Well, there's no doubt that baby boomers turn out. In droves. Last year, according to forbes.com, four of the most lucrative tours were by Michael Buble, Paul McCartney, The Eagles and The Rolling Stones.
Every one of them can and does sell out the biggest arenas, and it's never on the basis of their latest single -- OK, Buble is the exception, but let's face it, he's pretty much about reheating the old, old stuff.
As for this year, the second biggest money spinner is looking to be Fleetwood Mac (behind those wrinkle-free upstarts, One Direction) and hands up anyone who can name their last album?
As everyone knows, whenever someone like Mick Jagger takes the mic to announce a song as "off their new album" it's time to find the toilet, the bar or check the babysitter. This is known as having a one-way discography which means you might hear their old stuff and be tempted to check out the new, but never vice versa.
So, it's all about nostalgia and lost youth, and if you saw the generation that turned out to see the Tommy Dorsey and Count Basie Orchestras of late you'll know boomers have no monopoly on that sentiment.
What boomers may monopolise is mass nostalgia. Until the internet arrived there were only a few, if all-pervasive, ways to hear music so theirs was a generation that knew, recognised, and possibly even owned every song in the top ten (and on vinyl too).
These days you'd need several versions of yourself to keep up with a fractalised musicscape that invents new genres on a daily basis. Not that a boomer would bother -- everyone knows they don't write songs like they used to. Ha.
Still, why do the over-50s keep turning out for the same old bands? The Stones have been here often enough to apply for residency and unless they know something Sir Isaac Newton didn't, their shows aren't getting better with age.
For one thing, says April Stevens, "It's hard to find good gigs to go to these days. So many bands seem to rely on beats and backing music you don't get that sense of musicality and rawness."
The 51-year-old Aucklander has been a longtime gig-goer who, having found it difficult to keep up with new music, has taken to stadium shows with gusto.
"It's about being entertained, and if it's a big concert with a big crowd you expect a big show. I was no great fan of Michael Jackson, but that was some show, truly professional, and seeing it live had so much more appeal to me.
"Even if the singing isn't always all that great, it's that raw energy that makes it sound so much better than hearing the same song on the radio."
She knows what she's talking about. The walls of her Ponsonby business, Documents Unlimited, are lined with classic gig posters and she can tick off the ones she attended.
"Seeing a band like The Stones brings back all these cherished memories -- I still have tiles from the old Gluepot [music venue] -- and even if there's some risk that they might not have it anymore, it's always a lot of fun to have a dance and a boogie in a big, noisy crowd."
But being a boomer doesn't have to mean listening only to boomer music.
Grey Lynn face-about-town Bharat Jamnadas is as likely to be seen at a Fat Freddies Drop gig as anything at Western Springs.
If slightly reticent about his age, he will admit to be being in his 20s and living in Fiji when Fleetwood Mac's Rumours came out. He's worked as an event promoter, tv presenter, manager of Fijian group Mantis, music writer, compulsive gig-goer, and even part-time chef for the previously mentioned Fat Freddies (they love a good goat curry).
"So it's not just the music, it's the relationships you can build up as well.
"I've watched a lot of Auckland musos go from teenagers to their 30s and I've kept up friendships with people like [blues musician] Taj Mahal," says Jamnadas, "but I also get out to see a lot of the older guys like Leonard Cohen, The Who and Steely Dan. Those guys aren't any less than they've been before, still at the top of their game. It's wonderful stuff, wonderful music. "
One highlight was running into George Benson in a Jakarta bar after one of his gigs and getting the job of minding him for the night: "I'll remember that forever. There's a photo on my Facebook page.
"But then," says Jamnadas,"I've always been around music and music has always been around me. It's a basic part of life now and I can't wait to see what happens over summer and beyond. I'll see anything. Well, except for indie. That's never done it for me."
