$2,000 tickets to see Diana Ross at Dock Street Theatre going fast

[jobeterob]

$2,000 tickets to see Diana Ross at Dock Street Theatre going fast
For music lovers, intimate setting worth the cost
By Glenn Smith
gsmith@postandcourier.com
Friday, March 4, 2011

26 Comment[[s)
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The Diana Ross show at the Dock Street Theatre is among the priciest tickets to hit town in years, but organizers said the upscale, intimate concert is well on its way to a sellout.

So just who has the deep pockets to shell out $2,000 in seating and membership fees to gain access to the diva's show Monday, and two yet-to-be-announced concerts?



AP Photo/Jason DeCrow

Diana Ross will front a big band at the Dock Street Theatre March 7.
Organizers said attendees are music lovers like local businessman J.C Long, who is more than willing to dig deep for a chance to see iconic performers like Ross in an elegant theater that seats just 420 people.

"There is a big difference between this and going to a show with 5,000 people," Long said. "This is going to be something really special."

The show is the first staged in Charleston by Music With Friends, a private club that got its start in

Charlotte four years ago. Charleston is the group's first venture outside the Queen City, but founder Larry Farber said he hopes other sites will follow, giving the club more leverage to attract even bigger names to its up-close-and-personal shows.

Farber flirted with giving Charleston a go in 2008, but the sour economy put plans on hold. The veteran promoter decided to move ahead this year with encouragement from Charleston members of the club, including real estate broker Cantey Hare.

Having access to the Dock Street, which recently underwent a $20 million makeover, was a crucial factor, Farber said.

"It's one of the coolest venues I have seen," he said. "The history, the character; I knew it would be perfect."

In return, the city-owned theater gets to host some star-studded talent, hauling in entourages and audiences to help boost the local economy, theater director Christopher Parham said. The theater rents for about $1,500 a day, he said.

Reader poll
Does the Music With Friends club sound like a good deal, considering the perks and the possible performers?
•Yes 30% 22 votes •No 69% 49 votes 71 total votes.
As in Charlotte, the club plans to put on three shows per year here for a limited audience. To join, prospective members must plunk down a $500 one-time fee to secure a seat. Second, you pay a membership fee of $1,500 per year. Additional seats can be purchased on a show-by-show basis. The club polls members about what acts to pursue.

Members receive passes for parking, and each concert is preceded by an elaborate, 90-minute cocktail party with an open bar and food. The shows also last about an hour and a half. Past performers in Charlotte have included Steely Dan, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Gladys Knight, Tony Bennett, Hall and Oates and George Benson.

Though not inexpensive, the club's formula seems to be working at a time when the concert industry as a whole has taken big hits in ticket sales and some performers are cancelling shows or whole tours.

"It's a whole different experience," said Hare, a member since 2007. "It's pricey, but it's one of those things where you get what you pay for."

Pawleys Island resident Gretchen Downer wasn't put off by the price, and joined the club as soon as she heard it was coming to Charleston. A pianist and music lover, Downer said she enjoyed herself when she attended the club's Smokey Robinson concert two years ago.

"I don't really see it as that much money," she said. "I paid that much to go to a Broadway show and I left at intermission."

Long said he paid $3,000 to see Sting at a large venue in Atlanta. While the show was first-rate, it doesn't compare to being able to stroll to the venue from his home and sit just feet away from the performer, he said.

Farber, senior partner at EastCoast Entertainment, said most members are age 35 and up and looking for something other than a coliseum experience with packed crowds, blaring speakers and hockey-rink acoustics.

The price of membership is not meant to be snobbish or exclusive; it's simply a matter of economics, Farber said. The club has to pay singers and musicians the same rate as the larger venues, which can sell thousands of tickets to meet that fee.

Most acts at this level charge between $150,000 or more for a show. Sheryl Crow, who played for the club last year, cost upwards of a quarter-million dollars, he said.

And, Farber said, that doesn't include travel arrangements, hotel rooms, catering and other ancillary costs.

"You do the math," he said. "If you take a sellout crowd of 400 people at $500 per show, the most you gross is $200,000," Farber said. "We are, at best, going to be breaking even in Charleston."

The allure, Farber said, is that the city gives the club more buying power by being able to offer artists a second venue to play and positions the club well for expansion in the South.

The two remaining shows this year will be in the fall. No lineup has been announced. Farber said he's been talking with representatives of Bennett, Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt and others.

"This thing has been the dream of a lifetime," he said. "There is just nothing else like it."

Reach Glenn Smith at 937-5556.

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[miss_lish]

450 seats?! NICE!!

[jobeterob]

$2000 is a lot; I'm not sure I'd go for that. Would you?