You know a band’s “made it” when they start charging ridiculous prices for meet and greets or, as I like to call them, “pay and heys”. You get maybe three minutes with a band, say a couple of words, get them to sign a couple of things, a quick picture and then you’re out of there. Most of the time, security won’t even allow hugs.

I’ve never been a fan of meet and greets because bands and fans alike promote it as if you’re not a “true” fan unless you fork out the cash for these things. A lot of bands come out after the show anyways and meet fans who’ve stuck around so it’s never a super big deal for me because why pay the extra money when I can just meet them for free later instead?

There’s been a lot of meet and greets lately that have kind of blown my mind with how ridiculous they are. For example, Fall Out Boy’s. They’re one of my favourite bands but I’m not going to cash out the $170 or so they want. For that price you get to meet the band (autographs, a picture), you get an “exclusive” FOB vinyl wall clock, a wristband, and a commemorative laminate. This package gets mailed to you so this part of the M&G is $99 (plus shipping). It also doesn’t include a ticket (which is strange because most M&Gs do) so you also have to pay for a ticket to the show as well. Also, you need to be a part of FOB’s exclusive (paid) fan club to get this deal which is even more money.

But there have been a couple of reasonable meet and greets from bands for $75-80 that include a ticket to the show so really, you’re only paying approximately $30 extra to meet the band, pictures, autographs, early entry, etc.

If you know me, you know I’ve been a little annoyed by this meet and greet even though the concert’s not coming anywhere near me. I just thought they were taking advantage of their mostly underage fan base and obviously since they just came off their hiatus six months ago, people would do anything to see their favourite band.

I decided to talk to a couple of fans who have gone to the meet and greets for the past couple of shows and they’ve had nothing negative to say about their experiences and they gave me a whole other perspective. Look at it this way: your favourite band has been on hiatus for four years then suddenly they’re in your city and you have the opportunity to meet them, why wouldn’t you? This is the band that has changed your life in some significant way and you feel like you owe them everything. When you think about it that way, the meet and greet almost looks worth it.

Who knows, maybe I was just spoiled by my favourite band, My Chemical Romance, who never did paid meet and greets or paid fan clubs. And I know how FOB fans feel. MCR broke up last March and if they ever got back together, I’d be willing to spend hundreds on them.