9/23/2009

Live Nation Strikes Again: "The Passport"

So, the concertgoer-loving folks at the music venue behemoth known as Live Nation have devised a new way to get you to part with your hard-earned cash in exchange for...well, let us have them explain it in their own words:
The Live Nation Club Passport is your access to unlimited*
Live Nation Club shows at participating venues in your city.
No additional fees, All-In Prices, Unlimited access to participating remaining 2009 shows!
Buy a Live Nation Club Passport for $49.99 and get:
Unlimited access to participating Live Nation Club shows that are not sold out in the market for which your passport was purchased.
Weekly and daily updates on shows you can access with your passport.
Access and reserve an available ticket to participating shows on www.livenation.com/clubpassport.
If you're a Live Nation Club Passport holder, and the show's not sold-out, you're in!
Basically, for 50 bucks you get to see a particular "Live Nation Club Passport" show at a participating Live Nation venue near you--the offer is not valid outside of your town--as long as it is not sold out. OK, let's break it down, shall we?
First of all, let's say you're in the NYC area as we are, your "Passport" grants you the possibility of seeing shows at The Gramercy Theatre and Irving Plaza. The situation is similar in both but we'll use the latter as an example. Right now, at Irving Plaza, there are approximately a dozen listed shows from now 'til the end of the year that you can attend with your "Passport". Maybe. (As long as they don't sell out, remember?)
Of course, there are significantly more concerts booked at this particular venue during that same stretch of time than the dozen or so you might have access to. And your "Passport" is no good if you choose to see Lucinda Williams, Lenny Kravitz, The Get Up Kids, Blues Traveller, The Jesus Lizard, Devo, or Gwar, among many others playing Irving, regardless if the shows are sold out or not. That is where the asterisk next to "unlimited" comes into play. Now, let's be fair: if you get into more than 2 shows, the thing more than just paid for itself. But we kinda feel uncomfortable shelling out cash in advance for a non-guaranteed situation. How 'bout you?