Escalating Gas Prices Put Halt To Concert-Goers

Give it to Me Strait, Tim McGraw – love it… but I’m a huge fan of earlier Tim stuff and Strait so I’m a little biased, ok a lot.

I’m not surprised by the whole gas and concert thing. I listened to a speech by a guy that works in the oil industry (pretty high up in it by the way) in western North Dakota and he pretty much said electric or hydrogen are inevitable at this point but he doesn’t worry about it because of other petroleum based products. Five years and the worries will be gone.

In the Chesney article… after a long, slow afternoon with LeAnn Rimes, Luke Bryan and others., ouch!

About a million songs with “Hank” in the title, and Robbie Fulks’ “The Buck Starts Here.”

Name checking songs, “Hank Williams, You wrote My Life” by Moe Bandy, Waylon’s “Bob Wills is Still the King” and Merle’s “Leonard”

Really, I wonder how much people really think about the gas price thing or if they’re just overreacting.

Let’s take a really simple example. Say that you have $60 tickets to a show 100 miles away and your car gets 20 mpg. When gas is $4 per gallon instead of $3 per gallon, you’re only spending an extra $10 roundtrip on gas, which works out to an 11% increase in your total cost. If you have more expensive tickets, a shorter distance to travel, or a more fuel efficient car, then the increase in the price of gas is even more negligible. Given that road trips to concerts are rare events for most people, why throw away weekend plans because of an extra $10-20?

Also, if gas was such a problem, Why did the CMA Music Fest have more people attend than last year?

I think gas prices are probably a little bit of a bigger factor than some people are making them out to be.

Food is costing more because shipping costs more, airline tickets are going up, and concert tickets are probably increasing as well because of the additional cost on the artists. So it’s not just the simple cost of gas to and from the concert, it’s the compounded increased cost of everything that more expensive gas leads to.

You have to take in account the extra cost on driving everywhere and the dent that puts into your disposable income. If you’re spending an extra $20 a week to get to work, you’re not gonna have that money to pay for a concert and the extra money it would cost to get there. It’s just not far commutes that hit the wallet, either, it’s getting stuck in traffic as well that kills the gas tank. Also people who go to multiple shows a month might start going to fewer shows because they suddenly cost a little more each time.

From an individual perspective, the increased cost of gas may not seem like a big deal for a single trip, but when considering all the factors and looking at it from a macro-level view, it can make a big difference.

Err…my comment basically says the same as Brady’s. Bastard beat me to it.

It’d be much easier to assemble a list of my least favorite name-checking songs. It’s usually a crutch for songwriters who want you to associate their crappy song with Hank Williams or whoever.

That said, I’ll go with “What Would Willie Do” and “Long Time Gone.”

“Now they sound tired but they don’t sound Haggard
They’ve got money but they don’t have Cash
They got Junior but they don’t have Hank”

Come to think of it, now they’ve got chicks but they don’t have the Chicks.

There are always going to be some people that aren’t affected because they save money for that particular thing or make a good amount themselves. I can see how this could play into the artist’s hand too though, carpooling will always bring more people!

Thanks for the link to the articles about the Bakersfield Sound music awards. Had I known about them I would have driven up from LA in spite of gas prices (120 miles each way). The article in the Bakersfield Californian was also a fun read about efforts to keep the style alive on its home turf. Back in the dust bowl days the families that fled to California’s central valley from Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas brought a love of traditional country music with them. Dwight Yoakam’s appearance at fan Fair proved the Bakersfield Sound is appreciated and viable.

The Ashton Shepherd interview is first rate. Hopefully her new “Sounds So Good” single will do well on radio, but sadly its too country and too good for today’s Top 40 Airhead Country marketplace…

As for the increased attendance at Fan Fair this year, I think that the presence of current superstars like Carrie Underwood and Taylor Swift have a lot to do with it. Since Fan Fair is a multi-day event, attending this event is like taking a vacation for most where normal budgetary matters are set aside for a once a year splurge.

What was the song that had the line about begging Dolly’s Pardon if I’m hurting Charley’s PRide?

Drove hotshot as an independent from when I got out of the USMM in ‘90 until two years ago. Fuel got to $2.80 and I was breaking even trying to keep my customers happy. There were eleven of us that used to help each other out to keep freight moving. The last one went belly up when fuel hit $3.25. All eleven of us are done. As independents we couldn’t compete with the big companies and their fresh out of school bottom line drivers. Our customers were small and could not afford a rate increase or fuel surcharge yet they still got sucked into the corporate monster. Six months later they were begging us to come back but we were done. Out of my half-dozen customers only one is still in business. I hear people whining about putting 80 bucks in their cars. Try putting $450 in your truck for a half load of fuel and get 7 mpg trying to make a living. Do that 10 times a week and that’s a slow week. Good service means squat nowadays but yeah, fuel prices make one hellova’ difference in everything I do. From recreation to work to concerts to just checking out new bands if they aren’t in the neighborhood. Shoot, I won’t even go cross town to check out a new band where two years ago I’d think nothing of driving two hours each way to hear a band that had good word of mouth reviews.

