Late last year I had tix to the Monkees at the Beacon and Titus Andronicus for the same evening. I figured if I blew off the last half hour of the Monkees I could do both. But I wasn't certain.
So I called Webster Hall and couldn't get an answer the day before the Sunday show and the next day I called Mercury Lounge (the Titus show was a Bowery Production) and Mercury were pleasant but not very helpful. Their math was the same as mine: 7pm door, three bands, 10pm for Titus.
So I left the Monkees at 930pm and dashed downtown and got to Webster Hall by 955p and Titus went on at 1030pm. I missed the last half hour of the Monkees for no reason whatsoever. To stand around twiddling my thumbs.
Why is it so hard to figure out when bands are hitting the stage until you get to the club? And in Arenas? Madonna goes on at 11pm for an 8pm show, Springsteen 845p, Lady Gaga 10pm. Why are innocent paying customers being forced to hang around for hours? Would it kill the nightlife to tell their clients what is happening. If Madonna is not playing till 11pm, why open the doors at 7pm? Why not 9pn?
The obvious answer is greed, they have a captive audience and the Clubs and Arenas can ply them with overpriced alcohol and tee-shirts. Everybody knows Pianos, Arlene Grocery, all those clubs, make their money at the bar and not from the door. The longer you are there, the more they make.
And big stars are arrogant, People claim Springsteen plays three and a hour hour gigs, but he actually plays four and a half hour gigs, the other hour is wasted waiting for him to honor us with his presence.
Really, concert goers are treated with so much contempt. Everything is done to make the experience as uncomfortable as possible. You can't see anything at clubs and at Arenas? You are stuck in tiny seats with no leg room (Barclay Center makes it impossible to get to your seat or go to the restroom midset -since they just build the place it must be on purpose) and you are left in a perpetual state of anticipation because you have no idea when the damn band is going on.