The Official Book of Souls Tour 2016 Thread (Warning: Spoilers within!)

Okay. The theory is that Chapter One (of the Book of Souls) was the leg of the tour in the Americas. I'd been led to believe Chapter One would be everywhere except Europe, with Chapter Two beginning as soon as Maiden arrived in Europe. Chapter Three picks/merch have been rumoured for some time now to exist, before, in fact, the cat was out of the bag about the 2017 tour.
 
Niall Kielt said:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/hughmcintyre/2016/07/21/13578/#7649610de15f

Forbes call it rather differently....??
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I think the Billboard figures are counting shows until the end of May/August and the Forbes one is counting shows until now. Some of the acts had massive shows in July. Also the Forbes one shows how big of a money whore Madonna is (selling half less tickets than The Stones and Adele, but still made more money). Also Madonna and Paul McCartney should be behind Maiden sales-wise, but are on the list thanks to much more expensive tickets (215 and 130 dollars per average, while Maiden should be around 85).
 
It's true that even here in Czechia (where the price of the tickets is usually unpredictable) Maiden are probably the best choice as far as the price/concert energy ratio is concerned. You can actually be right in front of stage for about 1.500 Crowns, which would maybe get you to other concerts, but not really. Yes, you could see Anthrax for half that price, even, but still, considering the fact everyone here knows them here and they have such legacy their new album goes to #1 immediately (an inconcievable thing here, really)...
 
matic22 said:
Or according to figures $400 or more for Madonna :p.
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I really can't help myself - you just name that woman and this comes to my mind..

http://markprindle.com/madonnaa.htm#american

"I never expected to come across an album with such a volative mixture of uncreative melody, embarrassing production and offensive, moronic lyricism that it would physically bust through the bottom of my scale and force my wife to design a graphic for "ZERO." After all, how would one go about getting a ZERO on a scale of 1 to 10? Genius that she is, Madonna has figured it out!"

There's character assassination... and then there's this. By the guy who's usually "only" funny, almost being too scared to be serious...

"So what does Madonna do? Well, let me put it this way -- you can tell me every fag, junglebunny and kike joke in the world and none of it is going to offend me anywhere NEAR as much as listening to some dumb rich cunt bitching and moaning about how much her life sucks for 50 fucking minutes. Before I delve into her poetry, let me preface this attack by saying that I certainly understand why an artist might choose not to address depressing social issues in their work. Entertainment is entertainment, after all, and lots of us turn to it for an escape from the disturbing reality we're experiencing. But that's not what American Life is. It is NOT escapist entertainment. It is Madonna presenting a series of dark, minor-key, UNHAPPY songs about how fake and plastic the entertainment business is and how it's not enough to make her happy. Hopefully I speak for the majority of Americans when I say BOO FUCKING HOO.

...

Let's start with track 1, "American Life." Aside from being almost inarguably the least catchy single Madonna has ever released, this song within the first thirty seconds makes it clear exactly how far out of touch Madonna is with real life. "Do I have to change my name? Will it get me far? Should I lose some weight? Am I gonna be a star?" THIS is American life in 2003? Who thinks like this now? Aside from the most narcissistic brain-dead failed actor, I can't imagine ANYBODY over the age of 13 seriously considering these to be important worries at this particular juncture in history. How about "Will there be any available jobs for me when I graduate college?" or "Will I ever be able to get out of this ghetto without being murdered by 'gangstas'?" or "Where is my family supposed to live now that I've been laid off and have no retirement money because the executives of my company stole all of it?"

But it gets much, MUCH worse later in the song, during the first of many unbelievably poorly conceived and humiliatingly executed raps performed by Madonna in a quite racist fake negro accent. "I got a lawyer and a manager, an agent and a chef," she brags. "Three nannies, an assistant and a driver and a jet, a trainer and a butler and a bodyguard or five, a gardener and a stylist..." before delivering the most horrifically thoughtless conclusion possible -- "Do you think I'm satisfied?"

Well, it must be nice to have the luxury to be UNSATISFIED with billions of dollars in the bank and people waiting on you hand and foot. Unfortunately, most of us actually have to work for a living - and many of us don't even have the opportunity to do that. How about asking yourself if your three nannies and assistant are satisfied? Or if your gardener and butler are satisfied? How about writing a song that doesn't include the word "I" at least forty times? Not this time. This is Madonna's time to whine about the trials of the rich -- which, I might add, is exactly what she did on Ray Of Light. And the most disturbing part is that she thinks she's speaking as a HUMAN. She's sure that she's one of US now. She has NO IDEA what being a person is like! How could she? She hasn't had a real problem in about thirty years! (My wife adds, "She hasn't had a decent SONG in about thirty years either!)."

