There's no L.A. date, so don't get too excited, but the video itself is pretty funny:

And oh yeah – He's going to play some dates in Europe too, though the markets haven't been announced.

Now, more interesting than his hydra constellation map is his anti-scalping plan for the tickets. Think “ticket agencies” are scum of the earth? Yeah, well you're not alone. The Waits plan sounds pretty good:

From the ANTI- label blog:

“In keeping with Waits’ longtime desire to allow fans the best possible access to his shows, the Waits’ organization is again implementing an anti-scalping program to assure patrons that their tickets can only be purchased at face value (plus normal surcharges and handling fees). At the majority of shows on this tour, Ticketmaster is introducing their Paperless Ticket™ system. Prior to entering the venue, fans must simply provide their credit card which was used to purchase the tickets, along with a government issued ID. The fan’s accompanying guest must be present at that time. An attendant will swipe the credit card and provide a receipt for the transaction. The entire process is quick, secure and simple. Tickets will only be sold via the internet and by phone and are limited to two per person.”

So the idea is this squashes the scalpers' phone banking system by limiting purchases to two tickets, and requiring the same person with the same credit card to show up at the venue.

I'm guessing there will be problems with this, and some people will be angry and claim they missed out on a concert they should have gotten into, but most of the crying will be from the scalpers.

It'll be interesting to see if other bands adopt this who haven't already set up direct sales to their audience through fan clubs, like Pearl Jam, though I imagine those also get infiltrated by scalpers.

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