Why is GN'R less popular in North America compared to everywhere else?

[Blackstar]

2 hours ago, Draguns said:

Can you please post the stats from Pollstar?

Pollstar data for 2016, 2017 and 2021

2016:

https://data.pollstar.com/chart/2017/01/2016YearEndTop200ConcertGrosses_345.pdf

https://data.pollstar.com/chart/2017/01/2016YearEndTop100WorldwideTours_343.pdf

2017:

https://data.pollstar.com/chart/2018/01/2017YearEndTop200ConcertGrosses_623.pdf

https://data.pollstar.com/chart/2018/01/2017YearEndTop100WorldwideTours_621.pdf

2021:

https://data.pollstar.com/chart/2021/12/YearEndTop300ConcertGrosses_985.pdf

https://data.pollstar.com/chart/2021/12/Top100WorldwideTours_983.pdf

Edited August 3, 2023 by Blackstar

[Draguns]

19 minutes ago, felixGNR said:

Interesting! I don't know how both news websites got 40,000+. There has to be a reason as to why it was stated. Nevertheless, you have to keep in mind that Covid was still around and the GNR concert was the first event at MetLife Stadium after reopening. 

[B5Redeye]

2 hours ago, felixGNR said:

I’m so glad you posted this and blackstar posted the stats from 2016.

in a previous thread I had stated there must have been less tickets for sale. You told me I was full of shit 😂

in 2016 there were a little over 47000 tickets available. In 2021 there were 38000 tickets available.

The % of sold tickets was EXACTLY the same at 93%. 

[PatrickS77]

8 minutes ago, B5Redeye said:

I’m so glad you posted this and blackstar posted the stats from 2016.

in a previous thread I had stated there must have been less tickets for sale. You told me I was full of shit 😂

in 2016 there were a little over 47000 tickets available. In 2021 there were 38000 tickets available.

The % of sold tickets was EXACTLY the same at 93%. 

Though that means nothing. If they had sold more tickets, they would have made more seats available. That's an old tactic to make numbers look good.

[felixGNR]

20 minutes ago, B5Redeye said:

I’m so glad you posted this and blackstar posted the stats from 2016.

in a previous thread I had stated there must have been less tickets for sale. You told me I was full of shit 😂

in 2016 there were a little over 47000 tickets available. In 2021 there were 38000 tickets available.

The % of sold tickets was EXACTLY the same at 93%. 

The promoter is full of shit, review all the  other concerts at metlife, they will. never write  45% sold. check my old posts. I'm  just repeating myself

its still bullshit.

Metlife capacity for end stage shows its between 52k to 58k .

FACTS.

 there are artist selling 42k tickets showing 100% sold.

btw Metallica expects an 80k capacity tomorrow/ and another 80k Sunday  (  in the round stage)

14 minutes ago, PatrickS77 said:

Though that means nothing. If they had sold more tickets, they would have made more seats available. That's an old tactic to make numbers look good.

this exactly

[B5Redeye]

31 minutes ago, felixGNR said:

The promoter is full of shit, review all the  other concerts at metlife, they will. never write  45% sold. check my old posts. I'm  just repeating myself

its still bullshit.

Metlife capacity for end stage shows its between 52k to 58k .

FACTS.

 there are artist selling 42k tickets showing 100% sold.

btw Metallica expects an 80k capacity tomorrow/ and another 80k Sunday  (  in the round stage)

this exactly

You quoted YOUR stats as being the end all be all and now they aren’t.

Got it.

[Blackstar]

1 hour ago, felixGNR said:

The promoter is full of shit, review all the  other concerts at metlife, they will. never write  45% sold. check my old posts. I'm  just repeating myself

its still bullshit.

Metlife capacity for end stage shows its between 52k to 58k .

FACTS.

 there are artist selling 42k tickets showing 100% sold.

btw Metallica expects an 80k capacity tomorrow/ and another 80k Sunday  (  in the round stage)

this exactly

Looking at the stats for 2021, I see that's common practice for other venues/acts. For example, capacity at MSG varies (~19,000 for Harry Styles, ~15,000 for the Foo Fighters and ~12,000 for The Eagles).

All in all though, based on the general data for 2021, the GN'R tour was rather successful (both in terms of ticket sales and  money made).

