The Bus Driver has Arrived

I didn’t think the day would come when I would be a driver for my van pool, but that day has come. Thanks to the number of people who have been dropping out, and many of them being drivers, I didn’t want to see it drop to just one eligible driver. I had resisted for two main reasons before; first I have become accustomed to taking a nap before getting to work in the morning. Until they come up with some sort of auto pilot for that I will have to grow to live without it about two days a week.

Second, I had been spending my time on the way back reading, I finished several books which I thoroughly enjoyed, The Da Vinci Code, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Order of the Phoenix, and The Halfblood Prince to name a few.

Being the driver does allow you the privilege of listening to whatever you want in the morning. I expect to find the dial set to KERA 90.1 most of the time when I’m driving as it allows me to stay up with what is going on in the world and hear a variety of stories.

Maybe I can come up with some wacky rules for the passengers while they are on my watch. The thought of having to make exactly three “mini stops” before successfully parking the van is required. If you have any suggestions for new rules go ahead and leave a comment.

Just to close this out, a shout out has to go to Sunshine, the saver of birds. I am sure you’re becoming known as a “fine feathered friend” in to the birds across the nation.

Summer Concert Blues

Summers have always been big for bands, even before the mega concerts like Lollapalooza; acts would pack their bags for the summer and hit the road. Every year I see more articles with the headline reading “Slow Sales for Big Summer Tours” and I have to ask myself what has brought us to this? In plain English the problem is straight economics.

Ticket prices have grown steadily over the years for big-named acts. First the reason were scalpers artificially driving up the prices, then ticket brokers, not to mention the facility fees, convenience charge, and of course tax. The new hot topic is the price it takes for these bands to fuel their busses to get from venue to venue, and how much it is affecting their profitability behind the tour. Of course these acts don’t want to take a hit in the profit margin to tour, so who gets to pick up the tab? That’s right the consumers.

Not only are ticket prices getting incredibly high to see a show, but often times there are problems getting good seats simply due to availability. Artists have tried to offer good seats to the people who join their fan club (lining their pockets with more $), and acts have even started putting prime tickets up auction style. When is enough enough, and when does “alienation” of their core fan base start to happen? Not all Radiohead fan’s can drop $500 + dollars for good seats to see them perform live this summer, but many of these people would really like to sit close enough to not need binoculars to see Thom Yorke and company.

Even those cheap seats are approaching ludicrous prices, like $50 for third tier seating in an arena. Pearl Jam had it right years ago when they attempted to take on Ticketmaster and their pricing machine. Unfortunately the corporation won, but something has got to change. They need to examine their supply and demand curves a bit, re-adjust their costs and reduce the ticket prices. Oh, and what is up with charging $30 for a tour t-shirt?

There is something special about being at a concert (I really enjoy them), but when is it just going to cost too much, and the $18 DVD of a stop on their tour going to be more enjoyable?