China Entertainment 1997

San Francisco, Cao Xuan concert scene

The location of Tom and Jerry is not particularly good, not too far from the stage, but a bit out of the way.

There was no way around it. Although Jerry was not short of money, he couldn't stand the lack of tickets. Just now, they had scalpers come to them outside the venue to buy tickets.

Both of them were confused. They had always bought tickets from scalpers, so why were they still begging them to sell tickets today?

However, after wandering outside the venue for a while, I roughly understood that there were so many people who were short of tickets. Many people just took out the green banknotes and traded them directly on the spot as long as they had real tickets.

In this case, as long as the scalpers can grasp the timing of collecting tickets, they will never lose it. As long as they change hands, they will make a profit, no matter how much it is.

After all, those who come to buy tickets outside the venue are basically prepared to be ripped off and don't want to go in vain. As long as the price is not particularly outrageous, they will be ruthless.

The original price of a common ticket for Cao Xuan's concert is about US$120 to US$140, and combo tickets and VIP tickets are more expensive.

This kind of joint ticket is relatively common in the United States and even in China. Basically, it is a special ticket that can only be obtained by playing several local performances in one go.

For example, Cao Xuan's two concerts in San Francisco are now available for joint tickets. This kind of joint ticket can be used to attend two concerts. Fans commonly call it a two-day ticket. Those with more consecutive performances are three-day tickets and four-day tickets.

Such tickets are definitely more expensive than ordinary tickets. As for how much more expensive it is, it depends on the specific situation.

The singer is not popular and the ticket sales are not good. To some extent, this combination of tickets is a means of low-price bundling sales. The price of a combined ticket is lower than that of two ordinary tickets.

If the singer is very popular and it is hard to get tickets for the concert, then this kind of joint ticket will be even more popular.

After all, this kind of joint ticket can watch two consecutive games without having to buy additional tickets, which is more worry-free and convenient for fans who are not short of money.

What Jerry bought was a combo ticket, which was much more expensive than two ordinary tickets. The cheapest one was 350 US dollars, and the one with a better location was 400 to 500 US dollars.

If this kind of ticket falls into the hands of scalpers, the most kind-hearted ones will increase the price by US$100, and it is not uncommon for the ruthless ones to double the price.

The original price of the ticket in Jerry's hand was about US$400. When he got the ticket from a scalper, he paid US$800 without any counter-offer.

As for VIP tickets, the profit is even greater. The base price of the ticket is here, and the room for increase is higher. Moreover, the target group is also willing to spend money. The money earned from one VIP ticket is worth several or even a dozen ordinary tickets. and joint tickets.

So these scalpers are like crazy, and they even end up as gangsters. Who doesn't like this kind of business?

Cao Xuan has no choice. At home, he can use various means to suppress scalpers and protect the interests of fans as much as possible. He is very powerful if he can prevent counterfeit tickets from being rampant abroad.

As for negotiating with these scalpers and gangsters, it is simply a fantasy. There is no point in calling foreign police. Who knows whether they will pay for it...

The few things Cao Xuan can do is to urge the ticket sales platform to be fair and make the original ticket price more affordable.

You must know that Cao Xuan's concert ticket price is only a small amount higher than the ticket price of Taylor Swift's tour concert in the first half of the year.

Of course, as one of the most popular divas in the United States, Taylor's concert tickets are not cheap.

Cao Xuan's popularity and traffic may be inferior to Taylor who is currently popular, but Cao Xuan's popularity and influence are stronger than hers, not to mention that this is a farewell concert with a special aura and gimmick.

It is no exaggeration to say that Cao Xuan’s actual pricing is 20% lower than many people expected, or even more.

It's a pity that the situation here is too complicated, and Cao Xuan has long since lost sight of it, leaving only the people who are surprised and disgusted by the crazy ticket market.

Especially Tom, who originally thought about asking Jerry back if he had a chance to do so, has given up.

It's not that he can't afford the money, but what to do after spending it? Faced with foreign debt and various living expenses, he really doesn't have the capital to squander it.

I was even more grateful to Jerry in my heart. If his good brother hadn't been thinking about him, he might have always regretted not seeing Cao Xuan's farewell concert.

Jerry is wondering whether to make a guest appearance in the scalping business.

The profit here is really not small. If you operate it, you can hope to earn tens of thousands of dollars without any effort.

Although he is not short of money, he is not a rich man, and he has only just started to make money in the past two years, so he is not at the point where he does not take tens of thousands of dollars seriously.

