A few weeks ago, Billboard gave copies of hundreds of back issues of their magazine to google books (unfortunately, not a complete issue history). And for the past few weeks I've been going through many of these back issues online and I found THOUSANDS of concert boxscores, including a variety of other artists dating back to 1976.
However, this thread is for Frank Zappa boxscores. There are a few things to keep in mind before reading. For one, there are several listings where the average ticket price is actually lower than the ticket prices listed. This means that an x amount of tix were given away...and hence this lowers the average ticket price. This is quite common for many concerts. And remember, capacities reflect how many tickets were put on sale and not necessarily the overall capacity of the venue.
So, here we go:
Oct. 17, 1976
Atlanta, GA
The Omni (Theater)
Attendance: 4,600
Gross: $30,000
Ticket Prices: $6, $7
Average Ticket Price: $6.52
Oct. 22, 1976
Buffalo, NY
Memorial Auditorium
Attendance: 5,678
Gross: $36,393
Ticket Prices: $6, $6.50
Average Ticket Price: $6.41
Oct. 29, 1976
Philadelphia, PA
Spectrum (Theater)
Capacity: 12,000
Attendance: Sold Out
Gross: $65,554
Ticket Prices: $5.50, $6.50
Average Ticket Price: $5.46
Nov. 5, 1976
Pittsburgh, PA
Syria Mosque
Capacity: 3,800
Attendance: Sold Out
Gross: $26,600
Ticket Price: $7
Nov. 12, 1976
Erie, PA
County Field House
Attendance: 2,273
Gross: $13,557
Ticket Price: $5.50, $6.50
Average Ticket Price: $5.96
Nov. 19, 1976
Detroit, MI
Cobo Hall
Attendance: 10,677
Gross: $76,887
Ticket Prices: $6.50, $7.50
Average Ticket Price: $7.20
Sep. 25, 1977
Milwaukee, WI
Auditorium
Attendance: 5,050
Gross: $33,600
Ticket Prices: $6.50, $7.50
Average Ticket Price: $6.65
Sep. 27, 1977
Bloomington, MN (Minneapolis/St. Paul area)
Met Center
Attendance: 5,600
Gross: $40,205
Ticket Prices: $6.50, $7.50
Average Ticket Price: $7.18
Oct. 2, 1977
St. Louis, MO
Quadrangle University
Attendance: 6,056
Gross: $31,800
Ticket Prices: $5, $6
Average Ticket Price: $5.25
Oct. 8, 1977
Allentown, PA
Muhlenberg Memorial Hall
Attendance: 3,087
Gross: $20,279
Ticket Prices: $6.50, $7.50
Average Ticket Price: $6.57
Oct. 9, 1977
Cleveland, OH
Public Hall
Capacity: 9,415
Attendance: Sold Out
Gross: $58,135
Ticket Prices: $6, $7
Average Ticket Price: $6.17
Nov. 5, 1977 (two shows)
Pittsburgh, PA
Stanley Theater
Attendance: 6,300
Gross: $44,100
Ticket Price: $7
Nov. 6, 1977
Ann Arbor, MI (Detroit area)
Hill Auditorium
Attendance: 4,132
Gross: $20,946
Ticket Prices: $5.50, $7.50
Average Ticket Price: $5.07
Nov. 10, 1977
Louisville, KY
Louisville Gardens
Attendance: 3,561
Gross: $21,628
Ticket Prices: $6, $7
Average Ticket Price: $6.07
Nov. 18, 1977
Sacramento, CA
Memorial Auditorium
Capacity: 4,337
Attendance: Sold Out
Gross: $31,565
Ticket Prices: $6.50, $7.50
Average Ticket Price: $7.28
Nov. 19, 1977
Stanford, CA (San Francisco/Oakland area)
Maples Pavilion
Capacity: 8,120
Attendance: Sold Out
Gross: $58,486
Ticket Prices: $6, $7
Average Ticket Price: $7.20
Nov. 20, 1977
Los Angeles, CA
UCLA Pauley Pavilion
Capacity: 10,441
Attendance: Sold Out
Gross: $82,545
Ticket Prices: $5.50, $8.50
Average Ticket Price: $7.91
Sep. 17, 1978 (two shows)
Atlanta, GA
Fox Theater
Attendance: 5,889
Gross: $48,410
Ticket Prices: $7.50, $8.50
Average Ticket Price: $8.22
Oct. 30, 31 & Nov. 1, 1980 (four shows)
New York City, NY
Palladium
Capacity: 13,600
Attendance: Sold Out
Gross: $138,000
Ticket Prices: $8.50, $11.00
Average Ticket Price: $10.15
Oct. 18, 1980 (two shows)
Tulsa, OK
Brady Theater
Capacity: 4,253
Attendance: Sold Out
Gross: $38,165
Ticket Price: $9.25
Average Ticket Price: $8.97
Oct. 24, 1980
Hartford, CT
Civic Center
