When I was on the Faculty Senate at Delgado, one thing I could count on every semester was dissatisfaction with parking. Regardless of the efforts made to improve parking for faculty, there would always be those who were dissatisfied. And the complaints boiled down to, “That’s not how I want it.” Teachers who had late morning schedules – sweet – frequently had to park farther from the school because most of the students and faculty had to be on campus before them. Those who had schedules that allowed them to leave campus between classes found that the cherry parking they had at 7:45 a.m. wasn’t waiting for them when they came back at 12:30. I’m sure the administration and Faculty Senate still deal with parking issues today and will 50 years from now.
Another version of “It’s not what I want” resurfaced this morning in the T-P‘s “Lagniappe” letters (originally from the “Comments” here) regarding the Ponderosa Stomp:
wow, getting up there in prices — $50 + ~$10 fees… thats more than Jazz Fest and for only 5 hours of music where as jazz fest is all day.
Scuze me, but I’ve gotta read this line again:
“…between 60 to 75 percent of Stomp attendees are from out-of-town, and competing for hotel rooms during Jazz Fest could be a challenge.”
Huh? A challenge? You know what’s a challenge during Jazz Fest? Getting into the Parkway!
The claim is ridiculous. Stomp attendance is always maxxed out, no matter where it’s held. That includes the year it had to move to Memphis after Katrina. Hotel rooms? People book hotel rooms for Jazz Fest months in advance, but there’s never a shortage of rooms during Jazz Fest or any other time. The city lives on hotel rooms!
But I’ll tell you what doesn’t work for “60 to 75 percent of Stomp attendees from out-of-town.” Having to buy another $400 round trip plane ticket, renting another car at exorbitant rates, booking another hotel room and finding the time off from work, school or family to come back five months later for two nights of music.
During hurricane season!
The Stomp had a perfect slot and a guaranteed audience between Jazz Fest weekends. It also used to run three nights, not just two. And tickets were $10-$40. Now, the quest for a separate identity, mixed with upscale pricing, threatens to limit the audience to those with the luxury of time flexibilty and discretionary financial means.
I’ve been a strong and avid supporter of Dr. Ike and the Stomp since the very first. Ira does a brilliant job of finding some of the most obscure and amazing acts on the planet. I hope he succeeds, but I’m not sure who’s going to pay $50 plus service charge if those “60 to 75 percent of attendees from out of town” don’t show up.
It’s clear: as long as tickets cost money, people will whine about their prices and not because the prices are out of line or unreasonable but because it’s not what they want to pay. Here, the Ponderosa Stomp is compared to Jazz Fest, which has tickets far below the price of comparable festivals. People hate their prices not because they’re so high, but because it’s tough to do seven days at those prices and because they remember the good old days when tickets were $5, $10 or whatever. I remember when comic books were 50 cents; should I be able to buy a 50-cent comic now because I want one and remember those days fondly? It would be certainly be easier for me to buy more if they were cheaper. Should tickets to Saints games be limited to what they cost at Tulane Stadium?
Also interesting is the general suspicion of institutions and their prices. The last time Etta James played Jazz Fest, a ticket to her night show at the House of Blues cost more than a ticket to Jazz Fest did. The same year, a ticket to Dr. John’s House of Blues night show cost the same as a ticket to Jazz Fest, but the complaints – if they existed – weren’t nearly as loud or hostile, as if musicians are entitled to their jack but the festivals are gouging the people. And compared to ticket prices for bigger artists in bigger cities, those prices are bargains by comparison.
There are certainly cost-related conversations to have regarding both the Stomp and Jazz Fest. Are the higher priced artists necessary? Are they in the best interest of the events? But the endless, reflexive carping about ticket prices sounds immature and provincial every time.
