Is Anyone Upset About Ticket Prices?

[rugen]

I am not upset because it follows the path of the last 5 years, where the invisible man stole money from us. There's someone other than the musicians who takes a good cut with those ticket prices because everyone is blaming the other guy, who is asking more money. Who is to blame? Is it the COVID-19 virus? The rich man? The bankers or the mafia? Rush on tour, no, thank you. I would rather buy an expensive Blu-ray to watch it at home.

[GabesCavesOfIce]

On 11/4/2025 at 1:45 PM, chemistry1973 said:

Not really anything new though is it? Demand brought in more dates.

 

And it was pointed out in this very forum - the huge gaps between cities indicated more shows to be added if sales were robust enough.

 

 

Come on they've never had a tour structured like this playing four shows in some cities and, Only announcing that to make it appear like it was a limited City run. Then adding two dates per City after complete run of sellouts... in places they've never ever sold out two shows.

 

They've always said here's our full leg or tour and perhaps they add a second show here and there. Never anything close to resembling how this tour was rolled out

 

It would have been a lot smarter to have some of these new cities get single shows and instead add a  show in Los Angeles New York Toronto because those would have been guaranteed sellouts.

 

Instead they're going to be stuck with many shows with sections of empty seats and / or tickets at $50 while some of us are paying $1,000 per ticket. That's not fair and this is exactly what rush did. But that's the way the big wheel spins.... it's just unfortunate that its Rush that structured the tour like this.

 

I can't remember any artist pulling off something similar where original purchasers are looking at a possible 20x cost for the same ticket location in the arena...widespread,  excluding premium tix. Yes those always got their 5th row early always paid more

[GabesCavesOfIce]

On 11/4/2025 at 8:08 PM, capoetc said:

 

The problem is, much of the sales in the original ticket sales appear to have been scalpers hoping to make a killing on limited shows.

 

 

Going to respectfully disagree. I got on the original msg onsales and lowers were immediately at 12.03 pm going for about $900 face and saw many cheaper tix on stub hub later that week.

[capoetc]

1 hour ago, GabesCavesOfIce said:

 

 

Going to respectfully disagree. I got on the original msg onsales and lowers were immediately at 12.03 pm going for about $900 face and saw many cheaper tix on stub hub later that week.

 

So, do you think all those resellers had their plans change days after the sale?  Or did they buy the tickets specifically to resell them?  And does that not meet the definition of “scalper”?
 

Yes, TM sold dynamically priced tickets, but they also sold face value tickets which were immediately put up for sale.

[chemistry1973]

3 hours ago, GabesCavesOfIce said:

 

 

Come on they've never had a tour structured like this playing four shows in some cities and, Only announcing that to make it appear like it was a limited City run. Then adding two dates per City after complete run of sellouts... in places they've never ever sold out two shows.

 

They've always said here's our full leg or tour and perhaps they add a second show here and there. Never anything close to resembling how this tour was rolled out

 

It would have been a lot smarter to have some of these new cities get single shows and instead add a  show in Los Angeles New York Toronto because those would have been guaranteed sellouts.

 

Instead they're going to be stuck with many shows with sections of empty seats and / or tickets at $50 while some of us are paying $1,000 per ticket. That's not fair and this is exactly what rush did. But that's the way the big wheel spins.... it's just unfortunate that its Rush that structured the tour like this.

 

I can't remember any artist pulling off something similar where original purchasers are looking at a possible 20x cost for the same ticket location in the arena...widespread,  excluding premium tix. Yes those always got their 5th row early always paid more

Dude I would be pissed too, as TM and resellers are the worst. But this is the game.  Rush has a huge guarantee. Promoters have a nut to cover. Resellers offer instant relief.

[BastillePark]

3 hours ago, GabesCavesOfIce said:

 

 

Come on they've never had a tour structured like this playing four shows in some cities and, Only announcing that to make it appear like it was a limited City run. Then adding two dates per City after complete run of sellouts... in places they've never ever sold out two shows.

 

They've always said here's our full leg or tour and perhaps they add a second show here and there. Never anything close to resembling how this tour was rolled out

 

It would have been a lot smarter to have some of these new cities get single shows and instead add a  show in Los Angeles New York Toronto because those would have been guaranteed sellouts.

 

Instead they're going to be stuck with many shows with sections of empty seats and / or tickets at $50 while some of us are paying $1,000 per ticket. That's not fair and this is exactly what rush did. But that's the way the big wheel spins.... it's just unfortunate that its Rush that structured the tour like this.

 

I can't remember any artist pulling off something similar where original purchasers are looking at a possible 20x cost for the same ticket location in the arena...widespread,  excluding premium tix. Yes those always got their 5th row early always paid more

Plus, they went from the original 7 cities to 24. That wasn't an accident or because of "unexpected demand." This hype and FOMO was planned all along.

