20 November 2008

Why isn't P!nk coming to Canberra?

| toriness
Join the conversation
33

I am bracing myself for the barrage of negative snide comments in response to this post but I don’t care – if someone else can post about Def Leppard then I’m damn well going to have a rant about P!nk.

P!nk had 2 sold out shows at the AIS arena here in Canberra last year as part of her ‘I’m not Dead’ tour in the Australian leg. I went to one of these shows and it was ROCKIN’! So what!? (cos I’m a rockstar etc)

In mid 2009 she’s out to Australia again for the Funhouse tour. And despite my best efforts (ie on the Ticketmaster site on the dot that tickets were released to the general public), I missed out on the reasonable dates for a Canberran to go to a Sydney show (ie Friday or Saturday night).

I have been reassuring myself that OF COURSE a Canberra show will be announced given 1. the previous tour 2 sold out shows here, and 2. hell if there is already a Funhouse gig in Newcastle then surely the Nation’s Capital gets a look-in?! But no – today further shows were announced for Melbourne (concerts 8 and 9!), Adelaide & Perth (concert #3 for both!!) and Brisbane. But still no Canberra show!

WHAT IS GOING ON!?

I encourage all Canberra P!nk fans to register their outrage and desire for a concert here – join the facebook group, register your interest with Ticketmaster, and rant on the P!nk website!

Join the conversation

33
All Comments
  • All Comments
  • Website Comments
LatestOldest

Good news in people. Pink has announced a Canberra show for 16 August! Yay!

In more personal entertainment joy for me personally, British comedy duo French & Saunders are also coming to Canberra in coming months. Pre-sale open for the Royal Theatre today. I got my tickets this morning 🙂

The show isn’t coming to Canberra because the person who has to make the decision to risk the investor’s money has decided it isn’t a good risk. We don’t get a vote because we are not an investor. If we were subsidising them with tax dollars then we might get a vote. If we all thought absence of Pink was a cultural disaster, well maybe we would spend tax money subsiding it (if we thought we could afford enough to make any difference). Then before you know it, Eddy Groves would be touring bands.

I don’t think ‘protest’ is the right model here. You’re going to have to convince them that you can get them more customers.

Also keep in mind that a lot of international artists have limited time in Australia to perform shows and will pick the cities with the biggest population to cover the best ground in the shortest time.

By this logic it would be silly to visit Canberra – people who are serious about the act will travel to Sydney anyway.

VYBerlinaV8_the_one_they_all_copy said :

Canberra has what – 350,000 people plus another 50,000 in the region? As if a major act and promoter will seriously consider Canberra! We choose to live here, for a variety of reasons. If you don’t like it, move to Sydney or Melbourne!

lol… easy there. I moved to Canberra from Sydney because I love it here. That said, there is nothing wrong with questioning why an artist cant perform in Canberra as many many have before them – especially if it is an artist who has already performed here and has a demonstrated ability to sell out more than one show.

🙂

jaor = major. jesus what a typo. i should go and work at woodstock.

and yet some jaor acts do come here :O

thankfully not all artists are about the dollar.

Skidd Marx said :

Obviously Pink’s management team did their research this time around and worked out that Nation’s Capital does not necessarily equate to large audience.

Suck it up and get the bus to Sydney if you really enjoy crap music such as this.

And yours does too!!!

Get over this whole judging people because of their musical tastes, how much would it suck if we all liked the same things? I’ll go to anything from a Black Metal show to something like Pink. Don’t like her songs very much but I’m glad I sucked it up and went to her gig last time ’round because she puts on a sensational performance, one of the better shows I’ve been to.

VYBerlinaV8_the_one_they_all_copy11:18 am 21 Nov 08

Canberra has what – 350,000 people plus another 50,000 in the region? As if a major act and promoter will seriously consider Canberra! We choose to live here, for a variety of reasons. If you don’t like it, move to Sydney or Melbourne!

seekay said :

Thank heaven for small mercies, I say.

Your favourite band sucks too buddy!

I know, i know. I have never bought anything off a scalper before and really objected to having to do it. But I didnt want to miss out on the concert and it seems like ALL of the tickets that arent in the nosebleed section are on ebay being sold for at least twice the face value. The irony isnt lost on me – i realise that I am perpetuating the cycle by buying tix off them but it will be a one-time thing for me.

there is a special place in hell for scalpers. scum of the earth. i refuse outright to buy tickets from them.

shiny flu said :

You make more money doing more nights in bigger cities like the ones you listed.

a) You get more bums on seats which is good for the promoter/Pink.
b) The more bums on seats, the more likely people will buy Merch and the more money for Pink herself.

In a day you can move equipment from Sydney-Melbourne or Sydney-Brisbane. Stopping in Canberra takes at least 2.5 days when coming from Melbourne and 1.5 from Sydney.

So if you can stay set up in Melbourne and sell more tickets/merch without having to spend money and time shifting the show to Canberra then financially it makes sense to not come here.

I agree with the above, however the current issue with Pinks promoter is not whether to announce more shows in the capital cities at the cost of a show in Canberra, it is whether to hold a show in Canberra or Wollongong which isnt even a major captial city.

