There's a lot to be said in favour of musical ambition. Far too many bands are content to churn out similar sounding records every time they do something or make the minimal amount of change possible to their sound.
Kudos has to go to Muse, whose every album feels like a departure from the one before it. But this has been divisive, with many people happy to call them Radiohead or Queen soundalikes and thinking they need to restrain themselves.
The 2nd Law arrives at an interesting time for the band. Despite 5th album The Resistance topping the charts in 19 countries and leading to a tour that sold out some of the world's biggest venues, it has gone down as one of Muse's worst albums.
Certainly, as a Muse fan, I liked the album at first but three years on there's only 4/5 songs I listen to, whereas I would happily play the preceding three albums back-to-back-to-back.
With promises of their most diverse album, it remains to be seen what they have created this time. Well, here's what they've created:
1. Supremacy
Muse album openers usually tend to be songs that build into crescendos, with only Uprising immediately going for the heavy punches. This, however, is also a heavier tune, with meaty riffs reminiscent of Led Zeppelin, Bond-film string parts and huge falsetto yelps.
It's strangely similar to Citizen Erased from Origin of Symmetry, with the slow verses leading into heaviness, albiet with a cheeky Bond-theme chord at the end to close the song. Even after one song it seems we have an early contender for one of Muse's biggest and best numbers.
2. Madness
This is technically the lead single but it's feels a weird choice. Although Bellamy has genuinely meaningful lyrics, it feels somewhat underdevolped for a lead single. The hypnotic m-m-m-m-mad-mad-madness synth line and basic drum beat gives it a more minimal feel, save for a fairly pointless Brian May influenced guitar solo and electro-pop style end.
On it's own terms its a good pop song, but as the lead single for a rock band's record it's more than a bit of a let down. Saying that, it sounds a lot better louder.
3. Panic Station
Funk. If you want to pigeon-hole this song's genere down to one word, the word you're looking for is funk and quite a few people seem to be going "what the funk" after hearing this one. The devilish bass groove and drum parts are impressive, but that's nothing compared to a huge guitar riff and brass solos.
It sounds like a cross between Red Hot Chili Peppers and brass-led ballroom music, which is both ridiculous and faintly laughable. But it also has created one hell of a tune that not only works, but is delightful in doing so. It certainly sounds more lead single territory than Madness did.
4. Prelude
Technically the first cut aired from The 2nd Law, this is just over a minute of lovely, almost filmic piano, strings, trumpets and brass.
5. Survival
After the calm, the histronic storm. The official 2012 Olympic song starts off with rather odd jazz piano, handclaps, choir noises and possibly some of Bellamy's iffiest lyrics... "Race, life's a race, and I'm gonna win" doesn't exactly scream lyrical genius. And this is before things truly go over-the-top with some huge riffs similar to those in Supremacy before an almighty ending where the singer sounds like he's right at the edge of his vocal capability.
Yet somehow, everything works. It feels truly anthemic, like We Are The Champions written for The Hunger Games. It seems to fit in more with the album then it did when it first surfaced at the start of the summer, given the apocalyptic overtones it feels more like a blast for survival.
6. Follow Me
Possibly the first rave song about raising a kid that starts with piano and baby heartbeats. After the sombre piano build up, keyboards begin to swell in place of the baby heartbeat sounds and the song begins to bubble before hitting a full on rock-rave drop.
This song begun life as a rock song and I can't help but feel it would work better as such a song, although it does make a lot more sense in live versions. It has a peculiar sound when it hits this part with sounds like Kasabian, U2, Nero's own work (they produced the album mix) and various 80s dancefloor hits.
7. Animals
This song is oddly reminiscent of Showbiz-era Muse, with delicately precise flamenco guitars and a spiralling piano riff underpining the tune. It's only the aggresive banker-baiting lyrics that hint at change from that era - well, that, the time signature of the piece, and the ending riff layered with aggresive chanting.
Without the aggressive stockbroker chanting at the end of the piece and more prominence on the riff, this would have ended better. As it is though, it is still a very good piece, with the spindly structure and lovely falsetto cries of "strike those in distress" particularly making up a strong track.
