Ya Strat , I was thinking the same thing . Just saw him put on an incredible show in Saskatoon ( Canada ) to maybe 150 people . It was the best show of his I have seen . Perhaps he has burned a few bridges with fans because of previous messed up shows , but can't see how they could possibly be making money playing to such small crowds . Hopefully he can stay on course and win back some of his fan base !
Just a quick back-of-the-napkin analysis. Some of you know more about touring than I do, so feel free to adjust.
150 x $40 = $6000. Not sure what kind of arrangement Scott has with the venue, but let's assume 50/50 split, leaves $3000. 10% to the promoter = $2700. After food, gas, tolls, lights, sound etc. probably $2000 left. I'm assuming they sleep on the bus, hotels would take most of the $2000 (need to sleep even if the band isn't playing that night). I imagine Scott gets half, and the band splits the other half. That's a lot of work and trouble for $1000, though I imagine other nights are more lucrative.
The best solution would be to open for a bigger act to gain exposure for the new music and build the fan base. Like Slash opening for Aerosmith. Trouble is, would a big act trust Scott to show up sober and on time every night? It's bad enough when the headliner takes the stage an hour late, but nobody will tolerate that from an opening act.