Edited August 4, 2023 by Blackstar

[Mansin Humanity]

i'm going to metallica twice at metlife and (probably) not guns bc metlife is a tremendous pain in the ass to get to and metallica, unlike guns, has offered me and the general public real reasons to schlep out there

edit: if gnr was at msg i'd be there, because that's a 15 minute train ride with no transfers vs. closer to 90 minutes with 2 transfers. they aren't going to overcome a relatively samey show (yes i know the setlist has been tweaked) AND the metlife thing. if only one was true it'd be different and i can't imagine i'm the only one in that boat

Edited August 4, 2023 by Mansin Humanity

[B5Redeye]

1 hour ago, Blackstar said:

Looking at the stats for 2021, I see that's common practice for other venues/acts. For example, capacity at MSG varies (~19,000 for Harry Styles, ~15,000 for the Foo Fighters and ~12,000 for The Eagles).

All in all though, based on the general data for 2021, the GN'R tour was rather successful (both in terms of ticket sales and  money made).

Thanks for the post.

Yes it’s going to vary based on the stage, what type, and where the put it. Metallica plays with the stage in the center so the entire MetLife stadium is available for tickets. Combined with it’s a pit for the entire floor (VS GNR was chairs set up for 90% of the floor) the “seating capacity” is always going to vary. 

[felixGNR]

7 hours ago, B5Redeye said:

Thanks for the post.

Yes it’s going to vary based on the stage, what type, and where the put it. Metallica plays with the stage in the center so the entire MetLife stadium is available for tickets. Combined with it’s a pit for the entire floor (VS GNR was chairs set up for 90% of the floor) the “seating capacity” is always going to vary. 

Not in this (GNR)case. end stage always start with  the same sections on the right and left of the stage .

capacity its been the same for ALL 3 Gnr shows, you wanna know why? because all the tickets  were available for sale.

look at Pittsburg stadium,  all the sections are available for sale ( i guess around 30k+ seats)  they have sold what? 10k? they already skipped every row on the upper sections  etc (comp/give away/ exchanges)

they wil  mark that show  as over 85% capacity  guaranteed.

 

 

[Draguns]

11 hours ago, Mansin Humanity said:

i'm going to metallica twice at metlife and (probably) not guns bc metlife is a tremendous pain in the ass to get to and metallica, unlike guns, has offered me and the general public real reasons to schlep out there

edit: if gnr was at msg i'd be there, because that's a 15 minute train ride with no transfers vs. closer to 90 minutes with 2 transfers. they aren't going to overcome a relatively samey show (yes i know the setlist has been tweaked) AND the metlife thing. if only one was true it'd be different and i can't imagine i'm the only one in that boat

Are you coming from NYC? If you live in NJ, getting to MetLife isn't that bad. Exiting MetLife, though, is what I find to be a big pain in the ass due to driving. 

[Mansin Humanity]

59 minutes ago, Draguns said:

Are you coming from NYC? If you live in NJ, getting to MetLife isn't that bad. Exiting MetLife, though, is what I find to be a big pain in the ass due to driving. 

yeah, coming from upper manhattan. agree that if you're in NJ going in isn't that bad but either way wherever you're coming from you're gonna have a bad time at at least one point

[IzzysMissy]

12 hours ago, Mansin Humanity said:

i'm going to metallica twice at metlife and (probably) not guns bc metlife is a tremendous pain in the ass to get to and metallica, unlike guns, has offered me and the general public real reasons to schlep out there

edit: if gnr was at msg i'd be there, because that's a 15 minute train ride with no transfers vs. closer to 90 minutes with 2 transfers. they aren't going to overcome a relatively samey show (yes i know the setlist has been tweaked) AND the metlife thing. if only one was true it'd be different and i can't imagine i'm the only one in that boat

I’m waiting to find out if I have a Metallica ticket for tonight (my back up tonight is Phish, and only because it’s MSG which is 30min away from me on the subway!!) 

I’ve said it before on this board and I’ll say it forever - MetLife is the absolute WORST venue to get in/out of. I only even bother going on a free ticket and never stay the full show because getting out is insane. 

But yea, Metallica playing 2 no repeat nights is well worth it.. gnr playing the same set list plus BO and PTU? Hard, hard, “maybe as long as the weather is good and there are no transport delays” - at least in my world!