8. Explorers
Twinkling pianos seems to be a recurring theme, with just vocals and Matt saying "There is nothing left for you". However this song really goes into what the hell territory when it suddenly develops a melody reminscent of Queen's Don't Stop Me Now, Christmas carol-like melodies and bells and, perhaps even more ridiculously, ends with the phrase "Ssssshhhhhh... go to sleep".
For a song previously described as the album's most pessimistic and defeatist song, there is something oddly uplifting about it's instrumentation. Lyrically though there is bleakness in it, but it passes by fairly unremarkably and certainly goes on a little considering that, at almost six minutes, it's the albums longest number.
9. Big Freeze
Anyone who listens to the musical stylings of Bono and company will find this one surprisingly familiar. The guitar tone, in particular, is very Edge, although the bass is a lot heavier in the chorus. A Brian May-solo also rears its head towards the end, making what feels like a sort of Stadium Rock 101.
U2 are a very love-it-or-loathe-it band and your opinion of them certainly flavours this tune. But this song just feels like something Bono could write in his sleep, making for a fairly underwhelming song.
10. Save Me
This is a real scene change for Muse - the first song on one of their albums not sung by Matt Bellamy. Instead bass player Chris Wolstenholme steps up to the lead microphone for the first of two numbers relating to his alcoholism.
This is the softer of the two numbers penned by the bass player at first, but like a lot of good Muse songs, it spirals into a heavier piece with some impressive drum work and some lovely work on the keyboards. It's certainly a grower of a tune.
11. Liquid State
Heavier Muse songs tend to be fan favourites and this is certainly one of the heavier numbers of the record. A huge guitar riff and pummeling drums fuel this number, while Chris' voice certainly fits in well with cries of "bring me peace and wash away my dirt" blending nicely into the riffs.
It sounds quite like Foo Fighters with a heavier punch on the guitar work, and Chris' vocal tone is oddly reminscent of Dave Grohl. The chorus is also fairly punchy, with billowing synth and shouty guitars. It makes for a punchy early Muse tune quite similar to Dead Star, and it is also one of the best tunes from the record.
12. The 2nd Law: Unsustainable
This is the trailer music that caused huge rumbles on the internet that Muse had turned into a dubstep act. Yet it's more hugely ambitious than that.
Spiralling strings and ominous newsreader lines about the 2nd law of thermodynamics give way to a rock interpretation of dubstep, robots chanting "unsustainable!" and a huge prog-rock style solo. The whole song is ambitious, ridiculous, and probably one of the album's best songs.
13. The 2nd Law: Isolated System
After the huge storm comes something completley wilder and different. Exorcist-style pianos and strings kick-start a song that builds up, almost like a filmic journey into the unknown. An almost gallery of shouting newsreaders and what sounds like the baby heartbeats out of Follow Me surface through it.
Even this is not prepared for a huge storm-like swell that could very well soundtrack an apocalypse movie, before the sounds of a powering down UFO and fractured repetitions of the line "In an isolated system, entropy can only increase" send the album hurting to a stop.
Overall the album is a very confused piece of music. Unlike previous albums where things flowed very well, it's only really the vocals, certain sounds (a guitar riff here, a twinkly sound there) and the production (which is top-notch thoroughout) that indicate the songs share an album, and even then there a few numbers that could ideally be ommitted.
As songs though, there are a number of songs that come close to a top Muse 30, with Supremacy and Unsustainable top 15 at least. And it's the strength of the songs in question that are the highlights, rather than any cohesion or it being a fantastic collection of songs.
7/10
Monday, 24 September 2012
Monday, 17 September 2012
The Killers - Battle Born - First Impressions
They say that the heart grows fond in the absence of something you used to enjoy. This is certainly the mood around the return of The Killers, as they prepare to unleash their fourth album and their first in four years.
The fact they were welcomed like heroes to the Hyde Park stage in June 2011 shows that, for all the solo stuff put out by three of it's members, the fanbase (and radio stations) were really pining for the band in full.
Early press had suggested this album was sonically closer to the underrated gem Sam's Town than the synth-based duo of Hot Fuss and Day & Age. But have they achieved a knockout or should they have spent longer working on this one?
