August 22, 2007
No More Spoon Shows at 9:30 this Fall Updated
We've gotten a couple emails wondering about the strange things afoot with the two scheduled Spoon shows at the 9:30 Club in October. In case you haven't heard the somewhat confusing story, Spoon booked two nights (October 22 and 23) at the 9:30 Club, and tickets went on sale August 9. Sometime last week, tickets mysteriously stopped being sold, without explanation. Then this past weekend, people who'd already purchased tickets received the following email:
Spoon has agreed to play on The Shins bill at Merriweather Post Pavilion on October 22, so the 9:30 Club shows have been cancelled.Because you showed your allegiance by buying your tickets so early, they want to treat you right - you have some choices here:
1 - trade in your ticket for a GA Pit or Reserved pavilion ticket (a
$45 value), for only ten more dollars. You can do it in advance thru the 9:30 Club or Merriweather box office.2 - present your ticket to Merriweather on October 22 for a lawn seat (a $30) value) - no exchange or extra effort necessary.
3 - Ask for a refund.
Think about what you'd like to do, and well get back to you Monday with more details about how to proceed. Just know that we've got seats and pit spots held for you!
That follow up email has yet to materialize — has anyone tried to exchange or refund tickets yet? What's your experience been?
It's a bummer for those of us who got a taste of Spoon at V Fest and were looking forward to headlining gigs, but hey, seeing The Shins isn't too terrible a price to pay. The hike up to Columbia, MD however, that's another story.
UPDATE: Detailed exchange and refund information below the fold.
Photo by Kyle Gustafson
The fabled second email was sent out and here are the instructions:
Update: Spoon will not be appearing at The 9:30 Club on October 22nd or 23rd as they will be performing with The Shins on October 22nd at Merriweather Post Pavilion. In order to reward those of you who have already purchased tickets to Spoon at 9:30 we offer the following options:1 - Simply present your 9:30 ticket at Merriweather gates on October 22 for a lawn seat (a $30 value) - no exchange or extra effort necessary.
2 - Trade in your ticket for a GA Pit or Reserved pavilion ticket (a $45 value), for only $10 more. You must do this in advance thru the 9:30 Club or Merriweather box office. Tickets must be exchanged in person or received via mail by 5:00 PM on October 17th:
Merriweather Post Pavilion
ATTN: Box Office Mngr.
10475 Little Patuxent Pkwy
Columbia, MD 21044Note: If your Spoon tickets are Will-Call (you have not received them) and you wish to exchange them for the a pavilion ticket please send an e-mail to human@930.com with the subject line "Spoon/Merriweather Exchange." Make sure to include your contact information as well as your order confirmation #.
3 - Request a refund. Refunds available through 11/7/07. Details on refunds:
* If you have received your tickets in the mail and wish to receive a refund please mail them to:
Nightclub 9:30
ATTN: Box Office Mngr.
815 V Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001* If you have will-call tickets and wish to receive a refund please e-mail human@930.com with the subject line "Spoon Refund" and include your contact information and order confirmation #.
* If you purchased tickets from the 9:30 Box Office, Merriweather Box Office or a Tickets.com outlet please bring your ticket back to the same location for refunds.
If you have further questions please send an e-mail to human@930.com with the subject line "Spoon/The Shins."
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kinda lame, if you ask me. makes spoon look like school on the 4th of july: no class.
I got my tickets in the mail yesterday, and have not recieved any email. Thanks for posting the story, I had no idea.
uh, yeah, how about those people (i.e. me) who bought the ticket at the box office with cash? i certainly didn't get an email. nicely done, 930. i have no desire to see the shins. i want to see spoon. what a crock, and yeah i got this info via pitchfork...what if i wouldn't have read pitchfork? no email, no info..what if i would have shown up the night of the show??
