Ozzy verses Amy: The Prince of Darkness verses the Evil Princess of the Undead
Sometimes I wonder if Phoenix is considered the back end of concert dates. So many acts tend to take their Arizona Fans for granted or just bypass us when they have to cancel or reschedule another date. Others seem to forget that we tend to turn out in big numbers for almost any event. Ozzy obviously forgot or just didn’t bleeping care.
Despite a monstrous crowd and dollars flying across the concession tables faster than bats out of hell, Ozzy managed to snub his Arizona Fans by failing to appear at the Phoenix Ozzfest event this past summer. And that’s ironic since Phoenix hosted one of the two very first Ozzfest events in 1996. The other was held in Los Angeles. Maybe we just weren’t worthy of the Master of Metal this year? Not everyone was willing to pay one to three hundred dollars for a ticket and sacrifice their firstborn to Ozzy.
If you’re going to skip out on fans, at least have the decency to record a video welcome message or greeting. There were lots of big screens around, so everyone would have seen it. If Ozzy had lost his voice or didn’t feel well enough to speak, he could have offered a middle finger salute or bitten the head off one of the Backstreet Boys. If even that was too much to ask, the Prince of Darkness could have had his dogs come and crap all over the stage or asked Sharon to open the event by throwing some frozen poultry at the first few fans to arrive. If all else failed, his kids could have come and set fire to piles of N Sync and Snoop Dog CDs to get everyone in the mood for the day’s events.
Fortunately, there are some major acts out there that really care about the fans in this town and know how to show it. Mick Jaeger had some throat problems, so The Stones recently cancelled a few dates in the USA. Phoenix was not one of them. AFI, the CHILI PEPPERS, TAKING BACK SUNDAY and GWAR really rocked the Valley of the Sun over the summer. But my favorite was Evanescence.
I’ll be the first to admit that I hadn’t been up to date on all things Evanescence until my wife brought the Band to my attention several months ago. After I started listening to their music, I was glad she did. It’s been some time since I heard anything that was melodic and unique. While fans might argue otherwise, most artists that manage to get signed these days seem like clones of struggling late eighties alternative music bands or the now infamous and always whiney sounds of the nineties.
I like music that’s different and hate to admit it, but the last concert that I thought was refreshingly distinctive was a Buster Poindexter and the Banshees of Blue show in the early nineties. It was a smaller venue and the music was hot! Being from New York City, I guess I’m a bit jaded. I had the opportunity to be exposed to a constant flow of live music in the form of big acts, street bands and everything in between before relocating to Arizona. On the flipside, it also means that I hold performers to a higher standard and know great music when I hear it. That’s how I felt when attended the Evanescence Concert at the Celebrity Theater last week.
After reading up on Amy Lee and the various Evanescence personnel changes for a couple of weeks before the big night, I was ready for the concert. We bought our tickets as soon as they went on sale. To be honest, they were a bargain for a concert held at the Celebrity Theater. That venue is as intimate as you can get without renting the local high school gym and using only half the space. One would expect to shell out the usual hundred bucks or more for being almost within arms reach of a class act like Evanescence, but we paid somewhere in the thirty to forty dollar range.
Listening to Revelation Theory open the show and hearing Amy Lee belt out her first couple of songs with Evanescence, I really felt guilty for paying so little to see so much talent in such an intimate setting. To make up for it, I tried to buy my wife and kids some band tees. By the time we got up to the front of a very long line, the good sizes were gone. I bought some anyway because I’ve been trying to lose a few pounds lately. If I had any doubts about the band, it had nothing to do with their music or performance. I just wondered if they were getting their fair share?
Reading some of the comments attributed to her by various websites and blogs, I understood that there probably would not be any Amy Lee perfume, designer clothes, signature make up lines or Evanescence action figures available anywhere in the near future. However, whether she is or isn’t a material girl, Amy has to know that she must have been personally responsible for the sudden increase in sales of things like dark eyeliner, black and white knee length socks and long black dresses. Oops, I forgot, and about a billion dollars worth of black hair dye.
It’s not unusual to find artists who are unaware of their actual popularity or real earning potential. After all, they are Artists, not financiers. I got the distinct impression that the members of Evanescence were legitimately surprised by the numbers of fans that showed up for the sold-out event and the many more who wanted tickets and couldn‘t get in.
Amy offered an apology for the smaller venue, but all of us really enjoyed the intimate atmosphere. However, here’s a bit of advice from the older and wiser to the lovely and immensely talented Miss Lee and her musical partners: Next time charge extra for the intimacy, find more stuff to sell and return those calls from the big management agencies. Even the ‘evil princess of the undead’ can always use a few extra zeros behind a nice large number in her bank account. Amy and the band certainly earn it!
Oh, yea, I almost forgot. Ozzy, burn in Hell!
