John Hiatt and The Jerry Douglas Band hit the road!


They have a new album out, and are making their way across the U.S.A. to perform it live. Tickets in my locale (Revolution Hall in Portland, Oregon) are a modest $49.50 (plus $11 "booking fee"---what a racket!). Hiatt is a great live performer; I saw him a few times in L.A., once with the great Goners backing him, once as a member of Little Village, the supergroup composed of he, Ry Cooder, Nick Lowe, and Jim Keltner. Damn!), and The Jerry Douglas Band (whom I saw at the same Portland venue their last time through town) is composed of virtuoso-level musicians.

Jerry is one of my favorite living musicians, the dobro player heard on a LOT of Bluegrass and Country albums, and a member of Union Station, the band Alison Krauss employs (she and Jerry have a kid together). Along with Marty Stuart And His Fabulous Superlatives (currently the best band in the world, imo)---unfortunately sold out, THE shows of the year!
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$135 plus $5 handling fee for the sold out SMAC show. I would not pay that much for any artist. Even though SMAC is a wonderful venue. Lots of $59 & $69 seats at Chubb Theater in Concord NH. 
Oh man! I am DEFINITELY going to this show, somewhere. I’ve loved Hiatt since the 90s, and Douglas is the best dobro player in the world and the core of Allison Krauss’s band Union Station, the tightest one I can think of.
I admit to being spoiled as a kid. I saw The Beatles for $4.50, and Cream, Hendrix, Albert King, The Kinks, Elton John, the doors, Procol Harum, The Electric Flag, Big Brother, The Beach Boys, and hundreds of others for $3.00-3.50. And The Airplane and Dead for free! Of course, that's back when milk was 25 cents a half-gallon, about the same each for a gallon of gas and a pack of cigs.

Shows in the clubs in L.A. (The Whiskey A Go Go, The Roxy, The Starwood, The Troubadour, The Palace) in the 80's and 90's was no more than around ten bucks, but they gotcha at the bar---about eight bucks for a shot of Johnny Walker Black, iirc. 
$50 bucks is about my max for a show. Too bad Tickethackster takes money that should go to the band. Otherwise I support bands through vinyl purchases.