Another thing to keep in mind, especially with harder rock acts that might skew to the 21+ crowd, is that booze/concession sales may be stronger turning the show into an overall profit for a promoter vs a show that sells 18,000 tickets to a teenage crowd that buys zero booze.
Sure net profit for the venue/promoter, but unless the band is also getting a cut of booze/concession sales (which we know isn't happening) then bands can't sustain touring arenas for long if they're playing half empty arenas.
It's gonna be interesting to see what type of pull Halestorm will have when they start their UK arena tour next week, they did an one off UK arena show at Wembley Arena but this time around is a full arena tour and they are playing venues like The O2 so I am interested to see if these shows will have a big turn out.. don't get me wrong I love Halestorm and I first saw them on their first ever UK shows supporting Theory of a Dead man and seen the fan grow every time they have toured over as a support act and headline tours but this is a big test for them to see if this tour will do well enough ticket sales wise to maybe a couple of years down the line make the jump to download festival main stage headliner status or just be stuck to being a sub headline act.
I guess if they're getting the same guarantee it doesn't really matter, it's more a pride thing I guess. Still I don't know any act that CONSISTENTLY plays to half full arenas. Usually those are shed acts and through upgrading/papering the pavilion portions of the sheds at least look full.
Bands do shit like this all the time. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Just assume somebody had data that said "hey, this might be worth a shot" and let it ride. If it doesn't work the band will dip back down to their typical venue sizes next time around. But bands gotta try. Otherwise they'll just stick to doing the same thing every single time (which can lead to stagnation, reduced attendance and such in and of itself). And as @Phil507 implied, empty seats aren't necessarily the death knell people think they are. Concession sales, merch, and a bunch of other factors probably tie-in here. There's obviously a breaking point but I don't think any of us really know what that is (and typically, I assume that's when "circumstances beyond somebody's control" pop-up).
Gonna have to hit that San Jose show. It’s insane how great a performer he still is at 85 years old, not to mention the rest of the current band.
Bad Omens has just recently started getting radio play in my area with their most recent single. I know radio isn’t worth as much nowadays, but there is definitely some momentum behind them right now.
As someone who is straightedge, I have zero issues with it. I even buy my friends rounds and get myself a liquid death or Red Bull. It’s all good. It’s a personal choice.
Was going to ask about this. My gf is a big fan and I’d love to take her to see a show. Also very curious what the stage presentation would be like. Such a cool artist.
Hoping this doesn’t follow Pennywise recent UK commitments being support and festival only and we get some headline along with this.