So it was about two months ago, and i’m not even sure who it was who told me but i was informed that two of my favorite bands presently were going to be coming to town at the Emerald Theater, Spoon and The Walkmen. I was extremely excited called up my friend and told her about it and told her we had to get tickets for this show. About a week later i was at Gogol Bordello show at the Royal Oak Music Theater and i saw an old friend who worked at The Emerald along with one of my old bosses from my old job at the State Theater (aka Fillmore) he said he could get us in no problem.
So another week passes and i hear from my girlfriend that, her friend who works for Camel says that she can get us tickets, and that they’re the ones who are putting on the show. I guess they put on concerts and buy most of the tickets and then give them to people at bars along with free cigarettes.
Anyhow speed up to April 6th the day of the concert…….I was able to get a total of eleven tickets,but only 8 of my friends ended up showing. We all met up and went up to the line waiting to get in, as this guy who was working the door came up with this giant replication of the tickets we had, and personally escorted us directly into the venue without even having to wait in the line outside, that the other people who had paid for tickets had to wait in. He brought us inside and explained where all the Camel stands were, and what kind of cool stuff they were giving away.
So me and my friends wondered around, and saw about four different booths setup for Camel cigarettes alone, each stationed with 2 pretty girls. We walked up to one, to get our free cigarettes and the girl asked me for a pack of cigarettes that i smoked so she could scan them (their way of seeing what people smoked), i told her that i left my American Spirits in my car. She said no problem then proceeded to give me two packs of Camel’s of whatever kind i wanted, she then scanned my driver’s license to get all my info, marked my hand with marker as to signify that i already received my free-bees. She then gave me a flash-drive and told me that they have an area where people and their friends can get their photo taken, and then they put the picture on the drive. So you are able to take the zip drive home and download the picture. She also had stated that they have an area for making t-shirts for you. I almost forgot she then handed me a ticket and said that it was good for a free drink. We all walked over to get our free drink. Then proceeded over to the T-shirt area, which was really cool i have to say. They had like five different print types to choose from, and all different colored shirts to choose. So you pick out the pattern and color, then they take it over to this ink area where they had guys laying peoples shirts out on these big tables, and then applying the ink with these huge rollers. It was pretty cool to watch, they were like little shop workers inking up our custom shirts. I felt like a big kid at a carnival getting free stuff.
Now all in total i received free tickets to a good line-up concert, free cigarettes, photo , zip-drive (not sure how much it can hold tho), t-shirt, and cocktail. Wasn’t sure to feel completely grateful or weirded out. Why would a company spend so much money on me, were they just grateful that i still smoked (which i’m in the process of quiting), not even sure if that could be true because about half of my friends there didn’t even smoke. Or are they studying what i listen to, what i drink, and what i wear.
We headed back to the upstairs bar, and in walks Britt the lead singer of Spoon. I was so excited, no one else recognized him or cared. I walked up to him and said the lamest thing i could “Can i buy you a drink?” (what a nerd) anyway he declined. So i started to chit-chat, i asked him why he was up there. He said that he wanted to keep an eye on the Camel people, and to make sure they weren’t pushing cigarettes on people. He said that they had a problem with them at another show. Britt seemed genuinely concerned about his fans. I wished him a good show, and he said he would send a song out to me.
How does a band that is on the rise get into a concert like this?? Is it money? A contract that they have to for fill for their label. Why would a guy who seemed so anti-smoking be headlining a Camel show? Is there a bigger picture? Is the cigarette companies just showing appreciation, or are they devising a new plan of attack on getting people hooked? I don’t really have the answers. I suppose you can draw your own conclusions of why they do these things.
As much as Britt disapproved, he was still there performing. As much as i thought it was a twisted ploy to smoke, i still attended & even smoked for that matter. Even the friends that didn’t smoke didn’t really have an issue with it, except maybe that they said it was definitely really smoky. So who is this really hurting? Weren’t we all adults, participating? Was this concert a type of experiment on me and my friends?
I had a great time, and it created great memories with friends but, I can’t help but feeling a little dirty about the whole thing. In fact i overheard an older bar-hag type say in her raspy voice” i got 4 packs, that’s four days of good smoking!”. Ewww, i never felt so trashy about being a smoker than i did right then.
–SuAnn MItchell
Extra Credit// continuation of advertising blog
