Should I see Paul McCartney, or "What do you do to make decisions on shows?"

Paul McCartney comes to Houston on November 14th, and tickets are still available. It's not exactly in a pristine concert venue (Minute Maid Park), and the prices are quite high, but I'm still considering going because Paul McCartney helped shape how I listen to music.

He and Brian Wilson are two of my favorite songwriters (although, to be fair, they both had pretty short musical lives in terms of breathtaking stuff), and I was fortunate enough to see Brian Wilson when the Beach Boys came to town earlier this summer. Easily the best money I've ever laid down for a show (2 tickets for a musical icon...for $30 total? I'll do that all day).

This one's tougher though because it's a LOT of money being dropped on one show. The one time I passed on seeing someone because it was "a little too expensive" was George Carlin. I told myself I'd see him next time when I had more money, and he dropped dead within the year. So that sticks with me too when I think about making purchases like this.

It's right on the opportunity cost line, and I don't know what else I should be thinking when I make a decision like this. What goes through your heads when making a purchasing decision on entertainment (shows, video games, etc), good people of SJ?

 

Well, if you don't spring for it and he dies, you're clearly to blame.

There is no way I'd fork over big money to see a show. And by that, I pretty much mean over $60, which is a drop in the bucket for shows these days. (I paid that for an Alan Jackson appearance - my mom's birthday present - and it almost killed me.)

I would pay more for an acoustic venue than I would an arena. I want music, not a dog-and-pony show. I'd rather be able to see the artist than to essentially watch TV screens.

I'm probably in the minority, but I just can't bring myself to pay that kind of money for something that doesn't last more than two hours.

 

I love the Beattles, but I wouldn't go see McCartney now.
And especially not at those ridiculous prices.

 

I'm at the point now where any act I would want to see is almost certainly charging more money than I'm willing to pay to see them... I also went to so many concerts back in the day that the only ones I want to see that I haven't seen are The Pixies.

I saw McCartney in concert ages ago and it wasn't exactly memorable. It was cool to be able to say I've seen him, but solo acts are usually not the best to see in a stadium venue.

 

I base it on how much of a fan I am of the act.

I'm pretty much just a casual fan of McCartney, so there's no way in hell I'd pay more than, say, $75 to go see him.

If Tina Turner were to come to town, I'd be more willing to shell out more money to see her since I'm a big fan of hers.

I didn't use Stevie Nicks solo as an example because when she tours without Rod Stewart, the most expensive tickets at her shows aren't that expensive. Plus, I didn't want to be Captain Obvious.

 

I'm looking at going to the Counting Crows concert in Houston on Nov. 12.

 

McCartney is worth it -- for the historical value alone, and also because he's an old trouper who puts on a fine show.
Look, the biggest regret (well, one of them) I have in my life is that when I lived in the Bay Area in 1973, two women I know invited me to hitchhike with them to Tahoe to see Elvis and I didn't go for the sissy reason I wasn't eager to die in a blizzard on I-80. Don't be like I was.

 

Do it. What price can you put on a memory? What happens if the opportunity never aligns with your life again?

 

I think concerts are a bargain. We all spend equivalent money at restaurants, where we shit out the byproduct in eight hours. Concert memories live with you the rest of your life.

It's one of the few things I splurge on in life, because I'm rarely disappointed by concerts.

Even artists whose studio work I don't particularly care for are awesome when they're performing live.

The only reservation I have for spending on the big shows is I could alternatively watch five or six smaller concerts I enjoy more in venues that are more intimate.

A family member bought me tickets for The Who's Quadrophenia tour.

— The Who band members are 900 years old.

— The Who is half dead.

— The Who unironically sings, "I hope I die before I get old!" and seems to not realize what's wrong with that sentence.

I'll still love ever-loving shit out of that concert.

 

The bands I want to see from my youth are all old and have lost their fastball, like me I guess.

The new bands today that I would like to see (The National for example) would place me in a room where I would be the creepy old guy of the crowd.

So, I stay home and play with the kid.

 

I came in with very low expectations when I saw Sir Paul and he was great. It was a little bit like a sing-a-long at times, but he was fully engaged (not like a Billy Joel). I place it in the upper tier of concerts that I've seen (non-Bruce division).