Whether it's your first Bonnaroo or you’re a music festival veteran, we welcome you to Inforoo.
Here you'll find info about artists, rumors, camping tips, and the infamous Roo Clues. Have a look around then create an account and join in the fun. See you at Bonnaroo!!
Post by pondo ROCKS on Feb 15, 2012 11:11:22 GMT -5
So I got to thinking about how much of a "value" Bonnaroo really is...lets assume tickets are $270.00 (probably the most GA will be on the last tier) and lets also assume that their is at least 3 "must-see" bands on your list from this year's lineup.
Bob Seger came here last year and I got Floor tickets and they cost around 75.00. I would say Bob Seger is comparable to prolly anyone from 4-10 on the lineup in terms of popularity and must-seeism.
Just bought Tickets for Elton John (whom I would put up against pretty much anyone in the lineup). Floor tickets after tax and everything cost approx. $150.00. I am sure he will be amazing live so I am super excited...
So by using this theory, I have seen (or am going to see) two "must-see" acts (IMO anyways) and my cost is at $225.00. For 50.00 more, I get to see a whole lot more bands and comedy, not to mention hang out with people from Inforoo and meet new people at the brunch!
RHCP and Radiohead tickets alone would be comparable to what I paid for B. Segar and E.John, plus I get to see acts that I wanna see but would prolly never get the chance (Ludacris for one example).
Providing an outlet and a voice for music lovers to unite under the common theme of music for all. Join The Pondo Army to show your allegiance to musical freedom! Fighting for no censorship of the arts & music education in schools, The Pondo Army will triumph! The Pondo Army Movement
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Post by Dave Maynar on Feb 15, 2012 11:43:10 GMT -5
If you wanted to do the math, Avetts are #6 right now, and I paid $38 for tickets to see them in December. Radiohead tickets for their ATL show were $69 face value.
Post by chloetuesday on Feb 15, 2012 11:54:15 GMT -5
For me, without a doubt, a great value. I live in the BFE VA and have to drive at least an hour and a half to Charlottesville, sometimes two hours to Raleigh & Richmond, to see a band. Factor in gas, and possibly a hotel room if we have to go far enough (DC), and that $40 ticket turns into $100-$150. We typically go to four or five shows throughout the year but never get to catch anyone we're really looking forward to seeing. Bonnaroo is awesome for exposure to new bands and bands we'd never drop money to see. This year we're both looking forward to Ludacris because 1. he'd likely never play around our area 2. we'd never spend the money to go to his show.
Post by postreznorjack on Feb 15, 2012 12:11:37 GMT -5
most music festivals are an excellent monetary value. they enable music lovers to see a wide variety of acts for a fraction of the cost of seeing them individually.
what must be considered are the non-financial costs. many of these costs are unique to a festival, but in general these costs deal with overall comfort, crowding, the possibility of poor sound, shorter set times then a normal show, traffic getting in and put, etc.
it's really more these non-financial costs your festival going demographic balks at. but those of us who love it tend to care less about even these costs.
Post by itrainmonkeys on Feb 15, 2012 12:17:13 GMT -5
It is without a doubt a great value.
I see dozens of bands, comedians, and other interesting stuff over that 4 day period. The shows are usually better than regular tour stops (especially with younger, up and coming bands who have something to prove and an audience to gain) because it's a special show. Obviously not all artists feel that way but a good amount do.
After a ticket and plane ride down last year I spent north of $600. But to me it's worth it. I spend the rest of my year with great new music that I discovered and bands I love.
If you wanted to do the math, Avetts are #6 right now, and I paid $38 for tickets to see them in December. Radiohead tickets for their ATL show were $69 face value.
All the tickets for Radiohead were 69 dollars? the ones I saw were 84.60 before taxes and fees so lets say 90.00 dollars (assuming you wanna get close or somewhat close. The 69 tix were a little further back)
The Avetts are a constantly touring group and 40 dollars sounds good...wonder how much Beach Boys tix will be...(90.50 for floor tix)
Hopefully you see where I am going with this almost 200 dollars for UP CLOSE seats for TWO of the bands on the lineup.
Providing an outlet and a voice for music lovers to unite under the common theme of music for all. Join The Pondo Army to show your allegiance to musical freedom! Fighting for no censorship of the arts & music education in schools, The Pondo Army will triumph! The Pondo Army Movement
Follow me on twitter@Pondoknowsbest
For me, without a doubt, a great value. I live in the BFE VA and have to drive at least an hour and a half to Charlottesville, sometimes two hours to Raleigh & Richmond, to see a band. Factor in gas, and possibly a hotel room if we have to go far enough (DC), and that $40 ticket turns into $100-$150. We typically go to four or five shows throughout the year but never get to catch anyone we're really looking forward to seeing.