Attendance: 11,958
Gross: $118,256
Ticket Prices: $8.50, $10.50
Average Ticket Price: $9.89
Nov. 8, 1980
Providence, RI
Ocean State Arts Center
Attendance: 3,200
Gross: $29,600
Ticket Prices: $8.50, $9.50
Average Ticket Price: $9.25
Nov. 11, 1980
Cleveland, OH
Richfield Coliseum
Attendance: 7,078
Gross: $59,767
Ticket Prices: $8,50, $9.50
Average Ticket Price: $8.44
Nov. 13, 1980 (two shows)
Pittsburgh, PA
Stanley Theater
Capacity: 6,265
Attendance: Sold Out
Gross: $53,467
Ticket Price: $8.75
Average Ticket Price: $8.53
Nov. 28 & 29, 1980 (four shows)
Chicago, IL
Uptown Theater
Capacity: 17,524
Attendance: Sold Out
Gross: $187,733
Ticket Prices: $10.50, $11.50
Average Ticket Price: $10.71
Nov. 30, 1980
Des Moines, IA
Civic Center
Capacity: 2,735
Attendance: Sold Out
Gross: $29,370
Ticket Price: $11
Average Ticket Price: $10.74
Oct 2, 1981
Seattle, WA
Seattle Center Arena
Capacity: 6,000
Attendance: 4,598
Gross: $47,256
Ticket Prices: $10, $11
Average Ticket Price: $10.28
Oct. 6, 1981
Reno, NV
Centennial Coliseum
Capacity: 7,500
Attendance: 2,248
Gross: $22,712
Ticket Prices: $9.50, $11
Average Ticket Price: $10.10
Oct. 10, 1981
Mesa, AZ (Phoenix area)
Mesa Amphitheater
Capacity: 3,870
Attendance: Sold Out
Gross: $46,500
Ticket Price: $12.50
Average Ticket Price: $12.02
Oct. 17, 1981
Houston, TX
The Summit
Capacity: 9,550
Attendance: 7,017
Gross: $77,187
Ticket Price: $11
Nov. 3, 1981 (two shows)
Philadelphia, PA
Tower Theater
Capacity: 5,880
Attendance: Sold Out
Gross: $58,232
Ticket Prices: $9, $10
Average Ticket Price: $9.90
Nov. 7, 1981 (two shows)
Boston, MA
Walter Brown Arena
Capacity: 6,220
Attendance: Sold Out
Gross: $62,500
Ticket Prices: $9.50, $10.50
Average Ticket Price: $10.05
Nov. 11, 1981 (two shows)
Buffalo, NY
Shea’s Theater
Capacity: 6,374
Attendance: 4,582
Gross: $47,772
Ticket Prices: $9, $10.50
Average Ticket Price: $10.43
Nov. 24, 1981 (two shows)
Pittsburgh, PA
Stanley Theater
Capacity: 7,184
Attendance: 6,334
Gross: $60,367
Ticket Price: $9.75
Average Ticket Price: $9.53
Nov 25, 1981
Detroit, MI
Cobo Hall
Capacity: 12,191
Attendance: Sold Out
Gross: $89,804
Ticket Prices: $10.50, $11.50
Average Ticket Price: $7.37
Nov 27, 1981 (two shows)
Chicago, IL
Uptown Theater
Capacity: 8,762
Attendance: Sold Out
Gross: $103,804
Ticket Prices: $11.50, $12.50
Average Ticket Price: $11.85
Nov. 28, 1981
Minneapolis, MN
Northrup Auditorium
Capacity: 4,910
Attendance: Sold Out
Gross: $47,987
Ticket Prices: $9.75, $11
Average Ticket Price: $9.77
Dec. 11, 1981 (two shows)
Santa Monica, CA (LA area)
Civic Center
Capacity: 6,000
Attendance: 5,589
Gross: $69,130
Ticket Prices: $10.50, $12.50
Average Ticket Price: $12.37
Oct. 26, 1984
Providence, RI
Civic Center
Capacity: 3,200
Attendance: Sold Out
Gross: $39,520
Ticket Price: $12.50
Average Ticket Price: $12.35
Oct. 27, 1984
New Haven, CT (Hartford area)
New Haven Coliseum
Capacity: 6,146
Attendance: 5,375
Gross: $72,356
Ticket Prices: $12.50, $13.50
Average Ticket Price: $13.46
Nov. 17, 1984
Pittsburgh, PA
Syria Mosque
Capacity: 3,695
Attendance: Sold Out
Gross: $49,028
Ticket Price: $13.75
Average Ticket Price: $13.27
It's interesting to note that many of these shows were in the gross/attendance range in which I thought they'd be after I started studying FZ's tour history years ago (and the recent ZPZ boxscores helped). But
FINALLY, we now have confirmation.
However, there were a few big surprises.
In the near future, if Billboard doesn't give more of their back issues to google books, I plan to track down more boxscores at a local book/magazine emporium that specializes in extensive back issue collections. And of course, I'll add them here...
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