Selling Out The Dream: Tom Petty Joins The Darkside

Tom Petty has made a career of sticking up for the little guy, which in my mind is largely due to the fact that I believe Petty has a conscience. In the last year, you have seen me rant and rave against the industry and the ludicrous prices of concert tickets. Quite often, I've repeated a certain mantra of "If Petty and Pearl Jam can keep their ticket prices fair, anyone can". After all, this is a man who has railed against the industry since day one. From filing bankruptcy to get out of a crooked contract to fighting his record company over a $1 increase of his record from $8.98 to $9.98, to even railing against the industry as a whole on his 2001 album 'The Last DJ'. So call me crazy, but I was shocked when I opened an email about the "Dream Package Prices" for his current tour which average around $250 for one ticket. Now granted, this "Dram Package" includes the following:

- One premium reserved ticket located within the first 15 rows of the stage
- Copy of "Runnin' Down a Dream" - Hardcover Coffee Table Book
- Exclusive Download of the upcoming Mudcrutch album upon it's release, scheduled for April 2008
- Exclusive High Quality Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers T- Shirt
- Coupon good for $25 off any merchandise purchase from the official Tom Petty on-line store

It's a nice way to ease the blow of the sticker price, but in the end, I feel it's largely a slap in the face of many of Petty's long time followers. While a T-Shirt is a nice gesture, I largely feel the other amenities are pointless. Let's say each of these extra items cost $25; this is a $100 unnecessary add on. It's like going to a first rate steak house where the steaks are $50 each, however, if you want to get seated without waiting an hour, a Half-Baked Potato and a drink�it will cost you $150 extra. If you went to a restaurant and they told you this, you would turn around and walk out.

If you go the Ticketmaster route for the show, it'll cost you between $50 and $99 before Ticketbastard charges, the highest set of prices for an arena tour in Petty's career. Now of all the exploitive fan club ticket packages on the market, I will give Petty props for having the best one, alas it is a weak victory. I must admit the Mudcrutch album has my interest peaked, but not for $100 extra. If you're a die-hard Tom Petty fan and are loyal enough (or foolish depending on whom you speak to) to spend $250 on one ticket, aren't the odds in favor of you already owning the Coffee Table Book? Can someone please tell me why all of these bands offer $25 off any purchase from their official online stores? People often spend at least $10 of their own money to redeem the certificate! A quick look at the online Petty store finds items as cheap as $10 (for a poster), $15 for shot glasses and $20 for assorted T-----s. My only question is can you redeem the certificate for something less than $25?

Regardless, take the $100 off the $250 face and you have a ticket over $150. In the first fifteen rows, I've often found that the first few rows provide a rather spectacular vantage point, but by the time you start to get to the eighth row, your vantage point isn't all that great and more times than not, I've often found seats in the twelfth and fifteenth rows to be downright lousy. I'm someone of average height (under six feet) and I often can't see much from being this far back on the floor, so the thought of paying a car payment for the ticket seems deplorable to me.

It should be noted that the ticket prices for these shows are higher than what it was for the Tom Petty/Pearl Jam double bill two summers ago. I love Tom Petty�I really do in ways I can't even write about or express. Needless to say, I felt he was the last of the genuine rock stars. His music is the soundtrack of my life from the first video I ever saw of "Jammin' Me" all the way through to "Saving Grace" and the discovery of all the music that came before I was born is nothing short of revelatory. It's the backbone of American Rock N' Roll and in 2003, when I saw one of his weeklong shows at the Vic Theater here in Chicago, I was reminded of the no nonsense attitude he brings to his live shows (where he found a way to cancel tickets being sold on eBay above face value) and his intrinsic ability to channel the entire history of rock n' roll in a two hour show. There are dozens of truly great performers in the world, but few have the old school aura of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers. However, I believe they are doing a disservice to their most loyal fans. This is an instance where the losers are most definitely not lucky and even worse, they've lost their most loyal and devout spokesperson. Tom Petty was someone I never thought would break the $100 ticket barrier and he has. I'm sure there are valid reasons; he may need the money, it may be AEG's fault, it may be the addition of Steve Winwood as the opener, but after three-plus decades of sticking up for the little guy, he has appeared to of surrendered his soul to AEG.

I would like to end this piece with two questions for Tom Petty;
Would you have paid $250 to see your favorite artist growing up?
&
What would you have thought of this artist who had priced tickets beyond the average fans price range?

Agree? Disagree? Anthony Kuzminski can be contacted at: thescreendoor AT gmail DOT com

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

...end