Itsbadbusiness to fool your fans, so say some Barbra Streisand devotees who feel they were ripped off after paying exorbitant prices for what was supposed to be her last tour. 
Now this one is a tough call; after all, most fans are delighted to find out that their favorite performer's retirement was more of a respite than a final goodbye. But ticket prices being what they are these days, one might question whether and advertised retirement was truly the intention or just a means of drumming up sales.
Perhaps Babs was taking a cue from The Who, the British Rock Band that made a career out of "Farewell Tours." Back in 1982, I was a starving student with hardly the means to pay even the minuscule tuition at a state university. When I found myself serendipitously in line for tickets to The Who's first "last concert," I scooped up as many as they would sell me and managed to shave a few hundred off the cost of the semester (okay- now I know it was wrong, back then I never even considered the morality of scalping tickets.)
Funny though, I don't recall anyone ever saying about The Who, "gee, I wish they'd just stay retired already."
I couldn't agree more except to add: Barbra, please be quiet and just go away. When you came out in support of Joe Lieberman's opponent you became the ultimate hypocrite. No one cares, Barbra, about your tour - the ship has sailed. Enough IS Enough - please just go away.
Posted by: Anonymous | June 26, 2006 9:42 PM | Permalink to Comment