Angry Fans Ready To Fire The Boss

In the 2005 documentary film, �Enron: The Smartest Guys In The Room', we were let into a world that sickened us and infuriated us. I remember watching this film and feeling complete disgust for Jeffrey Skilling, a man whose ego grew so enormous that he didn't care that the empire he had built was based on a series of falsehoods and lies. The one scene in that film I remember better than any other is when two operators, who were caught on tape, talk about pulling power purposely from certain areas of California during the power crisis to create demand for energy, allowing Enron to make billions at the hands of those who were powerless. What was most disturbing about this scene is that these two men were laughing and joking about a hardship they were creating. Being a music consumer I often wonder if the artist's managers do the same thing with how they view their acts core and fanatical fan base. I think they view us like mice in a maze to see what loopholes we'll jump through for our favorite artists.

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band opened their tour Tuesday night in Hartford, CT, while the show was met with much acclaim, many long time fans had a few bones to pick with the Boss. It wasn't so much the structure or the length of the show, but rather how the "General Admission" seats were handled�or the lack thereof. "General Admission" seating is a touchy subject for crowds over 4,000. Granted, many clubs and even some theaters utilize "GA" (please note, from here on out General Admission will be referred to as "GA"), however, the largest GA crowd I've ever been in is 4,500 at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago. I missed out on the days of first come first serve, so for my entire concert going existence I've experienced it via seats. However, U2 spun the industry on its head in 2001 on their "Elevation" world tour when the main floor in all arenas would be GA. This puzzled many people but once the shows began, no one was complaining. First off, the GA experience was much more intense and did not allow for you to take it easy at any point in the evening. Plus, there were a few elements that U2 added to make the experience worthwhile. They installed a heart shaped ellipse at the foot of the stage creating a pit. Now the pit is where the prime seats are, however, because U2 utilized the ellipse often throughout the show, those outside of the heart experience an incredibly gratifying experience as well. The other key is that U2 under sold these GA seats. As a result, the back of the floor often had a large amount of room for you to roam freely without being crushed. Bruce Springsteen witnessed this first hand in June of 2001 in New Jersey and was so inspired by what he saw that he instituted a GA procedure in 2002.

When �The Rising' tour began in August of 2002, it was basically a first come first serve organization for GA. A small group of fans took charge of the procedure by getting to the venue early (in some cases an entire day early) and people would come, sign in and be free to do whatever they needed until show time with one caveat; as long as they showed up for the scheduled check-ins. Now, this worked beautifully for the most part for the entire 2002 leg of �The Rising' tour until someone in the Springsteen organization decided this was an unfair practice and put a stop to it. Fortunately in 2003 the band only played about twenty arena dates with the remainder of the shows in stadiums. For the stadium leg, if you were fortunate enough to score a GA seat, that meant you were in the pit. Simple enough. The main issue was that the pit tickets were usually not dropped until about a week before the show as the Springsteen organization usually holds most of the prime seats until right before show time for what I've been told are a measure to "stop scalping". While I admire this from a certain perspective the only people I know that lose out on it are the core fans who often already bought nose-bleeds due to their loyalty and when these other tickets appear, they buy them and often wind up eating the money they spent on the other tickets and in turn, often wind up spending the same amount if they went through a scalper.

When U2 embarked on the "Vertigo" tour in 2005, their GA procedures had changed a little�for the better. They no longer would allow for a "first come, first serve" procedure. They wanted to shake it up and they instituted a scanning system. Basically, you and the person you were with would get your tickets scanned and if they came up, you got into the pit. It was completely random and in my opinion, utterly fair. I work a lot and have limited vacation time and can't justify taking a day off work to stand in line for a GA show. However, when I saw U2 in Milwaukee in 2005, I walked in at 8:15pm, had my ticket scanned and got the "green" go ahead for the pit and it was a great feeling knowing I didn't have to give up an entire day for the experience. One other crucial element that is very important to point out is that U2's GA tickets are the cheapest tickets in the house and are all priced below $50. Springsteen's are the most expensive and since 2002 have been priced between $75 and $99; not cheap. One of the reasons U2 may be the biggest band in the world is their accessibility to the younger generation. College students can easily justify a $50 for a first rate experience. These same kids view Springsteen's ticket price of $100 a bit reaching and as a result, they stay home�or choose to support artists who charge far less. They would rather go see Pearl Jam, Tom Petty or a slew of college acts who are much cheaper. I don't blame them and after reports from the opening Springsteen show in Hartford came in, I wouldn't do it either.

