Columnist Spencer Patterson: Concertgoers facing a taxing situation

Spencer Patterson

Friday, July 25, 2003 | 8:47 a.m.

Spencer Patterson covers music for the Sun. His music notes column appears Fridays. Reach him at spencer@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-2309.

It's no wonder out-of-towners joke that Las Vegas has no culture. Included in the state Legislature's $836 million tax package, which was signed into law this week by Gov. Kenny Guinn, is a tax on admission fees charged for live entertainment in Las Vegas.

The tax apparently puts music, theater and sports in the same category as alcohol and cigarettes, also being further taxed under the new law.

Funny, I thought we liked the idea of our state's young people in healthy and safe environments, such as concerts and sporting events. And aren't families supposed to spend "quality time" together attending these types of activities?

As for the idea being floated that the entertainment tax will mostly affect tourists, you won't find many out-of-town visitors at the Huntridge Theatre or the Boston Bar & Grill on a Friday night. Yet those local hangouts will be taxed along with larger casino venues.

And the local joints will be taxed at a higher percentage than larger venues. The legislators passed a 5 percent tax for venues with seating capacities of more than 7,500 and a 10 percent tax for those with capacities between 300 and 7,500.

Anything with a capacity less than 300 is exempt from being taxed.

If those figures look backward to you, you're not alone. I've been staring at them for two days, and they still don't look right to me.

Clearly, the Legislature structured its plan that way so tax revenue from events at smaller venues would be comparable to revenue raised from larger venues.

In the end, however, the imbalances created by the inconsistent tax rates will far outweigh their benefits, particularly considering the tax not only affects ticket prices, but food and beverages consumed onsite during live events.

Why should a hamburger eaten during a show at the Boston be taxed 10 percent while a hot dog consumed at the Mandalay Bay Events Center is not subject to the entertainment tax?

Last I checked, the sales tax is the same on a lightbulb whether you buy it at Home Depot or the mom-and-pop hardware store around the corner. And if either could afford to cover the cost of a tax increase, it would certainly be Home Depot.

Of course, none of the venues -- large or small -- are expected to cover the cost of the tax. Ticket prices will probably go up slightly, pushing a $50 ticket to either $52.50 or $55, depending on the size of the facility. My guess is that most people won't protest the ticket increases. Everyone complains about airport taxes and ATM surcharges, but they still pay them.

But have a few drinks and eat dinner with friends during a concert at a smaller venue such as the Boston, and you'll see a big difference on your bill. Remember that 7.25 percent sales tax we already pay? Sounds pretty good compared to the 17.25 percent you'll soon be paying on the same meal when the entertainment tax takes effect in January.

It's enough to make a guy eat before he heads out for the night. Or, at least count up the number of seats in the theater before he orders a drink.

Chick talk: When last Las Vegas saw the Dixie Chicks, Natalie Maines was wearing her now infamous T-shirt on a live satellite feed during the "Academy of Country Music Awards" show at Mandalay Bay Events Center.

You know, the one with the thinly veiled message, "F.U.T.K.," to the country trio's nemesis, singer Toby Keith. (By the way, "you" is spelled with a "y" and not a "u," Natalie, but that's neither here nor there).

At the time, millions of viewers -- myself included -- groaned at the childish display, wondering why Maines had chosen to continue the war of words with the suddenly ultra-patriotic Keith in such a public fashion.

Surely, we surmised, Maines had completely lost her marbles, opting to push the issue rather than simply hope her controversial comments about President Bush faded into the background over time.

But now that I've had a couple of months to think it over, I see the Chicks' situation a little bit differently.

Certainly, the three women never expected such a hysterical reaction to Maines' announcement that they were "ashamed" to be from the same state as the president.

But once the comment received national attention and the Chicks had lost so much of their once-enormous fanbase, they must have come to the conclusion that the path of least resistance was not their most profitable option.

Instead, the trio posed nude on the cover of Entertainment Weekly, their skin inscribed with anti-Chicks rhetoric, keeping the incident in the news.

Not long after that, Maines topped it off with her T-shirt message. The band's publicist later claimed the letters stood for "freedom, understanding, tolerance, knowledge," but country music fans don't seem to be buying it.

I'm guessing the Dixie Chicks -- or more likely their management team -- determined that the trio's best option was to turn their life into a part-time reality TV show. I mean, the only thing better than watching someone swim through a pool of piranhas is getting to see a real-life, country barroom brawl unfold before our eyes.

And now, for every disgruntled fan looking to unload a ticket because he or she thinks the Chicks are unpatriotic, there's another waiting to get into the MGM Grand Garden Arena on the off chance the situation might escalate just a little bit further.

On sale

Tickets for R.E.M.'s Sept. 11 concert at the Thomas & Mack Center go on sale Saturday at 10 a.m. The show is part of the band's "Greatest Hits Tour," with alt-country band Wilco sharing the bill. Tickets are $20 and $68 and will be available at the T&M box office, at UNLV ticket outlets, by phone at 739-3267 and at unlvtickets.com.

Bad Religion returns to The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel on Sept. 6. Tickets are $23 and go on sale Saturday at noon at the Hard Rock box office, at TicketMaster outlets, by phone at 474-4000 and at ticketmaster.com.

Tickets for Arrested Development's Sept. 5 performance at the Palms' Skinpool Lounge went on sale today at 10 a.m. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 the day of the show, and are available at the Palms box office and through TicketMaster.

Lisa Marie Presley plays the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay on Sept. 13. Tickets are $20 and $25 and go on sale today at 5 p.m. at the House of Blues box office, by phone at 632-7600, online at hob.com and through TicketMaster.

The "Take Action Tour" -- a benefit concert for 1-800-SUICIDE, featuring Poison the Well, Shadows Fall, Avenged Sevenfold and This Day Forward -- stops at the House of Blues on Oct. 5. Tickets are $18 and go on sale Saturday at noon through the House of Blues box office and TicketMaster.

Tickets to three other House of Blues shows are on sale now: Vertical Horizon with Dishwalla on Aug. 22 ($15), Fischerspooner on Sept. 19 ($20, $22.50) and B'z on Oct. 12 ($40, $45).

Rapper KRS-One holds court Aug. 8 at the Huntridge Theatre. Tickets are $20 in advance and $22 the day of the show and are on sale at the Huntridge box office and through TicketMaster.

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