Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Simon & Garfunkel prices breaking your heart?
Yikes!
Who's going to pay that for them?
And then, upon reflection, I thought of someone.
Me.
What changed my mind was putting the price in relative perspective.
Tickets to the May 5 concert at the MTS Centre go on sale Friday and the best seats, or at least the highest-priced seats, go for $225. Plus agency fees.
Which means they'll really cost $242.50.
You can still buy a ticket for as little as $59, which will end up being $71.25.
But if you want to say you actually saw the '60s icons who are now in their 60s -- if you want to get relatively close to musical greatness -- you'll either have to reach deep or grab a pair of binoculars.
Which makes me wonder.
How much are we willing to pay for a slice of nostalgia served the way it is now, not necessarily then?
How much is too much?
If you happened to go on the web -- as I did Wednesday -- it seems you could already answer that with your credit card. One of the so-called "secondary market" sites had two tickets to the Winnipeg concert priced at US$624.
Each.
That would be in row 18 on the floor.
If $624 is just a tad too much even for you fanatical fans, the same site was offering row 25 on the floor for $579. Or you could drive to Fargo on May 7 and pay $745 for a floor seat in row D. Or, for a relative song, you could go out and buy a Simon & Garfunkel live CD.
That's not the same as being there live, of course.
But, if I can put the cost of a Simon & Garfunkel ticket in perspective for you -- I mean what a slice of nostalgia can cost and what changed my mind -- consider the face value of a ticket to a night watching the Phoenix Coyotes, who used to be the Winnipeg Jets.
A front-row seat is listed on the team's official site at US$325.75. That's US$348.60 with all the fees.
Plus airfare.
Suddenly, Simon & Garfunkel have never sounded better.
"ö "ö "ö
HISTORY IN THE TELLING... Here's a different slice of nostalgia. Our historic and storied North End is about to record a few more stories from its past. At least I gather they'll be recording what happens on Tuesday night at the third annual Seven Oaks Historical Society's general meeting when three women of distinction reflect on growing up there.
Addie Penner, retired dean of social work at the University of Manitoba, Ruth Rachlis, a former professor in the same faculty, and business woman Gerri Sylvia will share their memories as part of a panel moderated by Free Press reporter Bruce Owen. The meeting starts at 7 p.m. at St. John's Cathedral and the plan is to add their stories to more than 75 other oral histories that the society has collected for a coffee table book they're hoping to publish next year. It would commemorate the 2012 bicentennial of the Selkirk Settlers' arrival. When I say hoping to publish, that's because they're still trying to raise money for the printing. One would think that between the city and the province that wouldn't be a problem, given the historic occasion.
"ö "ö "ö
VICTORY FOR VICTOR... Last week, I wrote about my friend Victor Harper (He wants to heal where pain took place March 4) and how he wanted to tell his residential school story to the Independent Assessment Process at remote Kalliechollie Lake, the traditional hunting camp near Island Lake from where he was essentially abducted and flown to the Jack River Residential School in the 1950s, but he hadn't been able to get a commitment from anyone. Apparently he has now. Victor said his healing hearing will be held Sept. 8 at Kalliechollie Lake.
As it should be.
gordon.sinclair@freepress.mb.ca
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition March 11, 2010 B1
-
WFP Hockey
Download our new hockey app for the iPhone for Winnipeg Jets updates
-
Editor's Bulletin
Sign up for daily bulletins from editor Margo Goodhand
-
Winnipeg Jets
All things NHL on our Jets landing page
-
Twitter
Follow our reporters and our news feeds on Twitter
-
News Cafe
Check out the menu, read our blog posts or get info on coming events
-
Facebook Fanpage
Follow our Facebook Fanpage for story links, contests and special events
Ads by Google
- Back to Top
- Return to Columnists
Poll
Most Popular
- Piers Morgan blasts 'gruesome' Madonna
- RCMP receptionist told Stobbe wife was dead
- Cabela's to open massive store just west of IKEA site
- Steinbach booms to No. 3 city in province
- Juror dismissed in second-degree murder trial of Mark Stobbe
- RCMP receptionist told Stobbe wife dead
- Should infants be allowed in the House of Commons?
- No comfort in trade talk: Veteran Thorburn says closely knit club well worth keeping together
- Search is on for man seen leaving the scene where two Alberta Mounties were shot
- US teen gets life in prison for killing 9-year-old; called the murder "pretty enjoyable"
- Piers Morgan blasts 'gruesome' Madonna
- Clothing chain pulls Caterpillar boots to protest closure of London, Ont., plant
- Three winning tickets sold for Friday's $50 million Lotto Max jackpot
- Woman's car stolen at gunpoint at St. Vital mall, police say
- Eleven people killed after truck hits van in southwestern Ontario
- 'This is so silly': Mom and Dad tell story of baby Zade, born on side of Highway 59
- Stobbe said slaying during shopping trip 'strange': sister-in-law
- Tactical squad storms St. Vital house
- Woman sexually assaulted during noon-hour in Exchange District
- Restaurant Dubrovnik may be closed for good
- Do you smoke marijuana?
- Driver dead after SUV goes over Disraeli Bridge
- George Clooney's prank could end Pitt's career
- Piers Morgan blasts 'gruesome' Madonna
- Tina Maze strips down to her sports bra to send out underwear message: 'Not your business'
- Clothing chain pulls Caterpillar boots to protest closure of London, Ont., plant
- Minor earthquake strikes near Manitoba
- Car's plunge off Disraeli fatal
- Two children, two women die in fire
- Kate Beckinsale's weight fears over Underworld catsuit
- Tassimo brewers and espresso packages recalled amid rupture, burn concerns
- Cabela's to open massive store just west of IKEA site
- Fighting fire with knowledge
- Spain mourns death of Catalan painter, sculptor Antoni Tapies, top contemporary art figure
- Pardon application fee to quadruple later this month despite complaints
- Steinbach booms to No. 3 city in province
- Our 'true champion'
- Harper driven by libertarian ideology, not reality
- OMG! Candy kings back at it
- Original Joe's, Elephant & Castle expanding
- Tassimo brewers and espresso packages recalled amid rupture, burn concerns
- Swedish bunny's sheep herding skills becomes click-monster on YouTube
- League encourages hazing secrecy
- Cabela's to open massive store just west of IKEA site
- Harper driven by libertarian ideology, not reality
- Northern fishing lodge destroyed by fire
- Police target drivers talking on cellphones, texting
- Obama torn by conflicting allies
- 'This is so silly': Mom and Dad tell story of baby Zade, born on side of Highway 59
- Fighting fire with knowledge
- Minor earthquake strikes near Manitoba
- Paddler Starkell was modern-day voyageur
- Tassimo brewers and espresso packages recalled amid rupture, burn concerns
- Driver dead after SUV goes over Disraeli Bridge
- Car's plunge off Disraeli fatal
- Canadian woman 'badly injured' in Mexico, local media report apparent beating
- Winnipeg mother watches as car stolen with child inside
- Swedish bunny's sheep herding skills becomes click-monster on YouTube
- League encourages hazing secrecy
- Cabela's to open massive store just west of IKEA site
You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.
The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010; View the changes. New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.