One of the things I do now for a semi-living is fish tournaments. Normally the draw is around 100 boats per but we’re lucky to draw 40 nowadays. And these are hardcore fishermen that make their living fishin’. Without corporate or company sponsorship it’s tough to survive out there. $250 to fuel up the truck and boat for a single event? With falling payouts? Add those odds up. I only fish locally so I can just imagine what these guys on tour are going through. Ouch! I’m thinking the odds would be better at the tables in Vegas! ;-)

Cousins are all into raising beef cattle, farming rice, and crawfish. They are scratching their heads trying to figure out how to pay for the diesel to run their tractors. Meanwhile there is a world shortage of food? Yet taxes just keep on climbing. Even when they die they can’t escape taxes. Heh! Wait ’til you see the price of meat by the end of the summer!

High fuel prices filter through everything you do whether you realize it or not. From your toothpaste to your ground beef to the price of toilet paper. When everything goes up I cut back on non-necessities like concerts, CDs, and downloads. I really have to enjoy an artist to buy their CDs and downloads. Let alone spring for a concert. Breaking it down to a single event is tunnel vision and doesn’t even come close to encompassing the entire marketplace and economy. Sure wish they taught basic economy in schools nowadays but then no politician would ever get elected if they did! Break down where the money goes from the price of a single gallon of gas. You might just be surprised. Who’s fingers are in what pie?

Oh well, I reckon I’m just one of those that is making a big deal out of nothing eh?! Wait until your favorites can’t afford to tour from their fans simply not being able to afford the price.

Hell, with as much crap coming out of Nashville now I wonder if I could get a CEO job at a major record label. I sure as hell couldn’t do any worse than they are! :-o

Jarheaddad, you’re absolutely right. Fuel prices do change the price of just about everything.

A few things annoy me, 1. Those trying to drill in Alaska, leave the wildlife alone. High gas prices are making the big automakers commit to hydrogen and electric cars by 2010 (most already did but you have to dig way too deep on their corporate sites to find it, they’re afraid of Tesla’s sedan currently in pre-production stages) – brining up more spots to drill wil just put us in this position down the road, let the change happen now. 2. When the day comes that gas isn’t our main source of fuel, they’re not going to drop any prices that were inflated due to it. 3. People that argue vehicles don’t contribute to global warming because global warming doesn’t exist. Believe in it or not, we can all agree we dislike smog.

I’m not sure if anybody mentioned this yet, but Tracy Byrd recorded the same “Johnny Cash” that Jason Aldean did. The vocals are superior.

Jarhead pretty much nails it for people who really want to think hard about the impact of high fuel prices and Kelly pretty much nails it for non-thinkers.

As one data point, it’s not really country music but we planned to go to the Telluride Festival this year but cancelled due to fuel costs. That was a big disappointment that tells a tale. One other thing; up on the lake, hardly any boats out at all and it’s usually busy now. Without even thinking about it, this is the kind of thing that impacts spending dollars on concerts. If a person has to think about gas for driving to work, it’s very hard to justify spending to go to concerts and for general fun so a fan sees fewer and fewer shows without really noticing.

And to add to Jarhead’s analysis, this change could be really huge. Without checking, California’s economy is something like the 3 or 4th largest in the WORLD. They grow or build most of the stuff we consume. But now, it’s CHEAPER for the eastern part of the US to transport goods by container ship from Europe. Within as little as a year, that will change this country in a huge way. We are going broke.

It’s coming. Ignore it if you are a turtle.

Come on, Funk and MFrank, calm down. I was merely suggesting that I am tired of all the talk of gas prices, both on this thread and in the media overall. I wasnt actually trying to help you two, or anyone else figure anything out, thats up to us as individuals to decide what works for us. I was clearly making an off-the-cuff statement that wasnt intended to piss anyone off, which shouldve been obvious to “thinking people”. the issue of gas prices is alarming and deserves serious attention due to the wide-ranging negative effects, but so does homelessness, hate crimes, bad coffee at 7-11 and steven segal movies, because those crimes against humanity effect people regardless of whether they are in a wheel-chair or not.

although i have to say early steven seagal movies (despite being cheesy) have a certain charm to them.

Notably Erika Eleniak jumping out of a cake. That’s about it but it’s plenty good enough for me.

leeann,

that news piece is kinda ‘old news’ in a way because I read a Gannett news piece about the same subject a month ago.