Until the last few years, shows that were $40+ were quite rare. My 400 shows are spread out over nearly 30 years of concert going. When I first started going to shows, you could see bands like Van Halen, Rush, Queen, or Ozzy at the local hockey arena for under $10.
I guess my point was that it seems foolish to pay $45 to see Ryan Adams when you can see someone who's equal or better, for $15. Someone like A.A. Bondy. But I guess for some people, there's no real difference between $15 and $45.
It is really easy to go to hundreds of shows and not spend that much. I've been to a comparable amount and probably can count the shows I paid $40+ to see on one hand.
I've been to 100's of shows as well, but you definitely at some point in your music going career spend that amount unless you have some sort of thing against a band that's popular or you have a rule of spending more than $40+ on a ticket.