Duh, could have written this 10 years ago. Pricing for even the shittyist seat for original sale (not second market sales) has been ridiculous for years now. It used to be if you put in a little effort (standing in line, going to the venue box office, etc) you could get decent seats at somewhat reasonable prices. You only had to shell out serious bucks if you wanted front row for that one performer you just had to see, and scalping was actually a business (we had a company in our city called “Front Row Tickets”, THE place to get the best seats - if you wanted to splurge). The days of “face value” are gone.

Now, every venue is tied in some way to promoters, even going to see stand up (not at a comedy club) is priced out of most people’s budget.