I wish I was making this up, but this is how insane ticketing is in 2023 – you'll have to pay $400 to sit on a literal bar stool seat to see Aerosmith on their farewell tour.
Attention was called to the insane ticketing practice by Twitter user @RyanConnell5150 earlier this morning, who wrote alongside a screenshot "This is fucking ridiculous. Aerosmith is charging $400 + fees to sit on a fucking bar stool in the very back of a section that's almost behind the stage."
Honestly, I was so blown away by this that I didn't believe it at first. But it's true. I went over to the Ticketmaster website, found the Climate Pledge Arena date in Seattle, WA referenced above, and yup – $400 for a barstool seat. Even worse is that there are only two left, which means people have been buying them?
At this rate only people making six figures are going to be able to see any sort of arena show, and even then they'll only be able to buy a beer or two after getting bled dry for the ticket.
Aerosmith announced alongside their expensive farewell tour that founding drummer Joey Kramer, who hasn't toured with the band in recent years, will not join them for their final trek.
"While Joey Kramer remains a beloved founding member of Aerosmith, he has regrettably made the decision to sit out the currently scheduled touring dates to focus his full attention on his family and health," said Aerosmith. "Joey's unmistakable and legendary presence behind the drum kit will be sorely missed."
Guitarist Joe Perry later added in an interview with 97.1FM The Drive that "'[Kramer's] heart's in the right place, but, listen, playing the drums is an athletic event. And there's a certain point where you're just kind of, like,… every joint starts to give out, man. So at this point we're not thinking he's gonna be there. We'll see."
Whether or not we'll see an Aerosmith reunion show sometime this decade with even more expensive bar stool seats remains to be seen, but you know how these things go. Probably. Get your tickets here.
9/2 – Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center
9/6 – Pittsburgh, PA – PPG Paints Arena
9/9 – Belmont Park, NY – UBS Arena
9/12 – Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena
9/15 – Chicago, IL – United Center
9/18 – Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena
9/21 – Cleveland, OH – Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse
9/24 – Raleigh, NC – PNC Arena
9/27 – Washington, DC – Capital One Arena
10/11 – Tampa, FL – Amalie Arena
10/14 – Atlanta, GA – State Farm Arena
10/17 – Charlotte, NC – Spectrum Center
10/20 – Sunrise, FL – FLA Live Arena
10/23 – Austin, TX – Moody Center
10/26 – St Louis, MO – Enterprise Center
10/29 – Indianapolis, IN – Gainbridge Fieldhouse
11/1 – San Antonio, TX – AT&T Arena
11/4 – Tulsa, OK – BOK Center
11/7 – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center
11/10 – Omaha, NE – CHI Health Center
11/13 – St Paul, MN – Xcel Energy Center
11/16 – Kansas City, MO – T-Mobile Center
11/19 – Denver, CO – Ball Arena
11/22 – Salt Lake City, UT – Vivint Arena
11/25 – Portland, OR – Moda Center
11/28 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena
12/1 – San Francisco, CA – Chase Center
12/4 – San Jose, CA – SAP Center
12/7 – Los Angeles, CA – The Kia Forum
12/10 – Phoenix, AZ – Footprint Center
12/28 – Newark, NJ – Prudential Center
12/31 – Boston, MA – TD Garden
1/4 – Cincinnati, OH – Heritage Bank Arena
1/7 – Louisville, KY – KFC Yum! Center
1/10 – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena
1/13 – Knoxville, TN – Thompson-Boling Arena
1/16 – Buffalo, NY – KeyBank Center
1/19 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden
1/23 – Columbus, OH – Schottenstein Center
1/26 – Montreal, QC – Bell Centre
