Not that long ago, it was illegal to scalp tickets in the state of Minnesota. Everyone played by the same rules and paid face value for all ticketing wielding events from Twins to Theatre to Tina Turner Tickets. If you live in Minnesota and have ever tried to get into anything, specifically concerts, you know that it is now legal to scalp tickets in Minnesota and you pay nowhere near face value.
Minnesotans have noticed the ridiculousness of scalping and so has country music superstar Eric Church. On Friday, he issued a big ‘F U’ to scalpers. Church cancelled 902 scalped tickets to his September 16 show in Minneapolis and put them back on the market.
I have to say that I have never heard of this happening before. Typically, when tickets are on the market they are out of the control of the artist and his team. Apparently they still have some pull afterwards.
The posts on Church’s Facebook page and posts on Twin Cities radio stations announcing the coming of 902 more tickets was almost all positive. In fact, I only saw one negative comment which was nicely snipped by a fellow Facebooker calling the writer of a negative comment a scalper. Ah, Facebook wit.
The rerelease of these tickets will allow me to go to the show now with reasonable priced tickets at $57 a crack for lower bowl seating.
Eric Church has been a badass for a long time. It shows in his music being actual country music and he proved it in the way that he treated his fans in Minnesota. Bravo, Chief.
Now, if only a certain ex-Beatle that’s coming to Target Field in August would control the scalpers who are selling tickets to his show for over a grand before the tickets even go on sale to the general public, that would be great.
A view of the football field at TCF Bank Stadium during Gopher football.
As a music geek, I love a good drum line. I find it pretty cool for a bunch of people with one type of instrument to make a whole song sound full. I’ll never love drumming more than I do than the fact that Drum Corps International has to move their annual date for their competition at TCF Bank Stadium on the campus of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. Why? Per a press release, Drum Corps International was knocked off for ‘a major concert’.
The Strib points to Prince, Garth Brooks, Pearl Jam, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, and Kenny Chesney as the potential headliners at the second major concert to happen at The Bank.
I’m going to power rank who I want it to be and you won’t be surprised, but the thought of one out of 50% of this group happening is amazing.
6. Pearl Jam – I’m not a Pearl Jam guy. I haven’t listened to a lot of Pearl Jam. There is no Pearl Jam in my music library. Sorry, Pearl Jam.
5. Kenny Chesney – Kenny is extremely popular in the country music world, I know because I live there. Kenny has been to Minnesota two years in a row at Target Field, he doesn’t need to come again. Plus, currently Chesney has no tour plans for this summer making him a so-so candidate in the first place. If Kenny has a fantastic opening act, I’ll go. I like Kenny just not enough to break the bank.
4. Prince – The Strib pointed out that Prince hasn’t done a major show in Minnesota in a long time and it would be cool if he was the guy. I don’t know if I would pay super bucks to see Prince, but it’s a for sure sellout. Prince puts on a hell of a show apparently, too.
3. Bruce Springsteen – You know it’s a good list when I put Springsteen at number three. I love Bruce and if it’s Bruce, Lord knows that I’ll put a lot of good money down to see him again. Bruce is the live king and he’ll be on tour in America later this summer. This might make the most sense on an already on-tour basis. The Boss and the E Street Band just slip because of who else is on the list.
2. Paul McCartney – Sir Paul is one of the performers on my bucket list and, to paraphrase something Springsteen said in a recent interview, you can start to see the light at the end of the tunnel. McCartney isn’t going to be around forever, no less touring forever, and I want to see him before one of us leaves the game. The ex-Beatle is still figuring out 2014 tour plans, so this would be a good thing to start the setting of his plans.
1. Garth Brooks – I’ve been a Garth Brooks fan my whole life. I’m young enough though that by the time I was of concert going age that Garth Brooks had taken his hiatus to spend time with his girls in Oklahoma. I’m ready to see Garth. It’s one thing I’ve been looking forward to in my music loving career since I can remember, the problem is that this probably won’t be the venue. Garth will come to town, I’m 110% positive of that, but this is before his big she-bang in Ireland. The Strib points out this would be a good tune-up, but when Garth does something, he does it big. Other than maybe a couple more Vegas dates, I’d expect Garth to fire it up in Ireland and keep it trucking until the big rig runs out of fuel. I hope I’m wrong.
