Unfortunately, Louis C.K.’s new tour isn’t coming to Tucson (there’s a date in Phoenix at the weirdly wonderful Celebrity Theatre, so I guess that’s something), but his blog post explaining why he’s selling the tickets for $45 straight, with service fees and taxes included and foiling scalpers in the process is just about the most inspiring thing I’ve read in awhile:
Also, you’ll see that if you try to sell the ticket anywhere for anything above the original price, we have the right to cancel your ticket (and refund your money). this is something I intend to enforce. There are some other rules you may find annoying but they are meant to prevent someone who has no intention of seeing the show from buying the ticket and just flipping it for twice the price from a thousand miles away.
Some of these rules may be a pain in your ass, but please be patient. My goal here is that people coming to see my shows are able to pay a fair price and that they be paying just for a ticket. Not also paying an exhorbanant fee for the privalege of buying a ticket….
Setting up this tour has been fascinating and difficult. this ticketing service is a brand new thing and I really fucking hope it works and that there aren’t any problems. If anything comes up, please be patient.
Doing things this way means I”m making less than I would have made if I did a standard tour, using the usual very excellent but expensive ticketing service. In some cities I’ve had to play smaller venues and do more shows. But I like doing more shows and about a year ago I reached a place where I realized I am making enough money doing comedy so the next thing that interested me is bringing your price down. Either way, I still make a whole lot more than my grandfather who taught math and raised chickens in Michigan.
This article appears in Jun 21-27, 2012.
Not only is the man a saint, he has a brilliant show on TV. I watch it and never know whether to laugh or cry. He really speaks for the everyguy.
Maybe Tucson doesn’t have a show because we don’t have a venue that would agree not to screw us on ticket prices?
lap0112: I can’t speak for any of the other Tucson venues, but the Rialto would have been thrilled to host Louis C.K. on any terms he’d like to set forth. We were in fact trying to get a show with him in 2010 and we were told that he was staying away from the state for political reasons (not articulated, but almost definitely due to SB 1070. CK is a dual U.S./Mexican citizen).
I suspect the reason that there’s not a Tucson show is that we simply got passed over, which happens with some regularity, because we’re a fairly small market overall. Or that the venue in Tucson that would have made the most sense for CK, TCC Music Hall, is a Ticketmaster house. Perhaps it didn’t fit in the routing. But where there’s a will there’s a way, and promoters don’t often pass up guaranteed sellouts regardless of the ticket fee scenario.
Sorry, C Note, I only said ‘maybe’ ~ sure didn’t mean to ruffle your feathers. I think the Rialto would’ve been a great venue.
No worries, lap0112 — my feathers weren’t ruffled.
Another reason why Louis C.K. kicks ass!