The Tel Aviv Concert

[yuvke]

Hi,

I am aware that this forum is a fan forum and so the people here are very much excited about the upcoming concert in Tel-Aviv, and so what I am about to write will probably not be accepted by the most of you. I myself am not a hardcore fan at all. I started listening to LC pretty recently but was pretty excited about the upcoming show. And now that all the details are out I have to say that I feel highly disappointed.

A few months ago I saw depeche mode in the same stadium LC is about to perform. I paid 300 shekels (approx. 75 dollars) to watch them from a huge distance. Basically I watched the entire show from a small screen. Small because relative to the distance it was the same as watching the show from a 21' TV in my living room at home. The screen was big, but it was located right next to the stage which was far enough. Now the same spot (isle 11) is sold for 400 shekels (100 dollars) for LC's concert. If you want to see something in that venue you will have to cough up the 1000/1200 shekels (250-300 dollars). And I'm guessing that for all you hardcore fans that's not a big problem.

Which leaves me with a bitter taste of the whole experience. I'm not going to get burned again and buy tickets for a seat where I can barley view the stage. I know there will be enough dumb people to buy those tickets and be hugely disappointed afterward. What I really hope for is for this show to be a commercial disaster. I hope that people will understand that they are being sc*$#ed over and just not buy tickets. Maybe then the producers will learn to stop abusing the Israeli music lovers.

[Womanfromaroom]

yuvke,

I understand very well that you do not want to pay such a great amount of money for bad seats; I am a student myself with not much money to speak of, so I definitely see your point. However, it it not the producers, nor Leonard, who are going to profit by the price regulations - for as you may have heard, the money is going to go into a charity fund. So I find it a bit harsh to say that you "really hope for is for this show to be a commercial disaster", as you choose to put it...
Kind regards

[yuvke]

womanfromaroom,

I think that the whole charity issue is beside the point here. Even if I agree that donating the revenues of the show to charity is a nice gesture (which it is of course) doesn't mean that it should be done on the back of so many music lovers who were waiting to hear this show. The point is that the producers could have chosen a different venue, could have priced the show differently, could have arranged for places that are not only seated, could have done any other of things which would have created a better situation. This would have created much less resentment among people like me, and arguably get more money to charity. But they didn't. If this show will be a commercial success it will just signal the producers that in Israel the quality of the show doesn't count.

Making the show for a cause (and I'm not even going into the whole political debate around this issue) cannot be an excuse for giving us a lousy production. And right now it seems that this is what we're going to get.

I read a comment on the story that was posted on ynet here:
http://test.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340, ... 42,00.html

(loosly translated):
"If you put a cd in the background and watch the simulated picture [the one in the article] you can say that you already have been there!"

After watching a concert there I can only agree...

[Mazal]

Yuvke, I can see the point of the venue (Ramat Gan Stadium) not being the same as an intimate concert hall, but your suggestion that that will make it a lousy production is ludicrous. Having enjoyed three different LC concerts, both in the open air (Amsterdam), as indoors (Rotterdam and Antwerpen) I can assure you that thanks to the Best musicians (they really are a Team) as well as the Best technicians (making sure the sound and lights are excellent) this can be called The Most Professional Production. Just read the concert reports on this forum and you know that you'll be missing out on the Best Musical World Tour Production that's going on at this very moment. And seeing the concert at home on DVD cannot be compared to feeling the excitement and the magic in the air together with thousands of music lovers. I'm just sorry I won't be there, but then I'm certainly excited for all the Israeli's who finally get to see HaCohen HaGadol!

[minibi]

Yuvke,
I understand what you are saying about Depeche Mode. A bunch of my friends went to that show and felt the same way. Ramat-Gan stadium isn't the best venue out there. Park Hayarkon would have been much better. Heck, even the improvised venue for Roger Waters was better. BUT - I do believe they have learned something. The producers said they have taken care of the sound-outside-of-the-grass issue. So hopfully, this time around it will be better. As for the prices - it is a shame. God knows I don't have 1200 Shekels to spend on tickets... But i guess that's what happend when you need to seat everybody. Fewer tickets are availble for sale... To bad, but i don't think this could have been avoided.
And I certainly don't want this show to go bad...
Lets hope for good..

[eladh]

TO ALL ISRAELI'S....

you expect too much !
stadium concetrts are being held all around the world. with the same conditions as in RAMAT-GAN stadium... same price levels (more or less)... same capacity of viewers... same almost everything !

i agree the sound system in the DEPECHE MODE concert needed improvement, but you cannot expect the greatest artists to come play here ( witch is not so close to where they usually play ) with the biggest productions out there, lower the prices AND play small venues...
no one will come here... and i personaly don't have money to travel around the world for concerts all time... (been there, done that, traveled too much).

whoever chooses to stay @ home at a date like the 24th... enjoy
i know i would

E_H_

[yuvke]

Even if the sound will be better you won't see a thing. 2 screens next to the stage is too little too far off.

And Elad, I don't agree. The depeche mode gig left a bitter taste. I heard a CD of theirs a few days ago and all I could think of was - How is it that I saw this amazing group LIVE and it's not the first thing that I think about when I hear their music?

If bringing artists the size of LC means that we get a crappy concert - then I for one don't need it. Not that I have the money to see it somewhere else, but I guarantee you that everyone not sitting on the grass is going to feel disappointed no matter how much they lower their expectations.

[Womanfromaroom]

I don't think you need to worry about the sound, Leonard has got a great technical crew who have even turned gruesome concrete halls into top-sounding venues... Actually, having this sorted out and to grant that you only get top quality sound-wise was one of the issues that was responsible for the delay of the concert being confirmed and the presale to start!
As for the screens, wait and see (literally speaking) - so far, the screens have been very well visible for everyone at the Cohen concerts!