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LA Spotlight: Darker My Love
LA Spotlight: Darker My Love
Consisting of former Distillers drummer Andy Granelli and former Nerve Agent Tim Presley, L.A.'s Darker My Love have spent the past couple of years churning out sun-drenched waves of
noise-pop backed by echoed-vocals to critical acclaim. The band's sound
has been compared to Ride, BRMC, and even Oasis. But the feeling you get while listening to DML is much heavier and more psychedelic than it's predecessors. After numerous gigs and residencies all over Los Angeles, DML
have recently signed with Dangerbird Records. Their first "self-titled"
album is scheduled for release on August 22nd. Check them out soon at
the KXLU fundraiser on June 11th (The Echo) and their upcoming Spaceland residency every Monday in July.
http://www.darkermylove.net
Tue May 30 2006 · Posted in Daily on littleradio.com
Ticketmaster and the Illusion of Choice
Ticketmaster and the illusion of choice
Like many of you out there I spent a good hour trying to lock down some average, or even decent, Radiohead tickets for either June 29th or 30th at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. Within seconds the waiting time on Ticketmaster jumped from 1 minute to 13 minutes, I thought I had a good chance of obtaining some section B seats, nope. I did get access for a “bench seat”, YEAH! But…it’s a bench seat. The on-line sale started at 10:00 am sharp and quickly ended at 10:01 sharp. I wasn’t surprised by this, it’s Radiohead. The idea of getting a good seat from Ticketmaster has always been a question of timing anyway. We play the waiting game or maybe you’re just lucky enough to have typed in your request at the exact nanosecond to get some outstanding, or even average, seats that you’ve waited years for.
Still unhappy with your seats? You can sell them. You’re going to make money with Radiohead, way more than you bought it for (the original listing price was $44 a seat!). And like most music fans if I couldn’t go I would sell them at face value to a friend or make money on Craigslist or eBay. No big whoop. But I noticed something new is starting to creep into the system. A sick and disgusting virus of new “businesses” that somehow work within the limits of acquiring hundreds of the best tickets only to turn around and sell them to their own company, then sell them again at exuberant prices to Johnny-paycheck. Right now tickets for sections A, B, and C are bidding at close to $3,000.00 a pair (its 11:37 am). Hell, even Barbara Streisand would be pissed-off
Still unhappy with your seats? You can sell them. You’re going to make money with Radiohead, way more than you bought it for (the original listing price was $44 a seat!). And like most music fans if I couldn’t go I would sell them at face value to a friend or make money on Craigslist or eBay. No big whoop. But I noticed something new is starting to creep into the system. A sick and disgusting virus of new “businesses” that somehow work within the limits of acquiring hundreds of the best tickets only to turn around and sell them to their own company, then sell them again at exuberant prices to Johnny-paycheck. Right now tickets for sections A, B, and C are bidding at close to $3,000.00 a pair (its 11:37 am). Hell, even Barbara Streisand would be pissed-off
So what the fuck is really going on here? Does this seem right to you? Some people might argue that this is merely a simple case of good old American capitalism at work, supply and demand economics. True. But if I follow this logic eventually everyone must form some kind of shabby business in order to compete for tickets on a whole new level. Ticketmaster was given the 'keys to the palace' so we wouldn’t have deal with this.
Here’s how it works:
These small “companies” basically file a business form and choose what type of business to be, that way they can protect themselves from personal responsibility and lawsuits. Then, they obtain an email account and run ticket sales out of their own home for enormous prices with almost no overhead. This all works under the guise of a fictitious business name. Is this legitimate? Sure. But the virtual space between you and the ticket has grown exponentially and the only way to get around it is to pay more money. These companies such as “Vivid Tickets” or “Genuine Tickets” that I’ve witnessed on eBay somehow get a foothold on the market, the best seats, and even the not-so-best seats before average customers with a typical Ticketmaster account can even take a short breath. If I’m wrong email me and tell me how it really works, seriously
I thought Ticketmaster, even with their bullshit “convenience fees”, were the emperors of this realm. And I’m usually satisfied knowing that I lost good seats to someone who’s on the same playing field. Ticketmaster has always controlled the access to bigger venues and bands with a higher demand, such as Radiohead. They are the only choice we have unless you have a monthly gig-budget in the $10,000 range. If you make that much money you probably don’t have the time to even buy or listen to Radiohead records anyway
As a Radiohead fan/consumer I should be able to find tickets within a reasonable price range before several unknown ticket agencies go in and snatch hundreds of the prime tickets (sections A, B, and C) only to turn around and sell them for over 600% of the face value. We each draw our own moral lines with people and businesses depending upon how much money we make and our personal investments with them. What’s a ____________ ticket worth to you?