1. Flesh & Bone
Bleeping video game-style synths sound at first like an odd way to start the album, as Brandon talks of "natural selection" and "the dark horse running in this fantasy league". A cymbal crash sees this give way to a riveting disco-rock chorus with chants of "What are you made of? Flesh and bone".
This song is quite well produced, not least with the change of keys to a bass-led strut after the second chorus before the return of cruising guitars to the end. This could have been mismanaged but it certainly settles in well with the rest of the song. It's a great tune and great bet for next single.
2. Runaways
The comeback single and possibly the most Springsteen song they possibly could have picked. Acoustic guitar, synths and tales of "a blue eyed girl playing into sand" give way to a march that explodes into life with cries of "We can't wait until tomorrow", marching snare drums and loud guitars.
This song is much more of a grower - it is natural to think at first "this is Springsteen" because it certainly has more than an echo to the Boss at his most bombastic. But with repeated listens, it shows itself as a fantastic rocker and another hit for the band to their impressive cannon.
3. The Way It Was
My first impression of this song is that it sounds like "I've Had The Time Of My Life" from the Dirty Dancing film, and there is certainly more than a hint of this and other 80s power-ballds in this one.
Slinky guitars, twinkly pianos and talk of "Elvis" and "It's like we're going under" builds into a fairly decent 80s-rock chorus as Brandon longs for "The way it was when we met". It's a fairly decent little tune despite being heavily 80s-flavoured, even if not strictly one for repeating.
4. Here With Me
After the big opening trio, things are scaled back a bit for a more simple romantic ballad. Piano and Flowers' subtle vocals introduce this one, building from the piano to the simple chorus of "I don't want your picture on my cell phone, I want you here with me".
Very few of The Killers bigger known songs are ballads, and there are indeed few of them on their records since they a few cropped up towards the back of Hot Fuss. It's not a bad song and has some decent lyrics but it feels out of place this early on in the record.
5. A Matter Of Time
Unusually for a Killers track, the chorus feels like the weakest part of this song. The intro produces a swaggering, fast rock track that alternates leads between guitar and bass during the verses. This sounds impressive, but it feels disappointing when this build-up gives way to a fairly average AOR chorus with twinkling keyboards and slower pace.
The end returns to this, which is certainly the stronger parts of this song. It's unabashedly 80s and it seems to take in both good and bad sides of this sonic territory, revealing a song that's quite good for the most part but still someway to being fantastic.
6. Deadlines & Commitments
After a centre stage slot for the guitar, this song returns to piano and synth territory travelled during Here With Me and previous records.
This song seems to be trying to be the ballad of the broken working man that has lost his livelihood in the dire economic situation. There's some nice goseply vocal touches in this one and it's nice and delicately realised but it feels a little bit shallow in place of some bigger hitters. It leaves the song in an odd place - it's nice and all, but it just doesn't feel like it fits in.
7. Miss Atomic Bomb
About halfway through this one the familiar riff to Mr. Brightside pokes its head, surronding talk of "dust clouds". This is no mean feat - in interviews Flowers has described this as "the stately prequel" to his band's biggest hit, and there are certainly echos of the tale of betrayal that flavours the song.
The song is a very classy affair, mixing delicate synths, layers of guitars and thumping drum riffs, building to a huge chorus of "You're gonna miss me when I'm gone". Flowers' vocal delivery is more restrained from his usual holler but it gives the right tone for a lovely track. The only real disappointment is the fact that it goes for the fade out ending.
8. The Rising Tide
An almost UFO-sounding noise and video game synths build up at the start of this one. Slightly jarring is when the epic build-up gives way to the verse rather than a big riff. After this, the song starts to improve. Some random Michael Jackson style "Ow!"'s also combine over a huge mix of guitars and synths.
While the version the band played at a gig in summer 2011 there suggested a mix of Hot Fuss & Sam's Town, this song seems more like a mix of Day & Age and Sam's Town. It also works very well, combing good touches from the records to create a very good song.
9. Heart Of A Girl
It's a return to ballad country for this one, with just piano and vocals before simple drums and guitar work join the song as Brandon talks of being "on the shore waiting for the heart of a girl".
There are some nice vocal touches and some rather bizarre gospel chants in yet another 80s-song. It takes on the epic-ballad route and it's a pleasant listen, but not one for the memory.