What a ridiculous switcheroo! As if seeing Spoon open for the Shins (or even play as a double bill) on a big outdoor arena stage is the same thing as a show at the 9:30. Plus it's on a Monday night in Columbia, MD...it'll take an hour just to get up there (if you even have a car!!).
Have Spoon provided an explanation for the change? Were ticket sales slow? Was Britt Daniel put off by the criticism of their performance at V-Fest? Were the Shins pissed off that Spoon was stealing their audience for a show at a way-too-big venue?
Very lame.
How was Spoon at the V-fest? I saw them at the 9:30 club after Gimmee Fiction came out and I didn't think they were that great live. Britt just kinda seems like a dick, and the rest of the band seemed like session musicians, who were there just for the pay check. But maybe it was just a bad night.
I think this stinks. I think it's funny that IMP says they're "rewarding" people who bought tickets to the Spoon shows with discounted tickets for the Shins show. The Shins are dreadfully boring live. Spoon is best in a large club atmosphere. Driving to and from Columbia on a weeknight in late October to sit in the cold - far from ideal. We all lose with this new bill.
I'm getting a refund. In addition to just being annoyed about it, I'm not even able to go to a show on the 22nd, which is why I bought tickets for the 23rd in the first place. boo to the promoters.
Totally lame.
I called Tickets.com yesterday, and the representative I spoke with had no idea that the shows had been canceled. After speaking with a supervisor, I was told that they are waiting on 930 Club to release the ticket records and that refunds should be available beginning Friday this week.
Spoon was the worst act I saw at V-Fest. Boring as Hell and their shit wasn't together.
"Hey, let's play an entire song with no guitar because I don't know how to get it in tune!"
"Hey, let's have a former member of the band wearing a press pass awkwardly sing back-up on some choruses. During the verses he can meander about and throw water bottles in the air and catch them!"
I know everyone loves their last album, but if these shenanigans mean missing out on Spoon, then Spoon just did you a favor.
~Rusty
Spoon has played all of one show in DC since Kill the Moonlight came out in 2002. Lame.
I just bought some tickets for the upcoming Metric show at the 930 Box Office. These tickets are supposedly $20 each. The box office charged me $21 each and said that they charge a dollar service fee on each ticket. Wtf? They are the venue! Who exactly are they servicing? Does anyone know if this is illegal?
Spoon has played all of one show here in DC since Kill the Moonlight came out in 2002. Thanks!
I just bought tickets to the upcoming Metric show at the 930 Box Office. These tickets were supposedly $20 but I was charged $21 and told that they charge a dollar service charge on each ticket. This information was not marked anywhere but my credit card receipt. Does anyone know if this is even legal? They are the venue. Who exactly are they servicing?
The $1 service charge goes to tickets.com.
Weak rockstar bullshit.
And you people talk trash about Fugazi.
hey, i know the extra $1 service fee at the box office window kinda sucks, but it's a hell of a lot better than a service and handling fee by buying online. walking up to the window to get a pair of tickets instead of going online can save you something in the neighborhood of $25, depending on the price of things.
Why do they need to cancel the Tuesday 930 club show as well? Are they doing a tour with the Shins?
I tried to get a refund for my 9:30 ticket at the 9:30 window on Monday afternoon. The guy at the window told me to wait for the forthcoming email either Monday night, or first thing Tuesday morning. Obviously that email has not been sent yet.
Drove up to B'more to see them at Sonar a couple months ago. Should've gone while you had the chance!
I was kinda peeved when I figured this out a couple days ago. I went in to try and purchase tickets, but it said there were no more. For those wondering, Spoon is NOT doing a tour with The Shins. It looks as though they are still doing their own tour, but just switched our dates around: http://www.spoontheband.com/appearances_2.shtml.
Totally not worth my time anymore.
they canceled the 2nd night as well as the first night because they want all the people who want to see spoon to go to the shins show...not wait until the next night to see spoon by themselves. which is exactly what i WOULD do. i was wondering about that 1 dollar service fee myself. they definitely did NOT use to have that at the box office itself. i know its only a dollar but they best be refunding ALL of the 21 dollars I paid.