[ytserush]

On 11/3/2025 at 4:48 PM, lerxt1990 said:

An odd circumstance!  So the first shows in limited cities are crushed with people limited availability and the high prices.  The high prices are commensurate with high profile bands (I have heard Foo Fighters same thing).  OK fine.

 

Then they add the additional shows, then additional nights.  And.. we hit the supply and demand and price curve and the second show in Philly is only 30-40% sold.  The VIP tickets are there to buy, there are seats everywhere.  First night is 95% sold which makes sense.

 

The second night is SO undersold I am wondering how this goes.  Im not even sure a price drop of 10-20% makes this happen.  Do they perform to a scarcely occupied house?

 

Some other towns/shows not like this, I clicked on some, the second night in Detroit is same as above.

If it's guaranteed money they do. They might get the same if it's full or empty. Wouldn't that depend on the deal that was made? There's quite a few people waiting to see how things go before they commit. I think they will be sold eventually after a price drop. Especially after the reviews start rolling in.

[ytserush]

On 11/3/2025 at 5:44 PM, GabesCavesOfIce said:

 

You've said it perfectly...some shows will be packed to the roof with people paying average prices between $500 and $1,000 and other shows will be half full with tickets going for $50 resale day of the show.

 

Rush spent an entire career doing right by the fans and to ruin that reputation on this tour is extremely disappointing.

 

There is absolutely no way to explain away that they had close to 40 dates ready to announce the instant the first Seven Cities sold out, after stating it was a limited City run. That was obvious manipulation of supply and demand

 

The promoter should have known that the majority of these smaller cities would not sell out two shows each on the 60 stop tour.

 

Basically fans in the first Seven Cities are financing all of those empty seats, and I for one am not too happy about that

 

It's amazing this forum is so quiet about this. But I guess we are the true fanboys.

 

 

 

 

That's the reason I have not bought tickets. I'd be crazy to spend more money for something I can easily have for less. Apparently this is normal business practice. Still prepared not to see a show, but I'm getting pretty optimistic that I'll be able to catch at least one now.

[ytserush]

5 hours ago, GabesCavesOfIce said:

 

 

Come on they've never had a tour structured like this playing four shows in some cities and, Only announcing that to make it appear like it was a limited City run. Then adding two dates per City after complete run of sellouts... in places they've never ever sold out two shows.

 

They've always said here's our full leg or tour and perhaps they add a second show here and there. Never anything close to resembling how this tour was rolled out

 

It would have been a lot smarter to have some of these new cities get single shows and instead add a  show in Los Angeles New York Toronto because those would have been guaranteed sellouts.

 

Instead they're going to be stuck with many shows with sections of empty seats and / or tickets at $50 while some of us are paying $1,000 per ticket. That's not fair and this is exactly what rush did. But that's the way the big wheel spins.... it's just unfortunate that its Rush that structured the tour like this.

 

I can't remember any artist pulling off something similar where original purchasers are looking at a possible 20x cost for the same ticket location in the arena...widespread,  excluding premium tix. Yes those always got their 5th row early always paid more

 

 

The first announcement of dates was completely cost inefficient  for those seven cities. How would you keep a show on the road with that schedule. You'd be bleeding money. And what about any kind of tour rhythm - you pause the tour before anyone gets acclimated? It was totally illogical there would be more dates.

[lerxt1990]

On 11/7/2025 at 7:55 PM, chemistry1973 said:

I think more shows in a given city means less demand. Maybe not - but judging from the reseller sites the prices don’t seem to be climbing.

Right supply and demand it works best for resellers when the show sells out quickly, as the first shows did.  Reselling is a disaster when, like now, the added cities got added shows (Detroit, Philly, San Antonio, etc.) and there are an avalanche of tickets available at face value right from TM.  The only reason for those shows to go reseller would be to sit ina more precise location not available on TM.

[lerxt1990]

Just now, lerxt1990 said:

Right supply and demand it works best for resellers when the show sells out quickly, as the first shows did.  Reselling is a disaster when, like now, the added cities got added shows (Detroit, Philly, San Antonio, etc.) and there are an avalanche of tickets available at face value right from TM.  The only reason for those shows to go reseller would be to sit ina more precise location not available on TM.

I think to state the obvious it also squeezes reseller when face value is high and closer to the top of what the market will bear.  We can see with various data here that we know where the top of that market will bear is and how many are willing to pay that high premium.

[lerxt1990]

15 hours ago, ytserush said:

 

 

The first announcement of dates was completely cost inefficient  for those seven cities. How would you keep a show on the road with that schedule. You'd be bleeding money. And what about any kind of tour rhythm - you pause the tour before anyone gets acclimated? It was totally illogical there would be more dates.