A representative from the Springsteen organization put the word out that numbers would be given out to everyone who came to the arena and there would be a drawing at 5pm nightly. While this isn't a fair system (especially to those blue collared workers who can't take off work whom Springsteen and his management like to feel they embody) I did applaud them for at least trying to put a system together. However, what occurred on opening night in Hartford was disgraceful and something that Springsteen and his management should be mortified by. There was no one from the Springsteen organization involved in the drawing of GA numbers. Approximately 600 were given wristbands and when they did the lottery the first number was 586. This means that numbers 586-600 and then numbers 1 onward will get into the pit. An arena worker was in charge of the process with nary a Springsteen employee to be found. This was done with no microphone or anything to boost their voice. From what has been reported to me, there was complete and utter mass confusion in the arena as to what to do. When they began letting people in, they stopped when the pit hit a capacity of 200. The pit could easily hold double this amount and in the meantime 1400 fans were boxed in at the back of the arena. This isn't just plain stupid, but it's irresponsible. I was told the fire marshal refused to admit anymore than 200 in the pit although to people in elevated seats the pit continued to fill in as the night went along. The issue with GA stems from the Great White tragedy back in 2003, but don't they realize that was in a club and this is an arena? Also, the tragedy occurred because of a pyrotechnic mishap. Didn't the fire marshal get the memo? Pyrotechnics cost money and if Bruce's organization won't even pay for improved sound, better lights or even a person to manage to GA situation, do you think they'd give the OK for pyro? All joking aside, my question is where was a representative from Springsteen's organization? They were probably too busy entertaining the twenty-nine different news outlets covering the show because that was far more important than taking care of the loyal and frustrated fans.

Why isn't someone within the Springsteen organization taking charge of this? My gut feeling is that they just don't care. They should but sadly until they experience a Who like catastrophe they will continue to look the other way. Deep down there is a part of me that wants to chalk all of this to opening night kinks, but then again they had the same exact issue back in 2003 and refuse to let the fans (who should be hired by the Springsteen camp) to properly organize the GA line. The experience in Hartford was equivalent to being on a ship without a captain. There's no direction as to how this will be managed. What's really insulting to me is that many well educated fans who have connections to those in Springsteen's organization have gracefully explained other options for them to entertain which would in turn improve the process, make it less hectic and cause less frustration. But the organization has chosen to look the other way (because it will cost money) and not notice the gigantic Elephant in the room.

In the last few years the Springsteen camp has appeared to be more focused on lining the pockets of Springsteen instead of being concerned with the most important element of his success; the fans. The entire music industry has turned their backs on the consumers and completely alienated their customers as a result. This is flat out wrong. When I fork over my money for a concert, I expect first rate service, because I am the customer. It is the responsibility of the artist and their management to ensure I am taken care of and satisfied, much the same way if I book a five-star hotel, I expect five-star service. If the Hartford GA experience is a sign of things to come, I know die-hard fans that will elect to see fewer shows. At my day job, I am constantly reminded that I would not even have a job if not for the customers. These customers allow me to have a job with a paycheck and benefits. If they began leaving my company for another's service, I would run the risk of losing my job. In the world of rock n' roll; people like Bruce Springsteen are not as concerned with their customers because their legacy ensures them a big pay day. Even though he played to half filled halls in 2006 with the Seeger Sessions Band (in my opinion due largely to ticket prices), he is most likely receiving a large advance for every show. To those of you who don't know the inside practices of the business, basically a guarantee means that Springsteen will get paid whether he sells one ticket or if he sells 20,000. With a guaranteed paycheck will he go above and beyond to give his fans the best experience possible? At one point in is career, he was the model artist and the bond between band and fan was among the most strong in the industry. I no longer feel this is the case.

Over the years, Springsteen has received very little flack from the mainstream media and I'll plead guilty to giving him a pass here and there because of his legacy. When he hits that concert stage, it takes you to another world where my pain is put to ease and it's a place I can excise demons and walk out not just knowing myself a little better, but feeling better. No drug or shrink can even come close to this feeling. Two-years ago one of my most dear friends, Paul, called me after one of the shows in support of �Devils & Dust" and he was highly emotional. He told me, "Tony, I don't want these shows to end, I don't want this tour to end because the feeling I have when I'm there is powerful beyond words." Springsteen is able to evoke feelings we didn't even know we had through his performances and I am thankful to him for enlightening my life in ways that are indefinable. However, that doesn't mean he should disregard his fans like a cigarette butt.

I am at a loss of words as for what has happened to Springsteen over the years. This is a man who in 1978 apologized on a live radio broadcast for a ticket screw-up. When he started playing arenas, he would walk on every level of the arena to check the sound and ensure that even those in the worse seats could hear properly. His ticket prices were always fair so that everyone could experience this magic. He gave fans access to his live shows via FM broadcasts of his marathon three-hour concerts and most importantly, when he spoke we listened, because we felt like he was one of us. We were his clients and would follow-him anywhere and down any road he chose to travel including with a different band (in 1992) and a rather insane pony tail and slicked back hair (�The Ghost of Tom Joad' tour 1995-1997).

