To paraphrase Emily Litella (Gilda Radner) from OG Saturday Night Live, \u201cWhat\u2019s all this fuss I hear about Blue Dot Fever?\u201d<\/p>\n
If you haven\u2019t run across the term \u2013 a relatively new entry in the lexicon \u2013 it refers to the blue dots that you see in online Ticketmaster venue maps indicating that a seat is unsold.\u00a0 Hence, Blue Dot Fever means that shows with lots of blue dots aren\u2019t selling worth a damn.<\/p>\n
Some folks online (and elsewhere) are acting like this is a huge shock.\u00a0 It shouldn\u2019t be.\u00a0 Ticket prices have been steadily rising and outpacing inflation for the past many years.\u00a0 For me, this trend began with the Eagles reunion tour in 1994 (\u201cHell Freezes Over\u201d), when top tickets for the Houston show at Rice Stadium were going for $75.\u00a0 That\u2019s about $165 today.\u00a0 \u201cNo way!\u201d I said at the time.\u00a0 But, like most music lovers, I eventually caved in, as ticket prices continued to spiral skyward.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
My most extravagant ticket expense to date? $750 for the 12\/12\/12 concert at Madison Square Garden, a show benefiting those affected in 2012 by Hurricane Sandy. A hefty chunk of change to be sure, but the bill included the Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, the Who, Paul McCartney and Billy Joel among many others. Factoring inflation into the equation, that\u2019s a shade over $1,000 in today\u2019s money. Did I regret it then? Do I regret it now? No and no.<\/p>\n
Essentially, it\u2019s supply and demand, combined with the notion that \u201cthe price is what the market will bear.\u201d\u00a0 Well, we may have reached that tipping point in 2026, when all but the most hardcore fans will take an El Paso on tickets north of, say, $200.\u00a0 But, back to supply and demand, what are you going to do when your favorite artist is on tour and you (along with just about everybody else) really, really wants to see them?\u00a0 Particularly in this era when many popular acts may genuinely be out there for the last time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Major FOMO is bound to kick in at some point, as you ask yourself, \u201cWhat is my available credit on that card?\u201d along with another question, \u201cWhat is this experience really worth to me?\u201d\u00a0 Your mileage may vary.<\/p>\n
Ticket Alert<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p>\n One of the best bands from the new wave \/ early MTV days was The Fixx.\u00a0 They had the sound, the songs (\u201cOne Thing Leads to Another,\u201d \u201cSaved by Zero,\u201d \u201cRed Skies\u201d) and the look. \u00a0Amazingly, most of the band\u2019s original members are still touring together, led by Cy Curnin (vocals), Jamie West-Oram (guitar), Rupert Greenall (keyboards) and Adam Woods (drums).\u00a0 Tickets are on sale now for The Fixx\u2019s show at the House of Blues<\/a> on Thursday, July 23.<\/p>\n Also coming to the House of Blues<\/a> is Afroman, on Sunday, August 9.\u00a0 Known primarily for his 2001 hit \u201cBecause I Got High,\u201d the rapper has more recently made a splash with the song \u201cLemon Pound Cake.\u201d\u00a0 That number is part of an album chronic-ling (so to speak) Afroman\u2019s legal wranglings with the Adams County, Ohio sheriff\u2019s department.\u00a0 Tickets are on sale now.<\/p>\n Sevendust and Theory of a Deadman will co-headline a show at the Bayou Music Center<\/a> on Wednesday, September 9, with tickets on sale now.\u00a0 Sevendust has generally fared better with music critics than Theory of a Deadman.\u00a0<\/p>\n In fact, Theory\u2019s Wikipedia page quotes Angelica Leicht, who wrote in a 2013 Houston Press story<\/a>, \u201cI would take being pepper-sprayed dead in my eye over listening to these guys any day. They\u2019re filled to the brim with misogynistic, self-important suckage, model themselves after Nickleback, and one song has them professing that they\u2019re \u2018so sick of the hobos.\u2019 Really, guys. Please, no \u201900s nostalgia, or these fools may find their way onto the bill.\u201d\u00a0 Er, sorry Angelica.\u00a0 Your worst fears have been realized.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n At 81, Boz Scaggs shows no signs of slowing down.\u00a0 He released a new album (Detour) last fall and has a lengthy tour (\u201cRhythm Review 2026\u201d) on tap, an extravaganza that will make a stop in Houston at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion<\/a> on Friday, October 2, with tickets on sale now.