Social Series A Flip Or Flop?

Were organizers dreaming when they priced tickets for this summer’s "ultimate rock ‘n’ roll fantasy" at $15,000 a pop?

Reports surrounding ticket sales for the über-exclusive five-show Hampton Social concert series have varied.

Questions about the Hampton gigs arose after Bulldog Entertainment, organizer of the East Hampton, N.Y., concerts, recently offered up a "limited number of tickets" for remaining shows to potential buyers via e-mail.

"It’s not too late," Bulldog wrote in the e-mail. "You can still attend the 2007 Hampton Social @ Ross private concert series! If you have not yet purchased your tickets, now is the time."

While tickets were originally offered in packages – $15,000 for the all-star lineup featuring Prince, Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds, Billy Joel, James Taylor, and Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – organizers began selling individual show tix at $3,000 each prior to Joel’s August 4th performance to stir up sales for the remaining concerts.

Promoter Joe Meli of Bulldog has also been rumored to be papering the house, handing free tix to the celebrity set, according to the New York Post and Gawker.com.

However, as far as Joel’s gig went, it got a big thumbs up from his agent, Dennis Arfa.

"I cannot say if it was successful. I have no idea how the promoters did financially," Arfa told Pollstar. "I just know it was a class act – the whole environment. It was done extremely well. All they wanted to do was make sure Billy was happy. From our perspective, we couldn’t pick up a hitch, the place seemed full and jovial, and it was great."

Fox News gossip columnist Roger Friedman agreed. He was at the Joel performance and called it a "total hit." Friedman said "show insiders" told him that Joel’s show was so successful that 200 additional seats, on top of the 1,000 originally allotted, were sold, and that Joel was paid $2 million for the performance.

Pollstar could not reach Bulldog Entertainment at press time.