But he soon gave up this idea - the money was good, but it was hot!

With such a huge profit, it is estimated that it would be difficult for ordinary people to get involved. The background must be very complicated, including many local forces and big scalpers who specialize in this business.

Jerry's own capital and power are not comparable to others, and it will easily arouse hostility if he gets bigger.

Stealing people's wealth is like killing their parents. Public security here in the United States is no joke. Although there is a high probability that no one will be killed, a sack and a beating are enough.

However, if you have the opportunity, you can just trade a few tickets and earn some pocket money, so you won't be targeted, and you can also get tickets to watch the concert.

Jerry looked down on the money, but he thought of Tom and patted his good brother on the shoulder.

"After watching the concert, I will tell you something."

Tom didn't know that Jerry had found a way for him to supplement his family income and fulfill his wish. As a big fan of Cao Xuan, after entering the concert, he focused more on the stage.

The concerts in San Francisco are different from those in Europe. In addition to the still gorgeous lights and dance, there is also a new element.

When it was time for the concert to start, a white light suddenly appeared across the stage, on a high platform separated by thousands of spectators. Cao Xuan himself appeared on the high platform, and the audience waved, triggering bursts of cheers.

"Cao, Cao, Cao——"

Tom and Jerry also waved excitedly and shouted slogans that made countless domestic fans laugh and cry.

However, at this moment, the two people's eyes suddenly widened in horror, and countless exclamations were heard at the scene. It turned out that Cao Xuan on the stage stepped forward and suddenly jumped down from the high platform.

Everyone was frightened by this scene and let out bursts of exclamations and screams, just as the crowd was making noises and preparing to save people.

The lights on the scene were bright, and Cao Xuan, who had originally jumped off the high platform, suddenly appeared on the stage dozens of meters away. His figure was also revealed on the large screen that had just been opened.

The smile carried their familiar confidence and gentleness, and the brows moved: "Good evening, everyone."

The people who had not recovered from the recent incident could not help but feel surprised and happy. Their emotions were also ups and downs, and they felt extremely excited.

There were also smart people who realized the situation immediately, such as Jerry, but Tom reacted faster than him. He understood and reacted the moment Cao Xuan appeared on the stage, jumping and shouting.

"Magic, oh, my god, we got to see Now You See Me perform."

As a super fan of Cao Xuan, he had watched "Now You See Me" countless times and immediately connected with it.

Several people around him suddenly realized when they heard his shout. "Now You See Me" was Cao Xuan's best-performing film in Hollywood.

It's just that Marvel is too famous, and there is also a series of three movies in the "Taken" series that continue to accumulate influence.

As a result, foreign audiences' first reaction to Cao Xuan's movie image is that of an eagle eye, their second reaction is that of an action star, and only later can they associate it with magic.

Not to mention that today is a concert. Cao Xuan's status as a singer is even more impressive than his status as an actor, and his magic skills are even further behind.

But now that I'm reminded, everyone immediately thinks of Cao Xuan's connection with magic, so it's natural for the concert to include some magic elements.

It's not like other singers haven't done this kind of tricks at their previous concerts, but few have done it as big as Cao Xuan did, and he shocked everyone just now.

It also made many people very curious, how did the magic trick happen just now?

It's actually very simple, it's 3D holographic projection.

In the past, when the technical conditions were immature, magic basically relied on real people and deception. Now it can be combined with high technology. Now even virtual idol concerts can be realized. It is very simple to make a real person holographic projection.

And there is a trick here, the 3D holographic projection is relatively easy to recognize.

The reason why the audience was able to be blinded just now was mainly due to the coordination of the lighting, coupled with the extremely short appearance time and the relatively high terrain of the platform. Many people could not distinguish them carefully and could only roughly see Cao Xuan on top.

This is also the reason why the big screen at the scene was not used until the real person Cao Xuan came out. If it were shot at a close range, the secret would have been exposed long ago.

Under all kinds of cover, and the scenes are quite thrilling and thrilling, there is no room for people to think carefully about their reactions.

In general, although there are still some immature aspects, the results are quite satisfactory, which surprised the audience and showed that Cao Xuan and his team have not wasted their efforts.

In fact, the effect of this kind of magic is not so good the second time.

It stands to reason that the first one should be used at a few large concerts such as Los Angeles to be more cost-effective. However, because we were not sure of the effect and were afraid of accidents with too many people, we set up a "small venue" with 30,000 people to test the water.

