Comment: Re:Fairly well known issue (Score 1) 562
... is to go to shows and spend money at shows.
1. Get tickets to show that says 8PM.
2. Drive for an hour and then pay for parking/drive around to find parking.
3. Arrive there 8PM and wait outside in a line for 0.5-1 hour (the establishment that you paid over $50 in tickets won't let you use the restroom because nobody is allowed inside until the band is ready).
4. Get inside. Wait indefinite time (from 1-1.5 hours) until the opening band starts.
5. After opening band finishes, wait another 1-1.5 hours for the band you paid tickets to start.
6. Show finishes.
You start around 6PM and you are done at 1-2AM. Eight hours to listen to a 1.5 hour set from the band you're supporting. Meanwhile, all this empty time you end up buying junk food and alcohol from the establishment.
I hate going to live shows because of this reason - it's a time sink. Why don't the musicians start their shows on time and print the time each band will be starting on the tickets so I arrive and enjoy the show and leave.
This seems a little overstated to me -- most of the places I go to see a show open their doors when they say, most openers aren't *that* late and most gaps between acts aren't *that* long, in my experience -- but tweaking the details doesn't change your overall point, and there's a lot of truth in your post. I don't go to shows as much as I used to, despite how much I want to because I know that's how acts make their money; I've got to go to work in the morning and I just can't get away with it like I used to.