I saw $400 worth of concerts for free thanks to Ontario taxpayers

by Aaron Brophy

August 19, 2015

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Panamania swept Toronto for 35 days of free shows.

I saw $400 worth of concerts (give or take) this summer and the good people of the province of Ontario paid for it.

When the Pan Am and Parapan Am Games rolled through Toronto and the Golden Horseshoe area of Ontario in July and August they came with a wave of internationally recognized athletes, grumbling traffic chaos, and some good ol’ open-walleted pork-barreling.

They also came with a whole bunch of concerts.

Kanye West performed at the Pan Am closing ceremony. Wyclef Jean performed at the Parapan Am closing ceremony. Janelle Monáe, Death From Above 1979, Joel Plaskett Emergency, The Flaming Lips, Antibalas, Stars, The Roots and dozens of others all played free shows. In total more than 750,000 people took in 35 days of concerts under the “Panamania” banner during events at Toronto City Hall’s Nathan Phillips Square and other sites.

Predictably, this cost a shitload of money.

The initial expense for the whole games was supposed to be $1.4 billion. Recent estimates now put it at $2.57 billion. And we won’t really know the true cost of the games until pesky reporters complete those freedom of information requests and get an actual legit final number.

As a person with mixed feelings about the government using my tax money to fund bread and circus sporting and cultural events, I made it my goal to get my money’s worth from the Panamania concert schedule by initiating something I called “Operation Clawback.” The premise was simple: go see a bunch of acts I liked, tabulate how much seeing them would have cost me in the real world, then compare that to how much it did cost me as a taxpayer knowing that most of my fellow Ontarians were helping foot the bill.

Here’s what it looked like:

Estimated cost of the Toronto 2015 Pan Am Games: $2,570,000,000
Population of Ontario: 13,550,900
Cost per person from Ontario: $18.97*

*Note: there are a number of fluctuating variables that make the real actual cost more difficult to determine, such as a) the TBD actual final cost of the games, b) subtracting any revenue generated by the games, and c) subtracting any federal monies contributed and, therefore, the related totals non-Ontarian Canadian taxpayers would have put towards the games.

Acts I saw at Panamania:

Flaming Lips (July 19, 2015)
Last headlining Toronto show was July 8, 2010 at Molson Canadian Amphitheatre
Ticket costs were $33.25 to $56.25

Lisa Leblanc (July 20, 2015)
Last headlining Toronto show was Nov. 14, 2014 at The Drake Hotel
Ticket costs were $15

Blind Boys of Alabama (July 21, 2015)
Last headlining Toronto show was Dec. 8, 2014 at Roy Thompson Hall
Ticket costs were $29.50 to $69.50

Charles Bradley (July 21, 2015)
Last headlining Toronto show was Sept. 15, 2014 at Massey Hall
Ticket costs were $59.50 to $79.50

Los Van Van (July 21, 2015)
Last headlining Toronto show was Nov. 27, 2010 at Sound Academy
Ticket costs were $40

The Roots (Aug. 8, 2015)
Last headlining Toronto show was June 7, 2014 at David Pecaut Square
Ticket costs were $35

Tanya Tagaq (Aug. 8, 2015)
Last headlining Toronto show was July 2, 2015 at Art Gallery of Ontario
Ticket costs were $22

Austra (Aug. 12, 2015)
Last headlining Toronto show was Dec. 19, 2014 at Opera House
Ticket costs were $21

A Tribe Called Red (Aug. 12, 2015)
Last headlining Toronto show was Dec. 19, 2014 at Danforth Music Hall
Ticket costs were $33.75 to $44

Total value:
$255.25 to $348.25, depending on if a person went with the cheapest tickets vs. the most expensive

Notes:

** “Last headlining show” did not include festival shows, free shows or shows where they were the support act.

** Not included in this tabulation are the fireworks displays which took place at the end of each Panamania concert at Nathan Phillips Square. I saw four of these fireworks displays and if you apply a standard everybody-chips-in-$20-and-we’ll-get-some-fireworks-to-shoot-off-at-the-cottage rate, that equals $80, or a total Panamania concert entertainment valuation of $335.25 to $428.25. Thanks, Ontario.

Tags: Music, Cancon, News, Kanye West, pan am games, Tanya Tagaq

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