Still no Chicago?

[cdave2]

I've been waiting for the weekly Chicago concert updates, hoping for an announcement of an Underworld date, and...nothing. Zilch. Nada.

Could somebody please explain why not Chicago?

The last time they toured North America, they played Toronto and Denver, both smaller cities, but not here. This time, they're hitting both coasts but nothing in between. Nothing against D.C., San Fran, San Diego...but why not the third-largest city in the US? If you're going to travel across the country you might as well make one stop in the middle, right?

Here's why they should play here:

1) We have the audience. We're the largest populace outside of NY and LA, not to mention we're centrally located so we draw people from all over--everywhere but the coasts, usually!

2) We have the venues. There's the Riviera, where UW played two very well-received shows in 1999 and 2002, the Vic, the Metro, the revamped Bottom Lounge (which has hosted a number of electronic acts lately), and more. If, as was mentioned in another thread, it's more cost-effective for UW to play festivals, we also have Sonar and the dance-oriented North Coast Music Festival, plus a little gathering called Lollapalooza.

3) We have the enthusiasm. We're a city in love with dance and electronic music, the home of house. Karl didn't compare us to Manchester twice for nothing.

We've been waiting since 2002. It's been too long.

Any thoughts?

[TheBang]

You've sold me. Where do I sign up?

[cdave2]

Let's see if we can get Rick and Karl to sign up, then we'll all be happy. ;)

Thanks!

[dubnobasswithme]

<-- has also been waiting for a return since 2002. i've hear rumors that there was some issues with promoters in the past, but i would sincerely hope that they would figure out a way to make it back to the midwest.

i don't think that i can fly to any of the other shows this time :(

[cdave2]

I hear ya. I can't afford to travel, either. :(

I'm a little surprised there isn't more of an outcry. Surely there are plenty of us out here, right?

[potatobroth]

If it fell on a weekend, I'd hit up the Chicago show. Love that city and the flights from Newark NJ to Chicago are dirt cheap.

[cdave2]

Thanks, I'm pretty fond of my adopted city as well. She tries my patience at times, but I ain't movin'. :)

I've been mulling over the possibility of organizing some sort of grassroots effort. Give us a quota of tickets that UW needs to sell to break even, say, and we'll see if we can spread the word enough to pull it off. Or are there other issues besides ticket sales?

I may be tilting at windmills, but I'm genuinely curious about what it takes to book a show here.

[TheBang]

You're basically asking to take on the role of concert promoter. That's basically how bands end up playing in certain cities. The promoter goes to the band and says, "I'll pay you this much money to come play at X city at Y venue," and then books the band. On the other end, the promoter calculates how many tickets he can sell and at what cost, books and pays for the venue, pays the band and other costs (like ticketing, insurance, press and promotion, transportation, hotel, security, etc.), and what's left is the promoter's profit.

Here's an overview of what a concert promoter has to do, to give you an idea of what's involved.

http://www.concert-promotions.com/concertexcerpts.html

[lowbit]

A grassroots effort might be more effective if it was aimed at demonstrating to one or more of the established local promoters that there's a solid interest in seeing the band. Bang is right about the promoter thing, though I know that at least for some artists it goes in both directions, with management contacting promoters they've worked with before to let them know the band will be touring in their region.

[Yannick]

nothing til next year I fear... :( been waiting too

[spacejunk]

nothing til next year I fear... :( been waiting too

Been waiting forever! Hurry up already! I can't travel to the coasts with two little ones running around! I'll even buy 10 tickets and give them to friends. COME ON! :D

[cdave2]

Yannick, by “next year” do you mean there’s another possible tour, or is that just my wishful thinking? It’s too late to do much for the current tour, but if there’s something in the works for next year we might have a chance.

Thanks very much for the link, Bang. Very informative but also daunting. I had no idea, for example, that the promoter was responsible for insurance; I'd thought that the venue would cover the audience and the band their own crew. Seems that promoters absorb a lot of financial risk--if they provide what they're supposed to.

So, on to lowbit's suggestion. Let's look at drumming up enough fan support before we think about making a case to the promoters. We don't know who Underworld might prefer to work with or what sort of experiences they've had with promoters in Chicago.

If we could get the numbers, it would be a great bargaining chip for the band. So what would we need? Let’s look at the other US gigs (not including festivals as we don’t know how many tickets are sold because of Underworld). Ticket prices are face value, not including ticket broker fees. Total revenue equals the income from ticket sales if the show sells out. Obviously I have no idea what’s needed to cover expenses or how much Underworld would get, but at least it’s a starting point:
930 Club, Washington DC: capacity 1200, price per ticket $45, total revenue $54,000
Roseland Ballroom, New York: capacity 3200, price $57.50/$47.50 (avg. $52.50), total based on avg. $168,000
4th & B, San Diego: capacity 1500, price $38, total $57,000

I adore Underworld and would spend my last penny to see them; the problem is that those prices do seem a little high for mass ticket sales around here, especially if you add Ticketmaster fees. For comparison’s sake, I looked up the two Chicago venues where Underworld have played and figured their average ticket price based on upcoming shows. The House of Blues has a capacity of 1200 and an average ticket price of $35.48. Total revenue $42,576, lower than the other US shows. The Riviera holds 2300-2500 (depending on what you read—I’m going with 2300) and has an average price of $28.25. Total revenue $64,975, which is in the ballpark.

Let’s round it off to 2000 tickets at $30 per ticket. That’s 87 percent of a sold-out show at the Riv. Think we could do that?

The next question is how. The easiest and cheapest way of going about it would be some kind of online petition: e-mail all your friends, contact various blogs, Pitchfork, etc. I’m questioning how much influence that would have, however. I’m thinking of putting our money where our mouths are—and that’s where my REALLY crazy idea comes in. :)

I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’d be happy to buy a ticket way in advance for Underworld. If someone said to me, “okay, we’re looking at a Friday or Saturday sometime in September or October of 2011, would you purchase a ticket for $30?”—sure, I’d place an order! If they make enough sales to confirm the gig, charge everybody then. If the quota isn’t met, no one gets billed.

The only problem is that I’d be very reluctant to make a pledge to anyone but the band themselves—not the promoters and certainly not Ticketmaster. I’ve purchased tickets before via the Radiohead website; I wonder how they handled it. Would love to hear input from people who actually have some expertise with online commerce.

Can you imagine what a bargaining chip that would be for Underworld? 2000 guaranteed sales.

Might even be newsworthy. The National Public Radio show Sound Opinions is based here in Chicago. They’ve been doing a lot of reporting on business practices throughout the music and concert industry.

Your thoughts?

[cdave2]

Slightly more earthbound suggestion here. Lollapalooza is taking suggestions for next year's festival. Deadline is next Thursday, October 7:

http://www.lollapalooza.com/surveys/bands/bandsurvey.php?utm_campaign=2010_other&utm_content=20100930_band_survey_btn&utm_source=email&utm_medium=link&utm_term=3

I say we bombard 'em.

[SappysCurry]

Slightly more earthbound suggestion here. Lollapalooza is taking suggestions for next year's festival. Deadline is next Thursday, October 7:

http://www.lollapalooza.com/surveys/bands/bandsurvey.php?utm_campaign=2010_other&utm_content=20100930_band_survey_btn&utm_source=email&utm_medium=link&utm_term=3

I say we bombard 'em.

Submitted.