Continuous stream of new visitors with historical and fostered expectations of seeing Really Big Names perform live; ancient entertainers are just as good as anyone currently viable enough to go on tour.
Hipsters
I like them both and don;t consider them “cheesy”.
A lot depends on your definition of cheese.
In my opinion, Paul McCartney still sounds great, he has a tight band, and he still performs his old songs spectacularly. Yes, he’s recorded some mighty lame songs since the late Seventies, but it doesn’t surprise me that he can still pack in crowds for his concerts. He still sounds great when performing his older songs.
If I had to admit to a guilty pleasure…
I’m 53, and I never saw KISS perform back when I was 14 or 15, and really would have loved it. But I went to see them here in Austin a few weeks ago, and you know what?
They RULED!
I’m old enough and smart enough to know how hokey their whole act is. It’s totally silly, special-effects driven, puerile, all that. But who cares? They still RULED!
They’re still doing all their patented '70s schticks, and it shouldn’t work. But it does.
Paul Stanley is still a great showman, they’re STILL putting on a high energy show, and they still sound great.
Cheesy? ABSOLUTELY- but everyone there had a great time, and nobody left thinking they hadn’t gotten their money’s worth.
P.S. The KISS show drew about 15,000 people to the Austin 360 Amphitheater. If you could draw 15,000 people a night at $150 a ticket, would YOU retire?
I’d certainly pay big bucks to see any of them! Even the B team. I have no idea who is ‘in’ in music. I couldn’t identify any rapper, electronica, hip hop performer, or semi-naked bimbo if my life depended on it.
Now that this thread has been brought back to life, I’ll point out how much I enjoyed these sequential posts from last year:
Hmm, Riverdance has certainly evolved into a different show from the one I saw all those years ago. 
We went on a showboat cruise/dinner show in Branson, just for the hell of it. Vegas with no booze and embarrassing production numbers. Highly recommend! :dubious:
Don’t feel bad, astorian. By a similar token, I missed everything during my teenage years in the 80s due to an extreme case of fundamentalism. So, now I’d like to be able to see some of these bands, no matter how ancient there are. Of course, at least I can afford the $12 or whatever versus how high they were (in both senses) back in the day.
Of course, it’s worth asking, what’s your idea of a “big crowd”?
Sure, if a band USED to sell out Madison Square Garden and the LA Forum back in the Seventies or Eighties, it may seem like a major comedown to play in front of two thousand people a night at amusement parks or state fairs (the so-called “Corny Dog Circuit”).
On the other hand, there are countless critically acclaimed acts that have NEVER drawn two thousand people a night! Chicago, Styx and Cheap Trick are definitely has-beens, no two ways about it… but they’re has-beens who make a helluva lot more money on tour than John Cale, Leonard Cohen or Patti Smith. Is anyone telling those guys to pack it in?
Man, Trans-Siberian Orchestra. :smack:
Having come up a metal fan in the 80s and 90s, I’m happy for those guys. I don’t know how they did it, but they took members of Savatage and Megadeth, threw in tuxedos and smoke machines, and made something that my mom is willing to pay $100 to see.
Congrats, you cheesy, laughing all the way to the bank motherfuckers.
It is much better to be a “has been” than a "never was’.
I’ve always found ventriloquist acts extremely cheesy. I’m looking at you Jeff Dunham!
Circuses – Ringling Brothers and their cheaper imitators. And Ice pageants – are the Ice Follies still around?
Seems like Disney on Ice comes through Bangkok at least once a year.
Carrot Top allegedly is worth 75 million dollars. I don’t believe that exact figure but I’m sure he’s still a millionaire multiple times over.
cite:
http://www.therichest.com/top-lists/top-100-richest-comedians/
http://celebsnetworth.net/carrot-top-net-worth/