Contrary to rumors elsewhere, Bruce Springsteen will not be the concert’s performer. Neither will beGarth Brooks. Baseball is still considering concert performers. The show is expected to include multiple acts.
If it truly is going to be multiple acts, that means there’ll be little to no big names. Have fun with that lovers of mediocre bands.
There’s not a whole lot that I love more than country music. Yes, the quality of music and what is considered ‘country’ these days is pretty concerning, but when it’s done right, it’s awesome. Nobody does it better than George Strait and Eric Church.
Eric Church opened up for George Strait on a recent tour date in Kansas City, which I joked about going to and now I really wish I would have. Church did an acoustic set, which is very rare for a stadium/arena show, as the opening act and then sometime during the concert the following happened.
King George and The Chief teamed up!
This is a country music nerd’s dream. One of the best of all-time and one of the best of today (and the future) teaming up on one of my favorite tunes, ‘Easy Come, Easy Go’.
Church’s new album, The Outsiders, is scheduled for release on February 11, which thus far has two awesome singles with ‘The Outsiders’ and ‘Give Me Back My Hometown’, but my gushing over the preacher of the Church Choir can wait for another post.
Now rewatch King George and The Chief. You know you want to.
On Monday, we learned a little bit more about the up and coming Garth Brooks World Tour. In an email to his ‘Circle of Friends’ newsletter, it was announced that Garth will be heading to Ireland and Crooke Park on July 25 and 26 as the big symbolic kickoff event. The event in Dublin will be called ‘The Garth Brooks Comeback Special Event’.
The most interesting note that I found in the email/press release is the following quote from Garth, “Before we go back on tour in the Fall of 2014, I want to challenge myself, the band, and crew. In ’97, we were lucky enough to play Croke Park, the stadium was under construction. 130,000+ of some of the greatest fans in the world. I was quoted then as saying ‘When this stadium is finished, I would love to come back and try to fill it again…this time to the brink.’…and we’re back to do just that.”
The part that is most interesting to State-bound Garth fans is that the comeback tour will begin in the fall of 2014. I do not believe we have had a hint at when the tour was to begin, but now we know it’s going to be ‘Fall 2014’ and sometime after July 25 and 26.
It’s fun for Garth to kick it off back in Ireland, where he taped one of his awesome concert specials. On the marketing front, an insanely smart move by the marketing major from Oklahoma State University for a couple reasons; first, Ireland and the UK loves Garth Brooks, he’ll sell out that show in minutes with both UKers and fans from around the world. Second, starting his tour over in Ireland makes headlines and makes him even more wanted by US audiences. Seeing Garth perform in Ireland will only make his fans want to see him more in the US knowing it is jut mere weeks away. I wouldn’t be surprised if tickets for the rest of his tour go on sale on about July 27, with Dublin and Crooke Park majesty still burned in fans’ minds.
Back in high school, which was such a long time ago, I played the saxophone in the band, kind of. I wasn’t very good, but that’s probably because I wasn’t very interested in the thing. It was fun, but like most things for teenagers, it lost its luster after a year or two.
I wish I would have learned to play better and possibly flourish with that instrument now. In childhood, I was immersed in country music, which I still am, but I have expanded my horizons. I now have the likes of Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen in my music wheelhouse. What I’ve noticed is that their music features saxophone and a lot of it. When talking about the saxophone, talk starts and stops with Clarence Clemons, Springsteen’s other half in the E Street Band.
I was reminded that it was Clemons’ birthday today via an Instagram post by fellow Springsteen aficionado Dana Wessel. Clemons would have been 72 today.
Now that I’m a huge Springsteen fan, I wish I would have practiced my saxophone more and moved up to that lovely tenor saxophone, the usual weapon of choice for Clarence. I wish Clarence Clemons would have entered my life earlier, because he entered it after he was gone.
Should I have practiced my saxophone more? Definitely. Would I had I known that Clarence Clemons was a god living amongst mere mortals? You better your ass I would have.
You can’t go through a single song penned by Springsteen and not think of Clarence. It’s such a special connection that few people ever share. So go now and look through your Springsteen collection and think of Clarence and then do it again tomorrow, because it’s just that damn good.
Collin Kottke: All-Around Swell Guy 