10. From Here On Out
The album's shortest song and also one of it's punchiest. An almost country-and-western vibe flavours this tune in the combination of acoustic and slide guitars.
An unusually bitter tone in the lyrics - "From here on out, friends are gonna be hard to come by" - combines with a fairly swaggering song that fits in some funky guitar work before the song comes rushing to a halt at the 2 1/2 minute mark. It's probably the nearest TK will come to The Vaccines, but it still sounds pretty good.
11. Be Still
This song is another to start with just vocals and synthy-piano - the fourth such on this record. Electronic drums crop up before the song swells into an epic-sounding mood and then fades away at the end.
This song I'd say is probably the best of the ballads that pepper this record, as it gets the right balance between reserved and epic that the best power-ballads manage. Although personally I'd rather hear organic drums than electronic ones, it is still a godo enough tune that warrants inclusion.
12. Battle Born
Huge guitars and strings come out in force for this one. It's a stadium-rock cliche that bands get strings in when they want to go massive.
After about the four minute mark, the huge vibe gives away to an almost ambient piano, synth and string piece punctured by hits on the gong, sort of similar to Midnight Show and This River Is Wild from previous records. But it certainly sounds like the massive album closer that they've always threatened to create but never perfected.
The deluxe edition comes with a remix of Flesh & Bone and two extra numbers - the reasonable Carry Me Home and Prize Fighter, which should arguably be on the actual record.
Overall, I'd say it shares some similarities sonically with all three Killers albums - the widescreen sound and rockouts of Sam's Town, as well as the pop ears of their debut and the dance sounds of their last one. But it also shares similarities with Hot Fuss and Day & Age in terms of track quality - there are some great songs and some numbers that aren't as good.
For what it is it is still a good record and the band are certainly closer to finding their sound.
7.5/10
The fact they were welcomed like heroes to the Hyde Park stage in June 2011 shows that, for all the solo stuff put out by three of it's members, the fanbase (and radio stations) were really pining for the band in full.
Early press had suggested this album was sonically closer to the underrated gem Sam's Town than the synth-based duo of Hot Fuss and Day & Age. But have they achieved a knockout or should they have spent longer working on this one?
1. Flesh & Bone
Bleeping video game-style synths sound at first like an odd way to start the album, as Brandon talks of "natural selection" and "the dark horse running in this fantasy league". A cymbal crash sees this give way to a riveting disco-rock chorus with chants of "What are you made of? Flesh and bone".
This song is quite well produced, not least with the change of keys to a bass-led strut after the second chorus before the return of cruising guitars to the end. This could have been mismanaged but it certainly settles in well with the rest of the song. It's a great tune and great bet for next single.
2. Runaways
The comeback single and possibly the most Springsteen song they possibly could have picked. Acoustic guitar, synths and tales of "a blue eyed girl playing into sand" give way to a march that explodes into life with cries of "We can't wait until tomorrow", marching snare drums and loud guitars.
This song is much more of a grower - it is natural to think at first "this is Springsteen" because it certainly has more than an echo to the Boss at his most bombastic. But with repeated listens, it shows itself as a fantastic rocker and another hit for the band to their impressive cannon.
3. The Way It Was
My first impression of this song is that it sounds like "I've Had The Time Of My Life" from the Dirty Dancing film, and there is certainly more than a hint of this and other 80s power-ballds in this one.
Slinky guitars, twinkly pianos and talk of "Elvis" and "It's like we're going under" builds into a fairly decent 80s-rock chorus as Brandon longs for "The way it was when we met". It's a fairly decent little tune despite being heavily 80s-flavoured, even if not strictly one for repeating.
4. Here With Me
After the big opening trio, things are scaled back a bit for a more simple romantic ballad. Piano and Flowers' subtle vocals introduce this one, building from the piano to the simple chorus of "I don't want your picture on my cell phone, I want you here with me".
Very few of The Killers bigger known songs are ballads, and there are indeed few of them on their records since they a few cropped up towards the back of Hot Fuss. It's not a bad song and has some decent lyrics but it feels out of place this early on in the record.