\u00a0<\/p>\n It has just been announced that guitar shredder and all-around badass Brad Paisley will perform at the Pavilion<\/a> on Thursday, October 8, with a VIP option that includes swell seats, a backstage tour, photo ops, and a complimentary cocktail.\u00a0 Presales are in progress, with the general sale on Friday.\u00a0 Jake Worthington opens.<\/p>\n Concerts This Week<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p>\n Sting is getting back to his roots this year, playing in a trio format \u2013 much like that band he used to be in many years ago \u2013 hence the christening of this tour as \u201cSting 3.0.\u201d\u00a0 Catch the stripped-down sound tonight at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion<\/a>.\u00a0 \u2018Cause Knowledge is Power:\u00a0 Sting acquired his nickname after frequently wearing a sweater (\u201cjumper\u201d across the pond) which sported a striped yellow and black design. And if you want a giggle, check out this video<\/a>, in which Sting tells the story of delivering a calf on his farm while tripping on peyote. And you thought Sting was a stick in the mud!<\/p>\n<\/p>\n On Thursday, it\u2019s Don Toliver at Toyota Center<\/a>.\u00a0 Toliver grew up in Alief, so the Houston show promises to be a festive occasion for the rapper \/ vocalist.\u00a0 Toliver will continue his \u201cOctane\u201d tour through mid-summer, looking ahead to appearances in Europe this fall as part of Post Malone\u2019s aptly named \u201cBig Ass Stadium Tour.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Under the leadership of vocalist Eddie Spaghetti, the Supersuckers have deftly forged a sound combining hard rock, country and punk that goes back over 40 years.\u00a0 A Supersuckers show is a unique experience, and you can get in on the action Thursday at the Continental Club<\/a>.\u00a0 Local-ish note:\u00a0 The Beaumonster himself, Jesse Dayton, helped the band add country influences to its artistic palette when he filled in on guitar during a couple of Supersuckers tours.\u00a0 See:\u00a0 \u201cNon-Addictive Marijuana.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Ever since Bob Dylan turned folk music on its ear in the early \u201860s, many semi-literate singer-songwriters have been stuck with the \u201cnew Dylan\u201d tag.\u00a0 One such artist is Steve Forbert, who actually deserved the accolade, even if maybe he didn\u2019t want it, when his song \u201cRomeo\u2019s Tune\u201d just missed making it into the top 10 in 1979.\u00a0 Since that time, Forbert has steadily released new material, most recently the album Daylight Savings Time.\u00a0 He performs on Saturday at the Mucky Duck.<\/a>\u00a0 \u2018Cause More Knowledge is More Power: Forbert made a cameo appearance as Cyndi Lauper\u2019s boyfriend in her video for \u201cGirls Just Want to Have Fun.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tRelated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"To paraphrase Emily Litella (Gilda Radner) from OG Saturday Night Live, \u201cWhat\u2019s all this fuss I hear about…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":793144,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5130],"tags":[281125,323720,39960,5497,2892,41065,323721,12730,4345,128257,174247,975,10093,173975,323221,51632,323222,358,323722,99809,323723,3187],"class_list":{"0":"post-793143","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-houston","8":"tag-afroman","9":"tag-boz-scaggs","10":"tag-brad-paisley","11":"tag-concerts","12":"tag-cyndi-lauper","13":"tag-don-toliver","14":"tag-eddie-spaghetti","15":"tag-homepage","16":"tag-houston","17":"tag-jake-worthington","18":"tag-jesse-dayton","19":"tag-music","20":"tag-post-malone","21":"tag-sevendust","22":"tag-steve-forbert","23":"tag-sting","24":"tag-supersuckers","25":"tag-texas","26":"tag-the-fixx","27":"tag-the-police","28":"tag-theory-of-a-deadman","29":"tag-tx"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116566642868071148","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/793143","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=793143"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/793143\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/793144"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=793143"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=793143"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=793143"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}