Thanks for posting this Toriness. I couldnt agree with you more. The lack of Canberra concert is a joke and I have had to resort to buying tickets to a Sydney concert on Ebay which I hate doing. Lets hope Michael Coppel comes to his senses some time today and announces a show here 🙂

Sean78 said :

It’s obvious why Pink isn’t coming to Canberra.

There are too many members of the Parliamentary Liberal Party that wear pink lacy underwear. Alexander Downer would be a certainty as would Wilson Tuckey and Bill Heffernan.

I would even be suspect of Malcolm Turdbull.

What? You don’t wear pink lacy underwear? You are missing out my friend.

A law should be passed that all international acts have to do one night in Canberra. They wouldn’t have to bring all their big lighting and pyrotechnical effects and might have to make do with a smaller mixing desk. As an ex resident it used to piss me off having to go up to Sydney to see a gig. In addition to the ticket, transport up and back would have to be paid for along with a hotel room.

Nambucco Deliria8:54 pm 20 Nov 08

Tempestas said :

Nambucco Deliria said :

Iron Maiden won’t be back for the forseeable, but you can go and see them in New Zealand in February.

Another case of not selling enough tickets when they toured at the start of the year?

No. They didn’t play New Zealand at the start of the year.

You make more money doing more nights in bigger cities like the ones you listed.

a) You get more bums on seats which is good for the promoter/Pink.
b) The more bums on seats, the more likely people will buy Merch and the more money for Pink herself.

In a day you can move equipment from Sydney-Melbourne or Sydney-Brisbane. Stopping in Canberra takes at least 2.5 days when coming from Melbourne and 1.5 from Sydney.

So if you can stay set up in Melbourne and sell more tickets/merch without having to spend money and time shifting the show to Canberra then financially it makes sense to not come here.

Nambucco Deliria said :

Iron Maiden won’t be back for the forseeable, but you can go and see them in New Zealand in February.

Another case of not selling enough tickets when they toured at the start of the year?

Nambucco Deliria6:30 pm 20 Nov 08

Iron Maiden won’t be back for the forseeable, but you can go and see them in New Zealand in February.

It’s obvious why Pink isn’t coming to Canberra.

There are too many members of the Parliamentary Liberal Party that wear pink lacy underwear. Alexander Downer would be a certainty as would Wilson Tuckey and Bill Heffernan.

I would even be suspect of Malcolm Turdbull.

Possibly because the dollar has dropped.

tylersmayhem5:07 pm 20 Nov 08

Iron Maiden that should be 🙁

tylersmayhem5:00 pm 20 Nov 08

Well, can Iron Maidens or AC/DC at least make an appearance here sometime soon?

i would be fine with travelling to sydney or wollongong for a weekend show – but my leave balance is too low from OS trips smashings to devote a day’s leave to a mid-week concert interstate.

and thanks for the link blamemonkey, hopefully other people will use it! me, i registered with that weeks ago 🙂

I know what you mean Pommy bastard. A friend was just recently reminiscing about how much we hated our parents because they wouldn’t let us take the bus to Sydney to watch the Canberra City soccer team play when we were about 14. Then we had a good laugh!

They decided that Canberra already had enough pink.

Pommy bastard3:41 pm 20 Nov 08

The difference being old fruit, that I would happily let my daughter attend a concert by Pink here in our own fair city, accompanied only by her chums. (With me dropping her off and collecting her afterward)

Going to Sydney means transport and accommodation for the family on top of ticket price. Rather prohibitive I would say.

Obviously Pink’s management team did their research this time around and worked out that Nation’s Capital does not necessarily equate to large audience.

Suck it up and get the bus to Sydney if you really enjoy crap music such as this.

Aren’t we battling it out with Wollongong for a concert? That’s what they’ve been babbling on about on 104.7 in the morning for the past two weeks or so.

Blamemonkey said :

for someone who is a fan how can you not be aware of this?

http://comps.ticketek.com.au/pinkregister.php

I suspect that’s how she knew about the new shows added to Melbourne, etc. Signing up for notification doesn’t due much to ensure she’s coming.

Thank heaven for small mercies, I say.

for someone who is a fan how can you not be aware of this?

http://comps.ticketek.com.au/pinkregister.php

Sure – I agree… but I don’t think it’s going to happen.

Last time she was here, yes she sold out two shows. That’s a wonderful show of support, but the bottom line is that (from a promoter’s viewpoint) there’s no money to be made in Canberra.

Last year I saw Pink and Missy Higgins one week apart (I think) both at AIS. Pink says [sic] “wow, this is really nice and intimate… it’s the smallest venue I’ve played on this tour”.

Missy says [sic] “wow this is awesome, and a bit intimidating – this is the biggest gig I’ve played on this tour”.

I don’t know the numbers, but I suspect that a promoter has to charge upwards of $200/ticket for an AIS show if they want to make returns equivalent of a show in Sydney. Furthermore – a promoter knows that Canberra fans will grumble but in the end buy tickets to the Sydney show(s).

I also encountered problems getting Friday/Saturday tickets…in the end had to settle for Wednesday. Such is life.

Pommy bastard3:03 pm 20 Nov 08

Funnily enough I have to agree. My 13 yr old would love to go see her.

Daily Digest

Want the best Canberra news delivered daily? Every day we package the most popular Riotact stories and send them straight to your inbox. Sign-up now for trusted local news that will never be behind a paywall.

By submitting your email address you are agreeing to Region Group's terms and conditions and privacy policy.