First of all, I consider all festivals for the obvious reasons, but I would like to second what Chloe said. I don't live too close to many venues. When most of my favorites play "near" me, they play two and a half hours away in Boston or NYC. Not doable for most shows (which tend to be midweek..) and gas and tolls or train costs really raise the price on those I can do. This is why I live for festivals!
Welcome back Bonz, but I do not find it strange that your presence being requested in the Orgy thread and then you showing up, like it was the quacking Bonzai Bat Signal.
I would say the years that I saw least shows at Roo were my first year in 06 and my most recent year in 10... Even with less shows under my belt for both years, the experience and fun factor makes up for whatever extra value you get out your ticket purchase. I know for certain that Bonnaroo was a good deal for me as far as shows I got to see in 07-09, especially 09.
It's always a bitch though, right after Bonnaroo... I put myself in the hole, for a couple of weeks, but it usually takes no time to get back up, financially. I think I can get my value for Roo this year, not only for shows I would pay to see outside of Roo (Radiohead, mainly) and a massive amount of shows I'd like to see that would be less likely for me to see on their own (really, most of the rest of the card that I want to see).
I, for one, would feel better paying 300 bucks or whatever it is to see Radiohead and a bunch of other quality stuff that I'd likely not go out of my way to see otherwise (shows that would surely make me a bigger fan, and certainly some high quality concerts here), than I would feel paying the scalpers fee of 100 dollars or more to see Radiohead alone... but that's just me.
Post by g a b f r a b on Feb 15, 2012 16:34:50 GMT -5
Someone built a calculator for Coachella to add up ticket prices and see if the fest is worth it for you: iscoachellaworthit.com/
Nevermind, it looks like you just place your own value on each show. I thought you clicked the acts you like and it added up their individual show prices.
For me there is high value in going to Roo. With the amount of shows I see there it averages out to something like $10 per show if I just factor the cost of the ticket. I do the whole trip for about $500-600 and that includes my ticket and driving 20+ hours each way. It doesn't have to break you. You get camping next to your car and can see upwards of thirtyish acts over four days for only $270.
You see bands you normally couldn't afford or would feel on the fence about dropping $100 for. I get to see tons of people I would normally never pay for, but still enjoy. Ludacris and RHCP come to mind in that category for this year. The comedians too, because I don't get out for much comedy otherwise. Then you discover bands you didn't even know you wanted to see, or who were so good you decide to go see them at a solo show. I discovered Edward Sharpe at Roo and then ended up seeing them four times that summer with people I love.
Then there is the replay value in your mind. You can spend months talking about the whole experience with the people who you went with, and those you didn't. You get to look at all the photos and videos, etc. The whole experience is generally a memory you've created for a lifetime that you can reminisce on at any time for free.
You knock out a ton of bands in just a few days, so even if you can't do many individual shows during the year, you still feel sated. Nothing cooler than just walking from show to show to show in perpetuity in an atmosphere you're probably not going to get at a regular show. If you haven't seen music in the outdoors, or with 60,000 other people singing along with you, you should try it. It's worth it.
$275 is without a doubt worth it. Bump it up to around 500-600 with other expenses and still a great value if you decided to skip Roo for a ton of solo shows.
There are some exceptions. The $26 I paid to see Jeff Mangum at the 40 Watt was beyond monetary value. Closest thing I've had to a religious experience.
Last Edit: Feb 15, 2012 16:43:59 GMT -5 by Deleted - Back to Top
dreamingtree
Stanky McNasty The Token Cymraeg Chick
If you wanted to do the math, Avetts are #6 right now, and I paid $38 for tickets to see them in December. Radiohead tickets for their ATL show were $69 face value.
Don't forget the ticketbastard charges on top. My Radiohead tix were over $80 with them.
My original reasonin' fer attendin' my first Bonnaroo in 2007 was because I wanted to see The Police. My good friend had wanted to go just after we moved to Raleigh, NC back in '06 but I wasn't comfortable spendin' the money. So I decided spendin' some $100-200 on a ticket just to The Police wasn't as good a deal as $300 (after fees) on a ticket to 'Roo.
The festival is a great deal. Sure there are other factors to include if you don't live really close, but overall it's fantastic. I used to go to some 20-30 shows a year, now most of my money goes to savin' fer 'Roo. Even though the 2011 and 2012 lineups haven't had me quite as excited I still love the whole experience of the festival. That to me is the greatest value. Sure you get to see a lot of music, but it's also the vibe that I've been lucky enough to feel each year.
Absolutely a great value for us. We've got kids that still need a babysitter so every show we think about going to adds babysitting costs to the deal as well. Suddenly a concert in Raleigh is not just $100-$150 for tix but another 60-80 bucks for a sitter.
When we do Roo the kids spend 4 days with grandparents, etc.
So we end up spending most of our concert dollars on Roo. Last years line up did little for me but we went anyway and caught some fantastic stuff.
