Philly Pops coming to Cape May for a pretty penny

If you’re in Cape May this Memorial Day Weekend, you’ll see a great deal being made about Peter Nero and the Philly POPS coming to town to play a concert at the brand new Convention Hall on May 26.

But not all of the noise will be beautiful. He’s coming, but he’s not coming cheaply.

Tickets are going for $150 a piece. That’s a lot considering you can see Nero and the Philly POPS at the Kimmel Center on May 12 for $30. Even the most expensive seats for that show only top out at $111. In comparison, season tickets for the Ocean City Pops cost $275 for the 2011 season.

Plus, according to the Cape May County Herald, the City of Cape May is kicking over $100,000 to make it happen: $85,000 to Nero and the POPS for the performance, $20,445 for lighting and sound to a separate firm and $2,800 for a piano rental.

As you can imagine, the reaction in town has not been positive.

I hope the show sells out all 800 tickets. It’d be an embarrassment to the city otherwise, and an ominous start to the life of a Convention Hall that has had a lot of very vocal critics who opposed everything from a design (blogger Mark Miller — no relation — called it a Bed, Bath & Beyond) to the LED light marquee to what they’re charging to hold weddings inside.  

But let’s give credit where credit is due: Convention Hall is opening on time with a headlining act.

Whether people will pay to see it remains to be seen.

Me? I’d rather pay $200 to see Beyonce at Revel on Memorial Day Weekend — that’s the price right now on StubHub. But I don’t know if I’m the kind of person the city of Cape May has in mind when lining up musical acts. 

For tickets to Nero, click here.