Performance Benefit

Lots going on this weekend.

We have :

Wimblydon
British Grand Prix
Glastonbury

And that's just the 3 biggest events of this weekend. Wimbledon tends to have tickets available on the day, the British Grand Prix rarely does but they're available this weekend and Glastonbury is ... Glastonbury. There's also a bunch of Twenty20 cricket matches on this weekend which would have ample tickets.

You have to ask though, how much value do you actually get from going to the events ? Is it better just to stay at home and watch them on the telly ? Do you gain much from being there ?

And that point of "value" has to be considered in terms of the cost it takes to get in there. I've just googled "British Grand Prix tickets" out of curiosity :
£75 for Friday's testing
£100 for Saturday's qualifying
£200 for Sunday's race

Oh my god.

It better be good to justify that kind of price. And cricket is guilty of similar excess too with the pricing. The price for a ticket for Day 1 of the Third Ashes test (England vs Aussie) at Old Trafford in Manchester would be £50 per adult, in a not particularly brilliant location.

The trouble is though, the prices are so high because there's plenty of people willing to buy them at that price. Is it worth it ? For motor racing and international cricket, I'd have to say a definite no. The TV coverage is so good these days with cameras all around the circuit or multiple angles around the ground, plus those ever present replays mean you see on the TV what you miss at the ground.

What you do get though is ambience.

There were still a few people at the IST20 this year talking about the cheating guy who was instrumental in winning the tournament for his team last year. To be honest, he did a lot more than claim a dropped catch, he was a star with bat and ball. But ... it's all tarnished by that dropped catch. And everybody in that stand knew about it. Bit like everyone in the seats at a Wimbledon match will live and breathe every game with the players.

(Doh - quick peek - Laura Robson is playing ... time to open up the iPlayer which GP coverage and later the T20 coverage is on !)

I've not been to any for far too long but live music is similar. There's an interaction between crowd and performer that you just don't get when it's not live.

I still feel a bit bad for missing out on watching Bat For Lashes when she was in Bristol last year. A very good friend ages ago was practically drooling (yes you were !!!!!) when she was saying how close she was going to be getting to Jon Bon Jovi. I bet another very good friend will be equally ravenous with Robbie Williams tonight ;-).

And for me to miss out on getting involved in a Natasha Khan (Bat For Lashes) performance ? You only have to see the power in the performance even when it's only in a small Youtube video window to know that a whole live concert would be something very special.

So

Live sport - maybe, maybe not. I'm still thinking about doing the Spa run and I'd definitely think about doing Le Mans next year. International cricket is a no-no, although I'd look into joining a Barmy Army tour trip if there was someone to come along. County level Twenty20 games are a definite possibility, they're short enough that crowd ambience and "watch your head!" comes in.

Live music - dunno if I'd want to do the festivals. My "too many people" sensitivies (call it paranoia) would interfere with me enjoying one of those. But if it was to see a Bat For Lashes or an Alison Goldfrapp in concert ? Hold me back.

But not this particular weekend. No details but I've apparently eaten something that's bitten back. That's so rare for me (unless it's the skin reaction thing). It's unheard of. I think I know what it is, I've been forgetting to have the apples lately so they've been getting old in the cupboard. Think I've eaten one that's a little too old, the timeframe fits.

Oh noes ! Laura Robson's losing ! Time to tune in to BBC1 Iplayer to lend support and feel that crowd.