My tickets.com ticket purchased at the box office definitely says Ticket Price $20.00, Service Charge $0.00. I paid $21. I'm not really worried about a dollar, but if I were an artist being paid based on $20.00 x 1,200 tickets, that dollar might make a difference.
Lame. Maybe Fork will fill in for them.
The 9:30 Club has had that $1 per ticket box office service charge policy in place for YEARS now, it's definitely nothing new or unusual. I always just assumed it was a way for the club to scrape a few extra dollars that they don't have to share with the artist(s) out of a concert.
This Spoon thing may have been a logical business decision, but it's one that will result in me not seeing the band this fall. I've seen the Shins at Meriweather Post before and they were decidedly underwhelming. On a Monday night at the end of October that venue is going to be cold, dark and unpleasant. I'll just wait until they come to their senses and come back to DC or B'more for another club show.
And I should get a fucking free collectible spoon for all the trouble these asshats have put me through.
The $1 per ticket goes DIRECTLY to tickets.com. The club doesn't get any of that money.
... but, they're out of Spoon. I thought that was the point.
This is weak and not worth the hassle.
I saw Spoon at the 930 a few years back. They're a better studio band. The songs were stripped down and severely abridged.
I saw the Shins in Tokyo and their live act was similarly disappointing. All the vocal harmonies are sung by the same guy in the studio. In the live show they simply leave these parts out.
While I thoroughly enjoy both bands' albums, neither puts on a good enough live show to warrant a drive to Columbia.
Hi guys
I first heard about this situation last week while we were traveling
in Europe. There was some misunderstanding on my part from the
beginning...I was told that the promoter of our show was promoting a
Shins show as well and that all parties involved did not want for
Spoon to be going up against the Shins on the same Monday night. Spoon
was asked would we be ok with getting on the bill with the Shins
instead but not as a typical opener slot, we'd have a full set time.
We're fans of the Shins, and since this was coming from the promoter
of our own show I figured this would be best. What I hadn't understood
at the time was that by combining the Monday night show of both bands
into such a big venue, Spoon would also be giving up its Tuesday night
show. This is my fault. If I had thought about it a little more
carefully I would have realized this would be the case because it's
standard. In order to get as many tickets sold for the bigger show as
possible, they have to eliminate the option of what was to be our
second DC show. Usually without exception, an opening band cannot put
its own smaller show on sale in the same city until the bigger show
sells out. The promoter / band may have been hoping to do the second
show all along but they need to see that the first one's going to sell
through before they can do it.
So, for all of this I apologize. Once I did realize there was no
Tuesday night 930 club show I was like, "fuck!"
We've tried to make sure that there are decent options for those
who had already bought tickets -- as I understand it you can transfer
your ticket from the 930 to the new venue for free (granted, it's on
the lawn), or you can use a 930 ticket to get a seated ticket for
less than it normally would have cost, or you can just get a full
rebate. But I do understand some people just prefer smaller-venue
shows to bigger ones -- this is why we played so many small-room shows
this year (like the Mohawk in Austin, Doug Fir in Portland, Schubas in
Chicago, the Bowery in New York, Cafe Du Norde and Popscene in SF, the
MFA in Boston to name a few of em) when we could have gone for much
more money in much bigger rooms. Since I realized both 9:30 shows were
out of the picture , I've been trying to find out if there are any
options for some kind of smaller show in the area and if something is
possible up we'll of course announce that.
thanks
Britt Daniel
*sigh* Britt, I love you. Please marry me :)
I actually think this is a decent deal. Maybe Spoon is better in a club setting -- Britt seems to alude to it above -- but it's a strong double bill. Get your seat in the Pavilion and stop wining. Would you not normally pay 10 bucks to see the Shins?
rather, "whining"
First of all, I commend Britt for his comments. The band could have easily chosen to ignore people’s frustrations.
