This is what I wore to the Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes concert at Harrah's last night.
I'm going to preface everything that follows with this disclaimer, I really really like Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes. I willingly shelled out 45 bucks to go and see them and I was stoked to do so. My excitement over this concert was so much that I went to it in spite of the fact that I have a super nasty cold and probably should have just stayed at home. But I didn't. I payed and went to see a band whose music I really enjoy, and I was left feeling so incredibly let down.
Again I want to say, I don't really blame the band for this. I feel there were several factors that went into this being a less than stellar night, the main one being the crowd. It seemed like such an unenthusiastic crowd for such a fun, up-beat band. I kept looking around me and wondering why the hell NO ONE was dancing. It was baffeling. And every time there was a break in the music, everyone was just chatting away about the most innane bullshit. My friend Brian put it really well when he said "It's so wierd seeing a show with a bunch of people who don't really care about music at all." Which was definatly the vibe I got from the majority of the crowd.
We arrived at the venue, Harrah's "Grand Sierra Showroom"--which is really just their nightclub, Vex, stripped of it's catwalks and fog machines--at around 7:50PM, the doors opened at 7:30. By the time we got into the line, which was still a good 100 people deep, the band was already mid-way through their second or third song. That's right, no opener. No warning. No nothing. Doors open. Band on stage. Band off stage by 8:40. That's right, folks. I paid 45 bucks for an hour and ten minutes, the first 20-25 of which I didn't actually get to see because I was still in line with the other half of the paying crowd.
In spite of the luke-warm crowd and the incredibly briefe set, Alexander, Jade and the Band put on an amazing show. Their energy and enthusiasm are amazing, and their efforts to engage the crowd were much appreciated by those of us actually there to see them perform. Jade has an incredible voice and it's definatly something you have to experience live. The way that Alex looks at her, too. Jeeze, that's something to see right there.
Afterwards, sitting in the food court and wondering what the hell we were gonna do now that it was 9:00PM and the concert was over, we started talking about just how rediculously short the whole affair was and decided to see if there was someone we could talk to about a partial refund or something.
The first person we spoke with was a security guard, who was plesant enough and told us we could come back tomorrow to speak with the head of Events, but there was nothing he or the club manager could do. So we asked to speak with the club manager, whose first words to us both upon coming out were "So, I hear you guys wanna bitch about the show?" To which I responded, "No, but we would like to bitch about the price point."
At this point Butch ________ (can't recall his name) continues to be aggressive and hostile as we try to explain that we don't feel that 45 dollars is a fair price for a show that lasts less than an hour and a half. To which he responded that we "didn't have to buy a tickit," at which point I asked if this was the sort of customer service Harrah's always provided and he responded with a brusque "Yup." It was only when my companion blatantly said "Excuse me, I can't beleive how unprofessional you've been with us. I don't know when asking a customer what they want to bitch about has ever been protocol." that he calmed down and started talking to us like we were actually people. We left on decent enough terms, but I'm still pretty appalled by how badly he treated us for the first 15 minutes of our conversation.
Our intention was not to bitch about the Band or in any way discredit the show they put on. Our complaint was and still is with Harrah's. With their over-priced and rushed shows, with their ass-hole club manager and with the utterly lack-luster evening they set up for us. Mainly, what I'm trying to say is Harrah's sucks. Their club manager, Butch Whatever, is kind of a douche bag. And we will be going in tomorrow to complain to the head of Events. When I go to a show, particularly one I pay 45 dollars for, I expect at least 2 hours of music, and I certainly expect to be treated like a paying customer by the managment. I wasn't drunk, I wasn't rude. I asked politely and reasonably for a refund because I felt I had been cheated. Long story short, don't ever see a show at Harrah's Lake Tahoe.
{boots :: minnetonka}{tights :: claire's}{shorts :: rock & republic cutoffs}{blouse :: marshall's}
Note: I really don't want to come across as a whiner or anything. I love going to concerts and I am usually game for pretty much anything, but this was just so ridiculous I sort of can't get over it. Once again, no offense meant towards the band or the performance they gave. They played this and it was awesome.
