$40 to get into Bumbershoot?

Hell I remember when it only cost 10 bucks for Bumbershoot...

10 DOLLARS PEOPLE!!!!

and that was for the whole F***** weekend

Ahhh... the $10 days... some of the most memorable moments of my teenage life were those end of summer days at Bumbershoot. Too bad my kids won't have the same memories - I certainly won't be giving them $$$$ to get in!

Too rich for our blood too. I remember the $10 days. It was the one affordable thing for our fam in the summer. We'd pack in our own food, take the kids all over that festival and have the best time. I would have enjoyed Beck and Lucinda Williams, a few of the authors lined up, but nothing that inspired me to overpay.

They used to be more diverse in their music. Not just the newest stuff.....

I remember the year Bumbershoot started and there was NO admission fee! When the promoters started charging $5 per day later on, people were complaining about having to pay anything. But, there were so many big name acts that the true challenge for the day was deciding how many groups you fit in by splitting up time blocks and running between stages hoping to catch a portion of two acts!
Those were the days when you got a super deal for your your minimal admission fee. Sadly, I have watched as the original heart and soul of what used to be a end of summer memorial occassion has slowly died down to a low murmur.
Friends who have performed now tell me that the organizers are now having performers "pay to play", as it's considered a privilege. New groups that are trying to get noticed apparently don't mind shelling out the funds just to be included. But, that's why we are no longer seeing the big name groups on the roster.
They say nothing lasts forever but, it would have been a blessing if Bumbershoot could have held together in it's original format, even if it did mean paying progressive increasing admission fees.
Now, where's my bumbershoot, I think the sky is crying!

For what it's worth, you can buy tickets early, if you sign up on the website, and I think I paid 15 or 20 each for ours this year (yeah... only one day, not the whole weekend.)

That pay to play thing seems like a sad development, but it makes a lot of sense when I see who played this year. Last year seemed a bit deflated as well.

Bumbershoot has been bumbershot. :(

Tony Hawk's Huck Jam was $30, Journey is $80. I guess $40 for a vert ramp and Offspring is right there in the ticket rip offs. At least we don't have to pay $15 in facility or Tickmaster fees.

Bumpershoot is just a snapshot of what is wrong with Seattle in general these days. It's overpriced, owned and operated by big corporations, and devoid of the heart, soul, and quirky personality that made it so special to begin with.

I went and it was great. The sound was a little muddled during the Black Keys and Stone Temple Pilots but it would have cost $40 to see them in concert alone. This way I got to See other performers. The comedy is always one of the highlights for me.

And yes, you can get discount tickets in advance. I did.

There will always be the good old days, and to some of the us these are them.

Elbow room? There was elbow room? I couldn't move one inch either direction today. All I did was walk... very slowly from one end to the other. Everything worth seeing was jammed solid. I got there an hour before gates opened and still didn't get "passes" to see much. Offspring was good but $40? They need more variety of music and they should limit the booths selling knock off peruvian hats. Where did the handmade seattle trinket booths go? Bumbershoot has gotten too commercial for my taste. They should rename it Corporate-Fest "come pay tribute to the man"

We went for the first time this year and was sadly disappointed that there was not enough space for all to enjoy the Flobots. They were scheduled to play in the exhibition hall, but considering the amount of fans who were turned away because the hall was already full, the Flobots should have been moved to the stadium (aka EMPTY mainstage). We will not be going back to bumbershoot in years to come. Too expensive for what you DON'T get.

$40 a day? I remember $5 days - and it wasn't that long ago. BumberSHOT is right! This year's runaway prices are more evidence that Seattle is degenerating into an exclusive playground for the rich and, along with most other things in this city, is just too expensive for average working folks. Whatever happened to arts festivals being celebrations for the people rather than exclusive entertainment for the elite and wealthy? It has already inspired neighborhoods like Fremont, Capitol Hill, Georgetown, etc. to promote and grow their own rival (affordable) festivals of music and arts. Hopefully it will inspire larger communities like Tacoma and Everett to create even larger rival festivals that actually include the greater community rather than cater exclusively to tourists and the wealthy. If Bumbershoot remains so expensive and so exclusive, the crowds will continue to shrink and Bumbershoot will wither into nothingness. RIP Bumbershoot - I'll stay home and make my own music.

Before complaining, look at the prices for almost every other major summer festival. Bumbershoot is a bargain. There's really no reason not to buy tickets early when they're a steal something like $25 per day.

I, too, remember "the good ol' days" when the price of a Bumpershoot ticket was $5...but then I also remember paying 85 cents for a pack of Marlboro Reds, 50 cents for a gallon of gas, and $7 for a rock shirt... I'm sure you get my drift! Prices go up, the economy will (always) suck, and death and taxes are inevitable. It was at Bumpershoot that I met my "true love". He was dark, wavy haired and sang for a fairly unknown band whom later became known as INXS. Ah, yes, those were the days. Inflation? It happens. Time? It goes by. Now it's our turn to sit on the front porch complaining about prices and the state of the world...just like the ones before us.