For those of us who are passionate about our bands and their music, it is sometimes difficult to stomach that it is still a business. I do not expect anything better from 930/Merriweather/IMP. They are not providing us with any “value” or deal in moving this band from 2 dates in a club in the city to one weekday October evening in an outdoor venue all the way out in Columbia, Maryland.
Britt, you shouldn’t have gotten our hopes up by even mentioning a “smaller show in the area.” Of course, if that were to occur, fans would be ecstatic. But as it stands, I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of those fans currently with tickets to the 930 Club shows will just ask for refunds; I am currently one of them.
Britt, we should get married. I made a PowerPoint presentation with the pros and cons of us getting married (Basically: Pros = you get to say OMGMARRIAGE! all the time, Cons = sadness and depression on your end, because who wouldnt marry me? exactly.), and it's actually really awesome. When can we have a sit down to discuss this further?
"Would you not normally pay 10 bucks to see the Shins?"
not when i have to drive to columbia md for it, no.
Dipwad who complained about a $1 service charge for your Metric ticket. That $1 goes to the club, which keeps a box office OPEN and STAFFED every day but Sunday, noon to 7:00 p.m., so you can buy your ticket from them rather than for an extra $7 through Ticketmaster. Some people can complain about manna from heaven.
PS, they have always charged $1 service fee at the box office. Well, since I moved here in 1990. 9:30 goes above and beyond to serve DC. Granted, I'm pretty disappointed about no Tuesday Spoon show -- I'm not sure if I'll exchange my tickets for Pit or pavillion seats, but IMP has taken steps to 'make up' for the change in some way for folks who bought tickets. Seat or Pit for $31 (the 9:30 ticket plus additional $10) -- not bad.
- Bags
Hi again. We did finally figure out a way to do a smaller show in DC:
Spoon and the Ponys will be playing the 9:30 club on Tuesday Oct 23rd,
the day after the Shins / Merriweather show. For those who bought
tickets to either of the original 9:30 shows, admittance is guaranteed
and is free. After that, admittance is free on a first-come basis to
anyone who has a Merriweather ticket. The details get a bit thick, so
I'll just fw what I've been told. Thanks, Britt
>>
>> Spoon will perform a special show at the 9:30 Club for those
>> who bought tickets to either the original Spoon shows at 9:30
>> or to the Shins/Spoon show at Merriweather.
>>
>> Tuesday, October 23
>> 6:00 doors
>> 7:00-7:30 The Ponys
>> 7:45 - 9:00 Spoon (9:00 Curfew))
>>
>> For those who bought Tickets.com tickets to the original 9:30 show:
>>
>> Bring your ticket to the box office at the 9:30 Club or at
>> Merriweather to exchange/upgrade your ticket, at which time
>> you will receive a voucher. This voucher, when presented
>> with the 10/22 Merriweather ticket stub, will guarantee the
>> ticket holder entry to the special show if presented by 6:45
>> PM on the 23rd. You can still get in after 6:45, space
>> permitting of course. Yes that means you get to go to both
>> the Merriweather & 9:30 shows!
>>
>> OR
>>
>> Bring your unused ticket to the show on the 23rd - it will
>> guarantee entry if presented before 6:45, and can still be
>> used for entry after that time, space permitting.
>>
>>
>>
>> For those who purchased Ticketmaster tickets to the Merriweather show:
>>
>> Bring your ticket stub to the 9:30 Club for access to the show.
>> Admittance is limited by capacity and not guaranteed.
>>
>> Operational details:
>>
>> There will be two lines for entry - one (left side) for those
>> with the special 9:30 vouchers combined with the Merriweather
>> tickets, and the other (right side) for those with
>> Merriweather tickets only. We will allow entry through both
>> lines from 6:00 - 6:45, maintaining the balance to
>> accommodate the number of vouchers given out.
>>