I actually went to this. It was more my baby sister's initiative than my own, but I was completely into it regardless, and afterwards I left feeling like I'd gotten an awesome deal, not at all as though I'd just been extorted. Why?
First of all, to address the issue of forcing fans to spend $50 to meet Pete - it's not so bad as you make it out to be. Despite Pete saying he would be "working the register" at the Clan store, he was actually more just standing there in a Santa suit hugging people and taking photos and chatting. No one was working the register during those two hours, so you weren't at all forced to buy a t-shirt or what not in order to talk to Pete.
And concerning the fact that you couldn't use the gift certificate at that time, a few things ... YES, the store opened at four, immediately after Pete's departure, at which time you could spend it. Besides, anyone who would be willing to come meet him at his store in the first place would probably be back in the Chicago area at a different time, for an FOB concert or some such thing, at which time they could spend the certificate.
And YES the clothes are overpriced. They're designed by a single famous rockstar person, what do you expect? His are $25, the same price as FOB concert t-shirts. Hot Topic sells their overpriced mass produced scene tees for five dollars less. Let's get it over it.
I apologize for my inability to be concise, but my point is that I felt the $50 gift certificate prerequisite was worth it. It's $50 in Clan clothes that I would probably be spending in the future anyway, and when I add up all the money I've spend indulging my FOB fetish: shirts, posters, CDs, tickets, gas to follow them around the Midwest, hotel nights, my OCK membership, etc etc etc ... what's another $50 in Clan clothes? We ALL spend money because we love FOB. Such is the reality of loving anything in our consumer-driven culture.
I enjoyed my visit to the Clan store more than I did my FOB meet and greet, and I just about died from happiness at that. Why? It was well-organized, for one thing. They gave everyone who purchased a gift certificate a time to go into the store, and let fifteen or so people in at a time. The Clan employees are about a hundred thousand times nicer than the assholes FOB employees as security. They were cheerful and polite, thanked our group warmly for coming as we left, and even APOLOGIZED at having to usher us out the door. Yes, it was half a minute with Pete, but it wasn't as rushed as the meet and greets are. You could talk a bit, and god forbid hug him. He hugged my baby sister, took a photo with her, and talked to her best friend on her cell phone, and we chatted about my Star Wars tattoos. Even his girlfriend chimed in, and she gave me a candy cane.
THAT is worth $50 in my FOB-obsessed book. Because honestly, we all spend hours following them on the Internet and yet more hours discussing what we find. If a price could be attached to our time, any member of FOB would've bankrupted us.
So ... sorry. Want to discuss how Joe is ripping off his fans via his sig. guitar? Way more sacreligious than ripping off fans with clothes.
Worth It
I actually went to this. It was more my baby sister's initiative than my own, but I was completely into it regardless, and afterwards I left feeling like I'd gotten an awesome deal, not at all as though I'd just been extorted. Why?
First of all, to address the issue of forcing fans to spend $50 to meet Pete - it's not so bad as you make it out to be. Despite Pete saying he would be "working the register" at the Clan store, he was actually more just standing there in a Santa suit hugging people and taking photos and chatting. No one was working the register during those two hours, so you weren't at all forced to buy a t-shirt or what not in order to talk to Pete.
And concerning the fact that you couldn't use the gift certificate at that time, a few things ... YES, the store opened at four, immediately after Pete's departure, at which time you could spend it. Besides, anyone who would be willing to come meet him at his store in the first place would probably be back in the Chicago area at a different time, for an FOB concert or some such thing, at which time they could spend the certificate.
And YES the clothes are overpriced. They're designed by a single famous rockstar person, what do you expect? His are $25, the same price as FOB concert t-shirts. Hot Topic sells their overpriced mass produced scene tees for five dollars less. Let's get it over it.
I apologize for my inability to be concise, but my point is that I felt the $50 gift certificate prerequisite was worth it. It's $50 in Clan clothes that I would probably be spending in the future anyway, and when I add up all the money I've spend indulging my FOB fetish: shirts, posters, CDs, tickets, gas to follow them around the Midwest, hotel nights, my OCK membership, etc etc etc ... what's another $50 in Clan clothes? We ALL spend money because we love FOB. Such is the reality of loving anything in our consumer-driven culture.
I enjoyed my visit to the Clan store more than I did my FOB meet and greet, and I just about died from happiness at that. Why? It was well-organized, for one thing. They gave everyone who purchased a gift certificate a time to go into the store, and let fifteen or so people in at a time. The Clan employees are about a hundred thousand times nicer than the assholes FOB employees as security. They were cheerful and polite, thanked our group warmly for coming as we left, and even APOLOGIZED at having to usher us out the door. Yes, it was half a minute with Pete, but it wasn't as rushed as the meet and greets are. You could talk a bit, and god forbid hug him. He hugged my baby sister, took a photo with her, and talked to her best friend on her cell phone, and we chatted about my Star Wars tattoos. Even his girlfriend chimed in, and she gave me a candy cane.
THAT is worth $50 in my FOB-obsessed book. Because honestly, we all spend hours following them on the Internet and yet more hours discussing what we find. If a price could be attached to our time, any member of FOB would've bankrupted us.
So ... sorry. Want to discuss how Joe is ripping off his fans via his sig. guitar? Way more sacreligious than ripping off fans with clothes.