A few years ago, a guy I know from work went to see the Rolling Stones at Gillette. It just so happened that very same night I saw the Beach Boys at Bold Point. Obviously, both bands play oldies music. I know I had a great time at Bold Point and I sang along to all the Beach Boys songs. I can only assume that the Stones put on a great show and the guy from work was equally pleased.
The differences of our two experiences was price. Laurie and I got the tickets for $25 each and we probably bought an over priced soda for seven bucks. For a grand total of $57 for a night out. On the other hand, my friend bought tix for himself and wife. After buying the tickets, parking, a few beers he told me we dropped about a GRAND!
This guy is a hard working middle class guy. He is not rich or made of money. And here is the other thing, I don't think he made the wrong decision to spend a thousand dollars on a concert if it was worth it to him. He didn't just look at the Stones concert as a night out, he looked at it as a once in a lifetime experience. When you put something as once in a lifetime, whether the Stones, a trip to Disney, or a Super Bowl, then the money shouldn't matter. You only live once (YOLO).
Obviously, there is no way I would pay a grand to go to any concert. Paying hundreds of dollars for tickets to see millionaires, I just can't justify. I also find it hard to justify going to Gillette Stadium anyway, mostly because I hate it. The place is huge so unless you do pay the hundreds of dollars, you're watching the concert on the jumbo-tron anyway. Parking is $60. To top it all off, its going to take three hours to get out of the parking lot. To me, its just not an enjoyable experience. I haven't gone to a Patriots game or a concert there in years.
I seem to put a value on everything, because I have so many hobbies, I am interested in going to everything from most sporting events to Civil War battlefields. Also, many of my favorite things to do are free anyway. Hiking, birding, snorkeling, photography, fishing, and quahogging only cost me the gas to get to them. So if I want to spend money on anything else, I weigh if I actually want to take away the day doing those other things anyway.
This does not mean I won't spend money. Obviously, I do go to concerts and musicals. My one vice that costs me money is boats. I love going on whale watches and pelagic trips to see birds. Though a whale watch might cost me $75 while I'm on the boat I never think about the price. I just love being on the open sea. The irony is I do get seasick about half the time despite taking medicine and doing as much preventive maintenance as I can.
The one place I am finding that spending the extra money is worth it is at small venues. I am finally getting to the point of this post. While the difference in price from the great seats to the nose bleeds at a Kenny Chesney concert at Gillette may be hundreds of dollars, at smaller venues it may only be ten to twenty dollars.
I have realized I do enjoy going to a concert or musical more if I have good seats. When Laurie and I go to the Stadium Theater every year to see A Christmas Carol, we get the same seats. Third row Center, end seats on the left. This is standard for Stadium Theater for us if those seats are available for any show. These seats are about ten dollars more than the lowest price level but to me they are worth it and still a good value for a night out.
Last month Laurie and I had a fun Saturday. We went on a whale watch out of Cape Ann. After the whale watch we went to see the Buddy Holly Story at the North Shore Music Theater (side note, my back is still killing me and it was an expensive day, so I self medicated to enjoy the day!) The tickets to the venue are pretty pricy ranging from $63-$78. We figured if we were going to pay that much anyway, we may as well get the good seats. We ended up with third row seats. They were great. When the musicians came to the edge of the stage, we were making eye contact with them. They were interacting with members of the audience.
Sitting where we did was much more fun than if we would have gotten the next price level down. I actually know this from seeing the Buddy Holly Story a few years back (2016) at the Hanover Theater. We had mid-priced seats and they weren't bad. You could watch the action and listen to the music but even at mid level, you couldn't really see the expressions or the faces that well. Comparing the same musical up close, there is no comparison. So, so much better.
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