It's funny. I never seem to learn with Morrissey.
Hmmm...a certain b-side off of "Suedehead" comes to mind...
But c'mon, I know you've been to more than enough shows to know better. It really is worth it to pay a little extra to get your tickets/hotel rooms refundable. I'm only out one night (about $100) out of a 2 night stay in Orlando because of the highly restrictive bastard cancellation policy (72 hours and my stay begins at 2 am, so effectively I had to book for arrival the day before). My stay in Boca was fully refundable. Then there's $25 for a non-refundable discount shuttle voucher. OK, so along with ticketbastard inconvenience fees lost, I'm looking at about $140 total. Meh.
That's nothing compared to what I lost when he had to cancel and reschedule the opening dates of the 2002 tour -- that cost me about $1
k for the flight change penalties. I actually tried to pay more to get a refundable package because even then I was concerned about Moz cancelling, but because it was an open jaw itinerary with multiple legs, I was not allowed to get the refundable option through the travel agent. I simply paid the penalty and life went on. It was still a very good deal (keep in mind I was travelling from Asia during the universal holiday month of August -- very very expensive) and cost much less than if I paid for individual flights separately.
Your situation may be different, but I'm well-served by Southwest (and a certain airline based in Atlanta which employs a terrific Moz fan). It's really easy to cancel trips on SW and then apply the funds to a future trip. They had getaway specials from LAX for $124 one way to FLL (next to Boca), and there's no penalty to cancel if you just use the funds for a future flight. I remember getting a $31 flight to Phoenix for the first show of the tour in 1999. David Tseng happened to be on that flight, too.
So, I don't mind about the $. I'm just disappointed about how a great weekend seeing friends has been dashed upon the familiar rockiness of "cancellation due to illness".
I have to smile when I look at my calendar. There are blurbs posted all over it about the tour dates being subject to change/cancellation -- "as with all things Morrissey". The concert following Killarney, where I had given him one of the 2006 calendars, Moz pointed at me and sang the verse, "I forgive you, I forgive you". And I asked my friend what that was all about. She pointed to the "tour dates subject to change/cancellation" blurbs and said that among other things, he might not appreciate that. But it's true! It only hurts because it's true.
