Mrs Z and I just went to see Rick at the historic Arlington Theatre in Santa Barbara. Tickets like ours started at $31 but with three additional charges (!) climbed to nearly $50 in total each. Some fans also attended a pre-show VIP meet n' greet for an additional hefty fee.

I have long been an admirer of RS but after seeing tonight's meh presentation, would suggest that he try some new additions to his shows. More interactivity such as: fielding audience questions; more involvement of his long-standing forum (it could've been on the giant stage screen during intermission); large posters on each side of the stage displaying top ten lists; better quality imagery; a prop or two from his travels.
I may sound like a snob here, but we both felt like grad students being back in high school tonight.
Rick's heart is definitely in the right place, including his take on travel as a political act, but tonight fell short of our hopes.

One traveler's humble opinion.
I am done. The end

Oh dear. We have tickets to see him in another month or so. Hmm...

Gosh, I can only begin to imagine your disappointment after understandably high expectations. But at least you saw and heard HIM.

WHY would you spend money on that????

The only way you would get me to watch.

Sorry you were disappointed by your evening out.
I admit I do not get the obsession with the man. Suggested places soon become over run with his fans and the rest of the world follows and I see his hints and tips and think well duh???

Rick Steves singlehandedly put Gimmelwald on the tourist map. Most Swiss have never heard of Gimmelwald.

Not sure if that is a good thing or not tbh.

In this case, it's brought a bit more business to a tiny hamlet that is really only visited by US tourists. The Swiss walk through it without realising it's a "bucket list destination." Luckily, it's not accessible by car (private road) so it remains quiet.

Isn't RS the one who sent hordes of Americans to Cinque Terre??

I'm on my library's list for his new book......don't expect all that much but do want to at least try it..

Si si Eks, Rick readily admits that he was largely responsible for what has become known as the Cinque Terre effect. Apparently, things got so bad that he ended up sending younger members of his staff to do updates there. Those poor staff then got hit on aggressively by numerous Vernazza businesses seeking inclusion in guidebooks and eventually chose to leave without fully completing local research.

Btw, we were once told by one of Rick's fave French taxi drivers that in fact, he has got some of his best restaurant tips from them. Btww, we also once spent Christmas in Costa Rica at an eco lodge right next door to where Rick and his family were then spending what was possibly their final family celebration together
before his divorce.

I would meet RS but wouldn't pay that kind of money.

I wouldn't pay that much for any concert either, it's ridiculous people paying hundreds or even over a thousand to see over the hill Stones or Eagles or whatever. Not even Springsteen.

I've balked at paying hundreds to go see the NBA or NFL games, thought I may do it at some point.

Can afford it but the sellers of these products and services are insulting your intelligence.

Ha!! I am in Florida for part of the winter..the land of cover/"tribute" bands! Last week we had "the BeeGees" at our condo clubhouse pool area for an outdoor concert!
I thought $29 a ticket was too high!!

I need to get on that concert thread to talk about my first concerts, but then people would really know how old I am! (Murray the K at the Brooklyn Paramount, anyone??)

I wonder how many Americans would never have traveled to Europe had there not been Rick Steves.....
Give me Tony Wheeler's books anyway, though... We called the SE Asia one the "yellow Bible."


https://lithub.com/how-lonely-planet-founders-tony-and-maureen-wheeler-revolutionized-the-way-we-travel/

Eks the ancient one, Rick referenced LP during his presentation. That was an off-the-cuff remark, when he pointed out that LP's biggest seller guide is their Cuba series.
Scrb, your last comment felt like it was written in my own mind--I agree with you 100%, no 1000%.
Fwiw, the Wheelers sold their LP empire many years ago.
i am done the end

Me, too, on the bands. Partner had the Eagles concert at the Dome in Vegas on tv and I watched it for awhile.....I think those tickets costs $1,000. It was. more like one of those "Sound and Light" shows with music.

About 8 years ago my sister talked me into seeing the Stones in Brooklyn. She had never seen them live but I had, several times (I once won a lottery to see them at the Garden in NYC--). But she is so keen, and her husband will not go, so I agree. We had to pay $800 each for the tix on Stub Hub. I had told her I would go only if we got decent seats and only ifi she brought along something to "enhance" the music. The funniest thing about that night was us ducking and sneaking into the backyards of brownstones before the show, trying to smoke her little gift. (You can't smoke inside the arena anymore) We were too nervous to just smoke on the sidewalk...I'm not telling this right but it was pretty funny at the time.). The concert was ok but my goodness, I've seen them do the same thing for so long......over and over again. On the train back to Manhattan I was in the car with a few singers from the big chorus that sang with the band during one of the songs...that was almost as fun as the actual show!

'You kaint alweez git wotyouwant...'
I've devoted an entire page in the final chapter of my musical memoirs to this whole issue of modern concert ticket buying and prices. It's nuts.

Highly recco the new docs about *Led Zep, Sly Stone, Zappa plus the Dylan biopic.
* last nite in the line-up for this doc I met the former vocalist for Pure Prairie League.
I am done. The muzix

Just told partner I had to see the Zeppelin movie, which is playing around here. His answer: "But then you have to listen to their music." That's sums a lot up--that one comment!!!
I can go see it and will try to go before I leave for Spain next week.

Of course, you knew immediately which song when I wrote about the "chorus!"


I liked the Dylan movie more than I thought i would!

News flash: Just an hour ago I discovered a voice new to me--Theola Gilgore! Have to find more music sung by her...

Rick has been diagnosed with prostate cancer for which i think he had surgery last sept. He posted last month, feb 2025, that he is now cancer free but eithet way, you might be glad you took the opportunity to see him. Even if not blown away by the presentation.

Yeah Sue, pretty sure that everybody in the audience was acutely aware of Rick's health issue then. We certainly were. Having gone through a bladder cancer scare not too long ago, I could commiserate. Rick addressed the issue immediately, a wise move. He seemed chipper throughout his presentation and I doubt with his wealth (ie he does not need the money), that his doctor would've OKed any such 'tour dates' as he was then in the midst of undertaking.

I came close to contacting his people a month ahead of our arrival, to see whether he'd be interested in doing a brief pre-show interview with me for eventual posting here on the Fodors Forum. But in the end, I chose to pass. It was good that I did: the meet n' greet crowd was both large and rabid. An amplified flamenco guitarist was playing there. Not sure that Rick would've seen any value in sitting for such an interview.

Btw, by fluke at Santa Barbara's Hendrys Beach (Arroyo Burro Park), I chanced across a quartette of gals who were actually Rick's immediate neighbors in Edmonds. They'd been intrigued by my photographing some shells and approached for a chat. Those four gals represented 3 generations of their family and one of them had apparently babysat for Rick (or was it vice-versa with his own daughter?). Will soon post a TR of our Santa Barbara visit, including imagery of those gals plus Rick's show.

I am done. the travel buffs.