Lu Show Attendance Poll

Fairly new fan here. I originally was going to go to the Nashville show but chose the Columbus show as it was closer to home (didn’t have to spend as much on gas or hotel room). After the Columbus show, had it not been for the economy, I would have been driving to St. Louis and Chicago, no doubt about it.

Not knocking Buick 6, but is it possible prior opening acts helped increase attendance with their fan base?

An opening act is not going to make the difference for me. I’d go regardless, new material or old.

But I haven’t gone lately, and I can’t answer the poll because my obstacle is not one of the choices. The problem is all too common: Life gets in the way. For a lot of us, somewhere between our early 20s and enjoying our 401k’s (haha), making the time for a sometimes distant show is increasingly difficult. It’s not the cost of a ticket and gas, but the time and everything else. It’s a big deal. When did things change so that I can’t drop everything, and just go?! 🙁 Even making plans isn’t a guarantee: This summer I had purchased tickets for her show headlining the Finger Lakes festival, but an ailing family member sent me to Florida instead. In other words: Life got in the way. Similar story for the madison sq. garden show a few weeks ago. Same deal for the early summer PNC arts center show with Mellencamp — family and work obligations made that night impossible.

It sucks, but I know where I need to be. I don’t think I’m any less dedicated a fan for my absence. And I am sure there are a lot here like me, in the same position, dying to go but stuck without a babysitter or not able to leave work or attending to loved one, disappointed but realizing that something else takes priority at the time.

Those who are able to attend so many of shows are very fortunate, and I attend vicariously by reading their posts. Thanks to all for sharing! And thanks to Lucinda for continuing to play all these shows. I’ll be at a show next year. I promise. 8)

Tom– I typed this a couple of days ago and then lost it and retyped. Anyway, we were discussing this topic the other night in Nashville but we didn’t get a chance to finish before I got pulled away. I think the poll is an interesting idea and an example of the potential positives that can come from an this forum. So I’d like to add a some things that we didn’t have chance to talk about the other night. In addition maybe I can provide a look behind the scenes and some additional food for thought. First, this is not just a Lucinda problem. It is happening to everyone, and from what i’ve heard in many cases its far worse than what we are seeing. I talk to Lucinda’s booking agent nearly everyday -and i get feedback from the local promoters who are doing our shows. What I have been hearing is consistent and it is that things were already difficult but that about 4-5 weeks ago, roughly the same time as the Wall St/economic meltdown and unfortunately about the same time we started the tour, ticket sales just fell off the table everywhere. And that’s exactly what we saw -many of the shows started out strong and then ticket sales just froze in a lot of places. So it’s very apparent that economy has hurt ticket sales. Another telling thing is that our shows in Canada are doing great -with a couple of them selling out quickly -even though we played all the same markets a year ago and to be honest in one of those cities the show last year was not one I felt was one of the better ones. In Toronto we played to the largest audience so far on this tour outside of NY. I find all that pretty interesting.

What happened with the Nashville show is a microcosm of the challenge we are dealing with right now. When we put that show on sale it was decided to put it on sale as standing GA on the floor and seated GA up in the balcony, and the promoter suggested the tickets on the floor to be slightly more ($5 I believe). After the first couple of weeks the sales of tickets in the balcony were far beyond what had been sold on the floor. Enough so that the promoter suggested that we needed to change the floor back to seated GA. By doing that we also had to give back some of the show guarantee. There really wasn’t a decision because you can’t have a show with everybody up in the balcony and nobody on the floor. I made the original decision to have it be a standing floor because that is what Lucinda prefers, and that show completely exemplified why. For the first 2/3 of the show the audience was seated and while they were great, everything changed when Lucinda told everybody it was ok to get up and come down to the front. The energy in the whole place just completely turned, and Lucinda just fed off it which she mentioned from the stage, and the rest of the show was just elevated. I guess you’d call that a conundrum.
I’ve seen the suggestion of playing clubs, and while we are doing that in Mpls, Seattle and San Francisco, most cities either don’t have a big enough club or couldn’t support two nights. Clubs are also an issue on the business end because many have ticket ceilings, and the ticket price has to not only support our 17 people but the cost to the promoter of putting on the show- advertising, security, rent etc.
I saw one suggestion of co-headlining a small theater. Now you’re supporting two infrastructures and tickets would have to be $80.

But it would be foolish to say the economy. I don’t take anything for granted. I am always looking at the things we are doing. It is an advantage to be able be on the road and see what is happening night after night. I try to talk as much as i can every night to fans. Its also one of the reasons I value this forum, and am involved with it. If I get one idea or one suggestion that improves what we do it is invaluable. For instance, I have considered that maybe we were hurt when the album release date got bumped, as it caused us to go out longer before it came out. That’s hard to gauge. Maybe that’s another question for your poll -if the album had been out before the show would you have been more likely to go? One thing I do know is that it doesn’t have anything to do with setlists etc. That is nonsense and I have the hard facts to back it up but will respond to that separately.

One of the other things that I am becoming increasingly aware of is that it there is a growing split in the preferences of Lucinda’s fans. There is a group that would not go to a club show and there is another group doesn’t go the bigger theaters for various reasons. The only real answer is first and foremost to keep putting Lucinda in venues where she enjoys it and gets the energy of the audience. Ironically, as I was watching the show in St. Louis the other night I was thinking that the venue, The Pageant, was almost the template venue for her right now -standing area down front and intimate seats up top –and as someone joked last night–a bar.

While things are certainly challenging right now, Lucinda is doing great. She is enjoying playing live more than she ever has, she feels more confident on stage and feels she has the best band she’s ever had. The band is really playing great and there is a real rapport with Lucinda. A lot of the things that are happening are out of our control but the one thing we do have control over is playing the best show we can. As long as the shows are great all is good. And the feedback on this tour from both fans and press has been virtually unanimous. After the NY show i talked to an A&R person who had scouted Lucinda way back when she was a young lass, and he said “I’ve been seeing Lucinda for 28 years and this was by far the best she has ever been-on so many levels”. The people that are coming out to the shows have been fantastic and Little Honey debuted in the Top 10, That would be a first for her and after all these years, a fantastic accomplishment. She’s worked very very hard for that but none of it could have happened without the amazing fan support she has had–now and always. Someone told me recently “take care of her -she is an American treasure”. My bias and interest are obvious, but she is a treasure, and I think she’s never been better night after night and I hope everyone can come out and see that.