5. A Matter Of Time
Unusually for a Killers track, the chorus feels like the weakest part of this song. The intro produces a swaggering, fast rock track that alternates leads between guitar and bass during the verses. This sounds impressive, but it feels disappointing when this build-up gives way to a fairly average AOR chorus with twinkling keyboards and slower pace.
The end returns to this, which is certainly the stronger parts of this song. It's unabashedly 80s and it seems to take in both good and bad sides of this sonic territory, revealing a song that's quite good for the most part but still someway to being fantastic.
6. Deadlines & Commitments
After a centre stage slot for the guitar, this song returns to piano and synth territory travelled during Here With Me and previous records.
This song seems to be trying to be the ballad of the broken working man that has lost his livelihood in the dire economic situation. There's some nice goseply vocal touches in this one and it's nice and delicately realised but it feels a little bit shallow in place of some bigger hitters. It leaves the song in an odd place - it's nice and all, but it just doesn't feel like it fits in.
7. Miss Atomic Bomb
About halfway through this one the familiar riff to Mr. Brightside pokes its head, surronding talk of "dust clouds". This is no mean feat - in interviews Flowers has described this as "the stately prequel" to his band's biggest hit, and there are certainly echos of the tale of betrayal that flavours the song.
The song is a very classy affair, mixing delicate synths, layers of guitars and thumping drum riffs, building to a huge chorus of "You're gonna miss me when I'm gone". Flowers' vocal delivery is more restrained from his usual holler but it gives the right tone for a lovely track. The only real disappointment is the fact that it goes for the fade out ending.
8. The Rising Tide
An almost UFO-sounding noise and video game synths build up at the start of this one. Slightly jarring is when the epic build-up gives way to the verse rather than a big riff. After this, the song starts to improve. Some random Michael Jackson style "Ow!"'s also combine over a huge mix of guitars and synths.
While the version the band played at a gig in summer 2011 there suggested a mix of Hot Fuss & Sam's Town, this song seems more like a mix of Day & Age and Sam's Town. It also works very well, combing good touches from the records to create a very good song.
9. Heart Of A Girl
It's a return to ballad country for this one, with just piano and vocals before simple drums and guitar work join the song as Brandon talks of being "on the shore waiting for the heart of a girl".
There are some nice vocal touches and some rather bizarre gospel chants in yet another 80s-song. It takes on the epic-ballad route and it's a pleasant listen, but not one for the memory.
10. From Here On Out
The album's shortest song and also one of it's punchiest. An almost country-and-western vibe flavours this tune in the combination of acoustic and slide guitars.
An unusually bitter tone in the lyrics - "From here on out, friends are gonna be hard to come by" - combines with a fairly swaggering song that fits in some funky guitar work before the song comes rushing to a halt at the 2 1/2 minute mark. It's probably the nearest TK will come to The Vaccines, but it still sounds pretty good.
11. Be Still
This song is another to start with just vocals and synthy-piano - the fourth such on this record. Electronic drums crop up before the song swells into an epic-sounding mood and then fades away at the end.
This song I'd say is probably the best of the ballads that pepper this record, as it gets the right balance between reserved and epic that the best power-ballads manage. Although personally I'd rather hear organic drums than electronic ones, it is still a godo enough tune that warrants inclusion.
12. Battle Born
Huge guitars and strings come out in force for this one. It's a stadium-rock cliche that bands get strings in when they want to go massive.
After about the four minute mark, the huge vibe gives away to an almost ambient piano, synth and string piece punctured by hits on the gong, sort of similar to Midnight Show and This River Is Wild from previous records. But it certainly sounds like the massive album closer that they've always threatened to create but never perfected.
The deluxe edition comes with a remix of Flesh & Bone and two extra numbers - the reasonable Carry Me Home and Prize Fighter, which should arguably be on the actual record.
Overall, I'd say it shares some similarities sonically with all three Killers albums - the widescreen sound and rockouts of Sam's Town, as well as the pop ears of their debut and the dance sounds of their last one. But it also shares similarities with Hot Fuss and Day & Age in terms of track quality - there are some great songs and some numbers that aren't as good.
For what it is it is still a good record and the band are certainly closer to finding their sound.
7.5/10
Tuesday, 11 September 2012
Ticket Fees, Ticket Re-Selling And Other Farces
Live music is a great event and one I enjoy going too a lot.
