I received an e-mail today. I am not sure whether it is a scam or just spam, but it all seems too horribly plausible and I suspect that it may be for real. It is an invitation to buy tickets for a VIP Eric Clapton package.
Whether going to see Eric Clapton is a good thing or not is entirely subjective. Personally I don’t think he still has the excitement that I really want from a concert, but that is neither here nor there: it is the whole package that makes me shudder. It includes:
- VIP stalls seats
- Use of an ‘exclusive hospitality suite’
- Champagne reception
- Indulgent menu of canapes and hot bowl food
- Souvenir programme (one between two)
- Collectable hospitality laminate
- One night’s stay at a 5-star hotel
- Transfers
- An event manager to ensure smooth running
It doesn’t even start to tempt me at any price, but at £425… plus VAT…. PER PERSON!!   That is just short of a thousand pounds for a concert. The reason I suspect it could be for real is that little bracketed condition that you only get one programme to share between two.   So you fork out a grand to go and see a millionaire singing the blues and you don’t even get a programme each.
Personally I like the whole concert experience: running the gauntlet of touts between the tube station and the venue, having a pint while the support act are playing, weighing up whether to head for the mosh pit or find a decent spot on the high ground, popping into a burger bar for something on the way to the station or night bus.
A concert is a chance to get together with others who share musical tastes and enjoy yourself, why do these pompous, pretentious idiots think we just want to treat it as another opportunity for conspicuous consumption? Its the whole ‘golden circle’ syndrome all over.
I know its only Eric Clapton, who is hardly the cutting edge of rock these days, but still… its a concert not part of the debs’ social calendar to fit in between Royal Ascot and Henley.  It all sounds dreadful to me. The ‘VIP enclosure’, the ‘VIP reception’ and the queue for canapes will likely be full of people wearing rugby shirts and brand-new (designer) jeans with razor-sharp creases.
At this point I should probably point out that I will be in a corporate hospitality box when I go to see Metallica, but that is different!  I certainly hope so anyway or I shall have a bone to pick with Danivon… I know its costing a lot less than £425 + VAT
Nice work if you can get it!
Got me thinking, would I pay 10 x the odds to go and see the 1970s Tottenham side in a seniors tournament. Apart from them passing more accurately and Martin Chivers being able to actually head a ball unlike Bent and Pat Jennings being able to catch the bloody ball….oh hang on, bad analogy!
You’re right though, total rip off.
And I will have a bone to pick with Jas. I suspect it will be full of middle-age ex-moshers.
Last time I saw Metallica it was at Donnington, where people threw containers that once held beer and then held all sorts of things at each other. In a sense I’m looking forward to not going back to a tent covered in someone else’s urine after the gig…