Kiss Ticket Scalping: My Thoughts, Plus Half Past and Woods of Ypres Updates!!!

Well, time to offer my thoughts on ANOTHER Kiss concert-related issue. This has came up on a number of sites and forums over the last couple of days, so I figure I should tell you guys what the issue is, and say my opinion on it all.

So Kiss tickets sold out in 6-8 minutes yesterday morning, as I mentioned. But not all tickets went then. There were pre-sales for tickets, as is the case with most major shows at The Essar Center, one of which was held by Rock 101 Friday morning. But alas, not everyone who took advantage of the pre-sales are actually intending to use their purchased tickets to actually see Kiss. No, they're re-selling them, at jacked up prices. According to a new article by SooToday's Carol Martin, various online sites are already selling tickets for the Kiss concert at high prices. The cheapest Kiss tickets available are on Vivid Seats for $156, with tickets going as high as $799 at StubHub. Other sites have tickets in between that range, but nothing lower than $156. Keep in mind, tickets went for just $99.50 through The Essar Center.

It's not just ticket sites either, there's also been tickets on eBay for inflated prices, and even Sault Ontario residents have bought tickets to re-sell at a profit. SooToday's having no part of this, they've began suspending accounts of anyone selling tickets above normal value on their classified section. The Sault Star have also reported on this issue, but their site is down so I can't check it at present. But I've heard a lot of annoyed people that weren't able to get a ticket, and many are blaming scalpers and ticket sites for stealing tickets from real fans. I'm not among them, I was lucky enough to get my ticket online by 10:01 AM, but I'll throw my opinion out there, as I very easily could have been among those of you without a ticket if I was even a minute or so late.

Firstly, this is an issue that happens with most concerts. Whenever there's a major concert here, someone will have tickets for sale somewhere for more than The Essar Center actually charged. You can't completely stop scalping unless you charge everyone at the door, like at some local bar show. But that'd be pandemonium, I can see why they wouldn't do that. People like money and this isn't technically illegal. That's not to say it's right though, because it isn't. There's a lot of people who demanded Kiss come here, and likely a lot more that wanted tickets to this show. Real Kiss fans want these tickets to enjoy one of their favourite bands. It's not every day that a band of this magnitude comes here, and frustration is evident. Yes, making money is good, but why would someone want to bilk extra out of a person just to make a quick buck? It's unfair. If YOU'RE not planning on going, why even bother? If you want money, make it the honest fair way!

Pre-sales are a great idea, especially if you can't get tickets the normal day. But if there's a way to limit sales to those who can prove they actually want to go, they should at least try it. If some guy who works for a ticket site in some far off state is attempting to buy it, some restrictions should be put in place, if nothing else. Doing this to people is unfair. Yes, there's fans who will be willing to pay the extra, but they shouldn't have to be forced into such a situation, because it's unfair! For those of you who wanted a Kiss ticket, but lost out to outside buyers looking for extra cash, here's my suggestion. Keep on the lookout for tickets for sale on SooToday or in the paper closer to the day of the show. The sooner the show is, the more likely someone who can't go will be looking to sell their ticket for cheap. Take advantage of anyone offering a ticket at $100 or less, it might be your only opportunity. If you see someone offering a ticket for more than $100, don't be suckered, your money has better uses. And if there's a contest running on the radio for tickets, enter it! You may win, it's worth a shot! Tickets will open up, just don't give up hope!

Now, onto a couple more news items. First, Half Past drummer Chris Thompson has uploaded a video onto YouTube featuring the band performing a demo version of an original song, entitled "Dead Again"! Very solid song, I'd love to hear it live (and you guys may get the chance to do so on Halloween night at Coch's Corner!) Though it's not on Youtube yet, the band also uploaded another video of their demo version of another original, "War Inside My Head", onto Facebook! I can't embed Facebook videos on here, so check it out at this location! It sounds great too! But for now, check out this clip of "Dead Again"!



And finally, some Woods of Ypres updates! These aren't specifically "new", but David Gold just recently has refreshed everyone's memory to this news! First off, the first 1,000 pre-orders of "Woods IV: The Green Album" will come with a bonus disc! No word on what will be on it, but knowing Woods of Ypres, it should have some awesome stuff! Obviously, there hasn't been 1,000 pre-orders yet (although there deserves to be!), so get your pre-orders in quickly! Get full details on the bonus disc/pre-orders at this location! As well, David's looking to sell his white Gibson SG-3 guitar (the one that says UNREST! on it, picture to the right), as he's looking to sell off some of his unnecessary guitars. This one was used on the "Woods IV" recording! For full details on the guitar sale, visit this location! Remember, to pre-order "Woods IV", send your money via PayPal to woodsofypres@hotmail.com, or via snail mail (with return address) to:

David Gold / The GREEN Album
44 Poplar Ave
Sault Ste. Marie, ON
P6B 2W7 CANADA

That's all for tonight, I'll see you at The Canadian for Grady and Domenica! Keep it metal everyone, a review of this show comes tomorrow!