Whether it's seeing small gigs in local pubs or heading to the huge stadiums like Wembley and sharing the huge experience of a band and 90,000 close friends dancing the night away, it is one of the great times to have.
But it feels like the ticket companies are not exactly helping in enjoyment of this.
The fees for tickets, for instance, are insane. This is not just the extortionate additional fees Viagogo, StubHub and other companies like this add (more of whom later), but the actual main ticket agencies.
The last ticket I purchased was to see The Killers on October 31st. The Las Vegas band are doing a 13 date tour and, despite their absence ahead of this year's fourth record, this tour is highly anticipated.
I can handle the queuing to wait - this demand means the website will be getting a lot of hits and a lot of people trying to get their hands on seats. That's normal, as can be the possibiliy of disappointment when an event sells out (as it did for me when I entered my details for a show in London only for the sold out signs to appear).
What frustrates me is the additional expense of the ticket fees.
Obviously the sellers will want to receive payment for their services but gig tickets are expensive enough without the addition of extra, expensive fees.
With roughly £10 added to a £45 ticket, the level that they have gone to is ridiculous. And sadly not an exception - the additional £10 fee to an already bloated £55 ticket price put me off seeing Muse, and that is one of the lighter ones.
I already blogged a review of the Kasabian show at London's Brixton Academy. What I didn't say was the stupid £4 fee Ticketmaster insisted on adding just to send me an e-mail. Granted this e-mail was my ticket but surely that is the limit to ridiculous fees.
I don't think I have ever seen more of a rip-off in anything. Granted there are postage costs in any thing but surely the fact you're not paying for envelopes, stamps and transporting the ticket from the printers to the buyers, but it is insane that Ticketmaster are able to do this to this exent.
And this is before the other side of the coin - selling on your ticket.
Normally when I buy a gig ticket, I will happily go. However I am aware I may need to sell some tickets if I feel my ears, which have been in trouble of late, can't take it. That's understandable.
But looking around, it seems re-selling is a huge con of a market.
A Channel 4 documentary and associated articles revealed Viagogo and Seatwave each received huge allocations for major tours in 2011, including Coldplay and Take That, and still continued to for Coldplay's 2012 tour.
I am not a fan of Coldplay but I think it's ridiculous that their fanbase is being taken for a ride by these companies, who have not only got tickets but a license to rip people off.
It is worth noting that these are allegations, but the fact various concert promoters said that the viagogo company was listed as a reputabale company for the selling of tickets is depressing.
The fact the other tickets sold out mean that they are allowed to simply jack up the prices to bombastic levels. It is irritating to see a price jacked up by double, triple or in some cases quadruple their face value.
This is also not just for eBay - this is on an allegedly reputable company whose sole market is basically no different to the murky world of eBay resellers or people on street corners by the venue going "Buy or sell tickets".
It is insane the government classifies this murky world as a good example of enterprise culture. They are basically creating money out of nothing with the sole intention of ripping people off, and it is painful to watch. And this is before the fact it is official partners of people like the NME and the Reading Festival.
When Madonna's Hyde Park show was officially selling tickets through viagogo, I thought that was a bold and frankly reckless move. Her shows are already amongst the most expensive gigs in the country, with £100 ticket prices. The fact that viagogo were selling them and allowed to charge what they felt like was one of the most depressing things to see.
Unlike eFestivals, who once said this could lead to face value tickets becoming a thing of the past, I don't think that promoters will want to do this.
It's a huge problem - a lot of tickets can't be bought for face value, and even then that value is distorted by extorionate fees.
The one obvious thing to do with the wildly poor re-sale market is capping this to either face value or a percentage - 5, 10, 15 or whatever.
I personally cannot use viagogo or other companies like this because they charge stupid extra fees as well as giving me the impression I'm taken for a ride.
But I'm not sure if it's just the re-selling that I'm basically being charged needless extra fees. The utmost insanity in fees I've been charged was £15 by SeeTickets for the one-day event Hard Rock Calling Festival in June 2011, and other fees are still being added.
This is one that is a bit more of a thorny issue to decide, but with more and more musicians relying on live music for income and more people going to these things, there has to be more protection to stop the fans from being ripped off and deserting the venues and festivals.