Fortunately, Cao Xuan has prepared a lot of magic combinations and routines, so that he will not be exhausted in other performances, and it is still somewhat fresh to use them interspersed.

………

The unique magic performance made the atmosphere of Cao Xuan's concert very enthusiastic from the beginning.

But after all, the concert was about listening to music, and the magic was just the icing on the cake. After a lively interaction, we finally got to the point.

Bang, bang!

Along with the drum sound, the rest of Cao Xuan's band members high-fived together.

After repeating it several times, Cao Xuan raised his arm gracefully, put the microphone to his mouth, and sang quickly to the rhythmic accompaniment of the band.

“First things first

initial initial

I'ma say all the words inside my head

I want to express all the thoughts in my mind

I'm fired up and tired of the way that things have been

I've had enough of the same things in the past

The way that things have been

Those old sesame seeds and rotten grains

…”

Almost as soon as the accompaniment appeared, many Cao Xuan fans recognized the song.

Cao Xuan's early classic rock song - "Believer".

In the minds of many people, Cao Xuan is best at lyrical pop. This is not a lie. However, there are also many fans who like rock music, and they appreciate Cao Xuan's rock music the most.

"Numb", "Believer", "Natural" and "The Phoenix" are all excellent rock works. Cao Xuan himself even won a Grammy for Best Rock Singer.

It's just that Cao Xuan's achievements and influence in the pop field are too high, and rock music has become inconspicuous in his career.

But it doesn’t mean that Cao Xuan’s rock music is not popular among the crowd. On the contrary, there are many people who like it.

Even the song style of the Menglong band, which has become popular in recent years, is considered by many to be a bit imitative of Cao Xuan's early works.

Cao Xuan's fans were once ready to besiege the Menglong band and angrily accuse them of plagiarism. However, Cao Xuan came out to smooth things over and expressed his appreciation and encouragement for the Menglong band, so the matter was dropped.

The Dream Dragon Band was also a blessing in disguise, gaining a lot of exposure and making progress in their own career.

I heard that this was Cao Xuan’s concert in America, and he also invited Menglong Band to be the guest performer for several performances.

Although it is normal for the music industry to have conflicts, Cao Xuan's songs are so famous and span a long time, so it is really difficult for Menglong Band to clear away the suspicion of plagiarism.

Under such circumstances, Cao Xuan was very kind when he came out of the siege. He even praised and affirmed him. Now he also actively supports his juniors and sincerely helps.

This makes people in the European and American music circles, who are used to fighting and competing with each other, and even being framed, unable to help but feel sad about it.

Cao is really a little too loyal and kind!

Cao Xuan did not expect that his behavior would suddenly make his reputation and popularity in the European and American music circles much better.

Maybe many people would secretly laugh and despise this kind of "generosity", and even think that Cao Xuan is easy to bully, but they may not be willing to make friends with such a person.

Boss Cao has never been a good person. The reason why he is willing to help Menglong is because he himself copied other people's songs, and the style is of course similar.

But because he took it out in advance, Menglong Band was established a few years later. If the order was reversed, Menglong would naturally "copy" him.

It's shameless to harvest someone else's wool and keep it for yourself. With Cao Xuan's shamelessness, he can't label someone else's original work as plagiarism.

So Cao Xuan could only bear the pain of bearing the title of "loyal and kind", compensated concert invitations, and received the gratitude of a group of Menglong bands.

Boss Cao sometimes feels that he is more suitable to play a big liar than Lao Zhao...

The audience at the scene did not know what was going on behind them. They waved and jumped excitedly to Cao Xuan's singing. The scene of 30,000 people was full of passion and happiness.

This kind of rock song can best stir up the atmosphere of live lyrics, especially the climax of the chorus, when Cao Xuan roars loudly, the atmosphere of the scene is comparable to a volcanic eruption.

Cao Xuan also deliberately planned a good start. Normally, it would be a mix of slow ballads and hard rock songs, with some urgency and some slowness. This time, the three opening songs were all relatively exciting and exciting, and the whole concert was very exciting.

Tom was so excited that he blushed and roared loudly. He even took off his shirt and waved it over his head.

Jerry next to him was not as crazy as him, but he was still thirsty and jumped up and down the stage and shouted along with Cao Xuan's singing.

The girl next to them was so angry that she kept glaring at them, holding the light stick tightly in her hand, wishing she could turn the light stick in her hand into an AK47 and hit them.

I spent 500 US dollars to buy tickets and came in. I didn’t listen to Cao Xuan’s songs very much. I just listened to these two idiots howling here...