 

edited to add: whomever is talking about promoters muddling the numbers to pollstar is right in point. Stadium shows especially. Basically you can “open” seats that are closer to the stage after load in and then “kill” the ones that didn’t sell. So that drives the “percentage” up bigtime in the overall numbers. All of the gnr MetLife shows have been about 50% truly sold. Except that first Sat of the first year.. that was like 80% but then the Sunday show was like 25% so it averaged. Pollstar numbers TO THE PUBLIC are what the band/live nation wants us to see.

Edited August 4, 2023 by IzzysMissy
Added overview on ticket sales etc..

[Mansin Humanity]

4 minutes ago, IzzysMissy said:

I’m waiting to find out if I have a Metallica ticket for tonight (my back up tonight is Phish, and only because it’s MSG which is 30min away from me on the subway!!) 

I’ve said it before on this board and I’ll say it forever - MetLife is the absolute WORST venue to get in/out of. I only even bother going on a free ticket and never stay the full show because getting out is insane. 

But yea, Metallica playing 2 no repeat nights is well worth it.. gnr playing the same set list plus BO and PTU? Hard, hard, “maybe as long as the weather is good and there are no transport delays” - at least in my world!

you feel me - wherever you end up tonight have fun!

[dave94]

They’ve been touring pretty much non stop apart from the covid years since 2016, playing big stadiums too so it’s not a surprise demand is starting to fall, everyone has had the chance to see them fairly recently. As to why NA is struggling vs elsewhere well just looking at the tour dates 26 shows in NA scheduled this summer vs 16 in Europe and a bunch of those were festivals, and basically the same story last year too

[B5Redeye]

9 hours ago, felixGNR said:

Not in this (GNR)case. end stage always start with  the same sections on the right and left of the stage .

capacity its been the same for ALL 3 Gnr shows, you wanna know why? because all the tickets  were available for sale.

look at Pittsburg stadium,  all the sections are available for sale ( i guess around 30k+ seats)  they have sold what? 10k? they already skipped every row on the upper sections  etc (comp/give away/ exchanges)

they wil  mark that show  as over 85% capacity  guaranteed.

 

 

Um….no it doesn’t.

And would you agree how large/small the pit is makes a difference in “seating capacity”?

[Spike Killer]

Have the reunited Guns ever extensively played outdoor amphitheaters?  I'm aware of a few in the original run of the band - as well as at least one stop at the Gorge in Washington State?

It looks like Saragotga might be the only stop?  Everything else looks like a sports stadium or basketball/hockey arena?

Edited August 4, 2023 by Spike Killer

[Gordon Comstock]

3 hours ago, Spike Killer said:

Have the reunited Guns ever extensively played outdoor amphitheaters?  I'm aware of a few in the original run of the band - as well as at least one stop at the Gorge in Washington State?

It looks like Saragotga might be the only stop?  Everything else looks like a sports stadium or basketball/hockey arena?

 

I think they've only played amphitheatre's a few times. I was at the Gorge show, it's a great venue. Wish they'd do more amphitheatre and outdoor shows in North America. The shows in Montreal and Atlanta are in parks, but the Atlanta show is a festival.

[mikeman5150]

2 hours ago, Gordon Comstock said:

 

I think they've only played amphitheatre's a few times. I was at the Gorge show, it's a great venue. Wish they'd do more amphitheatre and outdoor shows in North America. The shows in Montreal and Atlanta are in parks, but the Atlanta show is a festival.

Yeah a GNR summer amphitheater tour would be awesome! Honestly, that’s where the demand is for them these days in NA, 10-20k and they would probably have no problem selling out most of them. The one style venue I’ve never seen them in. During the newGNR era I always figured they stuck to arena’s because most of the amphitheaters have pretty rigid curfews, and we all know how punctual they used to be. To be honest, I miss that era and the long waits before the show. Not knowing what time they would show up built the anticipation and it was cool not knowing what would happen. 

[Gordon Comstock]

4 minutes ago, mikeman5150 said:

Yeah a GNR summer amphitheater tour would be awesome! Honestly, that’s where the demand is for them these days in NA, 10-20k and they would probably have no problem selling out most of them. The one style venue I’ve never seen them in. During the newGNR era I always figured they stuck to arena’s because most of the amphitheaters have pretty rigid curfews, and we all know how punctual they used to be. To be honest, I miss that era and the long waits before the show. Not knowing what time they would show up built the anticipation and it was cool not knowing what would happen. 