The other thing for me with Roo is that it keeps me plugged into music. It introduced me to Vampire Weekend, Katzenjammer, and of Montreal and made me a deeper fan of Ozomatli, Gogol Bordello and quite honestly both Pearl Jam and Springsteen.
I know we'll have to take a break eventually, but for now there's no where I'd rather spend a few days in June. I sound like a cult member when I talk about the sense of community at Roo being unlike anything I experience in the rest of my life but so be it.
BTW, Scotty Mccreery is playing in town in April and tix are 52.50 and 62.50. (YUCK!)
Post by bonnaroodavid on Feb 16, 2012 10:13:36 GMT -5
Yeah, I think it is quite the bargain if you consider the number of bands that it is possible to see. In 2009 I saw 30 bands. And I did a ton of full sets. Last year I didn't see nearly that many, but I was in search of shade due to the heat. But if you think of 30 bands as sort of a max, that is less than $10 a band. Where are you going to see some of these bands for that about. Even if you only see 10 bands, you are still looking at $30 a band for the likes of Radiohead and The Beach Boys (I use the beach boys because I would imagine that is an expensive ticket).
Post by tobiasthediscocat on Feb 16, 2012 16:01:39 GMT -5
by my math, if you evenly divided $270 between all 4 days that's 67.50 per day.
average tickets in the boston area (where i'm from) seem to run from 25 through 40 per show at a local "club" like paradise rock club or "franchise" like house of blues. so if you see 2 bands per day, you're just about even. that's before you even factor in the headliners who undoubtedly would cost over 80 bucks to see in the north east.
personally i've seen somewhere between 12 and 15 bands each time i've been to roo.
definitely worth it.
Last Edit: Feb 16, 2012 16:01:59 GMT -5 by tobiasthediscocat - Back to Top
factoring in the potential for unique collaborations/jams (i.e. Springsteen/Phish in 2009...when will that ever happen again)...and the fact that you get to sample from a smorgasboard of music over the 4 days, it's a fantastic value.
Add in the atmosphere and the ambience and it becomes unequaled value.
Post by klimfactor on Feb 16, 2012 20:17:19 GMT -5
I've never driven away from the farm, in my six previous trips there, thinking, "I just got taken, had, hoodwinked." I've caught myself thinking, "Damn, I'm tired; I need to crawl in a real bed and sleep for three straight days," but that's because I just had four straight days of mostly-non-stop fun watching great show after great show and dancing like a maniac at the LN's. It's well worth it, in my book, particularly when you consider normal ticket prices and the fact you can see 20-plus shows on the farm.
I'm lucky that I get to see amazing live music quite often for free (thanks, wfpk radio!) I actually get to attend a free live show for an hour every Friday, with free lunch! I probably see around 20 shows a year aside from Live Lunch for pretty cheap. But the value in Bonnaroo is the complete freedom in living off what I have with me at the time. I'm a mom and wife and also self employed, so I work my ass off all year long! That weekend at Bonnaroo I can take my shoes off, put away my phone and just enjoy one great show after another after another. I compare it to a spa vacation...it would cost me a fortune to go somewhere and take care of myself like I do at Roo and all for $250 plus gas from Kentucky. I can't freaking wait for June!!!
Post by billypilgrim on Feb 16, 2012 21:09:04 GMT -5
Well said. It's hard to put a value on the joy some (most?) of us find on the farm. Value propositions are for luxuries. This is, for me, a necessity. Seriously, I NEED this.
The experience it self is a value all in it's own; and seriously the ability to see anything you want, when ever and how ever you want is something $250 can never really add up to.
Musically, yes. The ability to see a lot of excellent music this year for a fraction of what it normally is at any local venue. RCHP at the Verizon center floor is current selling for $218, The Avett Brothers at the Patriot Center are selling well above $80+ and that's lawn admission. I'd say Musically it still is, and compared to some of the other festivals out there even more so.
Post by daytripperr on Feb 16, 2012 21:35:32 GMT -5
i was literally just having this conversation with a friend 10 minutes ago. totally worth it for a variety of reasons - but definitely a great financial value if you break it down and do the math
Providing an outlet and a voice for music lovers to unite under the common theme of music for all. Join The Pondo Army to show your allegiance to musical freedom! Fighting for no censorship of the arts & music education in schools, The Pondo Army will triumph! The Pondo Army Movement
Follow me on twitter@Pondoknowsbest
Post by nicthedick85 on Feb 17, 2012 9:53:25 GMT -5
I can see it not being worth it to some. Buddy of mines bracelet malfunctioned last year, and he missed some shows he really wanted to see because the ticket help desk wasn't open. He had to wait until the morning. Missing a whole night of Bonnaroo due to their fault would piss me off to no end and I'd consider it not being worth it.
but I do not find it strange that your presence being requested in the Orgy thread and then you showing up, like it was the quacking Bonzai Bat Signal. 
