American singer and all round man of the people Bruce Springsteen could have broken the law at a recent show in New Jersey.
When Bruce Springsteen plays a concert he really plays a concert. The singer is renowned for his astonishing energy levels, with gigs often creeping over the three hour mark. At his peak, Springsteen was known for playing encores longer than most bands sets.
Still touring hard, Bruce Springsteen released his euphoric new album ‘Working On A Dream’ earlier this year. The singer spent much of last year on the campaign trail with Barack Obama, but opened a new world tour last month.
Set to play Britain this summer, Springsteen has broken with tradition to play some festival slots. The Boss is due to visit Glastonbury, and will follow this with a slot at London’s Hard Rock Calling.
However the singer may have broken the law at a recent show in New Jersey. Springsteen apparently with held 12 percent of all seated tickets at the gig, which would break state laws and concert regulations.
The show took place in the East Ritherford Izod Center, and of the 1,126 tickets available in the four areas closest to the stage only 108 were on sale to the public.
Bruce Springsteen allegedly held back the rest of the tickets with a total of 2,262 tickets being distributed between band, record company and agent. Overall twelve percent of all tickets were held back – far beyond the five percent maximum permitted under state law.
The large amount of tickets held by the artist meant that ticket prices for the general public were held back. However the organisers of the event hit back, saying that the law only applies to promoters and does not cover the artist.
This isn’t the first time Springsteen has been dragged into concert controversy. Last year’s tour was organised by Ticketmaster, but when fans arrived at the firm’s website they were re-directed to a site which sold the briefs at a much higher rate.
The Boss stepped into the row, issuing a blistering statement which denied any knowledge of the practice. Insisting that he had no role in Ticketmaster’s actions, the firm was forced into a humiliating climb down.
Bruce Springsteen has yet to comment on the latest incident.