*Amy Lee has a Website called Out of the Shadows that is helping to educate people about Epilepsy and make a difference in the lives of Epileptics. Please visit www.outoftheshadows.com
How To Obtain Affordable New York Broadway Tickets
Buying New York Broadway tickets is expensive business, especially when you are looking for premium seats for popular shows. You can buy your Broadway tickets through ticket agencies, such as Telecharge and Ticket Master, which sell around 98 percent of all Broadway tickets. These agencies, however, sell tickets at face value, and you have to pay an additional booking charge, which at present comes to $8 for every ticket purchased. You can, of course, avoid paying this booking fee by buying your tickets directly from the Box Office, but you still buy at the face value.
When a particular show becomes popular, certain private ticketing agencies buy up all the extra tickets available, and you land up paying more for the tickets you need. This happens when you approach agencies, such as eBay, and Craig list, among others.
Does this mean that you cannot obtain New York Broadway tickets at affordable prices?
Knowing How To Do It
Of course, you can buy New York Broadway tickets at prices lower than the face value of the ticket – if you know how. Let us look at the alternatives available for obtaining affordable tickets for top shows on Broadway.
Starving Artist Tickets – These New York Broadway tickets are designed for purchase by struggling artists who cannot afford to buy tickets on full price. To obtain these you must remain on line for a few hours. These can be obtained even for the top shows, and the best seats in the house can be bought for as little as $20.
Anyone Rush Tickets – These are same day tickets given out in a lottery, and are available when the Box Office opens a few hours before the production starts. If you are lucky to win the lottery, these tickets cost around $25 to $45, and are to be paid in cash only.
Discount Ticket Codes – These secret codes are given out for marketing purposes. If you are able to obtain the code, you could avail of between 25 percent to 60 percent discount on the face value of the ticket. These discount codes can be used at the Box Office or with Telecharge or Ticket Master
.
Partial View Tickets – Certain seats have obstructed view due to the scenery, or due to the support columns that come in the way. New York Broadway tickets for such seats, which may be at the very front or the sides of the orchestra, are available at significant discounts.
Student Rush Tickets – These are ideal for students, and are available when the Box Office opens, or a few hours before the production starts. These cost between $20 to $25 per ticket, and each student ID can purchase two tickets.
Standing Room Only – These tickets are very inexpensive and may cost around $20 for even the top Broadway show. These do not guarantee any seats, but you may possibly get a seat if any remain unoccupied after the show has started.
These are some of the ways to get your New York Broadway tickets at very affordable prices.
For more resources and New York Broadway Tickets information click the link and enjoy more New York theater articles, reviews and tips.
Looking Back on Elvis
Although he died in 1977, Elvis Presley still lives on to his legions of fans as “The King of Rock and Roll.” Presley was America’s first real rock star and was one of the country’s most popular entertainers in the mid to latter half of the 20th Century, perhaps eclipsed only by Frank Sinatra. Presley sung the blues and laced it with both gospel and country music elements, leading to his nickname “The Hillbilly Cat.” His voice has been described as having a unique tonality and extraordinary range, giving him the ability to tackle an array of songs and melodies that none of his contemporaries could conquer. In performing his music, Presley exuded sexuality and swagger, becoming a role model for generations of young rebels.
Elvis was born on January 8, 1935, in East Tupelo, Mississippi. He was the son of Gladys and Vernon Presley, a sewing machine operator and a truck driver. Presley's twin brother Jesse Garon was stillborn, and Elvis grew up as an only child. Presley cut his first recordings--the songs "My Happiness" and "That's When the Your Heartaches Begin"-- in 1953 at Memphis Recording Studios, a sideline record producer Sam Phillips had started at his Sun Records studios, where anyone could record a ten inch album for four dollars. After recording several more songs for Phillips, the record producer is said to have found what he was looking for—“a white man with the Negro sound and the Negro feel". After signing with RCA in 1956 and recording “Heartbreak Hotel” Elvis became a national star. On January 28, 1956, he made his television debut on the Dorsey brothers' Stage Show, followed by six consecutive appearances. In March, Colonial Thomas Parker became Elvis’ manager. He would receive 25% of Elvis’ earnings through a contract that lasted the singer’s lifetime and beyond.
By the 1960’s Elvis had become a pop culture icon. He toured and played old songs and new hits on the road and in Las Vegas, where he was known for his sartorial splendor and highly electric performances. He started to break all sorts of entertainment records including those for concert attendance, television ratings, and records sales, becoming one of the best-selling artists in music history. Elvis continued to perform until he passed away at age 42 from a combination of obesity, depression and abuse of prescription drugs. Although Elvis has been gone for three decades, his popularity has remained in tact. Thousands make the pilgrimage to Graceland each year to pay tribute to the king of modern rock.
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