2nd half SFH Tour...

[jbobst]

I have searched this forum, but there doesn't appear to be any talk about replacing Alex with another singer when they resume the US tour.  This is a pretty big deal to me, but nothing is mentioned here about this.  Do the girls have any sort of understudy if they get sick or something that could fill Alex's spot?   I would have to believe it wouldn't be that difficult for a fourth singer to start rehearsing and get into the show, but maybe I am wrong?  Not having a fourth singer just seems like a big let down to me as we are going to see a couple more shows in September.

Also, is it just me or is anyone else upset with the way PBS has first rights to all the prime tickets?  I called first thing to the box office and ticketmaster as soon as the tickets went on sale to the public for the Sept. Tucson show, and there were NO floor seats or anything really close at all to the stage available.  Ticketmaster phone reps have no idea that PBS gets all the prime tickets and said it's just the demand and that I should have called earlier...I called THE MINUTE they went on sale!  Then, they have this "pre-sale" thing, which nobody can explain to me what it is.  But, the pre-sale thing is not available to "regular" people like me I guess.  Anyway, I have no problem paying a premium price for a good ticket, but they aren't even available to the general public for some reason.  Very frustrating...  I understand PBS is doing the promotion and such, but why not keep just a few tickets available to the general public at a premium price?

[aislin]

No, Alex will not be replaced on the upcoming tour. It's not just the music that is involved, it's choreography, fittings, etc. And a lot of that would have had to have been done between tours and with the other girls. As the girls had so brief a time at home before they packed up and headed to Australia and then here again... it just wasn't something that was feasible nor would it have been fair to the other 4 to spend their downtime training with another soloist. The girls have no understudy, but to the best of my knowledge the only time a girl has ever missed part of a show was when Máiréad became ill and had to miss the second act.

Celtic Woman tours in the US, very successfully, with almost no promotion on their part, it's all done by local PBSs. Without PBS behind the show promoting it and airing the shows during their pledge drives there would be no CW. If a local PBS is involved in a tour stop, they do claim a certain number of tickets to sell as part of their fundraising. Meet and greets are also set up by the local PBS and therefore the only way to get M&G tickets is through that local PBS. I do understand what you're saying. Not everyone in my small cadre of compatriots that attend CW shows with me can afford PBS tickets and so we too hit that wall of PBS having the best seats in the house. However, every seat at a show a PBS sells just ensures that I'll get more CW in the future. We usually get pretty decent seats anyway and I'm perfectly happy not to be front and center if it means more CW down the road. PBS has stated that CW is the most successful fundraiser they've ever had so it's a good bet that this relationship will continue.

Presales are usually pretty accessible, you just have to know how it all works. First, you have to have a presale password. For the last two tours CW has set one password for the entire tour and has advertised it on their site and on Tickemtaster's website. Presales are only run through the TM website, you can't call in and do presales. In the past, and this is true for most other performing acts as well, to get the password you simply have to be signed up for the venue's newsletter and they email the passwords out with those. It's a simple marketing thing. And if there are different passwords we try to collect them here on the forum for our populace to use.

aislin

[jbobst]

Thanks for the reply aislin.  Good information, and I do see your point about PBS.

I do feel like I am somehow going to be seeing a "partial" show for some reason, now that Alex isn't there.  I hope the show still retains the fantastic experience that it was a few months ago when we were able to see them all in Phoenix.

Thanks again.

[Old Guy]

Regardless of whether they were to replace Alex, or to change the show to perform without her, there are going to be a ton of changes that need to be made. The arrangements of the ensemble numbers will need to be modified because you can't simply drop out one of the voices in the harmonies and get an acceptable result. The choreography will need to be changed for those numbers as well. I'm really anxious to hear what the show is like without Alex. I'll certainly miss her, but I understand and wish her well.

Gary

[Cash]

Although I am saddened that Alex left and we will have just the 4 principle performers for these upcoming shows, I am also very interested in how they adapt to this change in the short term. They always seem to come up with smart things and improvise very well. I look forward to seeing what they do. Sort of a paradox I guess. I do hope they return to 5 again in the long term.

As for PBS priority, I see your point. BUT...other groups and shows have priorty factors of their own. For example, last year I went to see Fleetwood Mac and paid a LOT of money for what was, honestly, a bad seat. People with American Express credit cards got the presale priority for the best seats. Also, different stars have different ways they handle meet&greets. Sometimes you need to enter fan clubs (and maybe pay to do so). Sometimes you need to go through lotteries. Sometimes they just show up somewhere in the theatre after the show! Best way to learn about this is to get on fan forums or webpages for those perfromers.

And if we carry this into sports, fans who want the best seats have to pay fees to retain their season ticket seats, at least in some sports. In college sports, fans not only may have to do that, but may also have to join some support group. It can cost a lot of money if those seats are in demand.

So what PBS does isnt that different from what others in entertainment also do. And as already mentioned, so I wont go into it other than to say its important. We wouldnt have CW without PBS.

[Emily!]

Also, just to add: PBS doesn't always automatically get the front row. I've been in concerts before where the people IN FRONT OF me bought tickets from Ticketmaster and I had tickets from PBS (M&G tickets, no less). You sometimes do take a gamble with PBS, and personally I've gotten very good seats with Ticketmaster. It really depends on the venue, though.

At the end of the day, I also agree strongly with Lindsey: I'd rather deal with PBS getting priority if it means the relationship between PBS and CW is going to continue. PBS = more CW concerts (and more M&Gs for those who want to purchase them).

[GeorgeN]

Just an hour before reading this I heard a National Public Radio report about concert ticket prices and declining attendance. As I remember it, the report said: In 2010 concert tickets are up in price, but attendance is generally down. Fans have learned that if they wait until just before a concert to buy they can get good discounts, but this has resulted in some concerts being canceled because of poor ticket sales. The reporter predicted that concert ticket prices will have to go down in late 2010 or 2011, or there will be a continuing reduction in attendance and number of live concerts.

The two CW concerts I’ve been to so far this year, and another big-name artist concert, have all had a sizable number of empty seats – in the back of course. (Exception: Riverdance in March was sold out, but then everyone knows they are ending, so this was the 'last chance' to see that show.) In the case of one of the CW concerts the attendance downturn was certainly weather related, but still….. it makes you think….. ticket prices will have to go down.

Also: I have tickets for two CW shows later this month, and in only one case does PBS have the best tickets. In the other, the venue has them reserved for its annual subscribers. I’ve gotten very good tickets thru Ticketmaster in the past.

GeorgeN