There have been a lot of cracks in the surface over the last decade which began with a really mediocre sound system in 1999. Springsteen was a catalyst for arena sound his entire career and then on the most anticipated tour of his career they choose to save a few pennies and provide the audience with a second-rate sound system. This is one thing you should never skimp on because bad sound is a reflection of no one other than the artist. Then in 2005 at the Continental Arena in New Jersey he cursed out the balcony for being loud and boisterous. It turned out they were loud and boisterous because the speakers in the balcony went completely dead leaving the people in those seats without sound. To his credit he apologized to them in November, but it was entirely too late in my opinion. After he found out about it, he should have written a brief and quick explanation on his website. If he had said, "I'm sorry" in an appropriate amount of time through the thousands of mediums of communication available to us in the 21st Century, I am sure all would have been forgotten by now, but I know people who sat in those seats who still feel the sting of his curses to this day. Then there's the issue of his stage. When I go and see acts like Madonna and the Stones, I can see where some of my money went. They set the standard for concert stages. Springsteen's stage is about as original as his merchandise, which means there is none. Why not bring in some new lights, a walk way, cat walk or even a B-stage to warrant charging so much money for seats at the back of the house. But alas, I don't think we'll ever see this. I have no issue with a bare stage, Pearl Jam utilizes one, but their ticket prices are at least $30 less than each of Springsteen's price points. Since 1999, Springsteen's tickets have gone up $30 at each price point, but I can't see where that money has gone and what I do know is that I haven't received a 33% increase at my job. Don't even get me started on the incredibly misleading advertising of the Giants Stadium shows in 2003 when the ad's hailed them as "Final Area Shows" only to have three Shea Stadium shows go on sale a few months later.

Anyone of the above issues should be a customer crisis issue, but packaged together and the lack of interest from Springsteen's organization in the GA process demonstrates a high level of insolence for his fundamental fan base. After the show on Tuesday in Hartford, I received an email from a friend who swore he was going to sell his GA tickets on Stub hub and buy tickets outside the arena on the night of the show even if they're in the nosebleed section because it'll be less of a hassle than dealing with the GA situation. I just don't understand why his organization has such contempt for his fans. It is the fans who allow you to have your lifestyle and they reserve respect.

When people go to see a Bruce Springsteen concert, they pay very good money to be entertained and taken away from the real world for a few hours. With the purchase of the ticket, this should include respect and admiration from his organization. Anyone who buys a ticket to a concert immediately becomes one of their customers. Even if Bruce is older and established, his management team should be concerned about the two essential elements that made Springsteen one of the greatest acts of his generation; repeat customers and word of mouth. This right here is what took Springsteen from theaters to arenas. He was playing booked arenas without a top-ten hit or a number-one album. Even at the end of �The River' tour, he could do multiple nights in every city in America, in arenas no less. By this time, he only had four top-forty hits. How did he become so big with minimal radio play? His fans. The �Darkness on the Edge of Town' tour is a candidate for the greatest tour in the history of rock n' roll. On this tour, Springsteen did a handful of FM broadcasts in Los Angeles, Cleveland, San Francisco, New Jersey and Atlanta. These shows contain the most spirited performances in the history of rock n' roll and these were just the ones on the radio; every night was like these shows! No one has ever seen such hunger before in an artist and really no one has even come close since. I'm convinced that the legend of these live shows, paired with these three-hour FM broadcasts largely secured his legacy and is the sole reason why �The River' went to number-one in 1980. Springsteen gave more of himself than anyone else and the fans ate it up. These days, I don't feel this is the case anymore. The hunger is gone and as long as they get their seven-figure guarantee nightly, no one is going to care. Die-hard fans are extreme and sometimes unreasonable (I'll throw myself in this category) but they allow the artist a healthy lifestyle even during the lean years. Springsteen's are among the most loyal on the planet. These are the people who spread the word in 1978, stood by him in 1992, defended him in 1995, hailed him in 1999, embraced him in 2002 and stood up for him in 2004 during the Vote For Change tour and his subsequent outing without the E Street Band. If not for the lively fan base, he wouldn't have been able to tour in 2005 or 2006.

In the end the fan will always rule, because the customer is always right. I just hope that Jon Landau and Bruce Springsteen realize this before it's too late. These concerns and issues have been brought up to management often in the last few years only to have them brushed under the carpet. Does somebody have to get hurt before they bite the bullet and pay someone to manage this process? Are they even listening to the fans? To quote the lead off track from �Magic'; "Is there anybody alive out there?" What I do know is there are thousands of Springsteen fans who feel like that little old lady who experience rolling blackouts in California not so long ago. I just hope that Jon Landau and his management team aren't having a laugh at the expense of Springsteen's fan.

Anthony Kuzminski is a Chicago based writer and can be found at The Screen Door

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