Exactly - no economies of scale with the sparse dates, to get the crew do all the upfront work, lease all the equipment, trucks, stage, etc.  And those gaps in the dates.. led me to believe they would add more.  At their price point, though, the second shows in certain places are not selling a lot.

[GabesCavesOfIce]

On 11/3/2025 at 8:22 PM, Lurkst said:

 

It is very bizarre, almost as if the promoters didn't know what kind of artist they were dealing with. Surprising given Rush were not unfamiliar to Q Prime.

 

Rush are a premium act, but are also definitely not mainstream. They have a relatively small but hugely committed fanbase. Announcing that limited run of dates, which the fans never imagined happening, sent demand through the roof.

 

The high ticket prices could have been partially excused by the brevity of the tour and huge demand, but then trebling the length of the run while keeping prices static was always going to be a much tougher sell. There just aren't enough people scattered around North America prepared to pay those prices to see Rush in concert.

 

Another thing that the high cost does is deter fans from buying tickets for multiple shows, something the Rush audience was noted for before.

 

 

 

You really nailed it here and I'll just emphasize those of us in New York Toronto and similar cities are screwed. Already spending about $1,000 for a good ticket is fine but other cities are going to get to do that for a small fraction.

 

Plus if I want to go anywhere like Philadelphia it's going to cost travel and $300 bucks for a hotel room plus $380 for a lower level ticket

 Almost same as msg all in. So the way they did this was really screwing the fans in the bigger cities and they just should have known better.

 

They never set up a tour like this and then if their excuse was it sold better than they anticipated then why didn't they add more shows to places like Toronto LA and New york? And instead go for extremely small cities where they never played two nights before? Alex and Geddy both know all of this off the top of their heads, it's the life they've lived.

 

Would it even take them 5 minutes to make a phone call while setting the plans and say " I know my fans and I know we need Toronto and New York shows added look at how they sold. . I can't ever recall selling out two shows in Charlotte or San Antonio"  Would have taken them 5 minutes?

 

The whole thing is just an unfortunate way for them to end their career. They were always amazing at how they set up their tours and gave fans an opportunity to see them at a reasonable price. All that ended with R52

 

But I have to learn to forgive and be thankful for what they're giving us

[Blue J]

Not upset at all. For sure it’s the last time Ged and Alex will play together as Rush. First tour in 11 years- 72, 73 years old they’ll be.

 

Speaking as a fan of this band for the past 45 years, I’m not upset at all. 
 

I’ll be at the Wednesday night show in Detroit- anybody let me know if you’d like to meet up.

[PAFHumbucker]

I’m now seeing tickets in the upper bowl for the Oct 27 DC show for 114 bucks.  That might be the lowest ticket price I’ve seen so far.

 

It looks like there are a lot of seats available for the 2nd night for the cities they added, including floor and premium/VIP seats.  I have no doubt people will be able to get really good seats at a good price closer to the show.

[PAFHumbucker]

Juuuuuust a handful of seats available.  HURRY BEFORE THEY SELL OUT!!!

 

[Ron2112]

On 11/8/2025 at 1:10 PM, GabesCavesOfIce said:

 

 

Come on they've never had a tour structured like this playing four shows in some cities and, Only announcing that to make it appear like it was a limited City run. Then adding two dates per City after complete run of sellouts... in places they've never ever sold out two shows.

 

 

 

Is it really difficult for you to understand that they weren't certain the demand would be there after all these years and without Neil?  

 

Certainly they had Plan B and Plan C lined up from the start, but I'd bet that they were not at all certain they were going to be able to pull the trigger on the additional dates.  The hinted-at 2027 leg will very likely look like the tour announcements of old, now that they know there's still an audience.

[Ron2112]

11 hours ago, PAFHumbucker said:

I’m now seeing tickets in the upper bowl for the Oct 27 DC show for 114 bucks.  That might be the lowest ticket price I’ve seen so far.

 

It looks like there are a lot of seats available for the 2nd night for the cities they added, including floor and premium/VIP seats.  I have no doubt people will be able to get really good seats at a good price closer to the show.

 

I've got tix for the 25th show already and if the setlist really changes the way Geddy suggests it will, I'll be getting tix for this show on the 27th as well.  Glad to see there's plenty of pickings.

[James Bond]

12 hours ago, PAFHumbucker said:

I’m now seeing tickets in the upper bowl for the Oct 27 DC show for 114 bucks.  That might be the lowest ticket price I’ve seen so far.

 

It looks like there are a lot of seats available for the 2nd night for the cities they added, including floor and premium/VIP seats.  I have no doubt people will be able to get really good seats at a good price closer to the show.

 

There's definitely a trend among the second nights. Anybody still waiting on tickets should keep an eye on those.

