Crowd Size Options

[EvilOne]

I've seen a lot nonsense about crowd size recently.

Doesn't the size of the crowd speak more to counting crows and the stupid pricing structure?

Tickets have been and are still available for just about every show. Really good spots are avaialble if you are willing to spend $250 a ticket.

[lylebeach]

I've seen a lot nonsense about crowd size recently.

Doesn't the size of the crowd speak more to counting crows and the stupid pricing structure?

Tickets have been and are still available for just about every show. Really good spots are avaialble if you are willing to spend $250 a ticket.

I'm not sure if ticket prices have anything to do with it. +Live+ has always been my favorite band, and I would have been more than happy to pay a high price to see them...

Except... I have not been pleased with the band these past few years.

I have been a +Live+ Super Fan since 1995 when I heard Throwing Copper for the first time, and then went to my very first concert to see them at The Gorge in George, WA

They really had something with Shinn and The Turn, that had been missing out of their sound for so long. Actual alternative rock music. Some people couldnt stand Shinn, and they have a right to their opinions (doesn't mean they're right ) Even I, for one, didn't really care for Chris singing the old +Live+ stuff. But to be honest, I didn't really want to hear the old stuff with him. I was just really enjoying the new. Granted, I have been a Unified Theory fan since they opened up for +Live+ back in 00'.

Lets fast forward to 2 years ago (<---hmm ), and all the hype of Ed coming back. I was really disappointed that they gave Chris Shinn the boot, and even more angry with the way it went down. However, I was willing to give the reunion the benefit of the doubt and was excited to see which Ed and CCP we were going to get.

Now came the first show on New Years Eve... I was like a kid in the candy store. Glued to my Facebook Live waiting for the show to start. Even had the HDMI hooked to the TV so I could really rock out! Cranked it up and was dancing and jumping all over my living room! I Payed really close attention to the lyrics of "Operation Spirit" as my guide to see if Ed was back. And sure enough, "but what a man was two thousand years ago, means NOTHING at all to me today!"

And then...... <crickets>

The band just goes into hibernation like they always do and leave there fans in the dark.

Eventually, the band started playing there festival shows, and was promising all these new great songs that they were working on. But alas, we don't hear them play any of "them". Instead they are trying to cater to the low/average fans by playing the "hits" that they think everyone must know and remember. Okay, fine... I get what they were doing there. Festivals aren't the place for the new stuff. But, at least they would be back around soon with a headlining tour that would really knock our socks off!!!!!

And then...... <crickets> ..... open for Counting Crows

Alright.... Now I'm pissed. Now I am most certainly out...

Oh wait??? Whats that you say?? A new song is about to be realeased???

....... "Love Lounge"

And..... Yep..... Now I am completely DONE!!

Which brings me around to the beginning of the thread and why I don't believe its the ticket prices. Because even after all the roller coaster ride of emotions I have been on with this band, I still ended up going. But with a catch...

I had absolutely 0% intentions of going to the show until I saw the groupon for $18 (with no extra fees) to sit in the lawn. I figured... why not? I wasn't going to spend anything over $50 to be honest. But there were so many empty seats in the pavilion, that they actually closed the lawn down. They gave free upgrades to the 200 level, and only $10 upgrades to the 100 level. I even got a quick chat with Chad T. after the show and a picture (he came up to sound booth right when Counting Cruds started, and I was sitting close to the booth)

So there really isn't any reason that +Live+ fans aren't going because of ticket prices. This groupon thing had been going around for a while, and a lot of us knew about the free & cheap upgrades we could get when we got to the venue.

We are all just in denial. +Live+ sucks now. They sound "okay" and Ed sounds "okay" but they arent the tight CCP we remember, and its not the "Crazy Eyed" Ed anymore. What we do get, is a loose sounding rhythm section (don't get me started on the extra drummer), and weak sounding vocals from a creepy yoga instructor.

I'm guessing that just like I have... lots of +Live+ Super Fans have just given up

This post has been edited by lylebeach: Aug 14 2018, 10:21 am

[promiseIma Livefan]

"We are all just in denial. +Live+ sucks now."

This. The Ed I admired, the one that got me into rock music as a kid in the first place, does not exist anymore and he hasn't for a long time (does anyone honestly believe mid-90s Ed would call Love Lounge a face melter?). I like some of his solo stuff but he ruined Live's rocking sound. The Turn was the first time in years I felt Live didn't suck, and part of the reason was they had an actual rocker who sung with passion fronting them. I will always respect Ed for what he has given us but its time to let go that things are going to get better with this group.