TA Live! Ticket Alternative Blog

Win Tickets To The American Craft Beer Festival in Boston

We have a couple of pairs of tickets to give away for the American Craft Beer Fest at the Seaport World Trade Center in Boston. The tickets will be for the Friday session on June 19, though there are also two sessions on Saturday available for purchase. Hosted by Beer Advocate and Harpoon Brewery, the festival gives entrants a tasting cup, with which to taste 2 oz samples of over 300 craft beers from 75 brewers. Tickets for both days (three sessions in all) are available here.

But to win the Friday tickets, shoot us an email at win@ticketalternative.com - good luck and good drinking!

Detroit Cobras and Mr Lif Coming to Sticky Fingerz in Little Rock

We have two great shows coming up for Sticky Fingerz Rock N Roll Chicken Shack in Little Rock, AR. First up is the Detroit Cobras, one of the best garage rock bands out there. The band will be supported by Dexter Romweber, who many indie rock history buffs will know from his work with Chapel Hill, NC's legendary Flat Duo Jets. Both acts will be in Little Rock on June 2. Tickets are available here.

Def Jux's infectiously smooth, politically-charged rapper Mr Lif (video above) will be channeling Public Enemy in his Little Rock debut the next day on June 3. Tickets are available here.

Help Save Paste Magazine!

A quick bit of disclosure regarding my (Leila, editor of TA Live) connection with Paste - I was an intern and writer there and am now married to Tim, the president of the company. So obviously this cause is going to be super-close to me. But even if it wasn't, in my humble opinion, Paste is pretty much the best music magazine in the country, if not the world, and we just can't afford to lose it. They seek out new artists as well as giving props to established ones, regardless of their cool status. Their writers take the time to really craft a story no matter what the subject, creating a piece work that could stand alone anywhere but is a part of something greater in this magazine.

 

The magazine, like so many other publications, while having a fantastic subscriber base and dedicated readers, has really been hurting from the downturn of the economy, and therefore the loss in many advertising dollars. Though the group has expanded in many great ways, the funds that used to be there are drying up. While this will only be a temporary situation, it is clear that Paste is in desperate need of some help to hold them over until things start to look up again.

 

Here's link to the campaign, in which Paste is asking for donations. In return, donators will get (in addition to the satisfying feeling of saving a great company) a ton of rare mp3s from some ace musicians:

 

Artists include The Decemberists, Neko Case, She & Him, Cowboy Junkies, Of Montreal, Indigo Girls, Jayhawks, String Cheese Incident, G. Love, Josh Rouse, The Hives, Matthew Sweet, The Avett Brothers, Joe Henry, John Roderick of The Long Winters, Over the Rhine, Bob Mould, Arrested Development, Brandi Carlile, John Doe, Josh Ritter, Marc Broussard and more. There is also a number of goodies (such as signed R.E.M. and Band of Horses posters, an ocean-view cabin on next year's Cayamo cruise, and more) to give to donors in random drawings.

 

Click http://www.pastemagazine.com/paste/the-campaign-to-save-paste.html for more info and to donate, and please, please, please post this, email this, tell everyone you know, and heck, even people you don't know. Stop folks in the street and tell them - you could make a friend.

Patrick Wolf and More For Nylon Summer Tour's Stop at Rock and Roll Hotel in DC

Nylon Magazine has just announced their second-annual summer music tour, with the innovative Patrick Wolf and Plastiscines (both on Nylon Records), along with Living Things and Jaguar Love.

Wolf will be releasing his latest record, The Bachelor, on iTunes June 2 and on CD August 11. It promises to be a more dramatic take on his usual songwriting, which will translate to a breathtaking live performance.

The tour will stop by Rock and Roll Hotel in Washington, DC on June 24. Tickets have just gone on sale on Ticket Alternative.

CD Review: Ida Maria -- Fortress 'Round My Heart

Ida Maria
Fortress 'Round My Heart
Mercury Records

By Alexandra Edwards

What is the fortress around Ida Maria's heart? Perhaps it's the frantically fun beat, the enjoyment of the night of with no thought of the morning after. The songs are stories of bars and boys, but with little sense of lament. Even on "Queen of the World," when she sings "I'm lonely this year, I'm lonely forever," a sense of joy underpins the sentiment. It's the feeling of abandoning all concern for recklessness, with the half time handclaps urging her on. The band mixes hints of PJ Harvey's guitar sound with more candid pop (think new wave, not boy bands), spinning angular guitars and slightly out-of-rhythm drumbeats into a restless post-punk dream. 

Campaign For Change Survey Results

THE FANS HAVE SPOKEN: REDUCING FEES IS THE MOST IMPORTANT
FACTOR WHEN PURCHASING TICKETS
Ticket Alternative Requests Call to Action from Venues and Promoters Nationwide

ATLANTA – Atlanta-based ticket provider, Ticket Alternative, worried that one juggernaut company managing artists and venues and setting ticketing fees with little or no competition will lead to EVEN HIGHER ticket prices, decided to step up and take the initiative to ticketing change.  The impending Ticketmaster/Live Nation merger has, without a doubt, caused quite a stir within the music industry and among concertgoers.  Since there has been so much speculation in the media on how the merger would affect competition and the consumer alike, Ticket Alternative launched the Campaign for a Ticketing Change.  They wanted to give consumers the ability to voice their opinions about the way they purchase concert tickets. 

