the elimination of a few venues, but they still aren't drawing like they used to

For what it's worth, I was at Burgettstown and while the official numbers may not have shown a "sell out" the place was bursting at the seams. My first show was in 96' there and I've been to nearly every show there since. I've never been part of a more packed house or a more engaged crowd. Literally out of my 18 years and 52 shows this was THE best crowd I've ever been a part of. Ever. And that includes runs at MSG in 98 etc etc etc.

[Heyberto]

Great podcast. My two cents - The issue isn't about rarities as much as it is about variety. DMB has relied much more on repetition than say, Phish.. and they're not comfortable breaking out certain songs without rehearsal. On a non-album tour, these guys should get more songs in a more steady rotation of once every 3-4 shows per song. I still love Jimi live, but playing it every other show is just too often, IMO. You gotta give 'em credit for trying to find new openers and closers, and I think it would work great if they would not use the same songs. They don't always have to be huge.. The big sound has consumed this band so much in the live setting that slow songs are treated with such disdain by the fans base. It's a shame, but that's kind of where we've ended up. This is precisely why I go to one single show a year now.. maybe two. So when people hate on the setlist, I don't give a shit because I haven't been back in front of the band for a year. Last night was excellent, for sure.

I don't blame Stefan for his reaction, it's tough to see people question you when you put so much genuine energy into it. Hopefully he'll think about it and really hear what's being said.

[jwehaeDMB]

Sometimes I think the band plays too many stops during their summer tour. It makes certain shows not as fun for them, and they "mail it in". If there were fewer stops, it'd be a bit more exciting for the band and perhaps open up some risk taking/experiments.

[dontburnthe_pig]

is it possible that the band and the hardcore fan base are equally over saturated with the music?

i feel like this is the case, especially in 2014.

[hailtopitt]

Originally Posted by Slipfanejc

For what it's worth, I was at Burgettstown and while the official numbers may not have shown a "sell out" the place was bursting at the seams. My first show was in 96' there and I've been to nearly every show there since. I've never been part of a more packed house or a more engaged crowd. Literally out of my 18 years and 52 shows this was THE best crowd I've ever been a part of. Ever. And that includes runs at MSG in 98 etc etc etc.

yea great crowd

[willndmb]

My thoughts/opinions on tic sales
They are down, we know that but what's really telling is not that they are down but the lack of sell outs. In the day you had more sell outs and fast sell outs.

Set/song variety
Everyone loves seeing it mixed up but one song here and there isn't mixing it up
Throwing a cover in vs playing your own song is a disgrace

Unfortunately the number of songs that are ok at best outnumber the good songs
Start playing good songs and you will see more tic sales and less set bitching

[hailtopitt]

yea and whenever they were selling out shows, it actually paid off to be part of the warehouse

[Bruce]

Listened to about 85 percent of it today. I'll pick it up on the commute tomorrow.

In response to the discussion about streaming numbers for the Florida webcast- my friend who works at yahoo told me that the dmb had about 500k, while subsequent shows have had 100-250k. So there's that.

[Wally13]

Great episode. I was at my friends house trying to watch the stream, it would be fine for a few minutes then just freeze up with the audio still continuing. for the subject if they are "mailing it in", the sets can have much more variety then what they are. its seems too predictable.