So what else does she offer on this magnum dopus: Next is "Hollywood," a quite obvious attempt to make excuses for her seemingly endless string of unsuccessful movies. "Everybody comes to Hollywood/They wanna make it in the neighbourhood/They like the smell of it in Hollywood/How could it hurt you when it looks so good?" Guess the critical reaction to "Swept Away" wasn't all she was expecting? Must be because Hollywood is cruel; couldn't be that she's a boring actress.

Next is "I'm So Stupid," which must be the tenth or twelfth song she's recorded about how materialistic and selfish she USED to be, and thank God she isn't anymore. Now she understands what's really important in life. That's why she feels the need to tell us this, over and over again. Almost as if it were a new IDENTITY that she was trying to slip into. Unfortunately, "honesty," "integrity" and "compassion" are not costumes that you can slip on and off like a bustier with gold-tipped nipples. And I'm sorry, no matter how many times she says it, I simply don't BELIEVE her when she claims, "I'm so stupid/Cause I use to live/In a tiny bubble/And I wanted to be/Like all the pretty people/That were all around me/But now I know for sure/That I was stupid." I'm not going to make a judgment call about whether Madonna is stupid or not -- but she is quite clearly as self-delusional as anybody else you're going to find in the entertainment industry. And what can you say about a person too dim to realize what even FRED DURST is able to figure out -- that American life has changed and celebrities at least have to make an effort to LOOK like they give a shit about other people?

Moving on, we come to another shallow introspection piece called "Nobody Knows Me." Well, first of all, as she has made evident for at least the past ten years of her career, there's not a whole lot to know. Monstrous ego, insatiable thirst for attention -- and that about covers it! And secondly, I don't suppose I have to explain to you exactly how it feels to hear this self-satisfied multi-billionaire sing, "I sleep much better at night/I feel closer to the light/Now I'm gonna try/To improve my life." I, I, I, my.

Pardon me one second while I count how many times Madonna uses first-person pronouns on this 50-minute release.

"American Life" = 62
"Hollywood" = 6
"I'm So Stupid" = 24
"Love Profusion" = 67
"Nobody Knows Me" = 68
"Nothing Fails" = 26
"Intervention" = 27
"X-Static Process" = 60
"Mother And Father" = 71
"Die Another Day" = 55
"Easy Ride " = 34.

Well, they say write what you know. And Madonna is all Madonna knows. Or cares about. So why shouldn't she refer to herself 507 times in 50 minutes? That's more than 10 times per minute. That means that Madonna is attempting to show that she is no longer selfish and one-dimensional -- by making a verbal reference to herself EVERY SIX SECONDS FOR THE ENTIRE CD.
 
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matic22 said:
I think the Billboard figures are counting shows until the end of May/August and the Forbes one is counting shows until now. Some of the acts had massive shows in July. Also the Forbes one shows how big of a money whore Madonna is (selling half less tickets than The Stones and Adele, but still made more money). Also Madonna and Paul McCartney should be behind Maiden sales-wise, but are on the list thanks to much more expensive tickets (215 and 130 dollars per average, while Maiden should be around 85).
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Aye, makes sense. 200 brick for a ticket is fuckin mental. I could only imagine doin that for Maidens last tour. Black Sabbath in Dublin is 93 euro or somethin. I was shocked. And I was delighted when I got one as a present :shred:
 
Travis The Dragon said:
I love that Maiden doesn't gouge fans on ticket prices. Normally, the best seats to see a band that big would be $150 or more.
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I guess I'm not the only one who thinks that today's ticket prices, for whatever (big) band, are simply insane.
I saw Maiden for the first time back in 1986 for 29 marks (German currency). That equals 15 euros now.

Before you smash me to bits:
Yes, I know that was 30 years ago. And yes, I know that everything is much more expensive than back then.
And of course we all know that artists are mainly living off ticket sales these days, with all the piracy going on (album sales).

In Maiden's case I simply can't understand it. I love them and I know that they have to pay a large road crew, fuel their gigantic jet, etc.
But would it hurt them to charge less?
NO !!!!

They are so damn rich, they really don't need the money, right?
 
Dr. Demonic said:
In Maiden's case I simply can't understand it. I love them and I know that they have to pay a large road crew, fuel their gigantic jet, etc.
But would it hurt them to charge less?
NO !!!!
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They charge half the price Black Sabbath charged in the same arena 2 weeks later.
 
It all depends on the venue and region. For Berlin tickets (Waldbuehne, free admission) I paid 80 euros. For Trieste (Main square, fan pit) I paid 105 euros. For Belgrade and Zagreb (Arenas, fan pit), I paid 45 euros.
 
I think anything between £45-80 a ticket is reasonable for a big act like Maiden. Anything more than, I think is extorniate.

I haven't had the opportunity to see Maiden at their own show yet, so I don't know what their prices are when they eventually do arena shows here in the UK. But when bands like Black Sabbath charge over £80-£110 for standing tickets, when on the previous tour they were only about £50. That really pisses me off.
 
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