 

Based on what I've seen in the concert market over the last while, I expect we'll continue to see some fluctuations before a plateau. Then, as the shows approach, bigger drops. We're already we're seeing some minor price breaks as the dust settles - perhaps to drum up some sales over the holidays. I expect Q-Prime was well aware that these second dates on markets that Rush historically would only play one night would be a slower sell. Ultimately, I expect that the second nights will still be profitable and both the promoter and Ticketmaster will pull out all the stops to get the seats filled by concert time.

[Fridge]

As long as there are idiots willing to be gouged, then artists and management will take full advantage.

[BastillePark]

2 hours ago, Ron2112 said:

 

Is it really difficult for you to understand that they weren't certain the demand would be there after all these years and without Neil?  

 

Certainly they had Plan B and Plan C lined up from the start, but I'd bet that they were not at all certain they were going to be able to pull the trigger on the additional dates.  The hinted-at 2027 leg will very likely look like the tour announcements of old, now that they know there's still an audience.

Not difficult to understand at all. They claim to know how dedicated their fans are, and that was on full display at the RRHoF ceremony, so this "adding" shows due to demand, is baloney.

Edited November 14, 2025 by BastillePark

[PAFHumbucker]

3 hours ago, Ron2112 said:

 

I've got tix for the 25th show already and if the setlist really changes the way Geddy suggests it will, I'll be getting tix for this show on the 27th as well.  Glad to see there's plenty of pickings.

 

Yeah.  I'm waiting for ticket prices to drop for the show on the 25th.  I already have a ticket for the 27th.  I'm going to do the same thing for Philly.  I picked up a good seat for a good price for the second night and I plan to stalk tickets for the first night.  

Edited November 14, 2025 by PAFHumbucker

[lerxt1990]

So do prices drop for these empty second shows or do they cancel them?  Serious question.  Whats the value proposition of the amount of attendees to make the show financially viable?  Its clear a serious price drop would bring in droves of mildly interested parties, younger folk, and true blue Rush fans who simply couldnt or wouldnt shell out big bucks.  I guess what I am asking is has anyone else seen this happen with another band, it seems kind of semi-new phenomena with some of these big tours and TM doing battle with aftermarket sellers and finding that "cliff of hype and interest."

Edited November 15, 2025 by lerxt1990

[PAFHumbucker]

I think all the parties involved don’t want to part with the money people have already paid for the VIP tickets/experiences, so they will find a way to sell the tickets for these second nights.  We’re still a year out, the economy is not great, everything costs more, and ticket prices are insane.  Another thing you have to factor in specifically for the DC shows is that tickets went on sale in the middle of a government shutdown, so a lot of people that live in the area were not getting paid during the pre-sales and general on sale.  

 

The fact that so many tickets are sold for the first night in DC is astounding when you consider everything.  Capital One arena holds 20k people.  If the ticket average were 300 bucks that would be a take of 6 million dollars.  I’m sure there are plenty of people that would jump on some of the 4th row seats available right now if they were 300-400 bucks instead of 1300 for a ‘VIP’ experience.  I have a friend out in Seattle and I was checking out the seats available for the shows.  There are plenty of seats available in the 5th row…for 2300 a pop for some travel package.  

 

Capital One is also owned by Monumental/Ted Leonsis and he played a game of chicken threatening to move the Capitals and Wizards to NOVA, so who knows what other things are going on at this venue and others behind the scenes.

[lerxt1990]

4 minutes ago, PAFHumbucker said:

I think all the parties involved don’t want to part with the money people have already paid for the VIP tickets/experiences, so they will find a way to sell the tickets for these second nights.  We’re still a year out, the economy is not great, everything costs more, and ticket prices are insane.  Another thing you have to factor in specifically for the DC shows is that tickets went on sale in the middle of a government shutdown, so a lot of people that live in the area were not getting paid during the pre-sales and general on sale.  

 

The fact that so many tickets are sold for the first night in DC is astounding when you consider everything.  Capital One arena holds 20k people.  If the ticket average were 300 bucks that would be a take of 6 million dollars.  I’m sure there are plenty of people that would jump on some of the 4th row seats available right now if they were 300-400 bucks instead of 1300 for a ‘VIP’ experience.  I have a friend out in Seattle and I was checking out the seats available for the shows.  There are plenty of seats available in the 5th row…for 2300 a pop for some travel package.  

 

Capital One is also owned by Monumental/Ted Leonsis and he played a game of chicken threatening to move the Capitals and Wizards to NOVA, so who knows what other things are going on at this venue and others behind the scenes.

Great stuff - and basically a mirror of Philly situation.  Except moving teams - we spent millions dollars on intrigue with (now scuttled) plans to build a second arena just for Sixers in center city which was a horrifying idea for myriad reasons.