Whether it's seeing small gigs in local pubs or heading to the huge stadiums like Wembley and sharing the huge experience of a band and 90,000 close friends dancing the night away, it is one of the great times to have.
But it feels like the ticket companies are not exactly helping in enjoyment of this.
The fees for tickets, for instance, are insane. This is not just the extortionate additional fees Viagogo, StubHub and other companies like this add (more of whom later), but the actual main ticket agencies.
The last ticket I purchased was to see The Killers on October 31st. The Las Vegas band are doing a 13 date tour and, despite their absence ahead of this year's fourth record, this tour is highly anticipated.
I can handle the queuing to wait - this demand means the website will be getting a lot of hits and a lot of people trying to get their hands on seats. That's normal, as can be the possibiliy of disappointment when an event sells out (as it did for me when I entered my details for a show in London only for the sold out signs to appear).
What frustrates me is the additional expense of the ticket fees.
Obviously the sellers will want to receive payment for their services but gig tickets are expensive enough without the addition of extra, expensive fees.
With roughly £10 added to a £45 ticket, the level that they have gone to is ridiculous. And sadly not an exception - the additional £10 fee to an already bloated £55 ticket price put me off seeing Muse, and that is one of the lighter ones.
I already blogged a review of the Kasabian show at London's Brixton Academy. What I didn't say was the stupid £4 fee Ticketmaster insisted on adding just to send me an e-mail. Granted this e-mail was my ticket but surely that is the limit to ridiculous fees.
I don't think I have ever seen more of a rip-off in anything. Granted there are postage costs in any thing but surely the fact you're not paying for envelopes, stamps and transporting the ticket from the printers to the buyers, but it is insane that Ticketmaster are able to do this to this exent.
And this is before the other side of the coin - selling on your ticket.
Normally when I buy a gig ticket, I will happily go. However I am aware I may need to sell some tickets if I feel my ears, which have been in trouble of late, can't take it. That's understandable.
But looking around, it seems re-selling is a huge con of a market.
A Channel 4 documentary and associated articles revealed Viagogo and Seatwave each received huge allocations for major tours in 2011, including Coldplay and Take That, and still continued to for Coldplay's 2012 tour.
I am not a fan of Coldplay but I think it's ridiculous that their fanbase is being taken for a ride by these companies, who have not only got tickets but a license to rip people off.
It is worth noting that these are allegations, but the fact various concert promoters said that the viagogo company was listed as a reputabale company for the selling of tickets is depressing.
The fact the other tickets sold out mean that they are allowed to simply jack up the prices to bombastic levels. It is irritating to see a price jacked up by double, triple or in some cases quadruple their face value.
This is also not just for eBay - this is on an allegedly reputable company whose sole market is basically no different to the murky world of eBay resellers or people on street corners by the venue going "Buy or sell tickets".
It is insane the government classifies this murky world as a good example of enterprise culture. They are basically creating money out of nothing with the sole intention of ripping people off, and it is painful to watch. And this is before the fact it is official partners of people like the NME and the Reading Festival.
When Madonna's Hyde Park show was officially selling tickets through viagogo, I thought that was a bold and frankly reckless move. Her shows are already amongst the most expensive gigs in the country, with £100 ticket prices. The fact that viagogo were selling them and allowed to charge what they felt like was one of the most depressing things to see.
Unlike eFestivals, who once said this could lead to face value tickets becoming a thing of the past, I don't think that promoters will want to do this.
It's a huge problem - a lot of tickets can't be bought for face value, and even then that value is distorted by extorionate fees.
The one obvious thing to do with the wildly poor re-sale market is capping this to either face value or a percentage - 5, 10, 15 or whatever.
I personally cannot use viagogo or other companies like this because they charge stupid extra fees as well as giving me the impression I'm taken for a ride.
But I'm not sure if it's just the re-selling that I'm basically being charged needless extra fees. The utmost insanity in fees I've been charged was £15 by SeeTickets for the one-day event Hard Rock Calling Festival in June 2011, and other fees are still being added.
This is one that is a bit more of a thorny issue to decide, but with more and more musicians relying on live music for income and more people going to these things, there has to be more protection to stop the fans from being ripped off and deserting the venues and festivals.
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