Concert Special Effects... Is It a Good Investment?

Well hello everyone, let me start by saying that this blog will not be on anything specific, but rather on some ideas I may have, no matter of what it may be about.

Lets start here. After attending a number of larger shows, averaging about 15,000 a show, I have noticed a huge increase in concert lighting, video and special effects that add to the music. Not that this is a huge deal for a concertgoer, but for a touring company it means hauling more equipment for each show and spending more and more money each night of different things, which may increase your ticket sales as well. However, I believe the return is much larger than what one would expect.

About a month ago I saw Muse at a local arena. Now I can safely say I have seen a lot of shows, but the lighting, videos and special effects for this show were some of the best I have ever seen. They were truly one of the most entertaining artists I have ever seen live, and I believe that has a lot to do with not only their stage presence, but how much they use their settings as a part of the show. From pillars that raise them up and just about every kind of laser one would imagine, Muse just rocked the concert experience. I would definitely pay another 45 bucks a ticket to see them. Anyday. Anytime.

Another cool example was U2. When they released their 360 tour, they invented this, claw-like structure for them to perform under. It was by far one of the coolest things I have ever seen. I believe this is another perfect example of how people are much more willing to spend the extra money, not because they are seeing U2, but rather because they are seeing this structure which I believe is one of the largest touring stages that has ever been created. And although I did pay about 100 a ticket, you better believe I would do it again. What an awesome show.

So what do you all think? Am I just oogling over cool lights and videos, or do you think there could possibly be a correlation between how much an artist spends on their stage effects and their revenue on tours?