Graduation gifts that’ll rock a teen’s world. Fresh line on graduation gifts

The AJC just wrote a story suggesting some cool graduation gifts. Ticket Alternative gift certificates were one of their favorites as they come in several denominations and can be used to purchase tickets to any Ticket Alternative event. They make great gifts for parents who aren't sure what to get their Grad.

Click here to read the entire story on AJC.com

Ticket Alternative homepage gets a makeover

TicketAlternative.com's homepage is getting a makeover!  That’s right, the homepage is undergoing changes, complete with a revamped design and fully-optimized functionality to better showcase the thousands of events they sell tickets for and promote.  Since growing by leaps and bounds in the past year, these changes come just in time to push them ahead in light of recent industry changes.  

What’s new with TicketAlternative.com?  Check out these exciting new features:

•    Just Announced!: This section highlights new events for fans to stay ultra-informed.
•    Most Popular Events: Expanded to include the latest and greatest and the hottest shows.
•    Search Box: Now it’s even easier to search for shows by Event Name, City or Venue.
•    Favorite Links: New section to promote favorite Sporting Events, Festivals & Recurring Events
•    “Scroll-No-More” Design:  Improved for ease of viewing, searching and buying all in one screen shot

The home page will launch at the end of May

Ticket prices affect bands in tough economy

CNN.com recently wrote a story about the effects of careful ticket pricing in a tough economy. The story included a piece about Ticket Alternative and how their low convenience fees help drive advance ticket sales.

You can read the entire story here.

Ticket Alternative UK Ltd

In 2006 we launched Ticket Alternative UK Ltd. The UK office, located in Tottenham, just outside London prints nearly 100,000 tickets each month. A staff of three, headed by office manager Natalie Wells, process all the orders that come in each day and still offer same day shipping. Same Day Shipping; just like the US office, but unlike any other ticket printing company!

If you're located in the UK or anywhere in Europe you design your own tickets online. Just go to www.ticketalternative.co.uk

Ticket Alternative featured on 11 Alive News in Atlanta

11 Alive News reporter Valerie Hoff visited the Ticket Alternative offices recently as part of her Ways-To-Save series. She interviewed Ticket Alternative president Iain Bluett and explained to viewers that they can save money purchasing event tickets via Ticket Alternative.

Tickets for Casper Ghosts home games on sale June 1st

Ticket Alternative is starting a partnership with Minor League Baseball team, the Casper Ghosts. Tickets for the Ghosts 2009 season will go on sale June 1st.

Download Casper Ghosts 2009 season schedule.

The Casper Ghosts are a Minor League Baseball team in the Pioneer League based in Casper, Wyoming, where they play at Mike Lansing Field. They are the Rookie-level affiliate of the Colorado Rockies.

The Ghosts, who moved to Casper in 2001, were formerly known as the Casper Rockies from 2001 to 2007. The team was also formerly known as the Butte Copper Kings, and was established in 1978.

Unveiled in 2007, the Casper Ghosts are the only team in Minor League Baseball to wear glow-in-the-dark caps. The Ghosts official colors are orange and black.

In addition, they use as an alternate logo the image of Casper the Friendly Ghost with permission from the Harvey Entertainment division of Classic Media.

Sorted for Cheese and Wizz!

By Stephanie Roman

Either Jarvis Cocker has reached the seventh level of enlightened musical nirvana, or he's gone completely off his rocker. Pulp's ex-frontman is recently divorced and has a new album, Further Complications, due out May 19. Check out today's letter to Jarv's fans from the man himself. He's just announced either a well-timed publicity stunt or a genuine breakdown. Imagine Jarvis leading an aerobics class or joining a drum circle with local school kids. Cheesy or brilliant?

Jarvis is making an exhibition of himself!

Friends of Jarvis,

As we're sure some of you are already aware, the man is back, so is his
groove and he wants to share it with you. Hence, he's giving a series of
dance, music and aerobics classes for you all to enjoy live via the
Internets right now, or more specifically 12pm til 6pm Parisian time. If
you haven't logged on already, then we're sad to inform you of some of the
things you've missed; Jarvis managing a musically accompanied yoga class, a
beautiful belly dancer, performing hard rock with class of over excited 8
year olds and numerous jam sessions with an eclectic mix of locals fresh
off the street.

Live Review: Player/Kommander at Vinyl, May 1

By Stephanie Roman

Player/Kommander describe themselves as "a splash of New York glam with motor oil under their nails." Equally at home playing L.A.'s Viper Room or a juke joint on the Mississippi delta, PK brought their unique style of glitterbilly rock home to Atlanta on Friday night. The band did not let the venue's small crowd prevent them from launching into an arena-rock worthy performance of their diverse music and showmanship. Frankly, I expected no less from James Hall (former frontman of Mary My Hope and Pleasure Club), but this was my first glimpse of a live show from the quintet. 

Live Review: David Cook @ The Revolution Music Room in Little Rock, AR, April 29

Review and photos by Sarah Spencer

It may be surprising to some that David Cook is still playing small venues, as well as college and university campuses. As the reigning American Idol, I expected to see him selling out arenas. Although, on April 29, The Revolution Music Room was a sold out packed house that sounded just about as loud as any rock concert in any arena that I've been to.