 

100% agreed. Even in mid-October, I'd infinitely prefer to see them at Deer Lake Park (which holds about 10,000 people) instead of BC Place. They could do 2 nights at 'smaller' venues like that in certain cities. But yea, 10-20k outdoor venues are a way better setting than stadiums, and they'll probably sell about the same number of (full price) tickets anyway.

The late shows definitely added to the energy, but not always in a good way lol. The first time I saw them in 2010 they hit the stage just after 10:00 and I thought they were surprisingly early!

[B5Redeye]

6 hours ago, Spike Killer said:

Have the reunited Guns ever extensively played outdoor amphitheaters?  I'm aware of a few in the original run of the band - as well as at least one stop at the Gorge in Washington State?

It looks like Saragotga might be the only stop?  Everything else looks like a sports stadium or basketball/hockey arena?

Maybe. The concert to go to, IMHO, if you can swing it is the Hard Rock in sept.

[mikeman5150]

7 hours ago, Gordon Comstock said:

 

100% agreed. Even in mid-October, I'd infinitely prefer to see them at Deer Lake Park (which holds about 10,000 people) instead of BC Place. They could do 2 nights at 'smaller' venues like that in certain cities. But yea, 10-20k outdoor venues are a way better setting than stadiums, and they'll probably sell about the same number of (full price) tickets anyway.

The late shows definitely added to the energy, but not always in a good way lol. The first time I saw them in 2010 they hit the stage just after 10:00 and I thought they were surprisingly early!

Haha yeah 10 was early for new guns. I remember pittsburgh 16’ they came on at like 7:45 and shocked the hell out me! I remember one show in Cleveland, the night he canned the “pigeons of shit metal”, they didn’t show up until like 12:30-1 am, It was pretty crazy! 

[Draguns]

On 8/4/2023 at 9:08 AM, Mansin Humanity said:

yeah, coming from upper manhattan. agree that if you're in NJ going in isn't that bad but either way wherever you're coming from you're gonna have a bad time at at least one point

Ah ok. My childhood friend, his son, my brother, and I went to the Metallica concert last night. We drove early, which wasn't a problem. Leaving the stadium, though, was a nightmare. It was worse than it usually is. We saw attendants just standing around and not directing any traffic whatsoever. 

[Draguns]

On 8/2/2023 at 5:38 AM, JimiRose said:

It absolutely does when you see a band in a stadium. In a club or amphitheatre no pyro is required. it's all about the up close and personal and being at one with the band, When you are 3 miles back with 80k people watching ants on a stage for £150 per ticket, you bring pyro, you bring fireworks you bring confetti. Especially when you once did, because as someone who has seem GnR 17 times, it is massively noticeable without.

As much as certain fans like to put GnR on this pedestal of being 'real hardcore music, all about music' etc that isn't really true. GnR were the theatrics, the practically fancy dress of Axl n Slash, the stage antics, the 80s era nostalgia where everyone thinks of fireworks and big hair.  Along with Kiss, Crue. Yes we know they were more than that musically and meaning wise compared to those bands, but not as big as you think. They're not the clash, they're an 80s rock band, Give us a show. 

Live and let die, paradise city and november rain are the big ones that were great with pyro. Other songs had them but didnt always add to the experience, but was fun to watch nonetheless. 

I know that you have been mentioning pyro in this thread. It seems like pyro isn't used as much as it was before. I have seen Metallica 4 times prior to last night. They have always used a lot of pyro including in 2017. Last night, they only used it for Fuel. They kept it mostly at a minimum  Maybe tomorrow night, it'll be different, but last night they didn't used much pyro. 

[Mansin Humanity]

5 hours ago, Draguns said:

Ah ok. My childhood friend, his son, my brother, and I went to the Metallica concert last night. We drove early, which wasn't a problem. Leaving the stadium, though, was a nightmare. It was worse than it usually is. We saw attendants just standing around and not directing any traffic whatsoever. 

woof, that's a pain in the ass. train wasn't too bad but the whole process is just tiring. hell of a fun time before that though! you going back tomorrow?